JP5482829B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine.

  One type of gaming machine is a slot machine equipped with a reel device (picture display device). In the slot machine, a plurality of symbols are given to the outer peripheral portion of each reel constituting the reel device, and a part of the symbols given to each reel can be visually recognized through the display window. Then, when the player inserts a medal and operates the start lever, the lottery of the winning combination is performed inside the slot machine and each reel starts to rotate. After each reel starts rotating, the stop switch is operated. Each reel is sequentially stopped when the predetermined time elapses. And when all the reels stop rotating, if the winning combination of symbols on the active line stops, the player is given a privilege such as a predetermined number of medals being paid out, or the gaming state is a big bonus Or a bonus game such as a game.

  In the slot machine, a setting unit capable of switching the probability of establishing a bonus game in a plurality of stages is provided in the housing, and the bonus game probability or the like can be lowered or increased by a key operation to the setting unit (for example, Patent Document 1). As described above, the setting function of the slot machine can give rise to the expected medal acquisition value in a large number of slot machines in the game hall.

  Here, the set value is generally changed when the game hall is opened. In this case, in order to change the set values of a large number of slot machines installed in the game hall in a short time before opening the store, it is necessary to improve the workability of changing the set values.

  The above issues are not limited to slot machines, but also to pachinko machines with setting functions, and other gaming machines that variably display multiple symbols and then stop variable symbol display based on the player's operation. Also applies.

JP 2005-27895 A

The present invention has been made in view of the above illustrated situation such, it is an object to provide a gaming machine capable of improving the workability of the setting value change.

The present invention provides state transition means for transitioning the gaming state to another gaming state having a different expected game media acquisition value from the normal gaming state when a predetermined transition condition is established,
Setting value determining means for setting a plurality of stages of setting values corresponding to expected acquisition values of game media, and determining one setting value from these setting values;
Setting value changing means operated to change the setting value determined by the setting value determining means;
A gaming machine comprising: game state information that makes it possible to specify that the game state is the other game state; and storage means for storing various information relating to the game including the set value information determined by the set value determining means In
An information initialization unit that initializes the storage unit when a set value change based on an operation of the set value change unit is started;
The said storage means a protective storage means which is not initialized by the information initializing unit, while not store the setting value information on the protection storage unit, a configuration in which Ru is stored the game state information,
After the initialization by the information initialization means, comprising means for preventing the processing for controlling the progress of the game from being started unless the setting value changing means is operated and the setting value is changed.
A state returning means for returning the gaming state to the normal gaming state when a predetermined end condition is established in the other gaming state;
End condition information relating to the end condition is stored in the protection storage means .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the workability of changing the set value.

The front view of the slot machine in one embodiment. The perspective view of the slot machine which shows the state which closed the front door. The perspective view of the slot machine which shows the state which opened the front door. The rear view of a front door. The front view of a housing | casing. The assembly perspective view of a left reel. FIG. 3 is a development view of a belt-like belt constituting each reel. Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between a winning mode and a medal payout number. The block circuit diagram of a slot machine. Explanatory drawing explaining the structure of RAM. The flowchart which shows a NMI interruption process. The flowchart which shows a timer interruption process. The flowchart which shows the process at the time of a power failure. The flowchart which shows a main process. The flowchart which shows a winning probability setting process. The flowchart which shows a normal process. The flowchart which shows a lottery process. The flowchart which shows a lottery table selection process. The figure which shows an example of the lottery table in a normal game state. The figure which shows an example of a slip table. The flowchart which shows a slip table setting process. The flowchart which shows a reel control process. The flowchart which shows a sliding table 1st change process. The flowchart which shows a sliding table 2nd change process. The flowchart which shows payout determination processing. The flowchart which shows medal payout processing. The flowchart which shows a bonus game process. The flowchart which shows RT game processing. The figure which shows an example of the lottery table in RT1 game. The figure which shows an example of the lottery table in RT2 game.

  First, the invention that can be extracted from the present embodiment will be described while showing effects and the like as necessary.

Means 1. State transition means (main control device 131) for transitioning the gaming state to another gaming state (RT1 game, RT2 game) having a different expected game media acquisition value from the normal gaming state when a predetermined transition condition is satisfied. Step S1601 to step S1607),
A set value determining means (step S511 of the main control device 131) that includes a plurality of stages of set values corresponding to the expected value of the game medium and determines one set value from the set values;
Setting value changing means operated to change the setting value determined by the setting value determining means (setting key, setting key insertion hole 124, reset switch 123, start lever 71, steps S402 and S501 of the main controller 131). To Step S508),
Game state information (RT1 flag, RT2 flag, remaining RT counter 155 values) indicating that the game state is the other game state, and set value change information (set value storage area 156a) changed by the set value changing means In a gaming machine provided with temporary storage means (RAM 153) for temporarily storing various information relating to the game such as the
An information erasure unit (partial RAM clear process in step S404 of the main control device 131) for erasing the information stored in the temporary storage unit when the set value change unit starts changing the set value;
Further, the temporary storage means is provided with a protection storage means (protection area 159) in which information is not erased by the information erasure means, and the gaming state information is stored in the protection storage means.

  According to the means 1, by changing the set value by the set value changing means, the expected value of the game medium based on the game is changed, and the expected value of the game medium can be given an inflection for the entire game hall. It becomes possible. In this case, when the setting value change is started, the setting value change information stored in the temporary storage means is deleted. As a result, when the set value is changed, the set value can be changed from a predetermined initial value, the set value change work is unified, and the workability of the set value change can be improved.

  However, in a configuration in which the gaming state information is erased as the set value change information is erased, the gaming state is shifted to the normal gaming state by the setting value change. In this case, even if the manager or the like in the game hall tries to change the set value while maintaining another game state, it cannot be performed. In addition, for the player, for example, by confirming that the gaming state has been switched from another gaming state to the normal gaming state before and after the power is turned on / off, it is understood that the setting value has been changed. I can do it. This is not preferable in a game hall or the like where it is not desired to disclose to the player whether or not the set value has been changed. On the other hand, in this means, when the setting value change is started, the game state information stored in the temporary storage means is not erased. As a result, it is possible to prevent the gaming state from forcibly shifting to the normal gaming state due to the change of the set value, and to prevent the occurrence of the inconvenience.

  The set value changing means changes the set value based on the change start operating means (setting key, setting key insertion hole 124) operated to start the setting value change and the change start operating means. It is good also as a structure provided with the operation validation means (step S402 of the main control apparatus 131) which validates operation. In this case, “when the setting value changing unit starts changing the setting value” means that the setting value changing operation is validated by the operation validation unit.

  Mean 2. In means 1, gaming state information erasing means for erasing the gaming state information stored in the protection storage means (all RAM clear processing in step S405 of the main controller 131), and gaming state information by the gaming state information erasing means A gaming machine comprising: an erasing operation means (reset switch 123) that is operated to execute erasing.

  According to the means 2, since the erasing operation means is provided, the manager or the like in the game hall can erase the game state information while achieving the effect of the means 1.

  Means 3. In the means 2, the gaming state information erasing means is an all information erasing means for erasing all information stored in the temporary storage means.

  According to the means 3, all the information stored in the temporary storage means is erased by operating the erasing operation means, so that various information such as gaming state information is erased even when the setting value is not changed. can do.

Means 4. In means 2 or 3, main control means (main control device 131) which has at least the state transition means and the set value determination means and controls the progress of the game,
A power supply device (power supply device 161) connected to an external power supply and supplying power to the main control means;
Power-on operation means (power switch 122) operated to start the supply of power by the power supply device,
Further, the setting value changing means is a setting start value based on a change start operating means (setting key, setting key insertion hole 124) operated to start the setting value change and the change start operating means being operated. Operation enabling means (step S402 of the main control device 131) for enabling the change operation,
The gaming state information erasure means erases the information in the temporary storage means when the power-on operation means is turned on in a situation where the erasure operation means is operated,
The setting value changing means sequentially changes the setting values determined by the setting value determining means when the erasing operation means is operated in a state where the setting value changing operation is validated by the operation validation means. A gaming machine characterized by that.

  According to the means 4, the information stored in the temporary storage means is erased when the power-on operation means is turned on in the situation where the erase operation means is operated. When the operation unit is operated, the information stored in the temporary storage unit is prevented from being erased. In this case, the setting value is sequentially changed by operating the erasing operation means in a state where the setting value changing operation is validated. That is, the function of sequentially changing the set values by the erasing operation unit is also used, and the configuration can be simplified.

Means 5. In any one of the means 2 to 4, the main control means that has at least the state transition means and the set value determination means and controls the progress of the game,
A power supply device connected to an external power supply to supply power to the main control means;
Power supply operation means operated to start the supply of power by the power supply device,
Further, the set value changing means includes a change start operating means operated to start the set value change, and an operation enabling means for validating the set value changing operation based on the operation of the change start operating means. And
The gaming state information erasure means erases the information in the temporary storage means when the power-on operation means is turned on in a situation where the erasure operation means is operated,
The operation validation means validates the set value change operation when the power-on operation means is turned ON in a situation where the change start operation means is operated,
A gaming machine characterized by performing both the erasure and the validation when the power-on operation means is turned on in a situation where the erasure operation means and the change start operation means are operated.

  According to the means 5, the information stored in the temporary storage means is erased when the power-on operation means is turned on in the situation where the erase operation means is operated. When the operation means is operated, the information stored in the temporary storage means is prevented from being erased. Also, since the setting value change operation is validated by turning on the power-on operation means in the situation where the change start operation means is operated, the administrator of the game hall etc. operated the change start operation means by mistake. In this case, the setting value changing operation is prevented from being validated.

  In such a configuration, when the power-on operation means is turned on in the situation where the erasure operation means and the change start operation means are operated, both the deletion of the information stored in the temporary storage means and the validation of the setting value change operation are performed. Is called. Assuming a configuration in which such operations cannot be performed at the same time, it is necessary to turn on the power-on operation means twice in order to both erase the information stored in the temporary storage means and validate the setting value change operation. Arise. In this case, such work becomes complicated, and for example, when the above work is performed on a large number of gaming machines before the opening of the game hall, the work time is prolonged. On the other hand, as described above, the information stored in the temporary storage means and the setting value change operation can be validated simultaneously (one ON operation of the power-on operation means). The occurrence of the inconvenience can be suppressed.

Means 6. In any one of the means 1 to 5, the state returning means for returning the gaming state to the normal gaming state when a predetermined ending condition is satisfied in the other gaming state (steps S1609 to S160 of the main control device 131). S1612)
A gaming machine, wherein the protection storage means stores termination condition information (value of the remaining RT counter 155) relating to the termination condition.

  According to the means 6, the end condition information can be prevented from being deleted when the set value is changed. For example, if the “predetermined end condition” is a condition that the game state is returned to the normal game state when another game state continues for a predetermined number of games, the information on the number of continued games is deleted when the set value is changed. Is prevented. If the information on the number of continuing games is deleted when the setting value is changed, the player can grasp that the setting value has been changed by grasping the number of continuing games. On the other hand, according to the present means, as described above, the occurrence of such inconvenience can be prevented.

  In addition to the number of continuing games, the “predetermined end condition” may include the number of game media acquired (or the number of grants) after shifting to another gaming state, The number of winnings after the transition to the gaming state of can be considered.

  Mean 7 Any one of means 1 to means 6 is provided with notifying means (auxiliary display unit 15, display control device 111) for notifying when the game state is the other game state. Gaming machine.

  According to the means 7, by the notification by the notification means, the player knows that the gaming state is not the normal gaming state but another gaming state. In this case, assuming a configuration in which the gaming state shifts to the normal gaming state when the set value is changed, it is possible for the player to easily grasp the presence or absence of the set value change by checking the mode of the notification means. End up. On the other hand, since the configuration of the means 1 is provided and the game state information is not erased when the set value is changed, such inconvenience can be prevented.

Means 8. In any one of the means 1 to 7, a picture display device (reel unit 41) for variably displaying a plurality of pictures, a starting operation means (start lever 71) operated to start variable display of the pictures, A lottery means (lottery process of the main control device 131) for executing a lottery process based on the operation of the start operation means, and a stop operation means (stop switches 72 to 74) operated to stop the variable display of the picture. Prepared,
Start variable display of the pattern based on the operation of the start operation means, stop variable display of the pattern based on the operation of the stop operation means,
When the lottery result of the lottery process is a predetermined winning combination and the predetermined pattern stops at a predetermined effective position (effective line) in the variable display area of the pattern, a privilege is given to the player. Gaming machine.

  Each of the above inventions is preferably applied to a gaming machine in which the start operation means and the stop operation means are actively operated by the player.

  In the configuration provided with the means 1 and the means 8, the “predetermined transition condition” is set to “the lottery result is a transition trigger (bell role, replaying role) winning and the effective position is set. It may be “when the transition opportunity pattern (“ bell ”symbol combination,“ replay ”symbol combination) stops”.

Means 9. In the means 8, when the lottery result of the lottery process is a re-game winning combination and the re-game picture is stopped at the effective position, the re-game setting means (main control) that enables the next game without accepting the game medium Replay processing in step S1307 of the device 131),
Replay probability setting means (a lottery table selection process in step S701 of the main control device 131) for setting the winning probability of the replaying player in any of a plurality of stages;
The re-game probability setting means sets a different winning probability in each of the normal game state and the other game information.

  When the re-game picture stops at the valid position, the next game can be played without requiring a betting operation on the game medium. According to the means 9, the expected value of the game medium is different because the winning probability of the re-gamer is different in each of the normal game state and the other game states. In other words, in a gaming state in which the selection probability of a re-gamer is high, the number of game media required for one game decreases, so the net increase in game media when a predetermined number of game media are paid out (paid out) This is because the difference between the number of game media and the number of game media betted increases.

  In this case, assuming a configuration in which the gaming state shifts to the normal gaming state when the set value is changed, if there is a large difference in the winning probability of the re-gamer between the normal gaming state and other gaming states, A player can easily grasp the presence or absence of a change in the set value by playing several games. On the other hand, since the configuration of the means 1 is provided and the game state information is not erased when the set value is changed, such inconvenience can be prevented.

Means 10. In the means 8 or 9, the picture display device is turned into a plurality of rotating bodies (reels 42L, 42M, 42R) in which a plurality of kinds of the pictures are attached in the circumferential direction and the stop operation is performed. A plurality of means are provided so as to individually stop the circulation of each of the circuit bodies,
In addition, a display machine (display windows 31L, 31M, 31R) that allows a part of the pattern to be visually recognized for each of the circulating bodies is provided.

  The present invention is preferably applied to a gaming machine that performs variable display of a pattern by orbiting an orbiting body.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in the case of application to a spinning cylinder type gaming machine, which is a kind of gaming machine, specifically, a slot machine will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view of the slot machine 10, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slot machine 10 with the front door 12 closed, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the slot machine 10 with the front door 12 opened, and FIG. 5 is a rear view of the door 12, and FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the slot machine 10 includes a housing 11 that forms an outer shell thereof. The casing 11 includes a top plate 11a, a bottom plate 11b, a back plate 11c, a left plate 11d, and a right plate 11e formed in a wooden plate shape, and the adjacent plates 11a to 11e are fixed by a fixing means such as adhesion. Thus, it is formed in a box shape with the front surface opened as a whole. In addition, each board 11a-11e may be comprised with a synthetic resin panel or a metal panel other than being comprised with a wooden panel, or it is comprised by forming in the box shape integral with a synthetic resin material or a metal material. May be. The casing 11 configured as described above is attached by, for example, driving nails against a so-called island facility at the time of installation in the game hall.

  A front door 12 as a front open / close door is attached to the front side of the housing 11 so as to be openable and closable. That is, the left side plate 11d of the housing 11 is provided with a pair of upper and lower support shafts 25a and 25b. Each of the support shafts 25a and 25b includes a tapered shaft portion that protrudes upward. On the other hand, the front door 12 is provided with support fittings 26a and 26b having insertion holes into which the shaft portions of the support shafts 25a and 25b are inserted corresponding to the support shafts 25a and 25b. Then, the support brackets 26a and 26b are arranged above the support shafts 25a and 25b, and the front door 12 is lowered, whereby the shaft portions of the support shafts 25a and 25b are inserted into the insertion holes of the support brackets 26a and 26b. It is assumed that it was done. Thereby, the front door 12 is supported so as to be rotatable about an opening / closing axis extending in the vertical direction connecting the both support shafts 25a and 25b with respect to the housing 11, and the front opening side of the housing 11 is opened by the rotation. It can be closed or closed.

  The front door 12 is brought into a locked state that cannot be opened by a locking device provided on the rear surface. Further, a key cylinder 20 serving as an unlocking operation unit is provided at the upper right side of the front door 12. The key cylinder 20 is integrated with a locking device, and is configured such that the locked state is released by a predetermined key operation on the key cylinder 20. Therefore, an outline of the lock mechanism including the locking device will be described.

  On the right end side of the front door 12, that is, on the opposite side of the opening / closing axis of the front door 12, a locking device is provided on the back surface. The locking device extends vertically and is fixed to the front door 12, a key cylinder 20 provided so as to extend from the upper part of the base frame to the front of the front door 12, and moves vertically with respect to the base frame. It is provided with a long interlocking rod 21 assembled as possible. And only the key cylinder 20 is provided in the state which protruded ahead of the front door 12 among the locking devices. The position where the key cylinder 20 is provided is the thin upper portion of the front door 12, and as a result, a versatile key cylinder 20 having a short overall length can be employed. In the present embodiment, Omlock (trade name) having a high function of preventing unauthorized unlocking is used as the key cylinder 20. The interlocking rod 21 is moved downward by operating the key inserted into the key cylinder 20 clockwise. The interlocking saddle 21 is provided with a pair of upper and lower saddle fittings 22 having a bowl shape. When the front door 12 is closed with respect to the casing 11, the saddle fitting 22 is supported on the casing 11 side. Is locked. In addition, the urging member 22 is provided with an urging member such as a coil spring for urging to the side maintaining the locked state. When the key is operated clockwise with respect to the key cylinder 20, the interlocking rod 21 moves downward, and the saddle fitting 22 is moved against the biasing force of the biasing member. The locked state with the support fitting 23 is released, and the locked state of the front door 12 with respect to the housing 11 is released.

  A game panel 30 for notifying the player of the game state is provided above the center of the front door 12. In the game panel 30, three vertically long display windows 31L, 31M, 31R are formed side by side. The display windows 31L, 31M, 31R are made of a transparent or translucent material, and the inside of the slot machine 10 is visible through the display windows 31L, 31M, 31R. The display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R may be combined into a single display window.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the housing 11 is vertically divided into two by a partition plate 40, and a reel unit 41 constituting variable display means is attached to the upper portion of the partition plate 40. The reel unit 41 includes a left reel 42L, a middle reel 42M, and a right reel 42R each formed in a cylindrical shape (annular shape). The reels 42L, 42M, and 42R may be configured as at least an endless belt, and are not limited to a cylindrical shape (annular shape). Each of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R is rotatably supported so that the central axis thereof is the rotation axis of the reel. The rotation axes of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R are arranged on the same axis extending in the substantially horizontal direction, and the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R correspond to the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R on a one-to-one basis. . Accordingly, a part of the surface of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R is visible through the corresponding display windows 31L, 31M, 31R. Further, when the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R are rotated forward, the surfaces of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R are projected as if moving from top to bottom through the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R.

  Each of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R is coupled to the stepping motors 61L, 61M, and 61R, and each of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R is individually, that is, independently, driven by the stepping motors 61L, 61M, and 61R. Thus, it can be rotationally driven. Since these reels 42L, 42M, and 42R have the same configuration, here, the left reel 42L will be described as an example with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view of the left reel 42L.

  The left reel 42L includes a cylindrical skeleton member 50 that forms a cylindrical cage, and a belt-like belt wound endlessly on the outer peripheral surface thereof. And it is affixed on the cylindrical skeleton member 50 through a pair of seal parts formed along the both sides of the long side of the belt so as to maintain the wound state. A large number of symbols as identification information are printed at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the belt. A boss 51 is formed at the center of the cylindrical skeleton member 50, and is attached to the drive shaft of the left reel stepping motor 61L via a disc-shaped boss reinforcing plate 52. Accordingly, when the drive shaft of the left reel stepping motor 61L is rotated, the cylindrical skeleton member 50 is rotated around the drive shaft so that the left reel 42L circulates along the annular reel surface. It has become.

  The left reel stepping motor 61L is fixed to the side surface of the motor plate 53 arranged in an upright state in the reel unit 41 (FIG. 3) with screws 54. The motor plate 53 is provided with a reel index sensor (rotational position detection sensor) 55 in which a light emitting element 55a and a light receiving element 55b are held at a predetermined interval. On the other hand, the base end portion 56b of the sensor cut bun 56 extending in the radial direction is fixed to the boss reinforcing plate 52 integrated with the left reel 42L with a screw 57. The front end portion 56a of the sensor cut bun 56 is bent at a substantially right angle and is positioned so as to pass between both elements 55a and 55b of the reel index sensor 55. Each time the left reel 42L makes one rotation, the reel index sensor 55 detects the passage of the front end portion 56a of the sensor cut bun 56, and a detection signal is output to the main controller 131 described later each time the detection is made. Therefore, main controller 131 can confirm and correct the angular position of left reel 42L for each rotation based on this detection signal.

  The stepping motor 61L is set to rotate once by giving, for example, a drive signal of 504 pulses (also referred to as an excitation signal or an excitation pulse; the same applies hereinafter), and the rotation position of the stepping motor 61L, that is, left The rotational position of the reel 42L is controlled.

  On each belt of each of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R, a plurality of, specifically, 21 symbols are drawn in the long side direction (circumferential direction). Therefore, 24 pulses (= 504 pulses ÷ 21 symbols) are required to switch from one symbol to the next symbol at a predetermined position. Based on the number of pulses from when the detection signal of the reel index sensor 55 is output, it is recognized which symbols are visible from the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R, and arbitrary symbols are displayed on the display window. Control to make it visible from 31L, 31M, 31R can be performed.

  Of the symbols attached to the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R, the number of symbols that can be visually recognized through the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R is mainly determined by the vertical lengths of the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R. Is limited to a predetermined number. In this embodiment, three reels are provided. For this reason, when all the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R are stopped, 3 × 3 = 9 symbols are visible to the player.

  Here, the symbols attached to the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R will be described. FIG. 7 shows a symbol arrangement drawn on the belt wound around each of the left reel 42L, the middle reel 42M, and the right reel 42R. As shown in the figure, each of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R is provided with 21 symbols in a row. In addition, numbers 0 to 20 are assigned to the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R, and these numbers are used for the main controller 131 to recognize the symbols that are visible from the display window. It is a number and is not actually attached to the reels 42L, 42M, 42R. However, in the following description, the number is used for explanation.

  The symbols include “Replay” symbol (for example, left belt 20th), “Bell” symbol (for example, left belt 19th), “Youth” symbol (for example, left belt 18th), “7” symbol (for example, (Left belt 17th), “Cherry” design (eg, left belt 13th), “Chance” design (eg, left belt 12th), “Watermelon” design (eg, left belt 9th), “Reach” design ( For example, there are nine types: the 6th left belt) and the “Lucky” symbol (for example, 1st left belt). As shown in FIG. 7, the number of various symbols and the arrangement order are completely different in the belt wound around each reel 42L, 42M, 42R.

  Each reel 42L, 42M, 42R of the reel unit 41 is an example of variable display means for variably displaying identification information, and constitutes a main display unit. However, the variable display means may have a configuration other than this as long as the symbol is variably displayed in the circumferential direction. For example, other mechanical reel configurations such as a type in which the belt is rotated instead of rotating may be used. In addition to the mechanical reel configuration, an electric display such as a liquid crystal display or a dot matrix display may be used. A device for variably displaying the identification information may be provided, and in this case, it is possible to give abundant variations in the display form.

  A total of five combination lines are attached to the game panel 30 such that three display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R are connected to each other and three in parallel in the horizontal direction and two in diagonal directions. Of course, the maximum number of combined lines may be 6 or more, or less than 5, and the maximum number of combined lines may be changed according to a predetermined condition. Corresponding to these combination lines, effective line display sections 32, 33, and 34 are provided on the left side when viewed from the front of the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R. The first effective line display unit 32 is notified by lighting or the like when the central horizontal line (middle line) of the combination lines is activated. When the upper and lower horizontal lines (upper line and lower line) of the combination lines are activated, the second effective line display unit 33 is displayed and notified by lighting or the like. The third effective line display unit 34 is notified by lighting or the like when a pair of diagonal lines (a right-down line and a right-up line) among the combination lines is enabled. And when the combination line is activated, that is, when the symbol stops on the effective line in a predetermined combination, a winning is won, and a predetermined medal number payout process or a transition to a BB game or an RT game as a special game state is made. Processing is executed.

  FIG. 8 shows a combination of symbols for winning and the number of medals to be paid out when winning.

  Small prizes for which medals are paid out include a watermelon prize, a bell prize, and a cherry prize. When stopped alongside the “Watermelon” symbol, “Watermelon” symbol, and “Watermelon” symbol from the left on the active line, 15 medals are paid out as a watermelon prize, “Bell” symbol from the left, “Bell” on the active line In the case of stopping alongside the symbol and the “bell” symbol, eleven medals are paid out as a bell prize. When the “cherry” symbol on the left reel 42L stops on the active line, two medals are paid out as a cherry prize. That is, in the case of a cherry winning, any symbol that stops on the active line of the middle reel 42M and the right reel 42R may be any symbol. Therefore, when the “cherry” symbol stops at the position where the plurality of effective lines of the left reel 42L overlap (specifically, the upper stage or the lower stage), a cherry winning is established on each active line, and the overlapping effective The medal is paid out by multiplying the number of lines. As a result, in this embodiment, four medals are paid out.

  When the “replay” symbol, “replay” symbol, and “replay” symbol are stopped along the active line from the left, a replay prize is awarded. When the re-game winning is established, the medals are not paid out, but the player can play the next game without reducing the medals owned and without inserting medals.

  There is a BB winning as a state transition winning in which the gaming state shifts. When the “7” symbol, “7” symbol, and “7” symbol are stopped from the left on the active line, the game state shifts to the BB game where the gaming state is the special gaming state as a BB winning. However, even if the “7” symbol stops along the left, middle and right on the active line, no medal is paid out. That is, when the combination of the “7” symbols is established on the active line, only the BB game is entered.

  In addition, in the normal gaming state, when the “Bell” symbol, “Bell” symbol, and “Bell” symbol are stopped from the left on the active line, not only the above-mentioned bell winning is achieved but also the gaming state is the first RT1 winning. Transition to the RT1 game as one gaming state. In addition, in the normal gaming state, when the “replay” symbol, the “replay” symbol, and the “replay” symbol are stopped from the left on the active line, the gaming state is not only the above-mentioned re-game winning but also the RT2 winning. Transition to the RT2 game as the second gaming state.

  In addition, only when the gaming state is an RB game, which will be described later, when stopped alongside the “Replay” symbol, “Replay” symbol, “Chance” symbol from the left on the active line, and from the left on the active line When the “replay” symbol, “replay” symbol, and “lucky” symbol are stopped alongside, 15 medals are paid out as a JAC prize.

  In other cases, that is, when the “cherry” symbol of the left reel 42L does not stop on the active line and the combination of the symbols described above does not stop on the active line, the medal payout, the transition of the gaming state, etc. Not done at all. That is, the “chance” symbol and “lucky” symbol of the left reel 42L, the “cherry” symbol of the middle reel 42M and the right reel 42R, the “youth” symbol and the “reach” symbol of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R Not involved at all. In other words, it can be said that each of the symbols is a no-benefits symbol unrelated to the privilege given to the player. As described above, each of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R is provided with a bonus symbol related to winning such as a “bell” symbol and a non-privileged symbol irrelevant to winning such as a “young” symbol, for example. In the following, a combination of symbols corresponding to each prize is also referred to as a combination of winning symbols. For example, the BB symbol combination is a symbol BB winning combination, that is, a combination of “7” symbol, “7” symbol, and “7” symbol.

  On the lower left side of the game panel 30, a start lever 71 is provided that is operated to start rotation of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R all at once (not necessarily simultaneously). The start lever 71 constitutes start operation means or start operation means operated to start rotation of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R, that is, to start variable display. The start lever 71 is a lever that is pushed by the hand when the player starts the game, and automatically returns to the original position after the hand is released. When the start lever 52 is operated while a medal is inserted, the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R start to rotate all at once.

  On the right side of the start lever 71, button-like stop switches 72, 73, 74 that are operated to individually stop the rotating reels 42L, 42M, 42R are provided. Each of the stop switches 72, 73, 74 is arranged directly below the display windows 31L, 31M, 31R corresponding to the reels 42L, 42M, 42R to be stopped. That is, when the left stop switch 72 is operated, the rotation of the left reel 42L is stopped. When the middle stop switch 73 is operated, the rotation of the middle reel 42M is stopped and the right stop switch 74 is operated. In this case, the rotation of the right reel 42R is stopped. The stop switches 72, 73, 74 constitute stop operation means operated to stop variable display based on the rotation of the reels 42L, 42M, 42R. Each of the stop switches 72, 73, 74 can be stopped when a predetermined time elapses after the left reel 42L starts rotating, and is stopped by lighting a lamp (not shown) during such a state. It is notified that the operation is possible, and is turned off when the rotation stops.

  On the lower right side of the display windows 31L, 31M, 31R, there is provided a medal slot 75 for inserting a medal as an investment value. The medal slot 75 constitutes an input means for inputting the investment value. Further, if attention is paid to the point that the medal insertion slot 75 is accompanied by the operation of directly inserting the medal by the player, it can be said that the medal insertion slot 75 constitutes a direct input means for directly inputting the investment value.

  The medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 75 are guided to either the storage passage 81 or the discharge passage 82 by the selector 84 as passage switching means provided on the back surface of the front door 12. That is, the selector 84 is provided with a medal path switching solenoid 83, which is set to the discharge path 82 side when the medal path switching solenoid 83 is not excited, and switched to the storage path 81 side when excited. The medal guided to the storage passage 81 is guided to the hopper device 91 housed in the housing 11. On the other hand, the medal guided to the discharge passage 82 is guided to the medal tray 18 from the medal discharge port 17 provided in the lower front portion of the front door 12 and returned to the player.

  A hopper device 91 as a payout means for giving a medal to a player is composed of a storage tank 92 for storing the medal and a payout device 93 for paying out the medal to the player. The payout device 93 rotates a medal payout rotating plate (not shown) to discharge the medal to the opening 94 provided in the central right portion of the discharge passage 82 and to the medal tray 18 through the discharge passage 82. To come out. Further, a reserve tank 95 is provided on the right side of the hopper device 91 in order to avoid storing a predetermined amount or more of medals in the storage tank 92. A guide plate 96 for discharging medals from the storage tank 92 to the reserve tank 95 is provided inside the storage tank 92 of the hopper device 91. Therefore, when medals are stored more than the height at which the guide plate 96 is provided, the medals are stored in the reserve tank 95.

  A button-like return switch 76 is provided below the medal slot 75. The return switch 76 is a switch that is pressed when a medal inserted into the medal slot 75 is jammed in the selector 84. When this switch is pressed, the selector 84 is mechanically operated to operate the selector 84. The medals packed in 84 are returned from the medal discharge port 17.

  On the lower left side of the display windows 31L, 31M, 31R, there is provided a button-like first credit insertion switch 77 for inserting three virtual medals credited as investment values at a time. Further, on the left side of the first credit insertion switch 77, a second credit insertion switch 78 and a third credit insertion switch 79 are provided as button switches smaller than the switch 77. The second credit insertion switch 78 is for inserting two credited virtual medals at a time, and the third credit insertion switch 79 is for inserting one virtual medal. Each of the credit insertion switches 77 to 79, together with the medal insertion slot 75, constitutes an input means for inputting an investment value. Further, if the medal insertion slot 75 is accompanied by an operation of directly inserting a medal by the player, each credit insertion switch 77 to 79 is only accompanied by an operation of inserting a virtual medal based on the storage memory. It can also be said that it constitutes an indirect input means for indirectly inputting the investment value.

  The first credit insertion switch 77 has a built-in lamp as a light emitting member (not shown) to urge that the maximum number of medals that can be inserted per game (three) has not been reached. The lamp is turned on when the switch operation of the first credit insertion switch 77 is valid and prompts the operation of the switch 77. However, when there is no credited virtual medal or three medals have already been inserted. It is turned off under the circumstances. Here, instead of the above-described lighting, the player may make it easier to understand the prompt for medal insertion by blinking.

  A button-like settlement switch 80 is provided on the left side of the start lever 71. That is, the slot machine 10 has a credit function for storing and storing surplus inserted medals up to a predetermined maximum value (for 50 medals) and winning medals as virtual medals. The virtual medal is paid out as an actual medal when the settlement switch 80 is pressed while stored and stored. In this case, if paying attention to the function of paying out the credited virtual medal as an actual medal, it can be said that the checkout switch 80 constitutes a checkout operation means for actually paying out the stored game value.

  It should be noted that the surplus inserted medals up to a predetermined maximum value (for example, 50 medals) and the “credit mode” set to store and memorize the winning medals as virtual medals, the surplus inserted medals, In the case of a slot machine that can be switched to “direct mode” set so that the winning medal at the time of winning is paid out as an actual medal, the settlement switch 80 has a function as a changeover switch for mode switching. May be added. In this case, the settlement switch (changeover switch) 80 is turned on when pressed once, turned off when pressed again, and switched on / off every time a pressing operation is performed. When the settlement switch 80 is on, the credit mode is selected. When the settlement switch 80 is off, the direct mode is selected. If there are virtual medals when the credit mode is switched to the direct mode, the virtual medals corresponding to the virtual medals are paid out as real medals. Thereby, the player can execute the game in a format according to his / her preference by switching between the credit mode and the direct mode. The settlement switch 80 constitutes a switching operation means for switching the input value and game value handling formats.

  Below the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R of the game panel 30, a credit display unit 35 that displays the number of virtual medals stored and stored, and the remaining number of acquired medals that displays the number of remaining medals that can be acquired before the BB game is over. A display unit 36 and an acquired number display unit 37 for displaying the number of medals acquired at the time of winning are provided. Although these display parts 35-37 are comprised by the 7 segment display, it is naturally possible to substitute by a liquid crystal display etc. FIG.

  Here, a procedure for betting medals will be described. If a medal is inserted from the medal slot 75 at the start of the game, a bet is placed.

  That is, when the first medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot 75, the first effective line display section 32 is turned on, and the corresponding middle line becomes the effective line, and the second medal is the medal insertion slot. When the number 75 is inserted, the second effective line display section 33 is turned on, and a total of three combination lines including an upper line and a lower line corresponding to the second effective line display section 33 become effective lines, respectively, and the third medal is a medal. When it is inserted into the insertion port 75, the third effective line display unit 34 is further turned on, and a total of five combination lines including a pair of diagonal lines corresponding thereto become effective lines.

  When four or more medals are inserted into the medal slot 75, the surplus medals exceeding three are stored inside the slot machine if the number of virtual medals stored and stored at that time is less than 50. At the same time, the number of virtual medals on the credit display unit 35 is added and displayed. On the other hand, when the number of virtual medals is 50 or reaches 50, the selector 84 switches from the storage passage 81 to the discharge passage 82, and the surplus medals are returned from the medal discharge port 17 to the medal tray 18. Is done.

  Further, when the stored number is displayed on the credit display unit 35, a virtual medal is inserted even when any of the first to third credit insertion switches 77 to 79 is pressed, and a bet is made. .

  When the third credit insertion switch 79 is pressed, the numerical value displayed on the credit display unit 35 is decremented by one as a virtual medal is inserted, and the first effective line display unit 32 is turned on. The middle line becomes the active line. When the second credit insertion switch 78 is pressed, two numerical values displayed on the credit display unit 35 as two virtual medals are inserted are subtracted, and the first valid line display unit 32 and the second The effective line display unit 33 is turned on, and a total of three combination lines become effective lines. When the first credit insertion switch 77 is pressed, three numerical values displayed on the credit display unit 35 are subtracted as three virtual medals are inserted, and all the effective line display units 32 to 34 are displayed. Lights up and a total of five combination lines become effective lines.

  In addition, when the virtual medal to be inserted when any of the first to third credit insertion switches 77 to 79 is pressed is not stored, for example, when the display of the credit display unit 35 is 2, the first credit For example, when the insertion switch 77 is pressed, all the numerical values in the credit display unit 35 are subtracted to 0, and a bet is placed for the virtual medal that can be inserted.

  On the upper part of the front door 12, there are an upper lamp 13 that lights up or flashes as the game progresses, and a pair of left and right sounds that make various sound effects as the game progresses and inform the player of the game state Speaker 14 and an auxiliary display unit 15 for giving various information to the player. In the present embodiment, the auxiliary display unit 15 is configured by a liquid crystal display for the purpose of diversifying display contents and increasing the display effect. However, other displays such as a dot matrix display may be used. Good. The auxiliary display unit 15 is for executing various display effects as the game progresses, and it can be considered that the game by the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R is caused by the main display unit. This is referred to as an auxiliary display unit 15. On the back surface of the auxiliary display unit 15, an upper lamp 13, a speaker 14, and a display control device 111 for driving the auxiliary display unit 15 are provided. The positions and numbers of the upper lamp 13 and the speakers 14 are not limited to those described above.

  A lower plate 16 on which a model name, a character related to a game, and the like are displayed is mounted above the medal tray 18. In addition, an ashtray 19 that can be reversed to the lower side on the front side is provided on the left side of the medal tray 18.

  A power supply box 121 is provided on the left side of the hopper device 91 inside the housing 11. The power supply box 121 includes a power switch 122, a reset switch 123, a setting key insertion hole 124, and the like. The power switch 122 is a start switch for supplying power to each unit including the main controller 131. The reset switch 123 is a switch for clearing the error state of the slot machine 10. Further, the setting key insertion hole 124 is used by a hole manager or the like to adjust the medal appearance. That is, the hall manager or the like can set the winning probability of the slot machine 10 by inserting the setting key into the setting key insertion hole 124 and turning it ON. The slot machine 10 is prepared in advance with six levels of setting values from “setting 1” to “setting 6”. The reset switch 123 is operated not only when clearing the error state but also when changing the winning probability of the slot machine 10.

  A main controller 131 is attached to the back plate 11 c of the housing 11 above the reel unit 41. The main control device 131 includes a CPU that controls the main control, a ROM that stores a game program, a RAM that temporarily stores necessary data according to the progress of the game, a port that communicates with various devices, time counting and synchronization. A main board including a clock circuit and the like used in the case of planning is provided, and the main board is accommodated in a board box as an encapsulating means made of a transparent resin material or the like. The board box includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box base and a box cover that covers an opening of the box base. The box base and the box cover are connected to each other so as not to be opened by a sealing unit as a sealing means, whereby the substrate box is sealed. In addition, it is good also as a structure which connects a box base and a box cover so that opening is impossible using a key member.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the slot machine 10 will be described based on the block diagram of FIG.

  The main control device 131 is equipped with a microcomputer centering on a CPU 151 as arithmetic processing means. In addition to the power supply device 161 provided in the power supply box 121, an input / output port 154 and the like are connected to the CPU 151 via an internal bus. The main control device 131 functions as a main base incorporated in the slot machine 10.

  On the input side of the main controller 131, there are a start detection sensor 71a for detecting the operation of the start lever 71, stop detection sensors 72a, 73a, 74a for individually detecting the operations of the stop switches 72, 73, 74, and a medal slot. An inserted medal detection sensor 75a for detecting medals inserted from 75, credit insertion detection sensors 77a, 78a, 79a for individually detecting operations of the respective credit insertion switches 77, 78, 79, and an adjustment for detecting an operation of the adjustment switch 80. Detection sensor 80 a, reel index sensor 55 that individually detects the rotational position (origin position) of each reel 42, payout detection sensor 91 a that detects medals paid out from the hopper device 91, and reset detection sensor that detects the operation of the reset switch 123 123a, set to setting key insertion hole 124 Various sensors such as a setting key detection sensor 124a for detecting that a key is inserted and turned on are connected, and signals from these various sensors are output to the CPU 151 via the input / output port 154. ing.

  The inserted medal detection sensor 75a is actually composed of a plurality of sensors. That is, the storage passage 81 extending from the medal insertion slot 75 to the hopper device 91 is configured such that medals can pass in one row. The storage passage 81 is provided with a first sensor, and the second sensor and the third sensor are close to each other on the downstream side more than the width of the medal. The inserted medal detection sensor 75a is constituted by each of the first to third sensors. The main control device 131 monitors the time from the first sensor to the second sensor, and if the elapsed time exceeds a predetermined time, the main control device 131 considers that there has been a medal clogging or fraud and makes an error. If an error occurs, an error notification is performed and an operation by the player until the error is canceled is invalidated. The main controller 131 also monitors the order in which the second sensor and the third sensor are turned on and off, both the second and third sensors are off, only the second sensor is on, and both the second and third sensors are on. Only when the third sensor is turned on, both the second and third sensors are turned off, and when the time for switching to each on / off switching is within a predetermined time, it is determined that the medal has been normally taken in. Otherwise, an error is assumed. The reason for this is to prevent injustice that the medal is reciprocated in the vicinity of the inserted medal detection sensor 75a and misidentified as the medal inserted in addition to the clogging of the medal in the storage passage 81.

  Further, a power failure monitoring circuit 161 b provided in the power supply device 161 is connected to the input side of the main control device 131 via an input / output port 154. The power supply device 161 includes a power supply unit 161 a that supplies driving power to the electronic devices of the slot machine 10 including the main control device 131, the power failure monitoring circuit 161 b described above, and the like.

  The power failure monitoring circuit 161b is for monitoring the power-off state and generating a power failure signal not only at the time of power failure but also at the time of power-off by the power switch 122. For this reason, the power failure monitoring circuit 161b monitors the stabilized drive voltage of 12 VDC in this example output from the power supply unit 161a, and determines that the power supply is shut off when the drive voltage drops below, for example, 10 volts. Power outage signal is output. The power failure signal is supplied to each of the NMI terminal (non-maskable interrupt terminal) and the input / output port 154 of the CPU 151, and the CPU 151 recognizes this power failure signal to thereby perform NMI interrupt processing as power failure flag generation processing accompanying the occurrence of a power failure or the like. Is executed immediately.

  The power supply unit 161a is configured to output a stabilized voltage of 5 volts used as a drive voltage in a control system such as the main control device 131 even when the output voltage is reduced to less than 10 volts. As a time for outputting the stabilization voltage, a time sufficient for executing the power failure process by the main controller 131 is secured.

  On the output side of the main controller 131, each of the effective line display units 32, 33, 34, the credit display unit 35, the remaining acquired number display unit 36, the acquired number display unit 37, and the reels 42L, 42M, 42R is rotated. Stepping motors 61 (61L, 61M, 61R), a medal path switching solenoid 83 provided in the selector 84, a hopper device 91, a display control device 111, an external concentration terminal plate 171 capable of transmitting information to a hall management device (not shown), etc. Etc. are connected via the input / output port 154.

  The display control device 111 is a control device for driving the upper lamp 13, the speaker 14, and the auxiliary display unit 15, and includes a substrate in which a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like for driving these are integrated. Then, after receiving a signal from the main control device 131, the display control device 111 independently drives and controls the upper lamp 13, the speaker 14, and the auxiliary display unit 15. Therefore, the display control device 111 is a sub-base that executes auxiliary control in relation to the main control device 131 that is a main base that manages and manages games. In other words, the sub-base is provided for voice, lamp, and display related to indirect games, thereby reducing the burden on the main base. In addition, it is good also as a structure which the display control apparatus 111 controls the various display parts 32-37.

  The CPU 151 described above stores various control programs executed by the CPU 151 and a ROM 152 storing fixed value data, and temporarily stores various data when the control program stored in the ROM 152 is executed. In addition to the RAM 153 for securing the area, although not shown, various processing circuits necessary for the slot machine 10 such as an interrupt circuit, a timer circuit, a data transmission / reception circuit, and the number of remaining RT games are counted as is well known. Various counters such as a remaining RT counter 155 are incorporated. The ROM 152 and the RAM 153 constitute a main memory as storage means, and a program for executing various processes shown in the flowcharts of FIG. 10 and subsequent figures is stored in the ROM 152 described above as a part of the control program.

  The configuration of the RAM 153 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The RAM 153 has a setting value storage area 156a for storing updated setting values, an RT1 flag storage area 156b for storing data used when executing an RT1 game and an RT2 game described later, an RT2 flag storage area 156c, and the like. A storage area for temporarily storing various types of data is provided. In various processes in the CPU 151, storage, reading, erasing, and the like of these various data are executed.

  Further, the RAM 153 is provided with a backup area 157. The backup area 157 receives data by supplying a backup voltage from the power supply device 161 provided in the power supply box 121 even after the power of the slot machine 10 is shut off due to an OFF operation of the power switch 122 or a power failure. Is an area in which is held. The backup area 157 includes storage areas such as a set value storage area 158, an RT1 flag storage area 159a, an RT2 flag storage area 159b, and a remaining RT counter area 159c. The backup area 157 stores the value of the stack pointer at the time of power-off in addition to the above data.

  When the power is shut off, the data stored in the normal areas 156a, 156b, and 156c is written to the corresponding backup areas 158, 159a, and 159b by register saving processing (steps S101 and S201) described later. . The remaining RT counter area 159c is written with the value of the remaining RT counter 155 when the power is shut off. When the power is turned on, normal areas 156a, 156b, and 156c corresponding to the data written in the backup areas 158, 159a, and 159b by register restoration processing (step S103, step S214, and step S501) described later. Returned to Further, the data written in the remaining RT counter area 159c is returned to the remaining RT counter 155. With the above configuration, it is possible to maintain the gaming state before power-off after power-on.

  Here, a protection area 159 is provided in the backup area 157. The data stored in the protection area 159 is not erased when the setting value change of the slot machine 10 is started. The protection area 159 is provided with the RT1 flag storage area 159a, the RT2 flag storage area 159b, and the remaining RT counter area 159c described above. Therefore, the data written in each of these areas 159a, 159b, 159c is not erased when the set value change is started. On the other hand, the set value storage area 158 is not provided in the protection area 159, and the data written in the set value storage area 158 is not erased when the set value change is started. A process related to erasing data at the start of changing the set value will be described later.

  Next, each control process executed by the CPU 151 in the main controller 131 will be described with reference to flowcharts such as FIGS. The processing of the CPU 151 is broadly divided into a main processing that is started when the power is turned on, a timer interrupt processing that is started periodically (in a cycle of 1.49 msec in the present embodiment), and an NMI terminal (non-maskable terminal). For convenience of explanation, the NMI interrupt process and the timer interrupt process will be described first, and then the main process will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the NMI interrupt process. When the power is shut off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like, the power failure monitoring circuit 161b of the power supply device 161 generates a power failure signal and outputs it to the main controller 131. In the main controller 131 that has received the power failure signal via the NMI terminal, NMI interrupt processing is executed.

  In the NMI interrupt process, first, a register save process is executed in step S101. In the register saving process, the values of all the registers in the CPU 151 used in the normal process described later are saved in the backup area 157 of the RAM 153. In such a register saving process, the data stored in the normal set value storage area 156a, RT1 flag storage area 156b, RT2 flag storage area 156c, and the value of the remaining RT counter 155 are used as the backup areas 158 and 159a. , 159b, 159c. A similar process is performed in a register save process S201 described later.

  Subsequently, in step S102, the power failure flag is set in a power failure flag storage area provided in the RAM 153. Thereafter, register return processing is executed in step S103. In the register restoration process, the value of each register saved in the backup area 157 is restored to the corresponding register in the CPU 151. In this register restoration process, the data stored in the backup areas 158, 159a, 159b, 159c is restored to the normal areas 156a, 156b, 156c and the remaining RT counter 155. The same processing is performed in register restoration processing S214 and S501 described later. If the power failure flag can be set without destroying the data in the register used by the CPU 151, the saving and restoring processing to the backup area 157 can be omitted.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a timer interrupt process periodically executed by the main control device 131. A timer interrupt is generated by the CPU 151 of the main control device 131 every 1.49 msec, for example.

  First, the register saving process shown in step S201 is executed. The contents of the register saving process are as described above. Thereafter, in step S202, it is confirmed whether or not a power failure flag is set. If the power failure flag is set, the process proceeds to step S203, and a power failure process is executed.

  Here, the power failure process will be described with reference to FIG. Since the power failure process is performed immediately after the register saving process in the timer interrupt process, other interrupt processes can be executed without interruption. Therefore, for example, during the process of transmitting various commands, during the process of reading the switch state (on / off), the process at the time of power failure is not executed by interrupting each process. It is no longer necessary to create a power failure processing program that also takes into account This simplifies the processing program for power failure processing and reduces the program capacity. This also applies to a processing program for power recovery processing described later.

  In step S301, it is determined whether command transmission has been completed. If the transmission has not been completed, the process is terminated and the process returns to the timer interrupt process to terminate the command transmission. In this way, it is determined whether or not the command transmission is completed at the initial stage of the power failure process, the transmission process is prioritized when the transmission is incomplete, and the power failure process is executed after the unit command transmission process is completed. By doing so, it is no longer necessary to construct a power failure processing program that takes into account that power failure processing is executed during command transmission. As a result, the power failure processing program can be simplified and the ROM 152 can be reduced in capacity.

  If YES in step S301, that is, if command transmission is complete, the process proceeds to step S302, and the value of the stack pointer of the CPU 151 is stored in the backup area 157 in the RAM 153. Thereafter, in step S303, a RAM determination value, which will be described later, is cleared as a stop process and the output state of the output port in the input / output port 154 is cleared, and all actuators (not shown) are turned off. In step S304, a RAM determination value is calculated and stored in the backup area 157. The RAM determination value is specifically a 2's complement of the checksum at the work area address of the RAM 153. By saving the RAM determination value in the backup area 157, the checksum of the RAM 153 becomes zero. By setting the checksum of the RAM 153 to 0, subsequent RAM access is prohibited in step S305. After that, an infinite loop is entered in preparation for the case where the power supply is completely shut down and processing cannot be executed. In consideration of, for example, the case where the power failure flag is set erroneously due to noise or the like, it is confirmed whether or not a power failure signal is output until the infinite loop is entered. If the power failure signal is not output, the power has been restored from the power failure state. Therefore, writing to the RAM 153 is permitted, the power failure flag is cleared, and the timer interrupt process is resumed. If the power outage signal is continuously output, the infinite loop is entered. Incidentally, although detailed description is omitted, it is confirmed whether or not a power failure signal is output even under an infinite loop, and when the power failure signal is not output, the processing shifts to a main process described later.

  The power supply unit 161a of the power supply device 161 holds the output of the stabilization voltage (5 volts) used as the drive voltage for the control system for a time sufficient to execute the above-described NMI interrupt processing and power failure processing. It is comprised so that. In the present embodiment, the drive voltage is continuously output for 30 msec.

  Returning to the description of the timer interrupt process, if the power failure flag is not set in step S202, various processes after step S204 are performed.

  That is, in step S204, a watchdog timer clearing process for initializing the value of the watchdog timer for monitoring the occurrence of malfunction is performed. In step S205, an interrupt end declaration process is performed to enable the next timer interrupt to be set for the CPU 151 itself. In step S206, in order to rotate the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R, a stepping motor control process for driving the stepping motors 61L to 61R, which are the respective rotary drive motors, is performed. In step S207, the state of various sensors (see FIG. 9) connected to the input / output port 154 is read, and sensor monitoring processing for monitoring whether the read result is normal is performed. In step S208, timer calculation processing for subtracting the value of each counter or timer is performed. In step S209, a counter process for outputting the bet number of medals and the result of counting the number of payouts to the external concentration terminal board 171 is performed.

  In step S210, command output processing for transmitting various commands to the display control device 111 is performed. In step S211, segment data setting processing for setting segment data to be displayed on the credit display unit 35, the remaining acquired number display unit 36, and the acquired number display unit 37 is performed. In step S212, segment data set processing in the segment data setting processing is supplied to the display units 35 to 37, and segment data display processing for displaying corresponding numbers, symbols, and the like is performed. In step S213, port output processing for outputting data corresponding to the I / O device from the input / output port 154 is performed. In step S214, a register restoration process is executed. The contents of the register restoration process are as described above. Thereafter, in step S215, an interrupt permission process for permitting the next timer interrupt is performed, and this series of timer interrupt processes is terminated.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a main process in the main controller 131 that is executed after the power is turned on. The main process is executed when the power is turned on by recovery from a power failure or by turning on the power switch 122.

  First, in step S401, as an initialization process, an interrupt mode for permitting an interrupt process is set, and thereafter various settings for a register group in the CPU 151, an I / O device, and the like are performed.

  When these initialization processes are completed, in step S402, whether or not the setting key is inserted into the setting key insertion hole 124 and is turned ON, more specifically, whether or not the ON signal is received from the setting key detection sensor 124a. Determine. If the setting key is turned on, the process proceeds to step S403, and the data clear process in steps S403 to S405 is executed. That is, in step S403, it is determined whether or not the reset switch 123 is operated when the power switch 122 is turned on, more specifically, whether or not the ON signal is received from the reset detection sensor 123a. If the reset switch 123 has not been operated, the process proceeds to step S404, and a partial RAM clear process is executed.

  In the partial RAM clear process, the data stored in the RAM 153 is cleared except for the data stored in the protection area 159 in the backup area 157. That is, in the partial RAM clear process, the setting value data stored in the backup setting value storage area 158 is cleared, but the backup RT1 flag storage area 159a, RT2 flag storage area 159b, and remaining RT counter area 159c. The data relating to the RT game (the values of the RT1 flag, the RT2 flag, and the remaining RT counter 155) stored in is not cleared.

  If it is determined in step S403 that the reset switch 123 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S405, and all RAM clear processing is executed. In the all RAM clear process, all the data stored in the RAM 153 including the data stored in the protection area 159 in the backup area 157 is cleared. As described above, by setting the partial RAM clear process and the all RAM clear process, it is possible to prevent the data used in executing the RT game from being forcibly cleared when the set value is changed. The data can be cleared as necessary.

  After executing the data clear process, a winning probability setting process is performed in step S406. Here, the winning probability setting process will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the slot machine 10 is prepared in advance with six stages of winning probabilities (setting values) from “Setting 1” to “Setting 6”. The winning probability setting process is based on any winning probability. This is a process for setting whether to execute an internal process.

  In step S501, register return processing is executed. However, if the all RAM clear process has been executed in step S405, there is no data saved in the backup area 157, so the register return process is not executed. On the other hand, if the all RAM clear process has not been executed in step S405, the data stored in the backup areas 158, 159a, 159b, and 159c as described above in the register restoration process is transferred to the normal areas. It returns to 156a, 156b, 156c and the remaining RT counter 155.

  Next, in step S502, it is determined whether or not the setting key is inserted and the ON operation is performed. If the ON operation is not performed, this processing is ended as it is. If it is ON, the next timer interrupt is permitted in step S503. Thereafter, the current set value is read in step S504, and the current set value is displayed on the credit display unit 35 in step S505. However, in the process immediately after the setting key is inserted and turned ON, the set value data is cleared by the previous data clear process, and therefore the set value displayed on the credit display unit 35 is “1”. .

  In step S506, it is determined whether or not the start lever 71 has been operated. If the start lever 71 has not been operated, setting update processing shown in steps S507 to S508 is performed. In step S507, it is determined whether or not the reset switch 123 has been operated. If the reset switch 123 is not operated, the process directly returns to step S505. If the reset switch 123 is operated, the set value is updated by 1 in step S508, and then the process returns to step S505. That is, in the setting update process, every time the reset switch 123 is operated, the setting value is updated by 1, and the updated setting value is displayed on the credit display unit 35. When the reset switch 123 is operated when the set value is “6”, the set value is updated to “1”.

  If the start lever 71 is operated in step S506, it is determined in step S509 whether the setting key is continuously turned on. If the ON operation of the setting key is continued, the process waits as it is, and if the ON operation is ended, the next timer interruption is prohibited in step S510. Thereafter, the set value is saved in step S511, and the present process is terminated.

  Returning to the description of the main process, after performing the winning probability setting process in step S406, a normal process for performing main control relating to the game is executed in step S407.

  If the setting key is not inserted in step S404, power recovery processing shown in step S408 and subsequent steps is performed. The power recovery process is a process for returning the state of the slot machine 10 to the state before the power is shut off. Therefore, in the power recovery process, it is necessary to first check whether the data in the RAM 153 is normal.

  In step S408, it is determined whether the set value is normal. Specifically, when the set value is any one of 1 to 6, it is determined to be normal, and when it is 0 or 7 or more, it is determined to be abnormal. If the set value is normal, it is confirmed in step S409 whether or not a power failure flag is set. If the power failure flag is set, it is further confirmed in step S410 whether or not the RAM determination value is normal. Specifically, the value of the checksum in the RAM 153 is checked to check whether the value is normal, that is, whether the value of the checksum including the RAM determination value is 0. If the checksum value including the RAM determination value is 0, it is determined that the data in the RAM 153 is normal.

  If it is determined in step S410 that the RAM determination value is normal, the process proceeds to step S411, the stack pointer value stored in the backup area 157 is written to the stack pointer of the CPU 151, and the stack state is set before the power is shut off. Return to the state. Next, in step S <b> 412, a power recovery command that tells execution of power recovery processing is transmitted to the display control device 111. Thereafter, in step S413, the game state is stopped and the automatic settlement setting storage process is performed, and in step S414, various sensors such as the start detection sensor 71a are initialized. After the above processing is completed, the power failure flag is cleared in step S415, and the processing returns to the address before the power is shut off. Specifically, the process returns to the timer interrupt process described above, and the watchdog timer clear process (step S204) is executed.

  On the other hand, if any of step S408 to step S410 is NO, that is, the set value is abnormal, the power failure flag that is set when the power is shut off is not set, or the RAM determination value is abnormal, There is a high possibility that the data in the RAM 153 has been destroyed. In such a case, the operation prohibiting process shown in steps S416 to S418 is performed. As the operation prohibition process, first, the next timer interrupt process is prohibited in step S416, and in step S417, all the output ports in the input / output port 154 are cleared, so that all actuators connected to the input / output port 154 are removed. Control to off state. After that, in step S418, an error notification process for notifying the hole manager or the like of the occurrence of an error is performed. This operation prohibition state is maintained until the above-described data clear process is performed.

  Next, normal processing for performing main control related to the game will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. Here, in the present embodiment, at least the normal gaming state and the RT game are set as the gaming state. The RT game is a game in which the winning probability of the re-gamer is set to be different from the normal game state. RT games include RT1 games and RT2 games that have different winning probabilities. In the following description, the normal gaming state will be described first, and then the RT game will be described.

  In step S601 of the normal process, it is determined whether or not a medal is bet. If a medal is bet, it is determined in step S602 whether the start lever 71 has been operated. If both step S601 and step S602 are YES, the lottery process in step S603, the reel control process in step S604, the medal payout process in step S605, the bonus game process in step S606, and the RT game process in step S607 are executed in order. Return to step S601. On the other hand, if no medal is bet in step S601 or the start lever 71 is not operated in step S602, the process returns to step S601.

  Next, the lottery process in step S603 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S701, a lottery table selection process is executed. In the lottery table selection process, it is determined whether or not the RT1 flag is set in the RT1 flag storage area 156b of the RAM 153 in step S801, and the RT2 flag is set in the RT2 flag storage area 156c of the RAM 153 in step S802. It is determined whether or not. These RT1 flag and RT2 flag are set when the gaming state shifts to the corresponding RT game, as will be described later. Therefore, in the normal gaming state, a negative determination is made in step S801 and step S802, and after the normal table is selected in step S803, this process is terminated.

  The normal table will be described. Here, the setting state of the slot machine 10 is any one of “setting 1” to “setting 6”, and a normal table is prepared corresponding to each setting. In this case, the table having the lowest BB winning probability is selected when “setting 1”, and the table having the highest BB winning probability is selected when “setting 6”. Further, the number of medals to be bet is any one of 1 to 3, and a normal table is prepared corresponding to each bet number. In this case, a table is selected such that the greater the number of bets, the higher the winning probability of the winning combination. For example, the winning probability of a winning combination when three bets are higher than the winning probability of winning when a single bet is three times. However, in the normal table corresponding to each setting and each bet number, the winning probabilities of the combination that is not the BB combination, that is, the replay combination, the cherry combination, the bell combination, and the watermelon combination are the same.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of a normal table that is selected when three bets are placed under the “setting 1” normal gaming state. In the normal table, the same number of index values IV as the number of winning combinations is set. That is, under the normal gaming state, five types of winnings of re-game, cherry, bell, watermelon, and BB can occur, so five index values IV of 1 to 5 are set. Each index value IV is uniquely associated with a winning combination, and a point value PV is set. Specifically, the point value PV of the re-playing role is 13107, the point value PV of the cherry role is 512, the point value PV of the bell role is 6554, and the point value PV of the watermelon role Is 512, and the point value PV of the BB role is 218.

  In step S702, the index value IV is set to 1, and in the subsequent step S703, a determination value DV used for determining whether or not the winning combination is determined is set. In the determination value setting process, a new determination value DV is set by adding a point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV to the current determination value DV. In the first determination value setting process, the random value latched by the random number counter when the start lever 71 is operated is set as the current determination value DV, and this random value is a point corresponding to 1 which is the current index value IV. The value PV is added to obtain a new determination value DV. Here, the random number counter will be briefly described. In the slot machine 10, random numbers from 0 to 65535 are generated using two 8-bit shift registers. Each shift register is updated one by one periodically (for example, every 100 ns), a value obtained by switching the upper bit and the lower bit of each shift register is input to the CPU 151, and the start lever 71 is operated (that is, the start detection sensor 71a). (When the ON signal is received) is latched as a random value. This is a device for making the random value used in the initial determination value setting process irregular. For example, a value obtained by randomly replacing the bits of each shift register is latched as a random value. Also good.

  Thereafter, in step S704, it is determined whether or not the combination corresponding to the index value IV is correct. In the winning / no-going determination of the combination, it is determined whether or not the determination value DV exceeds 65535. If the determination value DV exceeds 65535, the winning flag of the combination corresponding to the index value IV at that time is set in step S705. Incidentally, when the winning flag is a small role winning flag or a replay winning flag, these winning flags are cleared at the end of the game in which the corresponding winning flag is set. On the other hand, when the winning flag is the BB winning flag, the BB winning flag is cleared as one of the conditions that the combination of the BB symbols is established on the active line. That is, the BB winning flag may be valid for a plurality of games. In addition, in the success / failure determination of the winning combination after the next game carrying over the BB winning flag, the determination of whether or not the small combination or replay is made is performed, but the determination of whether or not the BB is related is not performed.

  If the determination value DV does not exceed 65535 in step S704, it means that the combination corresponding to the index value IV is lost. In such a case, 1 is added to the index value IV in step S706, and in the subsequent step S707, it is determined whether or not there is a role corresponding to the index value IV, that is, whether or not there is a role to be determined. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the index value IV added by 1 exceeds the maximum value of the index values IV set in the lottery table. If there is a winning combination to be judged, the process returns to step S703 and the winning judgment is continued. At this time, in step S703, a point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV is added to the determination value DV (that is, the current determination value DV) used to determine whether or not the previous winning combination is a new determination value DV. In step S704, the winning combination determination is performed based on the determination value DV. Incidentally, when the normal table shown in FIG. 19 is selected, the BB winning probability is about 1/300. On the other hand, the replay and small role winning probabilities are set higher than the BB winning probability, the replay winning probability is about 1/5, the bell winning probability is about 1/10, and the cherry and watermelon winning probability is 128 minutes. 1 of

  After setting the winning flag in step S705 or if it is determined in step S707 that there is no winning combination, a slip table for setting a reel stop control (stop table) is set in step S708. Perform table setting processing. Here, the slip table is a table in which it is determined how much the reel is slid (rotated) and stopped after the stop switches 72 to 74 are pressed. In other words, the slip table is a symbol that reaches the base point position (on the lower line in this embodiment) when the stop switches 72 to 74 are pressed, and a stop symbol that actually stops at the base point position. This is a stop data group with a defined relationship.

  In the slot machine 10, when the stop switches 72 to 74 are operated, when the reaching symbol is stopped as it is, when the corresponding reel is stopped after sliding for one symbol, it is stopped after sliding for two symbols. In this case, five patterns are prepared as a reel stop mode, in the case of stopping after sliding for three symbols, and for stopping after sliding for four symbols. This closely matches the timing at which the player operates the stop switches 72 to 74 and the symbol arrangement (hereinafter referred to as “stop appearance”) that stops in a visible range from each display window 32L, 32M, 32R. It is a device for associating. That is, by stopping the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R until the specified time (190 msec) has elapsed from the timing at which the stop switches 72 to 74 are operated, it is as if the stop outcome has been determined by the player's operation. It is possible to make a player have a good impression. In addition, by making it possible to slide up to 4 symbols, it becomes possible to stop combinations of symbols corresponding to the winning combination in the lottery on the active line as much as possible within the specified time. .

  There are five types of stop data related to such a stop mode (no slip, one frame slip, two frames slip, three frames slip, four frames slip), five types for the middle reel 42M, and five types for the right reel 42R. is necessary. In this case, if the stop data related to each reel 42L, 42M, 42R is allocated in units of bits, 3 bits of stop data are required for each reel 42L, 42M, 42R, and cannot be stored in one byte.

  In this regard, in the present embodiment, since five types of stop data are required, the compressed data is created assuming that the stop data is collectively a hexadecimal number. That is, the stop data is configured as “(data of the left reel 42L) × 36 + (data of the middle reel 42M) × 6 + (data of the right reel 42R)”. In this case, the maximum number of stop data that can be prepared for each reel 42L, 42M, and 42R is six, and there are 6 × 6 × 6 = 216 combination patterns for the stop data as a whole. The maximum value that can be expressed is 256 or less. As a result, the stop data for all the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R can be stored in one byte even though there are five types of stop data for each reel 42L, 42M, and 42R. Each reel 42L, 42M, 42R has 21 symbols, so one slide table can be composed of 21 bytes, and the storage capacity of the main controller 131 can be reduced. It becomes. Incidentally, in this embodiment, approximately 60 types of 21-byte sliding tables are stored in the ROM 152 in advance.

  Further, in the slot machine 10 that stores each piece of stop data as compressed data, a predetermined decompression process is performed when each piece of stop data is used. Specifically, the compressed data corresponding to the symbol number of the reaching symbol is divided by “36” (= 6 × 6), and the obtained quotient is grasped as stop data of the left reel 42L. Further, the remainder obtained by the division is divided by “6”, and the obtained quotient is grasped as stop data for the middle reel 42M, and the remainder is grasped as stop data for the right reel 42R.

  Through the processing described above, the CPU 151 can grasp the stop data of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R as decompressed data. The stop data for all the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R may be configured so as to be accommodated in one byte. For example, the stop data may be combined into a quintic number to create compressed data. . As a condition for stopping data to fall within 1 byte, a value obtained by multiplying the maximum number that can be prepared as stop data for each reel 42L, 42M, 42R may be 256 or less. Therefore, the maximum number of stop data that can be prepared for each reel 42L, 42M, 42R is not necessarily the same. For example, even when 6 types of stop data can be prepared for the left reel 42L, 8 types for the middle reel 42M, and 4 types of stop data for the right reel 42R, the combination pattern of the entire stop data is 6 × 8 × 4 = 192. Since the maximum value is 256 or less that can be expressed in 1 byte, stop data for all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R can be stored in 1 byte. Incidentally, in such a case, the compressed data is “(data of the right reel 42R) × 48 + (data of the middle reel 42M) × 6 + (data of the left reel 42L)”, and the decompression process corresponds to the symbol number of the reaching symbol. The quotient obtained by dividing the compressed data to be divided by “48” is used as stop data for the right reel 42R, and the quotient obtained by dividing the remainder obtained by dividing by “6” is the stop for the middle reel 42M. The remaining data is grasped as stop data of the left reel 42L.

  FIG. 20 is an example of a sliding table that is set when the watermelon symbol is stopped on the active line. The symbol having the number of slips of 0 is a symbol that actually stops on the lower line. For example, if the left stop switch 72 is pressed while the “bell” symbol which is the seventh symbol of the left reel 42L has reached the lower line, the left reel 42L stops without slipping and becomes the ninth symbol. The “watermelon” symbol stops on the upper line. In addition, a symbol whose number is not zero means that the reel slides by the number of symbols described. For example, when the left stop switch 72 is pressed while the “replay” symbol which is the eighth symbol of the left reel 42L has reached the lower line, the left reel 42L slides by one symbol and becomes the ninth symbol. The “watermelon” symbol stops on the lower line. That is, if a stop switch is pressed when a symbol with a number of non-slip numbers reaches the lower line, the corresponding reel slides until a symbol with a zero slip number reaches the lower line. Stop. Thus, in the sliding table, the number of slips when the stop switches 72 to 74 are pressed at the timing when the symbols attached to the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R reach the lower line is set for each symbol number. Yes. For example, stop data with a left slip number of 2, a middle slip number of 0, and a right slip number of 3 for symbol number 0 is set as 1-byte compressed data. One compressed data is obtained from the compressed data for each symbol number, that is, 21-byte compressed data. The table is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 21, in the slip table setting process, it is first determined in step S901 whether or not the BB winning flag is set. When the BB winning flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S902, and the first winning number uniquely corresponding to the winning flag is set in the winning number storage area of the RAM 153. The winning number is a number used to set the slip table. When the first winning number is set, the winning flag is not set or only one winning flag is set. Means. In the subsequent step S903, a sliding table uniquely determined from the value of the first winning number is set in the sliding table storage area of the RAM 153, and this process is terminated. At this time, in the slot machine 10, the symbol corresponding to the winning flag of the middle reel 42M and the right reel 42R is medium so that the symbol corresponding to the winning flag of the left reel 42L stops at either the upper line or the lower line. Set the slide table set to stop on the line. If the winning flag is not set, a slip table in which no winning mode is established is set.

  The sliding table shown in FIG. 20 is a sliding table that is set based on the first winning number when the watermelon winning flag is set. In other words, it can be said that this is the sliding table that is set first when the watermelon winning flag is set. In such a sliding table, for example, when the middle stop switch 73 is pressed while the “cherry” symbol, which is the fourth symbol of the middle reel 42M, has reached the lower line, the middle reel 42M stops without slipping, The “Watermelon” symbol, which is the fifth symbol, stops on the middle line. Also, when the middle stop switch 73 is pressed while the “watermelon” symbol, which is the fifth symbol of the middle reel 42M, has reached the lower line, the middle reel 42M slides by three symbols and becomes the eighth symbol. The “reach” symbol stops on the lower line, and the “watermelon” symbol, the ninth symbol, stops on the middle line. The same applies to the right reel 42R. For example, when the right stop switch 74 is pressed while the “watermelon” symbol, which is the fourth symbol of the right reel 42R, has reached the lower line, the right reel 42R has three symbols. The “reach” symbol as the 7th symbol stops on the lower line, and the “watermelon” symbol as the 8th symbol stops on the middle line. As described above, the “watermelon” symbol is set to stop on the middle line for the middle reel 42M and the right reel 42R.

  However, the left reel 42L is set so that the “watermelon” symbol stops on either the upper line or the lower line. That is, if the left stop switch 72 is pressed while the 7th “bell” symbol is on the lower line, the 9th “watermelon” symbol stops on the upper line and the 8th “replay” If the left stop switch 72 is pressed while the symbol or the number 9 “watermelon” symbol reaches the lower line, the number 9 “watermelon” symbol stops on the lower line. This is a device for diversifying the stop output in consideration of the fact that the stop switches 72 to 74 are generally operated to stop the rotation in the order of the left reel 42L → the middle reel 42M → the right reel 42R. .

  Even when the sliding table is set for the first time, depending on the timing when the stop switch is pressed, the “watermelon” symbol may not stop on the effective line, and so-called missing may occur. This is because the range that can be slid is pre-determined within 190 msec (maximum of 4 symbols) from the timing of pressing the stop switch, and then reaches the lower line from the “watermelon” symbol that has reached the lower line. This is because a section is set in which the interval to the “watermelon” symbol is 5 symbols or more. For example, in the case of the middle reel 42M, from the “Watermelon” symbol of No. 5 to the “Watermelon” symbol of No. 9 is only 3 symbols separated, from the “Watermelon” symbol of No. 9 to the “Watermelon” symbol of No. 5 Are separated by 16 symbols. For this reason, for example, if the middle stop switch 73 is pressed when the 11th “replay” symbol of the middle reel 42M reaches the lower line, even if the middle reel 42M is slid by four symbols, the “watermelon” "The symbol cannot be stopped on the active line."

  On the other hand, the “bell” symbol and the “replay” symbol are arranged on the lower line so that the distance between the symbol that reaches first and the symbol of the same type that reaches next is 4 symbols or less. Each reel 42L, 42M, 42R can be stopped after sliding up to a maximum of 4 symbols from the timing at which each stop switch 72, 73, 74 is operated. , 73 and 74 are operated at any timing, if the bell winning flag or the replay winning flag is set, the combination of the “bell” symbol and the combination of the “replay” symbol are stopped on the active line. Can be made.

  Returning to the description of the slip table setting process, if it is determined in step S901 that the BB winning flag is set, it is further determined in step S904 whether another winning flag is set. If no other winning flag is set, it means that only the BB winning flag is set. Therefore, the processing in steps S902 to S903 described above is performed, and this processing is terminated. On the other hand, when another winning flag is set, it means that the player has won a small role or replay with the BB winning flag carried over. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S905, and the second winning number uniquely corresponding to the set winning flag is set in the winning number storage area of the RAM 153. When the second winning number is set, it means that the BB winning flag and the small role winning flag or the replay winning flag are set. In the subsequent step S906, a sliding table uniquely determined from the value of the second winning number is set in the sliding table storage area of the RAM 153, and this process is terminated.

  At this time, the slot machine 10 sets a sliding table set so that a symbol corresponding to at least one of the BB winning flag and the other winning flag stops on any one of the active lines. Specifically, when the other winning flag is a bell winning flag or a replay winning flag, the “bell” symbol or the “replay” symbol is prioritized over the “7” symbol and is set to stop on the active line. Set the smoothed table. On the other hand, if the other winning flags are other than the bell winning flag and the replay winning flag, the “7” symbol is stopped on the active line with priority, and the “7” symbol is stopped on the active line. If not, the slide table set so that the symbol corresponding to the small role winning flag stops on the active line is set.

  Returning to the description of the lottery process, after the slip table setting process is completed, it is determined in step S709 whether or not a continuous effect is being performed on the auxiliary display unit 15. If the continuous effect is not performed, the process proceeds to step S710, and the continuous effect setting process is performed. Here, the continuous effect is a predetermined display effect over a plurality of games (two games in this embodiment) from the rotation start stage of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R in the auxiliary display unit 15, and the BB winning flag is set. If it is, the BB win is suggested after all reels 42L, 42M, 42R of the final game are stopped, and if not set, the BB is not won after all reels 42L, 42M, 42R are stopped.

  In the continuous effect setting process, first, a continuous effect lottery is performed to determine whether or not to perform a continuous effect based on the random number latched by the random number counter when the start lever 71 is operated. In the consecutive performance lottery, the winning probability varies depending on the presence or absence of the BB winning flag. The winning probability when the BB winning flag is set is about 1/5, and the winning probability when the BB winning flag is not set is set to 1. In this case, it is about 1/100. That is, the winning probability of the continuous effect lottery is set higher than the BB winning probability regardless of whether or not the BB is won, and the continuous effect lottery is performed regardless of whether or not the small role and replay are won. This is a contrivance to prevent the normal game from becoming monotonous. Then, if the lottery is out of the continuous production lottery, the processing is terminated as it is, and if the lottery is won, a continuous performance command is set and the processing is terminated.

  The continuous effect command is a command transmitted to the display control device 111, and the display control device 111 starts display control of the auxiliary display unit 15 to start the continuous effect by receiving the command. In addition, when a continuous effect is being performed on the auxiliary display unit 15, a continuous effect end process for setting an end command is performed in step S711, and then this process ends. The end command is a command transmitted to the display control device 111, and the display control device 111 recognizes whether or not BB winning is suggested by receiving the command, and a display corresponding to the recognized result. Display control of the auxiliary display unit 15 is performed so that the continuous production ends as a result.

  Next, the reel control processing in step S604 will be described based on the flowchart in FIG.

  In the reel control process, first, in step S1001, a rotation start process for starting the rotation of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R is performed. In the rotation start process, it is confirmed whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 4.1 seconds) has elapsed since the start of reel rotation in the previous game, and after performing a wait process that waits until the time elapses. The rotation of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R is started. For this reason, even if the player bets a medal and operates the start lever 71, the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R may not immediately start rotating. In the following step S1002, whether or not any of the stop switches 72 to 74 is pressed to generate a reel stop command, more specifically, whether or not an ON signal is received from the stop detection sensors 72a to 74a. If no stop command is generated, the system waits until a stop command is generated. However, in this embodiment, the period from the start of rotation of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R to the constant speed rotation at a predetermined speed is set as an invalid period, and the stop switches 72˜ Even if 74 is pressed, the ON signals from the stop detection sensors 72a to 74a are invalidated. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, a period from when each reel 42L, 42M, 42R starts to rotate until 0.5 seconds elapses is set as an invalid period.

  If any of the stop switches 72 to 74 is pressed in step S1002 and a stop command is generated, the process proceeds to step S1003, and whether or not the current stop command is the third stop command, that is, only one reel is selected. It is determined whether or not the stop switch is pressed while rotating. If the current stop command is not the third stop command, the slip table first change process is performed in step S1004.

  The sliding table first change process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the slip table first changing process, it is determined in step S1101 whether or not the current stop command is the first stop command, that is, whether or not the stop switch has been pressed down when all the reels are rotating. If it is the first stop command, the first stop change process shown in steps S1102 to S1105 is performed. In the first stop change process, it is confirmed which stop switch is operated in step S1102, and in step S1103, it is determined whether the left stop switch 72 is operated. When the left stop switch 72 is operated, this process is terminated without changing the sliding table. This is because the slip table is set on the assumption that the left stop switch 72 is operated first in the previous slip table setting process (see FIG. 21). On the other hand, when a stop switch other than the left stop switch 72 is operated, it means that the stop switch is operated in an order different from the assumed order. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S1104, and the winning number set in the winning number storage area of the RAM 153 is confirmed. In a succeeding step S1105, the slip table set in the slip table storage area of the RAM 153 is changed to a slippage table for irregular pressing corresponding to the winning number and the operated stop switch, and this processing is ended. In other words, it can be said that the first stop change process is a process of changing the sliding table based on the type of the winning flag that has been set and the operated stop switch.

  If it is determined in step S1101 that the current stop command is not the first stop command, the stop switch is pressed when the stop command is the second stop command, that is, one reel is stopped. Means that In such a case, the second stop change process shown in steps S1106 to S1109 is performed. In the second stop change process, first, in step S1106, the stop switch operated at the time of the first stop command and the stop switch operated at the time of the second stop command, that is, the operation order of the stop switches are confirmed. In subsequent step S1107, it is confirmed what number of symbols has reached the lower line at the timing when the ON signal is received from the stop detection sensor corresponding to the stop switch operated at the time of the second stop command. In the subsequent step S1108, it is confirmed whether or not the reaching symbol that has reached the lower line is a changed symbol that is uniquely derived from the currently set slip table. If the symbol number of the reaching symbol and the symbol number of the changed symbol coincide with each other, the process proceeds to step S1109 to change the slip table set in the slip table storage area of the RAM 153 to the slip table for line change and finish this processing. . Further, when the symbol number of the reaching symbol and the symbol number of the changed symbol do not match, this processing is terminated as it is. In other words, it can be said that the second stop change process is a process of changing the slide table based on the type of winning flag derived from the slide table and the stop switch operation timing (reel stop start position).

  The first stop change process and the second stop change process will be described taking a case where the watermelon winning flag is set as an example. When the watermelon winning flag is set, in the slip table setting process, the “watermelon” symbol of the middle reel 42M and the right reel 42R is set so that the “watermelon” symbol of the left reel 42L stops at either the upper line or the lower line. Is set to a sliding table (see FIG. 20) set to stop on the middle line.

  When the first stop command is not the left stop switch 72 but the middle stop switch 73, for example, when the middle stop switch 73 is operated at the timing when the “watermelon” symbol of No. 9 reaches the lower line, In the sliding table shown at 20, the “replay” symbol of number 11 stops on the lower line, not the “watermelon” symbol of number 9. That is, the “watermelon” symbol does not stop on the effective line even though the middle stop switch 73 is operated at a timing at which the “watermelon” symbol can be stopped on the effective line. In the first stop change process, the 9th “watermelon” symbol on the lower line is changed to a sliding table that can stop in order to avoid such a problem. More specifically, as with the slide table set in the slide table setting process, the slide table in which the “watermelon” symbol of the middle reel 42M stops on any of the effective lines (in the present embodiment, on the middle line or the lower line). Is prepared in advance, and when the middle stop switch 73 is operated, the slide table is changed. The same applies when the first stop command is the right stop switch 74.

  In addition, when the right stop switch 74 is operated as the second stop command in a situation where the “watermelon” symbol is stopped on the upper line of the left reel 42L, the upper line or the lower line is used to establish a watermelon prize. It is necessary to stop the right reel 42R so that the "watermelon" symbol stops above. On the other hand, since the slide table shown in FIG. 20 is a slide table that stops the “watermelon” symbol of the right reel 42R on the middle line, the “watermelon” symbol cannot be stopped on the upper line and the lower line. Accordingly, in the second stop change process, the arrival symbol reaching the lower line is confirmed, and the “watermelon” symbol is changed to a smooth table that can stop on either the upper line or the lower line. For example, when the right stop switch 74 is operated at the timing when the No. 8 “Watermelon” symbol reaches the middle line, the “Watermelon” symbol cannot be stopped on the upper line, so the No. 8 on the lower line. Change to the "slide table" to stop the "watermelon" design.

  Returning to the description of the reel control process, after performing the first change process of the slip table, or when the current stop command is the third stop command, the reaching pattern that has reached the lower line in step S1005 Confirm the symbol number of. In step S1006, the amount of slip corresponding to the reaching symbol is calculated from the slip table set in the slip table storage area of the RAM 153, and the symbol number of the stop symbol to be actually stopped on the lower line is determined in step S1007. In step S1008, it is determined whether or not the symbol number of the reaching symbol is equal to the symbol number of the stop symbol. If they are equal, a reel stop process for stopping the reel is performed in step S1009. In step S1010, it is determined whether or not all the reels are stopped. If all the reels are not stopped, the slip table second change process is performed in step S1011.

  The sliding table second change process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the sliding table second change process, the symbol number of the stopped symbol stopped on the lower line of the currently stopped reel is confirmed in step S1201. In step S1202, it is determined whether or not the symbol number of the stopped symbol matches the symbol number of the changed symbol that is uniquely derived from the currently set slip table. If they do not match, the process is terminated without changing the sliding table. If they match, the process proceeds to step S1203, the slide table set in the slide table storage area of the RAM 153 is changed to a line change slide table, and this process is terminated. After the sliding table second change process is performed, the process returns to step S1002 because there is a rotating reel. In other words, the slip table second changing process can be said to be a process of changing the slip table based on the type of winning flag derived from the slip table and the stop position of the reel.

  To explain a specific example, when the replay winning flag is set, in the slip table setting process, the “replay” symbol of the left reel 42L stops at either the upper line or the lower line, and the middle reel 42M and the right A sliding table set so that the “replay” symbol of the reel 42R stops on the middle line is set. For this reason, for example, when the “replay” symbol of the left reel 42L stops on the upper line, in the second change process of the slide table, it is changed to a slide table in which a re-game winning is established on the upper line or the lower right line. . Also, in the second change process of the slip table after stopping the two reels, it is confirmed on which active line the two winning symbols are stopped, and if the winning flag is set, all If the winning flag is not set so that the winning symbol combination can be established when the reels are stopped, the sliding table is changed so that the winning symbol combination is not established when all the reels are stopped.

  Further, in the second change process of the sliding table, the sliding table is changed not only when changing the effective line for establishing the winning, but also when changing the combination of winning symbols to be established. That is, when the BB winning flag and the small role winning flag are set, it is determined whether or not the “7” symbol is stopped on the active line, and when the “7” symbol is not stopped. The sliding table is changed so that a winning corresponding to the small role winning flag can be established.

  When the BB winning flag is not carried over, the second change process of the slip table performed after stopping the first reel and the second stop change process performed before stopping the second reel ( The sliding table first changing process) is the same as the process of changing the effective line for establishing a prize from the middle line. Therefore, the slot machine 10 is configured to perform only one process according to the type of the winning flag. Specifically, the second change process of the slip table is performed when a winning flag that does not cause a miss such as a bell winning is set, and when a winning flag that can cause a miss such as a watermelon winning is set. 2 Stop change processing is performed. This is a contrivance for reducing the chance of missing while reducing the processing load on the main control device 131.

  Returning to the description of the reel control process, if all the reels are stopped in step S1010, the process proceeds to step S1012, a payout determination process is performed, and this process ends. The payout determination process is a process of setting a payout number of medals as one of the conditions that a combination of winning symbols is arranged on an active line.

  In the payout determination process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 25, first, in step S1301, a combination of symbols on the predetermined effective line is derived from the symbol number of the stopped symbol stopped on the lower line of each reel 42L, 42M, 42R. . In the subsequent step S1302, it is determined whether or not the derived symbol combination matches a symbol combination that will result in a re-game winning or small role winning. If a re-game winning or small winning combination has been established, the process advances to step S1303 to determine whether the winning winning combination matches the winning flag set in the lottery process. If the winning combination and the winning flag do not match, in step S1304, the slot machine 10 is put into an error state and an abnormality occurrence process for notifying the occurrence of an error is performed. Thereafter, in step S1305, it is determined whether or not the reset switch 123 has been operated, and the process waits until the reset switch 123 is operated. If the reset switch 123 is operated, the process proceeds to step S1306 to return from the error state and start the subsequent processing.

  If the winning combination matches the winning flag, it is determined in step S1306 whether or not a re-game winning has been established. If a re-game winning is established, a re-game process is performed in step S1307. In the re-game process, an automatic insertion process for automatically inserting the same number of virtual medals as the number of bets of the current game is performed without reducing the number of virtual medals displayed on the credit display unit 35. That is, when a re-game winning is established in the current game, the player can play the next game without reducing medals owned and without inserting medals. If the re-game winning is not established in step S1306, it means that the small role winning is achieved. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S1308, and the payout number corresponding to the established small role winning is set in the payout amount storage area of the RAM 153.

  After determining whether or not a combination of symbols on the predetermined active line is successful, in step S1309, it is determined whether or not the payout determination has been completed for all active lines. If not completed, the process returns to step S1301. That is, in this slot machine 10, when three medals are bet and five effective lines are set, it is sequentially determined whether or not a winning is established for each effective line.

  For example, when the “cherry” symbol of the left reel 42L stops on the upper line, 2 is set as the scheduled payout number in the processing of steps S1301 to S1308 relating to the upper line, and in steps S1301 to S1308 relating to the lower right line. In the process, 2 is set again as the scheduled number of payouts. As a result, when the “cherry” symbol of the left reel 42L stops on the upper line, 4 is set as the expected payout number, and four medal payouts are performed in the medal payout process described later.

  Next, the medal payout process in step S605 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In the medal payout process, first, it is determined whether or not the payout number counted by the payout number counter in step S1401 matches the planned payout number stored in the payout planned number storage area. If the number of payouts does not match the planned payout number, it is determined in step S1402 whether the count value of the credit counter has reached the upper limit (the number of stored medals is 50). If the upper limit has not been reached, 1 is added to each of the count value of the credit counter and the number of payouts in steps S1403 and S1405. Thereafter, in step S1406, display unit change processing is performed in which the credit display unit 35 and the acquired number display unit 37 are each incremented by one.

  On the other hand, when the count value of the credit counter reaches the upper limit in step S1402, the medal payout rotating plate is driven in step S1404 to pay the medal from the hopper device 91 to the medal tray 18 through the medal discharge port 17. put out. In subsequent step S1405, 1 is added to the number of payouts according to the medal detection signal of the payout detection sensor 91a attached to the hopper device 91. Thereafter, in step S1406, display unit change processing for adding 1 to the number of acquired number display unit 37 is performed. After performing a display part change process in step S1406, it returns to step S1401 again. If the number of payouts and the number of planned payouts match in step S1401, it is determined in step S1407 whether or not the current gaming state is a bonus game. If it is not a bonus game, the process proceeds to step S1409, and after the payout end process is performed, this process ends. In the payout end process, the payout number storage area and the payout counter value are reset to zero. Note that the value of the acquired number display section 37 is reset when a medal is bet to start the next game. If the current gaming state is a bonus game, a process of subtracting the number of payouts from a count value of a remaining acquisition number counter described later in step S1408 and subtracting the number of remaining acquisition number display unit 36 is performed. . Thereafter, a payout end process is performed in step S1409, and this process ends. Note that the process of subtracting the number of remaining acquisition number display part 36 may be performed in the display part changing process in step S1406.

  Next, the bonus game process of step S606 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  Prior to the description of the bonus game process, the bonus game will be described. The BB game is composed of a plurality of RB games. The RB game is composed of 12 JAC games. A JAC game is a game that has a very high probability that a combination of JAC symbols is aligned on an active line, that is, a probability that a JAC winning will be established. When a JAC winning is established in the RB game, the maximum number (15 in this case) of medals is paid out. When the JAC winning is established 8 times, the RB game is ended even before the JAC game is played 12 times. Also, the BB game ends when the number of medals paid out reaches a predetermined number (specifically, 400). When the number of medals paid out reaches a predetermined number during the RB game, not only the BB game but also the RB game is ended. This is a contrivance for suppressing the player's euphoria by giving an upper limit to the number of medals to be paid out during the BB game, and ensuring the soundness of the game. Further, in the present embodiment, a combination of symbols to be transferred to the RB game is not set, and the structure is set to shift to the RB game immediately after the shift to the BB game and immediately after the RB game ends. Therefore, it can be said that the BB game is a game that continuously shifts to the RB game until a predetermined number of medals are paid out.

  In the bonus game process, first, in step S1501, it is determined whether or not the gaming state is a bonus game. When it is not during the bonus game, bonus symbol determination processing shown in steps S1502 to S1505 is performed.

  In this bonus symbol determination process, it is first determined in step S1502 whether or not the BB winning flag is set. If it is not set, this process is terminated. When the BB winning flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1503, where it is determined whether or not the combination of BB symbols has been stopped on the current effective line, and when the combination of BB symbols has not stopped, this process is terminated. On the other hand, when the combination of BB symbols is stopped on the current effective line, BB start processing is performed in step S1504. In the BB start process, the BB winning flag is cleared and the BB setting flag is set to obtain a BB game which is a kind of bonus game. In addition, 400 is set in the remaining acquisition number counter for counting the number of remaining medals that can be paid out during the BB game, and a process of displaying 400 on the remaining acquisition number display unit 36 is performed. Incidentally, whether or not the current gaming state is a bonus game is determined based on whether or not the BB setting flag is set. In subsequent step S1505, RB start processing is performed, and then this processing is terminated. In the RB start process, 8 is set in the remaining JAC winning counter for counting the number of possible JAC winnings, and 12 is set in the remaining JAC game counter for counting the remaining number of JAC games.

  If it is determined in step S1501 that the gaming state is a bonus game, the process advances to step S1506 to determine whether or not the combination of JAC symbols has stopped on the active line. When the combination of JAC symbols stops on the active line, the value of the remaining JAC winning counter is decremented by 1 in step S1507. After that, or when the combination of JAC symbols does not stop on the active line in step S1506, one JAC game has been consumed. In step S1508, 1 is subtracted from the value of the remaining JAC game counter. In step S1509, it is determined whether either the remaining JAC winning counter or the remaining JAC game counter has become zero. If any of them is 0, that is, if the JAC winning is achieved 8 times or the JAC game is digested 12 times, it means that the RB game end condition is satisfied, so in step S1510 the remaining JAC winning a prize. RB end processing is performed to reset the counter and the remaining JAC game counter values. In a succeeding step S1511, it is confirmed whether or not the count value of the remaining acquisition number counter is 0. If it is not 0, it means that the number of medals paid out during the BB game has not reached the predetermined number and the BB game end condition is not satisfied, so the process proceeds to step S1512 and the RB start described above is started. After performing the processing, the present processing is terminated.

  If neither the remaining JAC winning counter nor the remaining JAC game counter is 0 in step S1509, that is, if the JAC winning is not yet established 8 times and the JAC game is not consumed 12 times, step In S1513, it is confirmed whether the count value of the remaining acquisition number counter is 0 or not. If it is not 0, it means that the number of medals paid out during the BB game has not reached the predetermined number and the end condition for the BB game is not satisfied. On the other hand, when the count value of the remaining acquisition number counter is 0, it means that the BB game end condition is satisfied, and therefore, special game state end processing shown in steps S1514 to S1515 is performed. In the special game state end process, first, in step S1514, the above-described RB end process is performed. Thereafter, in step S1515, a BB end process for appropriately clearing the BB setting flag, various counters, etc. or performing an ending process is performed, and this process ends. In addition, even when the count value of the remaining acquisition number counter is 0 in step S1511, it means that the BB game end condition is satisfied. Therefore, in step S1515, the BB end process is performed, and this process ends. To do. In the BB end process, a BB end flag is set in the BB end flag storage area of the RAM 153.

  Next, the RT game process of step S607 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step S1601, it is determined whether or not the current gaming state is an RT game. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the RT1 flag is set in the RT1 flag storage area 156b of the RAM 153 and whether or not the RT2 flag is set in the RT2 flag storage area 156c. If the gaming state is the normal gaming state, since these flags are not set, a negative determination is made, and the RT game setting process in steps S1602 to S1607 is executed.

  First, in step S1602, it is determined whether or not the BB winning flag is set in the BB winning flag storage area of the RAM 153. If the BB winning flag is set, this process is terminated as it is. That is, in the situation where the BB combination is won in the combination lottery, the gaming state does not shift to the RT game even if the following RT game start conditions are satisfied.

  If the BB winning flag is not set in step S1602, it is determined in step S1603 whether or not the BB end flag is set in the BB end flag storage area of the RAM 153. In step S1604, it is determined whether or not a bell combination prize has been established. As a result, if the BB end flag is set or if the bell winning combination is established, the RT1 game start process is executed in step S1605. That is, after the end of the BB game or when the Bell winning combination is established in the normal gaming state, the gaming state shifts from the normal gaming state to the RT1 game. In the RT1 game start process, the RT1 flag is set in the RT1 flag storage area 156b of the RAM 153, and 50 is set in the remaining RT counter 155 of the RAM 153. Also, an RT1 game start command is set. The RT1 game start command is a command transmitted to the display control device 111. Upon receiving the command, the display control device 111 starts display control of the auxiliary display unit 15 to start the RT1 notification effect. The RT1 notification effect is continued until the RT1 game is finished. If the BB end flag is set, the BB end flag is cleared in the RT1 game start process.

  After the RT1 game start process is executed, a flag clear process is executed in step S1608, and this process ends. In the flag clear process, the bell winning flag is cleared. In the clear process, not only the bell combination but other small combination winning flags and re-playing combination winning flags are cleared, but the BB winning flag, the BB setting flag, the RT1 flag, and the RT2 flag are not cleared.

  On the other hand, if the BB end flag is not set and the bell combination winning is not established, it is determined in step S1606 whether or not the re-game winning is established. If the re-game winning is not established, this process is terminated as it is. If a re-game winning is established, RT2 game start processing is executed in step S1607. That is, when a re-game winning is established in the normal gaming state, the gaming state shifts from the normal gaming state to the RT2 game. In the RT2 game start process, the RT2 flag is set in the RT2 flag storage area 156c of the RAM 153, and 300 is set in the remaining RT counter 155 of the RAM 153. Also, an RT2 game start command is set. The RT2 game start command is a command transmitted to the display control device 111, and the display control device 111 starts display control of the auxiliary display unit 15 to start the RT2 notification effect by receiving the command. . The RT2 notification effect is continued until the RT2 game is finished. After the RT2 game start process is executed, a flag clear process is executed in step S1608, and this process ends.

  By executing the RT1 game start process or the RT2 game start process as described above, the gaming state shifts to the RT1 game or the RT2 game as described above.

  If the game has shifted to the RT1 game, an affirmative determination is made in step S801 of the lottery table selection process (see FIG. 18), and the RT1 table is selected in step S804. That is, in the lottery process (see FIG. 17), the lottery of the combination is performed based on the RT1 table.

  FIG. 29 illustrates an RT1 table that is selected when three bets are placed under the normal game state of “Setting 1”. In the RT1 table, as in the normal table, five types of winnings of replay, cherry, bell, watermelon, and BB occur, so five index values IV of 1 to 5 are set. In this case, in the RT1 table, the point value PV of the re-gamer is 54613, which is a larger value than the normal table. On the other hand, the point values PV of the other roles are the same. That is, in the RT1 game, the re-game role winning probability is about one-half, and the winning probability is higher than that in the normal gaming state. As described above, since 50 is set in the remaining RT counter 155 in the RT1 game start process, the state in which the re-game winning probability is higher than the normal gaming state continues for 50 games.

  If the game has shifted to the RT2 game, an affirmative determination is made in step S802 of the lottery table selection process (see FIG. 18), and the RT2 table is selected in step S805. That is, in the lottery process (see FIG. 17), the lottery of the combination is performed based on the RT2 table.

  FIG. 30 illustrates an RT2 table selected when three bets are placed under the normal game state of “Setting 1”. In the RT2 table, as in the normal table, five types of winnings of replay, cherry, bell, watermelon, and BB occur, so five index values IV of 1 to 5 are set. In this case, in the RT2 table, the point value PV of the re-gamer is 9102, which is a smaller value than the normal table. On the other hand, the point values PV of the other roles are the same. That is, in the RT2 game, the re-game role winning probability is about one-seventh, and the winning probability is lower than in the normal gaming state. As described above, since 300 is set in the remaining RT counter 155 in the RT2 game start process, the state where the re-game winning probability is lower than the normal gaming state continues for 300 games.

  Returning to the description of the RT game process, if the gaming state is an RT game, an affirmative determination is made in step S1601, and the RT game setting process in steps S1602 to S1607 is not performed, and the RTs in steps S1609 to S1612 are performed. Execute game release processing. That is, the RT game setting process is executed only when the gaming state is the normal gaming state, and is not executed when the RT game is set. Therefore, the transition of the gaming state between the RT1 game and the RT2 game does not occur, and the transition to the RT1 game or the RT2 game is basically made via the normal gaming state.

  In the RT game release process, first, in step S1609, it is determined whether or not the BB winning flag is set in the BB winning flag storage area of the RAM 153, or whether or not the BB setting flag is set in the BB setting flag storing area of the RAM 153. judge. If any of these flags is set, the RT game end process is executed in step S1610, and then the process proceeds to step S1608. In the RT game end process, the RT1 flag is cleared and the remaining RT counter 155 is cleared to 0 for the RT1 game, and the RT2 flag is cleared and the remaining RT counter 155 is cleared to 0 for the RT2 game. In other words, when the BB combination is won during the RT game, and the BB winning is not established in the winning game, the gaming state returns to the normal gaming state. Further, when the BB combination is won during the RT game and the BB winning is established in the winning game, the gaming state shifts to the BB game. However, after the BB game ends, the gaming state shifts to the RT1 game as described above.

  In the RT game end process, an RT game end command is set. The RT game end command is a command transmitted to the display control device 111, and the display control device 111 receives the command to end the display control of the RT1 notification effect or the RT2 notification effect in the auxiliary display unit 15. .

  If neither the BB winning flag nor the BB setting flag is set in step S1609, the value of the remaining RT counter 155 is decreased in step S1612 after subtracting 1 from the value of the remaining RT counter 155 in step S1611. It is determined whether or not 0 is reached. If it is not 0, the process directly proceeds to step S1608, and if it is 0, the RT game end process of step S1610 described above is executed. Therefore, if the BB winning combination does not occur during the RT game, 50 games continue for the RT1 game, and 300 games continue for the RT2 game.

  According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects are obtained.

  When the setting value change is started, the setting value change information stored in the RAM 153 (information stored in the setting value storage areas 156a and 158 of the RAM 153) is cleared. As a result, when the set value is changed, the set value can be changed from a predetermined initial value (“Setting 1” in the present embodiment), the set value change work is unified, and the set value change workability is improved. Can be improved. And by improving this workability | operativity, the setting value change of many slot machines 10 can be performed in a short time, such as before a store opening, for example in a game hall.

  However, in a configuration in which the game state information regarding each RT game is cleared as the set value change information is cleared, the game state is shifted to the normal game state by the set value change. In this case, even if the manager or the like in the game hall tries to change the set value while maintaining each RT game, it becomes impossible. In addition, the player can grasp that the setting value has been changed by confirming that the gaming state is switched from each RT game to the normal gaming state before and after the power is turned on / off. End up. This is not preferable in a game hall or the like where it is not desired to disclose to the player whether or not the set value has been changed. In particular, since there is a large difference in the winning probability of the re-gamer between the RT1 game and the normal gaming state, the player can easily grasp whether or not the setting value has been changed by performing several games. . Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the auxiliary display unit 15 notifies that the gaming state is the RT1 game or the RT2 game, whether or not the set value has been changed by checking the display mode of the auxiliary display unit 15 Can be easily grasped. On the other hand, when the setting value change is started, the game state information stored in the RAM 153 is not forcibly cleared. As a result, it is possible to prevent the gaming state from forcibly shifting to the normal gaming state due to the change of the set value, and to prevent the occurrence of the inconvenience.

  A reset switch 123 is provided, and when the power switch 122 is turned on, the reset switch 123 is operated to clear all data stored in the RAM 153. That is, by performing the above operation, the data regarding each RT game in the RAM 153 is also cleared. Thus, in a configuration in which the data regarding each RT game is not cleared when the set value is changed, the hall manager or the like can clear the data regarding each RT game at a desired timing.

  In the winning probability setting process (see FIG. 15), the set value is updated by operating the reset switch 123. That is, the reset switch 123 has a function of sequentially changing the setting, and the configuration can be simplified.

  When the power switch 122 is turned on while the reset switch 123 and the setting key are turned on, both the all RAM clear process and the winning probability setting process are performed. Assuming a configuration in which such processing is not performed at the same time, it is necessary to turn on the power switch 122 twice in order to perform both the all-RAM clear processing and the winning probability setting processing. In this case, such work becomes complicated, and for example, when the above work is performed on a large number of slot machines 10 before the game hall is opened, the work becomes long. On the other hand, as described above, the all RAM clear process and the winning probability setting process can be performed simultaneously (one ON operation of the power switch 122).

  The value of the remaining RT counter 155 is not cleared when the set value is changed. This prevents the number of continuing games of each RT game from being cleared when the set value is changed. If the number of continuing games is cleared when the setting value is changed, the player can grasp that the setting value has been changed by grasping the number of continuing games. On the other hand, since the value of the remaining RT counter 155 is not cleared as described above, such inconvenience can be prevented.

  In addition, it is not limited to the description content of each embodiment mentioned above, For example, you may implement as follows.

  (1) The register restoration process may be performed in the initialization process in step S401 in the main process (FIG. 14). That is, the data saved in the backup area 157 of the RAM 153 at the beginning of the main process may be restored to the corresponding storage area. In such a configuration, at the beginning of the main processing, data is restored from the backup areas 158, 159a, 159b, 159c to the normal areas 156a, 156b, 156c and the remaining RT counter 155. In this case, in order to prevent the data related to each RT game that has been restored from being partially cleared by the RAM clear process, the RAM clear process is partially performed in an area (normal area) that is not the backup area 157 of the RAM 153. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a protection area where data is not cleared, and to provide a normal RT1 flag storage area 156b and an RT2 flag storage area 156b in the protection area. Further, it is necessary to prevent the remaining RT counter 155 from being cleared in the partial RAM clear processing. In the present configuration in which the register restoration process is performed in the initialization process, the process of step S501 is not required in the winning probability setting process (FIG. 15).

  (2) The backup area 157 may not be provided in the RAM 153. However, it is necessary to supply backup power so that all data stored in the RAM 153 is retained so that the data is not cleared at the time of power interruption. In this case, in order to prevent the data regarding each RT game stored in the RAM 153 from being cleared when the set value is changed, a protection area in which data is not partially cleared by the RAM clear process is provided in the RAM 153, and the protection area is provided with the protection area. It is necessary to provide an RT1 flag storage area 156b and an RT2 flag storage area 156b. Further, it is necessary to prevent the remaining RT counter 155 from being cleared in the partial RAM clear processing. In the present configuration in which the backup area 157 is not provided in the RAM 153, the register saving processing steps S101 and S201 and the register restoring processing steps S103, S214, and S501 are not necessary.

  (3) In the winning probability setting process (see FIG. 15), when the reset switch 123 is operated after the process of step S505, only the data stored in the protection area 159 may be cleared.

  (4) In the above embodiment, in the main process (FIG. 14), it is determined whether or not the reset switch 123 is operated only when the setting key is turned ON and an affirmative determination is made in step S402. However, this may be changed. For example, it is configured to determine whether or not the reset switch 123 has been turned ON at a timing before determining whether or not the setting key has been turned ON. In this case, the RAM clear process is always executed when the power switch 122 is turned on while the reset switch 123 is turned on, and the power switch 122 is turned on when the setting key is turned on. Thus, a partial RAM clear process is always executed. With the above configuration, even if the setting value is not changed, the data stored in the RAM 153 can be cleared.

  Even in the above configuration, when the power switch 122 is turned on in a state where the reset switch 123 and the setting key are turned on, both the all RAM clear processing and the winning probability setting processing are performed. Assuming a configuration in which such processing is not performed at the same time, it is necessary to turn on the power switch 122 twice in order to perform both the all-RAM clear processing and the winning probability setting processing. In this case, such work becomes complicated, and for example, when the above work is performed on a large number of slot machines 10 before the game hall is opened, the work becomes long. On the other hand, as described above, the all RAM clear process and the winning probability setting process can be performed simultaneously (one ON operation of the power switch 122).

  (5) In the above embodiment, when the partial RAM clear process (step S404) or the all RAM clear process (step S405) is executed, the setting value is cleared to “1”. The setting value may be cleared to “0”. That is, “0” is prepared as a set value in addition to “1” to “6” in the above embodiment. However, since the set value “0” is an initial value for setting change, it is preferable not to shift to normal processing when the set value is “0”.

  (6) In the above embodiment, the set value is updated by operating the reset switch 123 in the winning probability setting process (see FIG. 15), but this may be changed. For example, another function such as the stop switches 72 to 74 may be used for updating the set value. Further, a configuration may be provided in which an operation switch for setting value update is provided.

  (7) When changing the set value (partial RAM clear process), not only the RT game but also the information related to the BB game may not be cleared. That is, the protection area 159 of the RAM 153 is provided with a BB winning flag storage area, a BB setting flag storage area, and the like.

  (8) A notification that the gaming state is the RT1 game or the RT2 game may be performed by a device other than the auxiliary display unit 15. For example, an RT game notification unit that is turned on when a corresponding RT game is obtained may be provided, or such a notification may be provided by a speaker.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which does not alert | report that a game state is RT1 game or RT2 game. Even in such a configuration, the RT1 game has a remarkably high probability of winning a re-gamer with respect to the normal gaming state. Therefore, when the setting value is changed, the RT1 game shifts from the RT1 game to the normal gaming state. It is possible to easily grasp the presence or absence of a change in the set value by playing several games. Therefore, as in the above embodiment, it is preferable that the data regarding each RT game is not cleared when the set value is changed.

  (9) The “other gaming state” may be a gaming state different from the RT game. For example, it may be a gaming state in which the winning probability of a predetermined small role such as a bell role or a watermelon role is high. Further, for example, a gaming state in which the winning probability of the BB game changes with respect to the normal gaming state may be adopted. Also, a so-called CT game or AT game may be used. Furthermore, it is good also as a structure provided with said each game state compoundly. In other words, a CT game may be provided instead of the RT1 game, and an AT game may be provided instead of the RT2 game. Even with each of the above configurations, it is possible to prevent the player from grasping whether or not the setting value has been changed by preventing the game state information regarding each game from being cleared when the setting value is changed. It is done.

  (10) In the above embodiment, the RT1 game is ended by continuing 50 games, and the RT2 game is ended by continuing 300 games. However, the end condition may be changed. For example, acquisition of a predetermined number of medals or payout may be used as the end condition. Even in the configuration with the end condition, by preventing the information regarding the end condition from being cleared when the set value is changed, it is possible to prevent the player from grasping whether or not the set value has been changed. It is done.

  (11) In the above embodiment, a slot machine having three reels arranged in parallel and having five lines as effective lines has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, five reels are arranged in parallel. It may be a slot machine provided or a slot machine having seven effective lines.

  (12) In the above embodiment, three symbols can be visually recognized from the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R, and an effective line is set at each visible position of these symbols. The effective line may be set only at the position. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which five symbols are visible from the display windows 31L, 31M, and 31R, and an effective line is set at a position where the center and the three symbols above and below it are visible.

  Further, the number of positions where the effective line is set may be different for each reel. For example, in a configuration in which three reels of each symbol can be visually recognized from the display window, the upper row for the left reel, the upper row, the middle row, and the lower row for the middle reel, and the upper row and the lower row for the right reel are valid lines. The position to be set. Then, a first combination line connecting the upper stages of the reels, a second combination line connecting the upper stage of the left reel, the upper stage of the middle reel, and the lower stage of the right reel, and a third combination line connecting the upper stage of the left reel, the middle stage of the middle reel, and the upper stage of the right reel. Any one of the five combination lines, the fourth combination line connecting the upper left reel, the middle middle reel, and the lower right reel, and the fifth combination line connecting the upper left reel, the middle lower reel, and the lower right reel. The active line is set according to the number of medals bet. Even with these configurations, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be achieved.

  (13) In the above embodiment, a so-called A type slot machine has been described. However, a B type, a C type, a combined type of A type and C type, a combined type of B type and C type, and further a CT game are provided. The present invention may be applied to any type of slot machine such as the above type, and it is clear that the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained in any case.

  (14) In the above embodiment, the BB game is configured to end when the number of acquired sheets reaches a predetermined number. However, the end condition is arbitrary. For example, it may be configured to end by a predetermined number of games or a predetermined number of JAC prizes.

  (15) The symbols of the reels 42L, 42M, and 42R are not limited to pictures, numbers, characters, and the like, but may be geometric lines or figures. In addition, the design can be configured by light, color, or the like, the design can be configured by a three-dimensional shape or the like, and the design can be configured by combining these. That is, it is sufficient that the symbol has a function as identification information (identification information).

  (16) In the above embodiment, the slot machine 10 in which the number of valid lines set in accordance with the number of medals bet has been described, but a fixed number (for example, five) regardless of the number of medals bet. You may apply to the slot machine which sets an effective line. Even when the present invention is applied to such a slot machine, it is clear that the same operational effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  (17) In the above embodiment, a specific example of the slot machine 10 has been shown. However, a ball-use spinning game including a ball tray for storing game balls and a take-in device for taking in the stored game balls You may apply to the machine. Further, the present invention may be applied to a pachinko gaming machine capable of changing a set value corresponding to a jackpot probability or the like.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Slot machine as game machine, 11 ... Housing | casing, 12 ... Front door, 15 ... Auxiliary display part which comprises alerting | reporting means, 31 ... Display window, 41 ... Reel unit as a picture display apparatus, 42 ... As a circulating body 61 ... Stepping motor as drive means, 71 ... Start lever as start operation means, 72-74 ... Stop switch as stop operation means, 111 ... Display control device constituting notification means, 122 ... Power-on operation Power switch as means, 123 ... Reset switch as erase operation means, 124 ... Setting key insertion hole as key insertion part, 131 ... Main controller constituting lottery means, state transition means, etc. 151 ... Main control means, etc. CPU, 152... ROM, 153... RAM as temporary storage means, 155. 156a, 158 ... set value storage area, 156b, 159a ... RT1 flag storage area, 156c, 159b ... RT2 flag storage area, 157 ... backup area, 159 ... protection area as protection storage means, 159c ... remaining RT counter area 161 ... Power supply device.

Claims (1)

A state transition means for transitioning the gaming state to another gaming state having a different expected game media acquisition value from the normal gaming state when a predetermined transition condition is established;
Setting value determining means for setting a plurality of stages of setting values corresponding to expected acquisition values of game media, and determining one setting value from these setting values;
Setting value changing means operated to change the setting value determined by the setting value determining means;
A gaming machine comprising: game state information that makes it possible to specify that the game state is the other game state; and storage means for storing various information relating to the game including the set value information determined by the set value determining means In
An information initialization unit that initializes the storage unit when a set value change based on an operation of the set value change unit is started;
The said storage means a protective storage means which is not initialized by the information initializing unit, while not store the setting value information on the protection storage unit, a configuration in which Ru is stored the game state information,
After the initialization by the information initialization means, comprising means for preventing the processing for controlling the progress of the game from being started unless the setting value changing means is operated and the setting value is changed.
A state returning means for returning the gaming state to the normal gaming state when a predetermined end condition is established in the other gaming state;
A gaming machine, wherein the protection storage means stores termination condition information relating to the termination condition .

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