JP2010213864A - Pinball game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pinball game machine providing a player with new amusement in step-up noticing performance. <P>SOLUTION: The pinball game machine 10 includes a performance determination means 132. In order to vary an expectation degree suggested to a player in the step-up noticing performance while the performance is developed, the performance determination means 132 determines the performance content of the step-up noticing performance so that among a plurality of motifs obtained by grouping the differences of the expectation degree suggested by each motif using the difference in appearance, a motif belonging to a first group suggesting a first expectation degree in appearance is displayed and thereafter at a stage other than the first stage a motif belonging to a second group suggesting a second expectation degree different from the first expectation degree is displayed while the display of the motif at the first stage is maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball game machine such as a pachinko game machine, and more particularly to a technique for controlling screen display contents in a ball game machine.

  Conventionally, among the various ball game machines, a so-called first type pachinko game machine is used while changing a plurality of symbols in a display area such as a liquid crystal display provided substantially at the center of the game board. Display (hereinafter, such display is referred to as “symbol change” or “change display”). This gaming machine shifts to a special game called so-called jackpot where more prize balls can be obtained than a normal game when a combination of symbols when a plurality of rows of symbol variations are stopped becomes a specific mode. It is known as a thing (for example, refer patent document 1). The variable display of symbols in the display area is not only a variable display of multiple symbols, but the time of variable display is usually reduced in a state where it is a big hit if one more symbols are aligned, as in the so-called reach screen. For example, an effect is made to increase the player's expectation, such as making it longer. In addition, the player's expectation can be enhanced by controlling the specific game such as the probability variation that changes the probability of transition to special games by giving the story to the variation display using characters on the images such as symbols Yes.

JP 2003-230714 A

  In a ball game machine, in order to enhance the interest of a player during symbol changes, a notice effect that suggests in advance the degree of expectation that the symbol changes will stop in a big hit mode may be executed. As one aspect of this notice effect, there is a step-up notice effect in which the display process of the notice effect is divided into a plurality of stages and the number of stages to be displayed is variable.

  The previous step-up notice effect has shown that the greater the number of stages of the displayed notice effect, the higher the expectation of the jackpot. Therefore, what is important for the player is not the contents of the stage-up notice effect at each stage, but to what stage the step-up notice effect has progressed. Therefore, the present inventor considered that the motif displayed at each stage of the step-up notice effect could not be utilized to enhance the interest of the step-up notice effect.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a player with a new interest in step-up notice effect of a ball game machine.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a ball game machine according to an aspect of the present invention is provided with a game board on which a game area is formed, and a predetermined position in the game area. A winning lottery means for executing a winning lottery for determining whether or not to shift to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than a normal game, triggered by entering the starting prize port, An effect display device in which a symbol for showing the result of the winning / failing lottery is displayed variably, a special game control means for executing a special game when the winning / losing lottery results in a transition to a special game, The result of whether or not the lottery results in whether or not to display a step-up notice effect that progresses the production over multiple stages as a notice effect that suggests the high degree of expectation that the lottery will win will be displayed while the symbols are changing. And decide according to In addition, effect determining means for determining the effect content of the step-up notice effect so that a motif suggesting a predetermined degree of expectation is displayed in each of a plurality of stages, and the design display device is variably displayed and the effect content is followed. Effect display control means for displaying the step-up notice effect on the effect display device. In order to change the degree of expectation suggested to the player during the step-up notice effect, during the progress of the production, the effect determination means has a plurality of motifs in which the difference in the expectation level suggested by each is grouped using the difference in appearance The motif belonging to the first group that suggests the first degree of expectation in appearance is displayed at one stage of the step-up notice effect, and then the first display is performed while maintaining the display of the motif at the one stage. The effect content of the step-up notice effect is determined so that the motif belonging to the second group that suggests a second expectation degree different from the expectation degree is displayed at another stage.

  The “motif” means an object displayed on the effect display device and visually recognized by the player, and may be, for example, a character image, animation, or video. Moreover, even if it is the same character, the thing from which the display mode differs may be set as a respectively different motif. Each of the plurality of “groups” is a collection of motifs that suggest a predetermined degree of expectation in appearance. Each group is typically composed of one or more motifs that remind players of the same quality images of enemies and allies. Each group's motif suggests different expectations for players due to differences in appearance characteristics, such as differences in characters displayed, background color of display area, background pattern, frame color, frame size, etc. May be.

  According to this aspect, the player can identify the group to which the motif belongs based on the appearance of the motif displayed at each stage of the step-up notice effect, and can recognize the degree of expectation according to the group. Therefore, the expectation suggested to the player also changes as the motifs of different groups are displayed during the progress of the step-up notice effect. Thereby, the player pays attention to the motif displayed at each stage of the step-up notice effect, and can provide the player with a new interest in the step-up notice effect.

  Even if the step-up notice effect stage advances, the motif displayed in the previous stage is continuously displayed without being hidden. Therefore, the change of the group accompanying the progress of the step-up notice effect, in other words, the expectation change can be easily confirmed by the player, and a new interest in the step-up notice effect can be provided to the player.

  The effect determining means displays the motif belonging to the first group at one stage of the step-up notice effect, and then displays the motif belonging to the second group at another stage of the step-up notice effect. The contents of the effect of the step-up notice effect may be determined so that the motif continuously displayed from one stage of the notice effect is switched from the motif belonging to the first group to the motif belonging to the second group.

  According to this aspect, the motif displayed in the previous stage of the step-up notice effect is changed to the motif of the different group when the motif of the different group is displayed in the subsequent stage. By changing the motif in the previous stage of the step-up notice effect to a motif having a different appearance, it becomes easier for the player to recognize a change in the group accompanying the progress of the step-up notice effect, in other words, a change in expectation.

  The plurality of motifs belonging to the first group are further grouped into a plurality of subgroups according to their appearance differences, and each of the plurality of subgroups is based on a motif that suggests different expectations to the player. The effect determining means displays the motif belonging to the first subgroup that suggests the first expectation degree in appearance in one stage of the step-up notice effect, and then displays the motif in the second group. When displaying a motif belonging to another stage of the step-up notice effect, the motif continuously displayed from one stage of the step-up notice effect is more than the first expectation from the motif belonging to the first subgroup. Step-up preview to switch to a motif belonging to the second subgroup that visually suggests an expectation that approximates the second expectation Effect contents of may be determined.

  A “subgroup” is a unit in which a group is subdivided. Each subgroup within the same group is typically made up of one or more motifs that are reminiscent of the player but have different appearances. For example, in the group “ally”, there may be “armed ally” and “unarmed ally” as subgroups.

  According to this aspect, the motif displayed in the previous stage of the step-up notice effect is changed to the motif of another subgroup in the same group according to the motif displayed in the later stage. By changing the motif in the previous stage of the step-up notice effect to a motif having a different appearance, it becomes easier for the player to recognize a change in the group accompanying the progress of the step-up notice effect, in other words, a change in expectation. In addition, it is possible to provide the player with a new interest in a step-up notice effect in which the motif displayed in the previous stage is a motif reminiscent of a homogeneous image, but the appearance is changed to a different motif.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements, or the constituent elements and expressions of the present invention may be mutually replaced between methods, apparatuses, systems, computer programs, recording media storing computer programs, data structures, etc. This is effective as an embodiment of the present invention.

  According to the ball game machine of the present invention, it is possible to improve the operating rate of the game machine by providing the player with a new interest in the step-up notice effect of the ball game machine.

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 figure which shows the functional block of the pachinko game machine in a present Example. It is a figure which shows the conventional step-up notice effect. It is a figure which shows the one aspect | mode of the step-up notice effect in a present Example. It is a figure which shows the one aspect | mode of the step-up notice effect in a present Example. It is a figure which shows the one aspect | mode of the step-up notice effect in a present Example. It is a figure which shows the one aspect | mode of the step-up notice effect in a present Example. It is a figure which shows the data structure of a notice type table. It is a flowchart which shows the basic operation | movement process in a pachinko game machine. It is a flowchart which shows the normal game control process of S14 in FIG. 10 in detail. 12 is a flowchart showing in detail the success / failure determination process of S34 in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows S16 in FIG. 10 in detail.

  FIG. 1 shows a basic structure on the front side of a pachinko gaming machine. Hereinafter, a so-called first type pachinko game machine, which is conventionally called a bullet ball game machine, will be described as an example. The pachinko gaming machine 10 is mainly composed of a gaming machine frame and a gaming board. 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, and a launch handle 17. 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 aligned 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 made of glass or the like and is supported by the door 14. The door 14 is attached to the front frame 12 so that it can be opened and closed 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, and a sound effect corresponding to the gaming state is output.

  The game board 50 has an out port 58, a special symbol display device 61, an effect display device 60, and a start winning port (hereinafter referred to as “start port”) 62 on a game area 52 defined by the outer rail 54 and the inner rail 56. , A center ornament 64, a grand prize opening 66, an operation opening 68, and a general prize opening 72. Furthermore, in the game area 52, a plurality of mechanisms such as a game nail and a windmill (not shown) are installed. The start port 62 includes a start winning detection device 74 for detecting the entrance of a game ball and a normal electric accessory solenoid 76 for expanding the expanding mechanism of the start port 62. When the expansion mechanism of the start port 62 is expanded, the opening width of the start port 62 is expanded and the ease of entering the ball is improved. The start winning detection device 74 is a sensor that detects the entry of a game ball into the start port 62, and generates start win information indicating the winning at the time of entering. The general winning opening 72 includes a general winning detecting device 73 for detecting the entering of a game ball. The general winning detection device 73 is a sensor that detects the entry of a game ball into the general winning opening 72, and generates general winning information indicating the winning at the time of winning. The special winning opening 66 includes a winning detection device 78 for detecting the entry of a game ball and a special winning opening solenoid 80 for expanding the special winning opening 66. The winning detection device 78 is a sensor that detects the entry of a game ball into the big winning opening 66, and generates big winning opening winning information indicating the winning at the time of winning.

  The big winning opening 66 is a horizontal rectangular winning opening that is opened as a “big hit” when the special symbol 192 stops in a predetermined manner. The big winning opening 66 is provided above the out opening 58 and the like. The winning detection device 78 of the big winning opening 66 includes a sensor that detects the passage of a game ball.

  The special symbol display device 61 provided on the left side of the game area 52 and the effect display device 60 provided in the approximate center of the game area 52 have a variation of the special symbol 192 on each screen and a decoration linked to the special symbol 192. The variation of the effect image including the symbol 190 is displayed (hereinafter, such display is referred to as “symbol variation” or “variation display”). Here, the special symbol 192 is a symbol corresponding to the result of the lottery performed when the game ball is dropped into the start port 62, and the symbol mode when the change display is stopped is determined to be the winning symbol. When the symbol is a symbol, the timing at which the stop symbol is displayed is the jackpot occurrence timing. The special symbol display device 61 is display means composed of, for example, 7 segment LEDs. The effect display device 60 is a liquid crystal display that variably displays the decorative symbol 190 in a manner interlocked with the variation display of the special symbol 192. The decorative symbol 190 is a symbol for visually rendering the lottery result display indicated by the special symbol 192. The effect display device 60 displays, as the decorative symbol 190, for example, a plurality of rows of moving images of symbol variation simulating a slot machine game in the central area of the screen. The effect display device 60 is constituted by a liquid crystal display in this embodiment, but may be constituted by a mechanical rotating device such as a drum or other display means such as an LED. Since the special symbol 192 does not necessarily have a role of production, in this embodiment, the special symbol 192 is displayed in an inconspicuous size on the special symbol display device 61 at the lower left of the production display device 60. In the case of adopting a technique in which a decorative role is not displayed and a decorative symbol is not displayed, the special symbol may be displayed on a liquid crystal display such as the effect display device 60. The operation port 68 is provided at the left side position of the game board 50. The operation port 68 includes a passage detection device 69. The passage detection device 69 is a sensor that detects the passage of the game ball to the operation port 68, and generates passage information indicating the passage at the time of passage. The passage of the game ball to the operation port 68 triggers an open lottery for determining whether or not to expand the expansion mechanism of the start port 62. When the game ball passes through the operation port 68, a normal symbol, which is a symbol indicating the result of the open lottery, is variably displayed on the normal symbol display device 59. The normal symbol display device 59 is provided on the lower right side of the effect display device 60. When the normal symbol variation display is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed, the start port 62 is normally expanded for a predetermined time with a probability of about 50% to 80%.

  A center ornament 64 is provided around the effect display device 60. The center decoration 64 has functions such as a flow path of the game ball, protection of the special symbol display device 61 and the effect display device 60, and decoration. A lottery hold lamp 20 is provided below the effect display device 60, and an operation hold lamp 22 is provided below the normal symbol display device 59 at the lower right of the game area 52, which is a symmetrical position. . The lottery hold lamp 20 is composed of four lamps, and displays the number of lottery holds depending on the number of lights. The number of lottery holds is the number of lottery results won to the start port 62 during symbol variation or special game, and indicates the number of winning balls for which symbol variation has not yet been executed. The operation hold lamp 22 is also composed of four lamps, and displays the number of hold of normal symbol fluctuations depending on the number of lights. The number of normal symbol fluctuations held is the number of game balls that have passed through the operation port 68 during the fluctuation of the normal symbol, and indicates the number of normal symbol lotteries for which the fluctuation of the normal symbol has not yet been executed. Furthermore, game effect lamps 90 are respectively provided above and below the effect display device 60. The operation button 82 is a button operated by the player to input a predetermined instruction to the gaming machine. The operation button 82 is provided on the outer wall surface near the upper ball tray 15.

  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 port 72, the start port 62, and the big winning port 66, the winning ball corresponding to the type of the winning port is paid out to the upper ball plate 15 or the lower ball plate 16. 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. In this application, “incoming”, “entering”, and “winning” include “passing”.

  When the game ball falls into the start port 62, the special symbol 192 and the decorative symbol 190 are variably displayed on the special symbol display device 61 and the effect display device 60. The variable display of the special symbol 192 and the decorative symbol 190 is stopped after the elapse of the display time determined prior to the display. When the special symbol 192 and the decorative symbol 190 at the time of the stop are symbols indicating a big hit, the game shifts to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than the normal game, and the opening / closing operation of the big prize opening 66 is started. At this time, the decorative pattern 190 simulating the game of the slot machine takes a display mode in which the three patterns are matched. In the special game, the grand prize winning slot 66 is temporarily closed after being opened for about 30 seconds or after nine or more game balls are dropped. Such opening / closing of the big prize opening 66 is repeated a predetermined number of times, for example, 15 times.

  In the normal game after the end of the special game, a variable time shortening game (hereinafter referred to as “time reduction” as appropriate) that is one of the specific games is started. In the variation time shortening game, the variation time of the special symbol and the decorative symbol is shortened from the normal time. The variation time of the special symbol and the decorative symbol is returned to the original variation time after the variation display of a predetermined variation number is performed. When a special game occurs and the winning stop pattern at that time is in a specific mode, a probability variation game (hereinafter referred to as “probability change” as appropriate) that is one of the specific games after the special game ends Be started. In the probability variation game, a lottery with a higher win probability than the normal probability state is performed, and a new special game is generated relatively early.

  FIG. 2 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 102 controls the overall operation of the pachinko gaming machine 10 and processes all game operations such as a lottery when a winning is made to the start port 62. The sub board 104 includes the liquid crystal unit 42 and controls display contents on the effect display device 60, operations of the plurality of movable objects 140, and lighting of the game effect lamp 90, and in particular, display contents according to the lottery result by the main board 102. And the lighting of the movable accessory 140 and the game effect lamp 90 is activated along with the progress of the production. The main board 102 and the sub board 104 constitute a game control device 100. The set substrate 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. 3 shows functional blocks of the pachinko gaming machine 10 in this embodiment. In the pachinko gaming machine 10, the game control device 100 includes a start port 62, a big winning port 66, a general winning port 72, an operating port 68, a special symbol display device 61, an effect display device 60, a normal symbol display device 59, and operation buttons 82. The speaker 18, the game effect lamp 90, and the movable accessory 140 are electrically connected to each other, and can transmit and receive various control signals. The game control apparatus 100 controls not only the basic operation of the game but also the staging operations such as the symbol variation display, the movable accessory 140, and the electric decoration. The game control device 100 is configured in such a manner that functions are shared between a main board 102 that controls the overall operation of the pachinko gaming machine 10 including basic operations of the game, and a sub board 104 that controls design effects and the like. The game control device 100 is configured by hardware including elements such as a ROM and a RAM for storing data and programs, and a CPU used for arithmetic processing.

  In the present embodiment, the main board 102 is a ball determination unit 110, a winning / failing lottery unit 112, a symbol determination unit 114, a variation pattern determination unit 115, a hold control unit 116, a main display control unit 118, a special game control unit 120, a specific game. An execution unit 122 and an opening / closing control unit 124 are provided. The sub-board 104 in the present embodiment includes a pattern storage unit 130, a design mode determination unit 131, an effect determination unit 132, an effect display control unit 134, and an accessory control unit 136. Each functional block included in the main board 102 may be configured such that any one of the functional blocks is mounted on the sub board 104 instead of the main board 102. Similarly, each functional block included in the sub-board 104 may be configured such that any one of them is mounted on the main board 102 instead of the sub-board 104.

  The entrance determination means 110 determines whether or not a game ball has entered each winning opening. When receiving the start winning information, the winning determination means 110 determines that the game ball has won the start opening 62, and when receiving the big winning opening winning information, determines that the game ball has won the big winning opening 66, and the general winning is obtained. When the information is received, it is determined that the game ball has won the general winning opening 72. When receiving the passage information, the ball entering determination unit 110 determines that the game ball has passed through the operation port 68.

  The success / failure lottery means 112 accepts a random number value to determine whether or not to shift to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than the normal game when the game ball enters the start port 62. Get as a value. For example, the success / failure lottery value is acquired from a value range from “0” to “65535”. The “random number” in the present application may not be a mathematically generated random number, but may be a pseudo-random number generated by a hardware random number, a software random number, or the like. The success / failure lottery means 112 holds a plurality of success / failure tables to be referred to in the success / failure determination. In the plurality of success / failure tables, the determination result of winning or losing is associated with the winning / losing lottery value, and the success / failure probability is determined according to the associated winning range setting. The success / failure lottery means 112 refers to a success / failure table for determination of success / failure based on a normal probability in normal times, and refers to a success / failure table in which the winning probability is higher than the normal probability when the probability changes. The success / failure lottery means 112 refers to any of the plurality of success / failure tables and determines whether or not the success / failure lottery value is a win. The determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 is variably displayed in a special symbol form on the special symbol display device 61. In addition, a decorative symbol that shows the determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 in an effect manner is variably displayed on the effect display device 60.

  The symbol determination means 114 determines the stop symbol of the special symbol to be displayed on the special symbol display device 61 according to the lottery result by the success / failure lottery means 112. Moreover, the symbol determination means 114 determines the stop symbol of the normal symbol displayed on the normal symbol display device 59 by lottery. The stop symbol is a symbol to be displayed at the end of symbol variation. The symbol determination means 114 holds a symbol range table to be referred to in order to determine a special symbol or a normal symbol stop symbol.

  The symbol determination means 114 acquires a symbol determination lottery value for determining a special symbol, and determines the stop symbol of the special symbol according to the determination result of the success / failure lottery means 112 and the symbol determination lottery value. The symbol determination unit 114 sends data indicating the determined stop symbol to the main display control unit 118, the symbol mode determination unit 131, and the effect determination unit 132.

  The symbol determining means 114 acquires a lottery random number for determining a normal symbol when the game ball passes through the operation port 68, and determines a stop symbol of the normal symbol according to the lottery random number. When the stop symbol of the normal symbol is a specific symbol, the opening / closing control means 124 expands the normal electric accessory at the start port 62 for a predetermined time.

  The variation pattern determination means 115 selects any variation pattern from a plurality of types of variation patterns according to the result of the success / failure lottery. The variation pattern determining means 115 holds a pattern selection table to be referred to in order to determine the variation pattern. The variation pattern determination unit 115 sends data indicating the determined variation pattern to the main display control unit 118, the symbol mode determination unit 131, and the effect determination unit 132. The variation pattern determination means 115 stores a plurality of types of variation patterns in which variation modes from the variation start to the stop when the special symbol is variably displayed are defined. A plurality of types of variation patterns are defined on the assumption that there are various variation times, short and long, and that symbol variation is also performed by a decorative symbol composed of a plurality of symbols in the variation time. In each variation pattern, a variation display time is defined for each pattern as an end condition of the symbol variation, and the variation of the special symbol and the decorative symbol is stopped when the variation display time elapses.

  The hold control means 116 holds the winning / losing lottery value acquired by the winning / failing lottery means 112 as a holding ball. The success / failure lottery value is accumulated until the number of holds reaches a predetermined upper limit. The upper limit of the number of holds is 4.

  The main display control means 118 causes the special symbol display device 61 to display the lottery result by the success / failure lottery means 112 as a special symbol fluctuation display according to the fluctuation pattern determined by the fluctuation pattern determination means 115. The main display control means 118 transmits the change start command and the change stop command to the effect display control means 134 at the timing of starting and stopping the change display of the special symbol, so that the main display control means 118 and the effect display are displayed. The fluctuation display by the control means 134 is synchronized and interlocked. The main display control means 118 displays the normal symbol variation on the normal symbol display device 59.

  The special game control means 120 controls the execution process of the special game when the result of the lottery determination by the success / failure lottery means 112 is a win. The special game is a game in which the opening / closing operation of the special winning opening 66 is continuously performed a plurality of times, and is configured by a plurality of unit games with one opening / closing as a unit. The unit game is repeated up to 15 times, for example, and the grand prize opening 66 is opened for about 30 seconds in one unit game. If the number of continuations of the unit game has not reached the upper limit number, the special game control means 120 starts the next unit game after the end of the current unit game. When the upper limit number of unit games is exhausted, the special game is terminated.

  The specific game execution means 122 executes control for shifting the game state from the normal state to the specific game state, and control for returning the specific game state to the normal state. The specific game in the present embodiment has a probability change in which the winning probability of the winning / failing lottery is switched from a normal probability state to a high probability state, and a short time in which the symbol variation time is switched from a normal time to a short time.

  The specific game executing means 122 shifts the gaming state after the special game to the probability changing state when the winning / failing lottery value is a value to be shifted to the probability changing state. The probability variation state is continued until the next jackpot is generated in principle, and during that time, the probability of the hit determination by the success / failure lottery means 112 is maintained at a high value. In addition, the specific game executing means 122 shifts the game state to the time-shortened state after the special game regardless of the winning lottery value. The short time is continued until the number of changes in the special symbol after the special game reaches a predetermined number, for example, 100 times.

  The opening / closing control means 124 controls the opening / closing of the ordinary electric accessory at the start opening 62 and the special winning opening 66. When the normal symbol is stopped at a specific symbol, the opening / closing control unit 124 sends an opening instruction to the ordinary electric accessory solenoid 76 to open the start port 62. Further, the opening / closing control means 124 sends an opening instruction to the special winning opening solenoid 80 during the special game, and opens the special winning opening 66.

  The pattern storage means 130 holds a plurality of effect patterns in which effect image contents to be displayed on the effect display device 60 in the variation of the decorative design 190 and the display process thereof are determined. The effect pattern is displayed separately from a plurality of variation effect patterns in which the variation process from the variation start to the stop in the variation display of the decoration symbol 190 and the effect process are defined, and the variation display of the decoration symbol, and the degree of expectation to the jackpot And a plurality of notice effect patterns suggesting the height of the notice.

  The effect determining unit 132 determines the variation effect pattern according to the result of the lottery performed by the success / failure lottery unit 112, the stop symbol of the special symbol, and the variation pattern of the special symbol. The effect determining unit 132 holds a pattern table to be referred to in order to determine the variable effect pattern. The effect determining means 132 sends information on the determined variation effect pattern to the effect display control means 134.

  The variation production pattern includes a pattern for displaying a normal out-of-order symbol combination, a pattern for displaying an out-of-order symbol combination after reaching a big win if one more symbols are aligned, and a reach state. A pattern for displaying a jackpot symbol combination is included. In particular, the pattern that passes through the reach state includes patterns having various fluctuation times. Each variation effect pattern has a variation time for each pattern as an end condition of the symbol variation, and the symbol variation is stopped when the variation time elapses. The effect determining unit 132 selects a variation effect pattern of the effect image having the same variation time according to the variation pattern of the special symbol.

  The symbol form determining means 131 determines the combination and arrangement of the stop symbols of the decorative symbols in accordance with the result of the lottery by the pass / fail lottery means 112, the special symbol stop symbol, the special symbol variation pattern, and the decorative symbol variation effect pattern. To do. The symbol form determination unit 131 transmits information indicating the determined combination of stop symbols to the effect display control unit 134. The symbol form determining means 131 holds a symbol range table to be referred to in order to determine the stop symbol of the decorative symbol.

  The stop symbol of the decorative symbol is formed as a combination of three symbols. For example, when the determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 indicates a shift to a special game, three symbols such as “777” and “111” are arranged. A combination is selected. In this case, it is preferable that the same numbers as the special symbols are selected as the numbers to be arranged as the decorative symbols. For example, when the special symbol is “3”, the decorative symbol is “333”. In the case where the determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 indicates that the game does not shift to the special game, a combination that does not have three symbols such as “312” and “946” is selected. However, if the determination result is that the game does not shift to the special game, and the variation pattern of the special symbol indicating the detachment with reach or the variation effect pattern of the decorative symbol is selected, “191” or “727” is selected. "A combination that does not have only one symbol, such as"

  The notice effect pattern is an effect pattern for temporarily displaying an image, animation, video, or the like of a specific character or motif, or an effect pattern for outputting a specific sound. The effect by the notice effect pattern is executed in parallel with the symbol variation, and suggests in advance that the symbol variation is highly expected to stop in the big hit mode. For example, there are a normal notice effect in which only one character image is displayed on the screen, and a group notice effect in which a large number of characters are displayed so as to pass from one end to the other end of the screen. Further, a step-up notice effect in which the display process of the notice effect is divided into a plurality of stages and the number of stages to be displayed is variable is further included.

  The notice effect pattern includes a pattern in which the effect is executed at a timing after the display form of the decorative symbol 190 reaches the reach state and the final stop state of the symbol is notified, and no decorative symbol 190 is stopped. There is a pattern in which the performance is executed at the timing and the reach is reached at the same time.

  The effect determining means 132 determines whether or not to display the notice effect on the effect display device 60 according to the result of the lottery determination, and determines the notice effect pattern to be displayed. The effect determining means 132 holds a notice determination table that should be referred to in order to determine whether or not to display the notice effect, and a notice type table that should be referred to when selecting the type of the notice effect pattern. The notice decision table is set so that different columns are referred to depending on the result of the lottery, and if the lottery is a win, the notice lottery will be displayed with a higher probability than if it was missed. Correspondence between whether to display the result and the notice effect is determined. Thereby, the high expectation degree to the jackpot can be suggested by displaying the notice effect itself.

  Here, the conventional step-up notice effect will be described. FIG. 4 shows a conventional step-up notice effect. The step-up notice effect in FIG. 4 has four stages, and progresses in the order of (a), (b), (c), and (d) in FIG. In the conventional step-up notice effect, the expectation of jackpot is high as it progresses to the subsequent step. Therefore, for the player, the contents of the stage of the step-up notice effect are not so important, and how many steps the step-up notice effect progresses is important. As a result, the step-up notice effect is apt to be monotonous and surprising for the player, and the motif displayed at each stage of the step-up notice effect cannot be fully utilized.

  In the pachinko gaming machine 10 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of groups configured by different appearance motifs are set for the step-up notice effect. Each group is associated with a different jackpot expectation. In this embodiment, “enemy character”, “male character”, “female character” are set as groups, and the expectation level of each group is “enemy character” <“male character” <“female character”. And

  In the step-up notice effect of the present embodiment, different groups of motifs can be displayed at each stage. The motif display area in the previous stage of the step-up notice effect is continuously displayed even when the motif is displayed in another display area in the stage after the step-up notice effect. Thereby, the expectation level suggested to the player in the step-up notice effect can be changed during the progress of the step-up notice effect, and the change can be easily confirmed by the player.

  5 and 6 show one aspect of the step-up notice effect in the present embodiment. For example, in the case of FIG. 5, although the motif of “enemy character” is displayed in step 1, the motif of “male character” is displayed in step 2, and the motif of “female character” is displayed in step 3. It can indicate to the player that the degree of expectation is high. In addition, in the case of FIG. 6, although it is progressing to two stages, the game starts with a “male character” motif and steps up to a “female character” motif. Can suggest

  Further, in one aspect of the step-up notice effect of the present embodiment, when a motif of a different group is displayed in a later stage, the motif displayed in the previous stage is changed to a motif of the different group. FIG. 7 shows one aspect of the step-up notice effect in the present embodiment. In the step-up notice effect of FIG. 5, when the “female character” motif is displayed in step 3, the motif of step 1 and step 2 is changed to the “female character” motif. Show.

  Further, in the pachinko gaming machine 10 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of subgroups in which each group is subdivided are set for each of the plurality of groups. Different subgroups in the same group are associated with one or more motifs that are the motifs of the same group but differ in appearance, and are associated with different jackpot expectations. In the following example, for the “enemy character” group, a “normal enemy character” subgroup with an expectation level of 1 and an “powered-down enemy character” subgroup with an expectation level of 2 are set. To do. Similarly, for the “male character” group, a “normal male character” subgroup with an expectation level of 4 and a “powered up male character” subgroup with an expectation level of 5 are set. For the “female character” group, a “normal female character” subgroup with an expectation level of 8 and a “powered up female character” subgroup with an expectation level of 9 are set.

  In one aspect of the step-up notice effect of the present embodiment, the motif displayed in the previous stage is the same depending on the expectation of the motif of the different group when a motif of a different group is displayed in the later stage. The group is changed to a different subgroup motif. For example, assume that the motif of the first subgroup of the first group is displayed in the previous stage, and the motif of the first subgroup of the second group is displayed in the later stage. In this case, the motif continuously displayed from the previous stage is associated with the degree of expectation that approximates the degree of expectation of the first subgroup of the second group rather than the degree of expectation of the first subgroup of the first group. Changed to the motif of one group of the second subgroup.

  FIG. 8 shows one aspect of the step-up notice effect in the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, when the motif of the “ordinary female character” subgroup of the “female character” group associated with the expectation 8 is displayed in step 3 of the step-up notice effect in FIG. A state in which the motif in Step 2 is changed is shown. In this case, the motif of Step 1 is the “powered-down enemy character” associated with the expectation level 2 from the motif of the “normal enemy character” subgroup of the “enemy character” group associated with the expectation level 1. Changed to a subgroup motif. In addition, the motif of Step 2 is the “Powered-up Man Character” sub-group with the expectation level 5 from the “Normal Male Character” sub-group motif of the “Men Character” group with the expectation level 4 Changed to a group motif.

  Another aspect of the step-up notice in this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 7, when “female character” is displayed in step 3, “enemy character” in step 1 and “male character” in step 2 are changed to “female character” in accordance with the motif in step 3. As another aspect, changes at the subgroup level of the motif may be performed together. For example, after the “ordinary female character” is displayed once in step 3, the motifs in steps 1 to 3 may be changed to “powered up female character” simultaneously after a predetermined time has elapsed. Thereby, it is possible to impress the player that the degree of expectation of the jackpot has increased and to enhance the interest of the step-up notice.

  As yet another aspect, even if the step-up notice is executed in multiple stages, for example, steps 3 and 4, the step-up notice may not be necessarily received and the step-up notice may be terminated. In other words, a multi-step step-up notice may be executed even when the result of the determination is wrong. In this case, if the determination result is a win, a predetermined effect that hints the player visually or audibly in the step-up notice effect may be executed. Thereby, the diversity of the step-up notice effect is increased, and the player's interest in the motif displayed in the step-up notice effect can be further increased. As an example of this step-up notice effect, in the case of a big hit, it may be changed to an emphasized mode such that at least one of the motif display areas displayed at each stage is enlarged. Specifically, after the motif up to step 3 in the step-up notice effect is once displayed, the motif display area in step 3 may be enlarged larger than the motif display area in steps 1 and 2. Then, when the motif display area in step 3 is expanded, an effect may be executed in which the central symbol variation also reaches a reach and eventually becomes a big hit. When the motif display area in step 3 is not enlarged, the central symbol variation is stopped at an outlier stop symbol. As another example of the step-up notice effect, in the case of a big hit, a group or subgroup change for at least one of the motifs displayed at each stage may be executed without fail.

  In the present embodiment, the pattern data of the step-up notice effect as described above is stored in the pattern storage unit 130 as video data in which a series of effect contents are recorded. The effect determining means 132 refers to the notice type table and selects one pattern from a plurality of types of step-up notice effect patterns according to the result of the lottery result and the variation effect pattern of the decorative design. The effect determining means 132 acquires pattern data from the pattern storage means 130 based on the ID of the selected step-up notice effect pattern, and sends the pattern data to the effect display control means 134.

  FIG. 9 shows the data structure of the notice type table. Steps 1 to 4 in the figure show groups of motifs to be displayed at each stage of the step-up notice effect. Steps 1 to 4 are provided for convenience of explanation, and may not be retained in mounting. The winner / lottery value field is an area where the result of winner / rejection lottery is recorded. Here, “0 to 65300” is a range in which the winner / rejection lottery result is not included, and “65301 to 65535” is a range in which the winner / rejection lottery result is a hit. Show. If the lottery result is out of place, there are many step-up patterns in which the motifs belonging to the “enemy character” group, more precisely the motifs belonging to the predetermined subgroup of the “enemy character” group, appear at each stage. ing. On the contrary, when the winning / failing lottery result is a win, there are many patterns in which motifs belonging to the “woman character” group appear in each stage.

  The variation effect pattern column of FIG. 9 is an area in which the ID of the variation effect pattern of the decorative design determined by the effect determination means 132 is recorded. The step-up pattern field is an ID of the effect pattern of the step-up notice effect, and is an area in which an ID for identifying the pattern data in the pattern storage unit 130 is recorded. In the notice type table, the variable effect pattern and the step-up pattern that match the effect times are associated with each other. Thereby, in the effect display device 60, the display time of the decoration effect change effect and the step-up notice effect match.

  When the notice effect is to be executed, the effect determining unit 132 refers to the notice type table and selects one step-up pattern from among one or more step-up patterns associated with the winning / raft lottery value and the decorative pattern variation effect pattern. Select a pattern. When a plurality of step-up patterns are associated with a specific success / failure lottery value and decorative design variation effect pattern, one step-up pattern is selected from the plurality of step-up patterns by a predetermined lottery. . At this time, the selection probability of each step-up pattern may be selected equally, that is, the step-up pattern may be selected randomly. Each step-up pattern may be set with a weight when selected, in other words, a selection probability, and one step-up pattern may be selected reflecting the weight. For example, when the result of the lottery is wrong, the smaller the number of steps of the step-up notice effect, the easier selection may be made and weighting may be performed. On the contrary, when the result of the lottery is a win, weighting may be performed so that the higher the number of steps of the step-up notice effect, the easier it is to select. Weighting may be made to facilitate selection by increasing the allocation amount of the success / failure lottery value for the step-up pattern and / or by increasing the allocation amount of the variable effect pattern.

  The effect display control means 134 displays the effect image including the decorative pattern on the effect display device 60 according to the selected change effect pattern data as a result of the success / failure lottery by the success / failure lottery means 112.

  The effect display control means 134 causes the effect display device 60 to display the notice effect according to the selected notice effect pattern when the effect determining means 132 determines to display the notice effect. In the present embodiment, when the step-up notice effect pattern data is sent from the effect determining means 132, the step-up notice effect image is displayed along with the decorative symbol variation display according to the pattern data. The effect display control means 134 further controls effect processing such as lighting and extinguishing of the game effect lamp 90 and sound output from the speaker 18.

  In accordance with the instruction received from the effect display control means 134, the accessory control means 136 causes the movable accessory 140 to act in an effect manner in accordance with the effect contents in the effect display device 60 and the blinking process of the game effect lamp 90.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a basic operation process in the pachinko gaming machine. First, processing is performed when the game ball has won the start port 62, the general winning port 72, the big winning port 66, or when the game ball has passed through the operation port 68 (S10). (N in S12), control processing for normal games such as winning / failing lottery is executed (S14), and if a special game is in progress (Y in S12), control processing for special game is executed (S16), from S10 to S16 In step S18, a prize ball payout corresponding to various winnings is processed.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing in detail the normal game control process of S14 in FIG. In the normal game control process, if the winning / losing lottery value is on hold (Y in S30) and the symbol variation is not being displayed (N in S32), the winning / losing lottery means 112 executes the determining process. (S34). In accordance with the determination result, the main display control means 118 starts changing display, transmits a change start command to the effect display control means 134, and the effect display control means 134 that receives the command displays change pattern data and step-up notice effect. The variation display of the effect image is started according to the pattern data (S36). If the winning or failing lottery value is not held in S30 (N in S30), the processing from S32 to S36 is skipped, and if the symbol variation is being displayed in S32 (Y in S32), S34 and S36 Is skipped. Subsequently, if the symbol variation display has already started (Y in S38), the symbol variation display process is executed (S40). If the symbol variation display has not started (N in S38), S40 is skipped. .

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing in detail the success / failure determination process of S34 in FIG. First, the success / failure lottery means 112 reads the success / failure lottery value (S42), and determines the success / failure based on the success / failure lottery value (S44). The symbol determining means 114 determines a stop symbol of the special symbol based on the determination result (S46), and selects a variation pattern of the special symbol (S48). The effect determination means 132 determines the stop symbol combination of the decorative symbols based on the determination result and the special symbol (S50), and selects the variation pattern of the decorative symbol according to the variation pattern of the special symbol (S52). When the execution determining unit 132 selects execution of the step-up notice effect (Y in S54), the effect determination unit 132 selects a step-up notice effect pattern based on the determination result and the variation pattern data (S56). If execution of the step-up notice effect is not selected (N in S54), S56 is skipped.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing in detail S16 in FIG. First, if the big prize opening 66 has not been opened (N in S70), the production display control means 134 starts the special game production process (S72), and the open / close control means 124 opens the special prize opening 66 (S74). ). If the big winning opening 66 has been opened, S72 and S74 are skipped (Y in S70). When the predetermined opening time has elapsed since the grand prize opening 66 was opened (Y in S76), or the opening time has not elapsed (N in S76), there are nine or more game balls to the big winning opening 66 When the player has entered the ball (Y in S78), the opening / closing control means 124 closes the special winning opening 66 (S80). If the opening time has not elapsed (N in S76) and the number of balls entered into the grand prize winning opening 66 has not reached nine or more (N in S78), the processing after S80 is skipped and the flow of S16 Exit.

  If the number of rounds of the unit game has reached 15 after closing the special winning opening 66 in S80 (Y in S82), the effect display control means 134 ends the effect processing of the special game (S84), and the special game control means 120 ends the special game (S86). If the number of rounds has not reached 15 (N in S82), 1 is added to the number of rounds and the flow of S16 is terminated (S90).

  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. A modification is shown below.

  In the above-described embodiment, when determining the content of the step-up notice effect, the effect determining unit 132 selects one video data from a plurality of pieces of video data in which a series of effect contents in the step-up notice effect are recorded. Selected by lottery. In the modification, the effect determining means 132 may determine the contents of the effect at any time for each step of the step-up notice effect. That is, the contents of the effect of the step-up notice effect may be statically determined in advance as in the embodiment, but may be dynamically determined at the time of effect display. For example, the effect determining means 132 may select one of a plurality of groups and the end of the effect by lottery when determining the effect contents at each stage of the step-up notice effect. In addition, when the number of steps of the step-up notice effect is first determined by lottery and the contents of the effect at each step are determined, one of a plurality of groups may be selected by lottery. As in the embodiment, the selection target may be set in advance with a weight for selection. In this modification, it is desirable that the number of steps of the step-up notice effect is determined so that the variation time of the special symbol or the decorative pattern matches the effect time in each step of the step-up notice effect.

  In the above-described embodiment, a step-up notice effect is displayed in which different characters are displayed as motifs of each group and each subgroup in order to allow the player to identify the difference in appearance between the group and the subgroup. In the modified example, at each stage of the step-up notice effect, another effect that causes the player to recall a different image may be executed. For example, an effect in which the background color, background pattern, frame color, frame size, etc. of the area where the effect is displayed is different is executed at each stage, and by allowing the player to visually recognize the difference, the group and sub The group may be discriminated.

  In the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to a conventional first type pachinko gaming machine. However, the present invention can also be applied to other types of gaming machines having the functions of the first type pachinko gaming machine. . For example, the present invention can be applied to a multi-function machine in which a plurality of first type pachinko gaming machines are mixed. In addition, a complex that provides a game corresponding to a special game in the first type pachinko gaming machine as the first special game, and a game corresponding to a special game in the second type pachinko game machine as the second special game. It can also be applied to the machine.

  10 Pachinko machines, 50 game boards, 52 game areas, 60 effect display devices, 61 special symbol display devices, 62 start openings, 90 game effect lamps, 100 game control devices, 112 winning / failing lottery means, 114 symbol determining means, 118 main Display control means, 130 pattern storage means, 132 effect determining means, 134 effect display control means.

Claims (3)

A game board in which a game area is formed;
A start winning opening provided at a predetermined position in the game area, and a game ball entering is a lottery opportunity;
Triggering lottery means for determining whether or not to shift to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than a normal game, triggered by entering the starting winning opening,
An effect display device in which a symbol for showing the result of the success / failure lottery is displayed in a variable manner.
Special game control means for executing the special game when the success / failure lottery results in the transition to the special game;
Whether or not to display a step-up notice effect that progresses the production over a plurality of stages as a notice effect that suggests the high degree of expectation that the success / failure lottery will win will be displayed while the symbol variation display is made An effect determining means for determining the effect content of the step-up notice effect so as to display a motif suggesting a predetermined expectation level in each of the plurality of stages, according to the result of the lottery determination,
Effect display control means for causing the effect display device to display a variation of the symbol on the effect display device and to display a step-up notice effect according to the effect content on the effect display device;
With
In order to change the degree of expectation suggested to the player in the step-up notice effect during the progress of the effect, the effect determining means is a plurality of groups in which the difference in expectation level suggested by each is grouped using a difference in appearance After the motifs belonging to the first group that suggest the first expectation in appearance are displayed in one stage of the step-up notice effect, the motif display in the one stage is maintained. The content of the step-up notice effect is determined so that a motif belonging to the second group that suggests a second expectation level different from the first expectation level is displayed at a different stage. A ball game machine to play.   The effect determining means displays a motif belonging to the first group at one stage of the step-up notice effect, and then displays a motif belonging to the second group at another stage of the step-up notice effect. The content of the step-up notice effect is determined so that the motif continuously displayed from one stage of the step-up notice effect is switched from the motif belonging to the first group to the motif belonging to the second group. The bullet ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of motifs belonging to the first group are further grouped into a plurality of subgroups according to differences in their appearance,
Each of the plurality of subgroups is composed of motifs that suggest different expectations to the player,
The effect determining means displays the motif belonging to the first sub group that suggests the first expectation degree in appearance in one stage of the step-up notice effect, and then the motif belonging to the second group. When displaying at another stage of the step-up notice effect, the motif continuously displayed from one stage of the step-up notice effect is more than the first expectation from the motif belonging to the first subgroup. 2. The bullet according to claim 1, wherein the effect content of the step-up notice effect is determined so as to switch to a motif belonging to a second subgroup that externally suggests an expectation that approximates the second expectation. Ball game machine.

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