JP2006239034A - Pachinko game machine and game machine management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that it is difficult to accurately manage the game state of a pachinko game machine provided with a forced stop button just by the number of times of the variable display of special patterns. <P>SOLUTION: A stop information transmission means 148 transmits stop information indicating that the variable display of patterns is forcibly stopped to an external device. The number of times of stop counting means 134 counts the number of times of stop, which is the number of times of forcibly stopping the variable display of the patterns. The stop information transmission means 148 transmits the ratio of the number of times of the stop to the number of times of the variable display of the pattern per unit time as the stop information to the external device. A stop information display means 136 displays the stop information on a screen when stop instruction input is detected in a period during which the patterns are not variably displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing the gaming situation of a gaming machine.

Various types of pachinko machines are popular as bullet ball machines.
Some conventional pachinko machines have random lottery values acquired as a result of a game ball falling into a starting port formed on the game board. The acquired lottery values are temporarily stored, for example, up to four as reserved balls. The reserved balls are sequentially read one by one, and a symbol called a special symbol is variably displayed. Based on the read lottery value, the stop display mode of the special symbol is determined.

When the special symbol is stopped and displayed in a specific manner after the fluctuation display for a predetermined time, the gaming state shifts to a special game as a so-called “big hit”.
A special game is composed of a plurality of unit games. The big prize opening formed on the game board is opened at the start of the unit game. The unit game ends when a predetermined period, for example, 30 seconds elapses from the start of the unit game, or when nine or more game balls are won in the big prize opening during the unit game. At this time, the grand prize opening is also temporarily closed. During a unit game, if the game ball passes through a specific area called a V zone provided in the special winning opening, the unit game is continued to the next unit game. At this time, the grand prize opening is opened again. The unit game can be continued up to a predetermined number of times, for example, 15 times. When the game balls fall into the big prize opening, more game balls than usual are paid out as prize balls.
A general player plays a game mainly for the purpose of opening a special winning opening in order to obtain many prize balls, that is, shifting a gaming state to a special game (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  When the game ball enters the start port and the special symbol is displayed in a variably displayed manner, the pachinko gaming machine transmits variation execution information indicating that the variation display has been performed to the hall computer. The hall computer is a device for centrally managing the gaming situation of a plurality of pachinko gaming machines. A pachinko gaming machine with a high occupancy rate and a game ball that is easy to drop into the start-up port has a large number of special symbol variations. The hall computer receives the variable execution information from each pachinko gaming machine, thereby grasping the gaming situation for each pachinko gaming machine.

Among these pachinko gaming machines, there is also a gaming machine having a button for accepting an operation input from a player called a so-called chance button. If the player presses this chance button during the special symbol variation display, the variation display can be forcibly stopped. If the variation time of the special symbol is shortened, the reading of the reserved ball is promoted, so that the opportunity to shift to the special game per unit time increases. Such a chance button is generally popular as a button advantageous to the player.
Hereinafter, a button that forcibly stops the change display of the special symbol, such as the chance button, is referred to as a “forced stop button”.
JP 2003-230714 A

  When the forced stop button is pressed, the variation time of the special symbol is shortened, so that the number of variations of the special symbol per unit time increases. Therefore, there is a possibility that the hall computer may be mistaken for a high availability even if it is actually a pachinko machine with a low availability. In addition, even if the game ball is a pachinko game machine in which it is difficult for the game ball to fall into the start opening, it can be mistaken for the pachinko game machine in which the game ball can easily go into the start opening due to the influence of the forced stop button. There is sex. As described above, it is difficult to accurately manage the gaming state of the pachinko gaming machine provided with the forced stop button only by the number of times the special symbol is changed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems recognized as described above, and its main object is to provide a technique for suitably managing the game situation of a ball game machine.

One embodiment of the present invention is a ball game machine.
This gaming machine is provided at a predetermined position in the game area with a game area formed, a start opening where a game ball can enter, and a lottery is executed when the game ball enters the start opening Lottery means, display control means for variably displaying symbols according to the lottery results, and special game executing means for executing special games advantageous to the player when the symbols are stopped and displayed in a predetermined display mode Stop instruction detection means for detecting a stop instruction input by the player for forcibly stopping the symbol variation display, and when the stop instruction input is detected during the symbol variation display, the display control means is instructed. Stop instruction control means for forcibly stopping symbol variation display, variation execution information transmission means for transmitting variation execution information indicating execution of symbol variation display to an external device, and symbol variation display forcibly stopped Stop information indicating that The comprises a stop information transmitting means for transmitting to the external device.

The “symbol” here may be, for example, a special symbol itself. The transmission timing of the fluctuation execution information may be any of the fluctuation display, such as the timing at which the symbol fluctuation display is started or the timing at which the symbol fluctuation display is ended. Further, the variation execution information may be transmitted as the number of times of variation display per unit time. The stop information may also be transmitted at the timing when the symbol variation display is stopped, but may also be transmitted as the number of stops per unit time.
According to such an aspect, when the symbol variation display is forcibly stopped, stop information indicating that is transmitted to an external device, for example, a hall computer. Therefore, for example, it is also possible to know from the external device how much of the executed variation display is being forcibly stopped. According to such an aspect, even when the player forcibly stops the symbol display, it is easy to accurately grasp the game situation for each ball game machine with the external device.

Another aspect of the present invention is also a ball game machine.
This gaming machine is provided at a predetermined position in the game area with a game area formed, a start opening where a game ball can enter, and a lottery is executed when the game ball enters the start opening Lottery means, display control means for variably displaying symbols according to the lottery results, and special game executing means for executing special games advantageous to the player when the symbols are stopped and displayed in a predetermined display mode Stop instruction detection means for detecting a stop instruction input by the player for forcibly stopping the symbol variation display, and when the stop instruction input is detected during the symbol variation display, the display control means is instructed. Stop instruction control means for forcibly stopping symbol fluctuation display, stop count counting means for counting the number of times the symbol fluctuation display has been forcibly stopped, and stop for symbol fluctuation display count Indicates the percentage of times Comprising a stop information transmitting means for transmitting the stop information to the external device.

  According to such an aspect, it is possible to grasp on the bullet ball game machine side the proportion of the change display that has been forcibly stopped. Further, if the ratio is transmitted to the outside as stop information, it becomes easy to externally understand which bullet ball game machine the symbol change display tends to be forcibly stopped. Therefore, even if the player forcibly stops the change display of the symbols, it becomes easy to accurately grasp the game situation for each ball game machine with the external device.

  The stop information transmitting means may transmit, as stop information, a ratio of the number of stop times with respect to the number of symbol variable display times per unit time to the external device.

  According to such an aspect, it becomes easier to grasp the ease of winning and the game situation per unit time of the ball game machine.

  This gaming machine may further include stop information display means for displaying stop information on the screen.

  According to such an aspect, the player can visually recognize the stop information during the game. For example, in the case of a ball and ball game machine in which the game content changes depending on the ratio of the number of stops to the number of times the symbol is displayed, the player can easily change the game style according to the displayed stop information.

  The stop information display means may display the stop information on the screen when a stop instruction input is detected during a period when the symbol is not variably displayed.

  According to such an aspect, the stop information can be displayed by the forced stop button, so that the stop information can be displayed without complicating the input interface.

  The gaming machine may further include invalidating means for preventing execution of processing for forcibly stopping the symbol variation display by the stop instruction control means.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a gaming machine management system.
This system includes one or more ball game machines, and a game machine management device that is connected to the ball game machines through a communication line and manages the game situation of each ball game machine.
The ball game machine is a lottery with a game board in which a game area is formed, a start position where a game ball can enter and a start position where a game ball can enter, A lottery means to be executed, a display control means for variably displaying symbols according to the lottery result, and a special game execution for executing a special game advantageous to the player when the symbols are stopped and displayed in a predetermined display mode Means, a stop instruction detecting means for detecting a stop instruction input by a player for forcibly stopping the symbol variation display, and an instruction to the display control means when a stop instruction input is detected during the symbol variation display. The stop instruction control means for forcibly stopping the symbol variation display, the variation execution information transmitting means for transmitting the variation execution information indicating the execution of the symbol variation display to the gaming machine management device, and the symbol variation display are forced. Indicating that it was suspended Comprising a stop information transmitting means for transmitting the stop information to the gaming machine management device.
On the other hand, the gaming machine management device has a variable execution information receiving means for receiving variable execution information from a ball game machine, a stop information receiving means for receiving stop information from a ball game machine, and a variable execution information and the number of stops. Gaming machine information holding means for holding as machine information.

  According to such an aspect, even if the player can forcibly stop the symbol display, the gaming machine management device can more accurately grasp the gaming state of each ball game machine.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect in managing the game situation of a ball game machine.

FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram for managing pachinko gaming machines in a game store.
A plurality of pachinko gaming machines 10 are installed in the game store 250. The intermediate management device 210 receives management information from the plurality of pachinko gaming machines 10 and transmits it to the gaming machine management device 300. The management information is information relating to the game situation transmitted from the pachinko gaming machine 10 to the intermediate management device 210, such as variable execution information and stop information. The gaming machine management device 300 receives management information from the plurality of intermediate management devices 210. In this way, the management information transmitted from each pachinko gaming machine 10 is finally accumulated in the gaming machine management device 300. Based on this management information, the gaming machine management device 300 manages the gaming status of each pachinko gaming machine 10.
The pachinko gaming machine 10 and the gaming machine management device 300 may be connected without the intermediate management device 210, or the pachinko gaming machine 10 and the gaming machine management device 300 may be connected via the multi-stage intermediate management device 210. It may be connected. The hardware configuration may be optimally designed according to the number of pachinko gaming machines 10 and the processing performance of the gaming machine management device 300.

FIG. 2 shows a basic structure on the front side of the pachinko gaming machine.
The pachinko gaming machine 10 is mainly composed of a gaming machine frame and a gaming board surface. The gaming machine frame of the pachinko gaming machine 10 includes an outer frame 11, a front frame 12, a transparent plate 13, a door 14, an upper ball dish 15, a lower ball dish 16, a launch handle 17, a speaker 18, and a forced stop button 82.

  The outer frame 11 has an opening and is a frame for fixing the pachinko gaming machine 10 to a position where it should be installed. The front frame 12 is a frame body that aligns with the opening portion of the outer frame 11, and is attached to the outer frame 11 so as to be opened and closed by a hinge mechanism (not shown). The front frame 12 includes a mechanism for launching a game ball, a mechanism for detachably storing a game board, a mechanism for guiding or collecting the game ball, and the like. The transparent plate 13 is a plate made of glass or the like and capable of seeing through the game area 52 of the game board 50. The door 14 supports the transparent plate 13. The door 14 is attached to the front frame 12 so as to be openable and closable by a hinge mechanism (not shown).

  The upper ball tray 15 has a mechanism for storing game balls, sending out the game balls to the launch rail, and extracting the game balls to the lower ball tray 16. The lower ball tray 16 has a mechanism for storing and extracting game balls. A speaker 18 is provided between the upper ball tray 15 and the lower ball tray 16 to reproduce sound effects according to the gaming state. The forcible stop button 82 is a button for forcibly stopping the symbol variation display.

  The game board 50 has an out port 58, a symbol display device 60, a start winning port (hereinafter referred to as “start port”) 62, a center decoration 64, a large size on a game area 52 defined by the outer rail 54 and the inner rail 56. It includes a winning opening 66 and a general winning opening 72. Further, in the game area 52, a plurality of mechanisms such as a game nail and a windmill (not shown) are installed.

  The starting port 62 includes an incoming ball detecting device 74 for detecting the entrance of a game ball and an ordinary electric accessory solenoid 76 for expanding the starting port. The start port 62 is provided at a predetermined position in the game area 52. The starting port 62 is usually formed of an electric accessory, and its inlet can be expanded. When the ordinary electric accessory is in the expanded state, the game ball easily falls into the start port 62. Hereinafter, the state in which the ordinary electric accessory is expanded and the game ball easily falls into the start port 62 with respect to the start port 62 is referred to as an “open state”.

  The big prize opening 66 includes a ball entry detecting device 78 for detecting the entry of game balls and a big prize opening solenoid 80 for expanding the big prize opening 66. The grand prize winning port 66 is provided above the out port 58. The inside of the special winning opening 66 is divided into a specific area (so-called V zone) and a general area. The ball entry detection device 78 of the grand prize winning opening 66 is configured to include a sensor that detects passage of a game ball through a specific area and a sensor that detects passage of a general area.

When the player rotates the launch handle 17 by hand, the game balls stored in the upper ball tray 15 are guided one by one to the inner rail 56 and the outer rail 54 with a strength corresponding to the rotation angle, thereby playing the game area. To 52. When the player fixes the rotation position of the firing handle 17 by hand, the game ball is repeatedly fired at regular time intervals. The game ball launched to the upper part of the game area 52 falls in a direction according to the way of hitting while hitting a plurality of game nails and windmills. When a game ball is dropped into each of the general winning opening 72, the start opening 62, and the big winning opening 66, a winning ball corresponding to the type of the winning opening is paid out to the upper ball tray 15 and the lower ball tray 16. The game balls that are paid out as prize balls will be hit later, and the more prize balls are acquired, the more profitable the player.
A game ball dropped into each winning hole such as the general winning hole 72 is processed as a safe ball, and a game ball dropped into the out hole 58 is processed as an out ball. Each winning opening includes a gate type through which a game ball passes, and in this application, “falling” includes “passing”.

The symbol display device 60 provided substantially at the center of the game board 50 displays the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200 linked to the special symbol 202 on the screen while fluctuating (hereinafter, such display is referred to as “symbol variation” or "Variable display" etc.). The variation start point and the variation end point of the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200 coincide. That is, the decorative symbol 200 is displayed in a variable manner according to the variation time of the special symbol 202.
Here, the special symbol 202 is a symbol corresponding to the result of a lottery (hereinafter referred to as “special symbol lottery”) that is triggered by the entry of a game ball into the start port 62, and whether or not a big hit is generated. Have a role to show. When the game ball falls into the start port 62, the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200 are variably displayed on the symbol display device 60, but the variability display is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed. The decorative symbol 200 is a symbol for visually producing the result of the special symbol lottery.
In the present embodiment, the symbol display device 60 displays a plurality of rows of symbol variation moving images simulating a slot machine game as a decorative symbol 200 in the central area of the screen. The symbol display device 60 is configured by a liquid crystal display in this embodiment, but may be another display device such as a mechanical drum or LED.

  When the special symbol 202 at the time of the stop is a symbol indicating a big hit, the opening / closing operation of the big winning opening 66 is started, and the game shifts to a special game. At this time, the decorative symbol 200 simulating a game of a slot machine takes a display mode in which three symbols are matched. It should be noted that the effect by the decorative symbol 200 is not limited to the effect mode imitating such a slot machine, and the display mode showing the result of the special symbol lottery while changing the display mode in accordance with the special symbol 202 variation display. Any moving image effect that leads to is acceptable.

  The big winning opening 66 is temporarily closed after being opened for about 30 seconds or after nine or more game balls are dropped. If at least one game ball falls into a specific area while the big prize opening 66 is open, the big prize opening 66 is opened again. In this way, the opening / closing of the big prize opening 66 is repeated a predetermined number of times, for example, 15 times, on condition that at least one game ball falls into the specific area while the big prize opening 66 is opened once.

  A center ornament 64 is provided around the symbol display device 60. The center decoration 64 has functions such as a flow path of the game ball, protection of the symbol display device 60, and decoration. In addition, a game effect lamp 90 is provided in the game area 52 and plays a role of production by blinking or the like.

  When a game ball passes through the operating port 68, a symbol called a normal symbol 204 is displayed in a variable manner for a predetermined time. The normal symbol 204 is variably displayed at the lower right corner of the symbol display device 60. When the fluctuation display of the normal symbol 204 is stopped after the lapse of a predetermined time, the start port 62 is normally expanded for a predetermined time with a probability of about 50% to 80%. Therefore, it becomes easy for the game ball to drop into the start port 62 temporarily.

FIG. 3 shows a basic structure on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine.
The power switch 40 is a switch for turning on / off the power of the pachinko gaming machine 10. The main board 41 controls the overall operation of the pachinko gaming machine 10 and processes all game operations such as special symbol lottery when winning the start port 62 in particular. The sub board 49 includes a liquid crystal unit 42, controls display contents on the symbol display device 60, and changes display contents according to a lottery result by the main board 41 in particular. The main board 41 and the sub board 49 constitute a game control device 100.
The set base 39 includes a prize ball tank 44, a flow path for prize balls, a payout unit 43 for delivering prize balls. The payout unit 43 pays out the game balls supplied from the winning ball tank 44 to the upper ball tray 15 in accordance with winning in each winning opening. The payout control board 45 controls the payout operation by the payout unit 43. The launching device 46 launches the stored balls in the upper ball tray 15 to the game area 52 one by one. The launch control board 47 controls the launch operation of the launch device 46. The power supply unit 48 supplies power to each part of the pachinko gaming machine 10.

FIG. 4 is a basic functional block diagram focusing on a configuration for controlling a game in a pachinko gaming machine.
In the figure, the role of each functional block of the pachinko gaming machine 10 will be described, and the interaction of these functional blocks will be described in the flowcharts shown in FIG. This figure shows the functions to be performed by the pachinko gaming machine 10 in this embodiment in a modular form.

The start port 62, the big prize winning port 66, the symbol display device 60, the game effect lamp 90, the forced stop button 82 and the game control device 100 are electrically connected.
The game control device 100 can be realized by hardware such as a ROM for storing data and programs, a CPU and a RAM used for arithmetic processing and control processing, and in terms of software, an image processing function, a control function, and a random number generation function In this figure, functional blocks realized by their cooperation are drawn. Therefore, these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software. The same applies to the gaming machine management apparatus 300 shown in FIG.

The game control device 100 includes a ball entering determination means 110, a special symbol lottery means 112, a symbol determination means 120, a stop control means 126, a display control means 138, a special game control means 140, an opening / closing control means 142, a management information communication means 144, and Invalidating means 150 is provided.
The entry determination means 110 acquires information indicating that a game ball has dropped from the entry detection device 78 of the big winning opening 66, the entry detection device 74 of the start opening 62, and the like, and determines the presence or absence of a prize. The special symbol lottery means 112 executes a special symbol lottery. The symbol determination means 120 determines a symbol variation stop symbol and a display pattern for both the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200. The stop control means 126 executes a forced stop process for forcibly stopping the fluctuation display of the special symbol 202 based on a stop instruction input by pressing the forced stop button 82. The display control means 138 controls the display of symbols such as the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200, and electric decorations. The special game control means 140 determines whether or not to shift from the normal game to the special game and controls the execution of the special game.

The opening / closing control means 142 controls the opening / closing of the start port 62 and the big prize winning port 66. The management information communication means 144 transmits management information indicating the gaming status of the pachinko gaming machine 10 to the gaming machine management device 300 via the intermediate management device 210.
The invalidating means 150 prevents the forced stop process from being executed. The invalidating means 150 holds a valid flag, and when the valid flag is off, the stop control means 126 does not execute the forced stop process. In the following description, it is assumed that this valid flag is turned on unless otherwise specified.

The special symbol lottery means 112 includes a special figure random number obtaining means 114, a special figure random number holding means 116 and a success / failure judging means 118.
When the game ball drops into the start port 62, the ball detection device 74 detects it and generates start winning information indicating the drop. When receiving the start winning information, the winning determination means 110 determines that the game ball has won the start opening 62. At the timing when the winning determination means 110 receives the start winning information, the special figure random number acquisition means 114 acquires a random number for the start winning (hereinafter referred to as “special figure random number”). The special figure random number is acquired in the range of “0 to 65535”. The special figure random number acquisition unit 114 may mathematically generate and acquire a special figure random number, or may acquire a count value generated by a counter (not shown) as a special figure random number.

When the special figure random number is acquired, 1 is added as the number of reserved balls, and the special figure random number holding means 116 temporarily stores this special figure random number as a reserved ball. The success / failure determination unit 118 appropriately reads the special figure random number temporarily stored by the special figure random number holding unit 116 and executes a special symbol lottery based on the special figure random number. The validity determination means 118 stores a validity determination table for determining whether the special figure random number is correct. A numerical value range that should be a hit is defined as “0 to 250”, for example, in this success / failure determination table. The success / failure determination means 118 determines whether or not the special symbol lottery is successful or not based on whether or not the read special figure random number is within a numerical range to be hit.
When the special symbol lottery wins, the special game control means 140 shifts the gaming state to the special game after the symbol changes.

The symbol determination unit 120 includes a pattern storage unit 122 and a pattern selection unit 124.
The pattern storage unit 122 stores display pattern data indicating the variation display process of the decorative symbol 200 and the special symbol 202, respectively. In order to uniquely identify each display pattern, an ID (hereinafter referred to as “pattern ID”) is assigned to each display pattern. The display time of the special symbol 202 specified by a certain pattern ID and the display pattern of the decorative symbol 200 specified by the pattern ID match. For example, it is assumed that the variation time due to the display pattern of the special symbol 202 specified by the pattern ID “05” is 60 seconds. At this time, the variation time by the display pattern of the decorative design 200 specified by the pattern ID “05” is also set as 60 seconds. As described above, a temporal correspondence relationship is established between the display pattern of the special symbol 202 specified by the same pattern ID and the display pattern of the decorative symbol 200 for the variation time of each symbol.

The pattern selection means 124 stores a pattern table in which special figure random numbers are associated with pattern IDs. The pattern selection means 124 selects a pattern ID by referring to this pattern table for the special figure random number that is the target of the special symbol lottery. As a result, the display patterns of the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200 corresponding to the pattern ID are selected. The display control means 138 variably displays the decorative symbol 200 and the special symbol 202 in accordance with the display patterns of the selected decorative symbol 200 and the special symbol 202, respectively.
Since the variation times of the symbols depending on the display patterns of the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200 corresponding to the same pattern ID are the same, the variation display of the decorative symbol 200 and the special symbol 202 is temporally linked.
Note that the symbol determining unit 120 counts the number of times of variation display when the pattern selecting unit 124 selects a display pattern and symbol variation is executed.

The stop control means 126 includes a stop instruction detection means 128, a stop determination means 130, a stop instruction means 132, a stop count counting means 134, and a stop information display means 136.
The stop instruction detection means 128 detects this when a stop instruction is input by the player using the forced stop button 82 (hereinafter, such detection is referred to as “stop instruction detection”). When the stop instruction is detected, the stop determination unit 130 determines whether or not a stop condition that determines whether or not to execute the forced stop process is satisfied. In the present embodiment, the special condition random number is in the range of 300 to 10000, and the stop condition is satisfied when 10 seconds or more have elapsed since the start of the variable symbol display of the special symbol 202. In addition to this, various gaming states may be used as the stop condition, and the stop determination unit 130 may determine whether the stop condition is successful or not by lottery.
When the stop condition is satisfied, the stop instruction unit 132 instructs the display control unit 138 to forcibly stop the fluctuation display of the special symbol 202. At this time, the symbol indicating the result of the special symbol lottery is stopped and displayed. In addition, the decorative symbol 200 is also stopped and displayed when the variation display of the special symbol 202 is stopped.

The stop count counting means 134 counts the stop count that is the number of executions of the forced stop process. The stop number counting means 134 counts the number of stops per unit time, for example, in the past one hour. The stop information display unit 136 displays stop information. The stop information may be the number of stops, or information indicating the ratio of the number of times the forced stop process has been executed out of the number of times the special symbol 202 is displayed (hereinafter referred to as “forced stop rate”). Also good. The forced stop rate is obtained by dividing the number of stops per unit time by the number of times of variable execution.
Note that the forced stop rate may be defined as a ratio between the number of stops and the number of variable displays that are terminated without the forced stop process, or may be defined as the number of stops per predetermined variable display number.

The management information communication unit 144 includes a change execution information transmission unit 146 and a stop information transmission unit 148.
The variation execution information transmitting unit 146 transmits variation execution information indicating that the variation display of the special symbol 202 has been performed to the gaming machine management apparatus 300. At this time, an ID for identifying the pachinko gaming machine 10 (hereinafter referred to as “gaming machine ID”) is also transmitted. The stop information transmission unit 148 transmits stop information indicating that the forced stop process has been executed to the gaming machine management device 300. At this time, the gaming machine ID is also transmitted. The management information includes this variable execution information and stop information.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the gaming machine management device.
The gaming machine management device 300 includes management information acquisition means 310, gaming machine information update means 316, and gaming machine information storage means 318.
The gaming machine management device 300 receives management information of each pachinko gaming machine 10 from the intermediate management device 210. The management information acquisition unit 310 includes a change execution information reception unit 312 and a stop information reception unit 314. The variation execution information receiving unit 312 receives the variation execution information, and the stop information receiving unit 314 receives the stop information. The gaming machine information storage means 318 collectively holds management information for each pachinko gaming machine 10. The gaming machine information update unit 316 updates the contents of the management information in the gaming machine information storage unit 318 each time management information is acquired from the pachinko gaming machine 10. Hereinafter, the information indicating the gaming situation of each pachinko gaming machine 10 stored in the gaming machine information storage means 318 is referred to as “gaming machine information”.

FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram of gaming machine information storage means in the gaming machine management device.
The gaming machine information storage means 318 stores gaming machine information indicating the gaming status of each pachinko gaming machine 10. The intermediate management apparatus 210 is assigned an ID (hereinafter referred to as “management ID”) for identifying each. Each pachinko gaming machine 10 is also assigned a gaming machine ID for identifying each. The management ID column 320 shows a management ID, and the gaming machine ID column 322 shows a gaming machine ID.

  The variable display number column 324 indicates the number of variable displays of the special symbol 202 per unit time (hereinafter referred to as “monitoring time”). The variation execution information transmitting means 146 of each pachinko gaming machine 10 transmits the variation execution information to the intermediate management device 210 together with the gaming machine ID every time the variation display of the special symbol 202 is executed. The intermediate management device 210 further adds its own management ID to the variation execution information and transmits it to the gaming machine management device 300. The gaming machine information update unit 316 updates the number of times of change display during the monitoring time when the change execution information is received or as time elapses. The monitoring time is set, for example, from the current time to the past one hour.

The stop count column 326 indicates the stop count per monitoring time. The stop information transmission means 148 of the pachinko gaming machine 10 transmits stop information indicating that the forced stop process has been executed together with the gaming machine ID to the intermediate management device 210 each time the forced stop process is executed. The intermediate management device 210 adds its own management ID to the stop information and transmits it to the gaming machine management device 300. The gaming machine information update unit 316 updates the number of stops during the monitoring time when stop information is received or as time elapses.
In the figure, for example, the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “01” managed by the intermediate management device 210 with the management ID “01” is displayed 400 times of fluctuation display during the monitoring time. Forced stop processing is being executed.

  The stop rate column 328 shows a forced stop rate. For example, in the case of the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “01”, the fluctuation display is executed 400 times during the monitoring time, and the forced stop process is executed 212 times in response thereto. Therefore, the forced stop rate is 0.53 of 212/400. On the other hand, the forced stop rate of the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “02” is 0.70 of 316 ÷ 450. Therefore, it can be said that the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “02” is more actively executing the stop instruction input by the player than the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “01”.

  The pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “02” is 50 times more frequently than the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “01” during the monitoring time. Therefore, the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “02” is easier to drop the game ball into the start port 62 than the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “01”, that is, a gaming machine with high winning ease. It is thought that. On the other hand, the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “02” has a higher forced stop rate than the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the gaming machine ID “01”, so it can be said that the number of times of variable display is increased. For this reason, it is not possible to simply compare the ease of winning of the pachinko gaming machine 10 with the number of times of the variable display shown in the variable display frequency column 324.

The easy-to-win coefficient column 330 shows an easy-to-win coefficient defined as an index indicating the ease of winning of each pachinko gaming machine 10. In this example,
Easy-to-win factor = number of variable displays not forcibly stopped + number of variable displays forcibly stopped x 0.3
Calculate as Here, it is assumed that the ratio of the average variation time of the symbol variation that has not been forcibly stopped and the average variation time when the forcible stop processing is 10: 3 is to calculate the easy winning coefficient. Yes. The actual ratio may be statistically determined by design information regarding the variation time of the pachinko gaming machine 10 or a trial shooting experiment. In other words, the easy-to-win coefficient here may be a coefficient that is calculated as an index of ease of winning of the pachinko gaming machine 10 by adding the forced stop rate to the number of symbol fluctuations.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a basic process in the pachinko gaming machine.
Based on whether or not the game ball has entered the start port 62, start winning determination processing is executed by the ball determination means 110 or the like (S10). When the game ball has entered the start port 62, the symbol variation start determination process is executed by the symbol determining means 120 or the like (S14). A stop determination process is executed by the stop control means 126 or the like (S14), and finally a special game transition determination process is executed by the special game control means 140 or the like (S16). A series of these flows is a loop process, and is repeatedly executed during the game.
The specific contents of each process of S10 to S16 will be described in detail in relation to the following FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing in detail the start winning determination process in S10 of FIG.
The entrance determination means 110 determines whether or not start winning information is acquired from the entrance detection device 74 at the start port 62 (S20). If the winning determination means 110 has not acquired the starting winning information (N in S20), the starting winning determination process in S10 is terminated. If it has been acquired (Y in S20), the payout unit 43 pays out a winning ball corresponding to the winning (S22). For example, the number of prize balls is set to 4.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the number of reserved balls stored in the special symbol lottery means 112 has reached the upper limit (S24). If there are already four holding balls (N in S24), the start winning determination process in S10 ends. If the upper limit has not been reached (Y in S24), the special symbol lottery means 112 acquires a special figure random number (S26). At this time, the special figure random number holding means 116 stores the acquired special figure random number as a holding ball. 1 is added as the number of reserved balls (S28).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing in detail the symbol variation start determination process in S12 of FIG.
The symbol determination means 120 determines whether there is a reserved ball (S30). If there is no reserved ball (N in S30), the symbol variation start determination process in S12 ends. If there is a holding ball (Y in S30), the symbol determining means 120 determines whether or not the symbol variation display can be started (S32). When the special game is being executed or when the special symbol 202 is already being displayed in a variable manner, the variable display of the symbol is not started until the processing is completed. When a special game flag, which will be described later, is turned on, it is determined that the special game is being executed, and the symbol variation display is not started. If the symbol variation display cannot be started (N in S32), the symbol variation start determination process in S12 ends. If it is possible to start displaying the symbols in a variable manner (Y in S32), the special symbol lottery means 112 takes out the special symbol random number held as the reserved ball from the special symbol random number obtaining unit 114. 1 is subtracted as the number of reserved balls (S34).

  The success / failure determination means 118 determines the success / failure of the extracted special figure random number with reference to the determination table (S36). That is, if the extracted special figure random number is equivalent to a numerical value that should be a hit in the success / failure determination table, it is determined that the special symbol lottery is won, that is, “big hit”. If it is a big hit (Y in S38), the special game control means 140 turns on a special game flag for indicating the start of the special game (S40). If it is off (N in S38), S40 is skipped.

The pattern selection means 124 selects the pattern ID associated with the special figure random number (S42). The special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200 are variably displayed in the display pattern corresponding to the pattern ID. The symbol determination means 120 updates the fluctuation number counter indicating the number of fluctuation displays during the monitoring time (S44). The variation execution information transmitting means 146 transmits the variation execution information indicating that the variation display is started together with the gaming machine ID to the gaming machine management device 300 (S46). At this time, the gaming machine information update unit 316 of the gaming machine management device 300 updates the corresponding data in the gaming machine information in the gaming machine information storage unit 318. Specifically, there are a variable display count column 324, a stop rate column 328, and an easy winning coefficient column 330.
The display control means 138 starts the variable display of the special symbol 202 and the decorative symbol 200 with the display pattern selected in S42 (S48).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing in detail the stop determination process in S14 of FIG.
If the stop instruction detecting unit 128 detects a stop instruction input during symbol variation (Y in S50) (Y in S52), the stop determining unit 130 determines whether or not the stop condition is satisfied (S54).

When the stop condition is not satisfied (N in S54), the process skips to S64. The processing content of S64 will be described later. When the stop condition is satisfied (Y in S54), the stop instructing unit 132 instructs the display control unit 138 to stop the symbol variation display (S56). At this time, the display control means 138 stops the variable display and stops the symbol indicating the result of the special symbol lottery in S36. The stop number counting means 134 updates a stop number counter indicating the number of stops during the monitoring time (S58). The stop information transmitting means 148 transmits stop information indicating that the forced stop process has been executed to the gaming machine management device 300 (S60). At this time, the gaming machine information update unit 316 of the gaming machine management device 300 updates the corresponding data in the gaming machine information in the gaming machine information storage unit 318. Specifically, there are a stop count column 326, a stop rate column 328, and an easy winning coefficient column 330.
In addition, the symbol determination means 120 and the stop count counter 134 periodically update the variation count counter and the stop count counter as time passes. Thereby, the fluctuation display count and the stop count during the monitoring time are correctly held.

  On the other hand, when the symbol change display is not being performed in S50 (N in S50), if a stop instruction input is detected (Y in S62), the stop information display means 136 uses the value of the stop number counter as stop information to display the symbol display device. 60 (S64). When the stop instruction input is not detected (N in S52, N in S62), the stop determination process in S14 ends.

  According to such an aspect, the variation execution information transmitting unit 146 transmits the variation execution information to the gaming machine management apparatus 300 every time the symbol variation display is started. Further, the stop information transmission unit 148 transmits stop information indicating that to the gaming machine management device 300 every time the forced stop process is executed. In this way, the gaming machine information storage means 318 of the gaming machine management device 300 holds gaming machine information as data that reflects the gaming situation of each pachinko gaming machine 10 in real time.

  As another example, the stop count counting means 134 of the pachinko gaming machine 10 may calculate a forced stop rate instead of the stop count. Specifically, in S58, the forced stop rate is obtained by dividing the value of the stop number counter by the value of the fluctuation number counter. In this case, in step S60, the stop information transmitting unit 148 may transmit the forced stop rate as stop information instead of the number of stops. In this case, in S64, the stop information display unit 136 may display a forced stop rate as stop information. Alternatively, the variable display count for which the forced stop process is not performed and the variable display count for which the forced stop process is performed may be displayed side by side as stop information.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing in detail the special game transition determination process in S16 of FIG.
First, if the symbol variation display has not ended (N in S70), the special game execution determination process in S16 ends. This is because the special game is a game that is executed after the end of the change of symbols. If the variable display has ended (Y in S70) and the special game flag is turned on (Y in S72), the special game execution process is started (S74). On the other hand, if the special game flag is not turned on (N in S72), the special game execution determination process in S16 ends. The special game control means 140 executes a special game composed of a plurality of unit games in S74. If the special game end condition is not satisfied (N in S76), the special game transition determination process in S12 ends. Next, when the main loop of FIG. 7 is executed, as a result, the processing subsequent to the special game is executed. If the special game end condition is satisfied (Y in S76), the special game control means 140 turns off the special game flag (S78).

  As described above, according to the pachinko gaming machine 10 shown in the present embodiment, it becomes easy to accurately manage the gaming situation even in the pachinko gaming machine 10 of the type in which the forced stop process is executed. In addition, in the pachinko gaming machine 10 with a high forced stop rate, it is considered that the player is getting bored with the production by the decorative symbol 200. Therefore, it becomes easy for the game store 250 to determine the replacement time of the pachinko gaming machine 10 according to the forced stop rate. In addition, when the forced stop button 82 is pressed, whether the forced stop process is executed or the stop information is displayed is switched, so that the user interface can be simplified.

  In addition, the function of the lottery means described in the claims is realized by the special symbol lottery means 112 in this embodiment. The function of the stop instruction control means described in the claims is realized by the stop instruction means 132 in this embodiment. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions to be fulfilled by the constituent elements described in the claims are realized by a single function block or a combination of the functional blocks shown in the present embodiment.

  In the above, this invention was demonstrated based on the Example. This embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. is there.

  The stop information may be information indicating the timing when the forced stop process is executed, or may be information indicating the number of stops per unit time and the forced stop rate. In addition, the pachinko gaming machine 10 may not transmit stop information and variation execution information as appropriate, but may transmit data for one day after the game store 250 is closed. Further, the variable execution information and the stop information may be transmitted together at the same timing.

It is a hardware block diagram for managing the pachinko gaming machine in the amusement store. It is a figure which shows the basic structure in the front side of a pachinko game machine. It is a figure which shows the basic structure in the back side of a pachinko game machine. It is a basic functional block diagram centering on the structure which controls the game in a pachinko gaming machine. It is a functional block diagram of a gaming machine management device. It is a data structure figure of the gaming machine information storage means in the gaming machine management device. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process in a pachinko game machine. It is a flowchart which shows the start winning determination process in S10 of FIG. 7 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows in detail the symbol variation start determination process in S12 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the stop determination process in S14 of FIG. 7 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the special game transfer determination process in S16 of FIG. 7 in detail.

Explanation of symbols

  10 Pachinko machines, 41 Main board, 49 Sub board, 50 Game board, 52 Game area, 60 Symbol display device, 62 Start port, 66 Big winning port, 82 Forced stop button, 110 Entry judgment means, 112 Special symbol lottery Means, 114 Special figure random number acquisition means, 116 Special figure random number retention means, 118 Acceptance determination means, 120 Symbol determination means, 122 Pattern storage means, 124 Pattern selection means, 126 Stop control means, 128 Stop instruction detection means, 130 Stop determination Means, 132 stop instruction means, 134 stop count counting means, 136 stop information display means, 138 display control means, 140 special game control means, 142 open / close control means, 144 management information communication means, 146 variable execution information transmission means, 148 stop Information transmission means 150 invalidation means, 200 decoration symbol, 202 special symbol, 204 normal symbol, 210 intermediate management device, 250 game shop, 300 gaming machine management device, 310 management information acquisition means, 312 variation execution information reception means, 314 stop information reception means 316 gaming machine information update means, 318 gaming machine information storage means.

Claims (7)

A game board in which a game area is formed;
A starting opening provided at a predetermined position in the gaming area and allowing a game ball to enter;
Lottery means for performing a lottery triggered by a game ball entering the start opening;
Display control means for variably displaying symbols according to the result of the lottery,
Special game execution means for executing a special game advantageous to the player when the symbol is stopped and displayed in a predetermined display mode;
A stop instruction detecting means for detecting a stop instruction input by a player for forcibly stopping the variation display of the symbol;
A stop instruction control means for instructing the display control means to forcibly stop the fluctuation display of the symbol when the stop instruction input is detected during the fluctuation display of the symbol;
Fluctuation execution information transmitting means for transmitting fluctuation execution information indicating execution of the variation display of the symbol to an external device;
Stop information transmitting means for transmitting to the external device stop information indicating that the symbol variation display is forcibly stopped;
A ball game machine characterized by comprising: A game board in which a game area is formed;
A starting opening provided at a predetermined position in the gaming area and allowing a game ball to enter;
Lottery means for performing a lottery triggered by a game ball entering the start opening;
Display control means for variably displaying symbols according to the result of the lottery,
Special game execution means for executing a special game advantageous to the player when the symbol is stopped and displayed in a predetermined display mode;
A stop instruction detecting means for detecting a stop instruction input by a player for forcibly stopping the variation display of the symbol;
A stop instruction control means for instructing the display control means to forcibly stop the fluctuation display of the symbol when the stop instruction input is detected during the fluctuation display of the symbol;
Stop number counting means for counting the number of stops, which is the number of times that the variation display of the symbol is forcibly stopped;
Stop information transmitting means for transmitting stop information indicating the ratio of the number of stops to the number of times of display of the symbol to the external device;
A ball game machine characterized by comprising:   3. The ball game machine according to claim 2, wherein the stop information transmitting unit transmits a ratio of the number of times of stop to the number of variable display times of the symbol per unit time as the stop information to the external device.   The ball game machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising stop information display means for displaying the stop information on a screen.   5. The ball game machine according to claim 4, wherein the stop information display means displays the stop information on a screen when the stop instruction input is detected during a period in which the symbol is not variably displayed.   6. The bullet ball game machine according to claim 1, further comprising invalidating means for preventing execution of processing for forcibly stopping the symbol variation display by the stop instruction control means. One or more ball game machines,
A game machine management device connected to the ball game machine by a communication line for managing the game situation of each ball game machine,
The ball game machine
A game board in which a game area is formed;
A starting opening provided at a predetermined position in the gaming area and allowing a game ball to enter;
Lottery means for performing a lottery triggered by a game ball entering the start opening;
Display control means for variably displaying symbols according to the result of the lottery,
Special game execution means for executing a special game advantageous to the player when the symbol is stopped and displayed in a predetermined display mode;
A stop instruction detecting means for detecting a stop instruction input by a player for forcibly stopping the variation display of the symbol;
A stop instruction control means for instructing the display control means to forcibly stop the fluctuation display of the symbol when the stop instruction input is detected during the fluctuation display of the symbol;
Fluctuation execution information transmitting means for transmitting fluctuation execution information indicating execution of the symbol variation display to the gaming machine management device;
Stop information transmitting means for transmitting stop information indicating that the symbol variation display is forcibly stopped to the gaming machine management device,
The gaming machine management device
Variation execution information receiving means for receiving the variation execution information from the ball game machine;
Stop information receiving means for receiving the stop information from the ball game machine;
Gaming machine information holding means for holding the variable execution information and the number of stops as gaming machine information;
A gaming machine management system comprising:

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