JP5548859B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine, and in particular, it is possible to execute a plurality of symbol variations with a temporary stop between the start of the symbol variation indicating the result of the hit determination and the final display. It relates to gaming machines.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a gaming machine that notifies a player of a result of hit determination whether or not to execute a hit game advantageous to the player using a display means for displaying a symbol. In this gaming machine, a winning judgment is made due to the winning of a game ball to the starting port provided on the game board, and the effect pattern of the effect (notification effect) to be confirmed and displayed after changing the symbol, It is determined according to the result of the hit determination. By executing the variation effect according to this effect pattern, the result of the hit determination is notified to the player.

  And in order to improve the taste of the notification effect, the game machine that temporarily stops the combination of symbols other than the winning combination between the start of the symbol change and the final display, and then executes the continuously variable effect for changing the symbol again. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such symbol variation is generally referred to as pseudo-continuous variation. While the result of one hit determination is displayed, the impression is as if multiple hit determination results are shown. Can be given to players. Using this continuous variation effect, for example, the notification effect so that the probability that the result of the hit determination is “hit” increases as the number of times of each symbol change performed with a temporary stop is increased during the continuous change effect. By setting the execution ratio, it is possible to attract the player's interest. In addition, it is possible to improve the preference of the notification effect by making it appear as if an effect spanning multiple hit determinations is performed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-680

  However, in such a conventional gaming machine, even if the player is strongly interested in the number of symbol variations performed during one notification effect, the number of symbol variations actually performs the notification effect. Until then, there is a problem that the player cannot grasp or guess. In other words, even if the game ball passes through the starting port, the player can only get one opportunity to perform the hit determination once, and has no information about the number of symbol fluctuations in the notification effect that is executed thereafter. It could not be obtained, and the player's willingness to play could not be improved sufficiently.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and allows the player to appropriately grasp or estimate the number of symbol variations executed during one notification effect as the game progresses. An object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine capable of improving a player's willingness to play.

In order to achieve the above object, the gaming machine according to claim 1 is responsible for main control of the game and transmits a main control means for transmitting a signal according to the control, a display means for displaying a symbol, and the main control means. Sub-control means for controlling the display by the display means according to a signal received from the main control means, game ball detection means for detecting the passage of the game ball to the starting port provided on the game board, Random number acquisition means for acquiring a random number due to the passage of the game ball detected by the game ball detection means, random number storage means for sequentially storing the random numbers acquired by the random number acquisition means, and the random number storage The winning determination means for determining whether or not to execute a winning game that is advantageous to the player based on the winning determination random number among the random numbers stored in the means, and the design is changed. The effect pattern storage means for storing a plurality of effect patterns of notification effects indicating the determination result of the hit determination means by causing the hit determination means to be determined, and the determination by the hit determination means are performed. when cracking, among the plurality of the effect pattern stored in said performance pattern storage means, and a presentation pattern determining means for determining one of the effect pattern corresponding to the determination result of the hit determination means, The sub-control unit includes: a notification effect control unit that causes the display unit to execute the notification effect according to the effect pattern determined by the effect pattern determination unit; and the random number that is sequentially stored in the random number storage unit, The result of determination by the hit determining means is the random number that has not yet been indicated by the notification effect. Part of a plurality of types of the notification effects, comprising: a number of reserved balls for displaying the number of reserved balls; and a number of reserved balls for displaying the number of reserved balls by the reserved ball number displaying means. Is a game machine that is a continuous variation effect that executes a plurality of symbol variations across a temporary stop to temporarily stop the symbol between the start of the symbol variation and the final display. effect pattern in the storage unit, in a plurality of effect types number of the symbol variation differs executed and a plurality of said presentation pattern is stored, the effect type for determining further the effect types of the random number It includes a decision random number by the number of the pending sphere stored in the random number storage means when to start the notification effect and the effect type determination random number, effect type determined for determining the effect type of the effect pattern With a constant section, the presentation pattern determining means, performed according to the one determined from the performance pattern, the presentation pattern determined by the presentation pattern determining means belonging to the presentation type determined by the presentation type determination means for the notification Starring unloading being variation representing the random number minimum number of the symbol variation to be executed the in notification effect regardless of the number of the pending sphere stored in the storage means when to start the notification effect Information acquisition means for acquiring the number-of-times information from the effect type determination random number at the time of winning, variation number information transmission means for transmitting the number-of-variations information acquired by the information acquisition means to the sub-control means, and transmission of the number-of- variations information depending on the variation time count information transmitted by the means, to said notification effect that the variation time count information is acquired is finished Display and a mode determining unit, before Symbol hold ball number display control means for determining a display mode of the pending sphere which changes with increasing the hold balls, each of said pending sphere increases, already visible Table before Symbol Table示態like at least one of the display mode and the display mode of the pending sphere newly displayed with increasing the pending sphere of the pending sphere, determined by the display mode decision unit has wherein the Ru was shown.

In addition to the configuration of the invention described in claim 1, in the gaming machine described in claim 2 of the present invention, the reserved ball number display means displays the number of the reserved balls according to the number of marks as a normal display mode. It is possible to display a specific mark which is a display mode different from the mark to be displayed when a second display mode different from the normal display mode is determined by the display mode determining means, The display mode determination means uses the number of times of symbol variation indicated by the number-of-changes information acquired by the information acquisition means as the maximum value of the total number of the specific marks to be displayed on the reservation ball number display means. The display mode for increasing the specific mark is determined when the number of balls increases.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect, the reserved ball number display control means displays a plurality of the specific marks on the reserved ball number display means. In this case, the mark corresponding to the holding ball on which the continuous variation effect is executed is the specific mark displayed first among the plurality of specific marks.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the number of the reserved balls stored in the random number storage means, and the hit In accordance with the determination result of the determining means, there is provided an effect type determination table storage means for storing a table associating the effect type with the value of the effect type determination random number, and the effect type determination means starts the notification effect. At this time, one of the effect types is determined with reference to the table corresponding to the number of the reserved balls stored in the random number storage means.

In addition to the configuration of the invention according to claim 4, the gaming machine according to claim 5 of the present invention includes each of the variation count information indicating the number of symbol variations, the value of the effect type determination random number, Corresponding information storage means for storing correspondence information, which is information to be associated according to the correspondence between the effect type and the effect type determination random number in the table, and the information acquisition means is the effect type determination random number by the random number acquisition means. Is obtained, the variation number information associated with the effect type determination random number is obtained by the correspondence information.

According to the gaming machine of the first aspect, the continuous variation effect can be executed as the notification effect which is an effect indicating the result of the hit determination. The continuous variation effect is a notification effect in which a plurality of symbol variations are executed with a temporary stop while displaying the result of one hit determination, that is, between the symbol variation start and the final display. . When the game ball passes through the start opening and a random number is acquired, information on the number of symbol fluctuations (fluctuation frequency information) executed during the notification effect is shown for the notification effect indicating the result of the hit determination on the acquired random number. ) Is obtained from a random number. Next, a display mode of the number of reserved balls until the notification effect from which the variation number information is acquired is determined according to the acquired variation number information. Then, in the determined display mode, the number of reserved balls is displayed every time the reserved balls increase. That is, according to the number of symbol fluctuations executed during one notification effect, the display mode of the reserved ball that has already been displayed in response to the increase of the reserved ball and the newly displayed hold according to the increase of the reserved ball At least one of the display modes of the sphere can be changed. Thereby, when the number of held balls increases, in addition to giving the player an opportunity to make a hit determination, it is possible to cause the player to guess the number of symbol fluctuations in a notification effect executed thereafter. . Therefore, the player can continue the game while strongly expecting that the number of reserved balls increases . Also, the gaming machine of the present invention, effect pattern notification effect is, the number of symbol variation to be performed are stored separately in a plurality of different effect types (categories). Then, after determining the effect type based on the effect type determination random number and the number of reserved balls at the start of the notification effect , one of the effect patterns belonging to the determined effect type is executed . Further , when the game ball passes through the start port and a new random number is acquired, the variation number information can be easily acquired from the effect type determination random number. Therefore, it is possible to easily control the display of the number of reserved balls based only on the number of symbol variations without grasping the details of the effect pattern of the notification effect to be executed thereafter when acquiring random numbers . The gaming machine of the present invention further includes sub-control means for controlling the display mode of the number of reserved balls in accordance with a signal received from the main control means. Therefore, various effects using the display of the number of reserved balls can be executed without excessively increasing the processing load of the main control means that controls the main control of the game.

  In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, the gaming machine according to claim 2 of the present invention uses, as a maximum value of the total number of specific marks, the number of symbol variations performed during one notification effect. The specific mark can be increased in response to an increase in the number of reserved balls. Thereby, the player can be notified of the minimum number of symbol variations performed during one notification effect by the number of specific marks. Therefore, the player can enjoy the game with the aim of increasing the number of reserved balls while expecting that the minimum number of symbol fluctuations in the notification effect executed thereafter can be grasped at an earlier stage.

  In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 2, the gaming machine according to claim 3 of the present invention, when a plurality of specific marks are displayed, is displayed first among the plurality of specific marks. The notification effect corresponding to the specific mark is a continuous variation effect. Therefore, the player can easily grasp the timing at which the continuous variation effect is executed.

Further, in the gaming machine according to claim 4 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the table associating the effect type with the value of the effect type determining random number is a holding ball. Each type is stored according to the number, and the type of effect can be determined with reference to a table corresponding to the number of reserved balls when starting the notification effect. Therefore, when changing the selection ratio of the effect type according to the number of reserved balls, it is easier than the method of storing a plurality of tables for determining the effect pattern according to the number of reserved balls. The number of fluctuations can be grasped. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform display control of the number of reserved balls according to the number-of-changes information.

In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 4, the gaming machine according to claim 5 of the present invention includes variation frequency information indicating the number of symbol variations executed regardless of the number of reserved balls, and the effect type. Correspondence information that associates the value of the determined random number is stored. When the effect type determination random number is acquired, the variation number information associated with the effect type determination random number is acquired, and the display mode of the number of reserved balls is determined. Thereby, the number-of-changes information can be easily obtained at the time of random number acquisition while changing the selection ratio of the effect type according to the number of reserved balls.

1 is a front view of a pachinko machine 1. FIG. 2 is a front view of the game board 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 1. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a storage area of a RAM 52 of a main board 41. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the jackpot relation information storage area 5205 of RAM52. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a storage area of a ROM 53 of a main board 41. FIG. It is the conceptual diagram which represented the category determination table memorize | stored in the category determination table storage area 5305 of ROM53 corresponding to the change frequency notification command transmitted from the main board | substrate 41 according to a category determination random number. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a special symbol variation pattern determination table stored in a special symbol variation pattern storage area 5306 of the ROM 53. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of main processing in the main board 41. It is a flowchart of a subroutine of special symbol processing executed in the main processing. It is a flowchart of a subroutine of special symbol processing executed in the main processing. It is a flowchart of a subroutine of special symbol processing executed in the main processing. It is a table | surface which shows the winning ratio of the number of the specific marks which can be displayed lottery according to the change frequency notification command received from the main board | substrate 41. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of sub integrated substrate processing in a sub integrated substrate 58. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the display mode of the reservation ball number display part 29 in the pachinko machine 1 according to progress of time.

  Hereinafter, a pachinko machine 1 which is an embodiment of a gaming machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the mechanical structure of the pachinko machine 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a front view of the pachinko machine 1, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the game board 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the upper half of the front surface of the pachinko machine 1, a game board 2 is provided in which a game ball as a game medium launched from a launcher (not shown) flows by operating the launch handle 7. ing. The game board 2 is substantially square (see FIG. 2) and is protected by a glass frame 13 holding a transparent glass plate. In the lower part of the game board 2, an upper plate 5 is provided for supplying game balls to the launcher and receiving prize balls. A lower plate 6 for receiving a prize ball is provided directly below the upper plate 5, and a launch handle 7 for adjusting the launch of the game ball is provided on the right side of the lower plate 6. Further, a front-view crescent-shaped illumination device 35 is disposed above the glass frame, and speakers 48 are respectively provided on the left and right corners above the glass frame 13. In addition, a large number of lighting lamps for production are provided on the front surface of the glass frame 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a substantially circular game area 4 surrounded by a guide rail 3 is formed on the front surface of the game board 2. In the approximate center of the game area 4, there is provided a symbol display device 8 provided with a display screen 28, an LED, etc. composed of an LCD. A normal symbol start gate 12 is provided on the left side of the symbol display device 8. Further, a special symbol starting electric accessory 15 is disposed below the symbol display device 8, and a special prize opening 16 is provided below the special symbol starting electric accessory 15. Further, the normal winning ports 17 and 19 are provided on the left side of the big winning port 16, and the normal winning ports 18 and 20 are provided on the right side. In addition to the above, the game board 2 is provided with various illumination lamps, other illumination LEDs, windmills, and many obstacle nails.

  Next, the symbol display device 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the symbol display device 8 includes a display screen 28 formed of an LCD at the center. Various images such as moving images and messages are displayed on the display screen 28. In order to particularly notify the player of the result of the jackpot determination, the display screen 28 is provided with three demo symbol display portions side by side. . Then, by displaying the same demo symbols on the three demo symbol display units, the player is notified that the result of the jackpot determination is a win. Note that when a notification effect for notifying the player of the determination result is started, the operation of the demo symbol becomes a low-speed change through a high-speed change, and stops in the order of left and right. Then, if the left and right demo symbols are the same, various reach effects are performed indicating that the judgment result may be a big hit. If all the demo symbols are the same, the big hit game is started. The Rukoto. On the other hand, if the left and right demo symbols that have stopped after the low-speed fluctuation are different, the center demo symbol is also stopped without performing the reach effect, indicating that the determination result is off.

  In addition, the display screen 28 is provided with a reserved ball number display unit 29 below the demo symbol display unit. In the reserved ball number display section 29, among the game balls won in the special symbol start electric accessory 15, the number of game balls for which the result of the big hit determination has not been displayed, that is, the so-called special symbol actuated hold ball is marked 30. It is displayed by the number of. The mark 30 is provided with two types of marks, a normal mark 31 and a specific mark 32. Although details will be described later, the pachinko machine 1 uses the display of the mark 30 in the reserved ball number display unit 29 to display the number of times of change of a demo symbol (hereinafter referred to as “the number of symbol changes”) executed during one notification effect. Can be made to guess by the player.

  In addition, a special symbol display unit 25 configured by two 7-segment LEDs and a normal symbol display unit 24 configured by one LED are provided at the lower right of the display screen 28. The special symbol display unit 25 displays a special symbol composed of alphabets, numerals, or a combination thereof in order to notify the player of the result of the jackpot determination. The timing for starting and confirming the change of the demo symbol described above coincides with the timing for starting and stopping the change of the special symbol. Further, in the normal symbol display section 24, the lighting state indicates a normal winning, the unlit indicates a normal winning loss, and the blinking state indicates that the result of the normal winning determination will be notified from now on. It is said that.

  In addition, a special symbol memory number display LED 60 and a normal symbol memory number display LED 59 constituted by two LEDs are disposed at the lower right of the special symbol display unit 25 and the normal symbol display unit 24. The special symbol memory number display LED 60 displays the number of special symbol operation hold balls, and the normal symbol memory number display LED 59 is a game in which the result of the normal hit determination is not yet displayed among the game balls that have passed the normal symbol start gate 12. Displays the number of normal symbol operation holding balls that are spheres. Then, only the lower side of the two LEDs indicates that the number of reserved balls is “1”, that both are “2”, the lower side flashes “3”, and both flashes indicate “4”.

  Next, the outline | summary of the game and effect in the pachinko machine 1 of this Embodiment is demonstrated. In the pachinko machine 1, various random numbers are acquired when a game ball wins the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 and a jackpot determination is performed based on the acquired random numbers. The result of the jackpot determination is notified to the player when the special symbol displayed on the special symbol display unit 25 is fixedly displayed after the change. Furthermore, various notification effects are performed on the display screen 28 in synchronization with changes in special symbols in order to attract the player's interest more strongly while notifying the player of the result of the jackpot determination in an easy-to-understand manner. When a game ball wins the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 during the execution of the notification effect, a maximum of four newly acquired random numbers are stored as holding balls, and the result of the jackpot determination for the stored holding ball is The player is informed sequentially.

  In the notification effect, various effects are executed in accordance with the change of the demo symbol, and the combination of the demo symbols indicating the result of the jackpot determination is determined and displayed. And many variation patterns for determining the production time and the content of the production of the notification effect are stored, and when one of the variation patterns is determined with reference to the table corresponding to the result of the jackpot determination, the determined variation is determined. The notification effect and the variation of the special symbol are controlled according to the pattern.

  Here, on the display screen 28 of the pachinko machine 1, the demo symbols are temporarily stopped during the period from the start of the symbol variation to the final display, that is, during one variation of the special symbol displayed on the special symbol display unit 25. A temporary stop can be performed. The design at the time of the temporary stop is that the demo design is rocked slightly to make the player feel the illusion that the demo design has not been stopped, This is a mode in which the demo symbol is stopped for a time shorter than the stop display time. Then, after the demonstration symbol is temporarily stopped, the same variation as that before the temporary stop is executed again, and a continuous variation effect in which the symbol variation of the demonstration symbol is performed a plurality of times during one variation of the special symbol can be performed. The variation pattern for executing this continuous variation effect is programmed so that a variation pattern having a larger number of symbol variations is more likely to be determined in the case of a jackpot and less likely to be determined in the case of a loss. That is, it is set such that the greater the number of symbol variations of the demo symbol performed during the continuous variation effect, the higher the percentage of jackpot games being executed. Thus, the player plays the game while paying attention to the number of symbol variations executed during one notification effect. However, conventionally, until the notification effect is actually executed, it has been impossible for the player to grasp or guess the number of symbol variations.

  Therefore, the pachinko machine 1 receives information on the number of symbol fluctuations (hereinafter referred to as “variation frequency”) during the notification effect on the random number at the time when the game ball wins a special symbol starting electric accessory 15 and obtains a random number. Information ”). Then, the display mode of the reserved ball number display unit 29 is determined according to the fluctuation number information, and the held ball number is displayed every time the reserved ball increases in the determined display mode. Thereby, before the notification effect is actually executed, it is possible to notify the player of the minimum number of symbol variations executed during one notification effect, and the player's expectation for the big hit is increased.

  Further, in the pachinko machine 1, the maximum number of reserved balls that can be stored is “4”, and when the number of reserved balls is already “4”, a new random number cannot be stored. Therefore, when there are many stored balls, if the notification effect is not executed in a shorter time than when there are few held balls, there is a possibility that the chances of the hit determination being reduced. In order to solve this problem, a method of storing a plurality of tables for determining a variation pattern according to the number of reserved balls and setting so that the average time of the notification effect is shortened as the number of reserved balls increases is considered. It is done. However, this method makes it difficult to create a table, and it is difficult to reduce the processing load of the pachinko machine. In addition, when a game ball is won (when a random number is acquired) on the special symbol starting electric accessory 15, it is impossible to grasp the number of reserved balls when the notification effect is executed. Therefore, it has been difficult to grasp the number of symbol fluctuations executed in the subsequent notification effect at the time of random number acquisition.

  Therefore, in the pachinko machine 1, the variation pattern for controlling the notification effect is stored in a plurality of categories according to the number of symbol variations to be executed. Then, a table for determining this category is provided according to the number of held balls and the result of the jackpot determination. When a game ball wins the special symbol starting electric accessory 15, together with a jackpot random number for performing the jackpot determination Then, a category determination random number that is a random number for determining the category is acquired. When executing the notification effect, first, a table according to the number of reserved balls at that time is referred to, and the category is determined by the category determination random number. Next, one of the variation patterns belonging to the determined category is determined, and a notification effect is executed.

  With such a configuration, when the game ball wins the special symbol start electric accessory 15 during the notification effect, the variation number information is acquired from the jackpot random number and the category determination random number. As a result, it is possible to appropriately and easily acquire information on the number of symbol fluctuations that change in accordance with the number of reserved balls, while making it possible to execute a notification effect with appropriate contents according to the number of reserved balls. . Details of these will be described later.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 40 includes a main board 41, a power supply board 42, an effect control board 43, a payout control board 45, a lamp driver board 46, a relay board 47, and a sub-integrated board 58. This control part 40 is provided in the back side (back side) of the pachinko machine 1 (refer FIG. 1).

  First, the main substrate 41 will be described. The main board 41 that performs main control of the pachinko machine 1 is provided with a main board CPU unit 50 that performs various processes according to a program. The main board CPU unit 50 includes a CPU 51 for performing various arithmetic processes, a RAM 52 for temporarily storing values of data generated during the arithmetic processes, an initial control program, various data, and other boards. And a ROM 53 that stores commands and the like for instructing these, and these are integrally molded as one LSI. Further, an interrupt signal generation circuit 57 is connected to the CPU unit 50, and the CPU 51 executes a control program stored in the ROM 53 every time an interrupt signal is input from the interrupt signal generation circuit 57. To do.

  Further, the main board 41 is provided with an I / O interface 54, and sub-boards such as a sub-integrated board 58, a payout control board 45, and a relay board 47, and a game ball that has won a prize for the special symbol starting electric machine 15. Is connected to a start port switch 70 for detecting Further, the I / O interface 54 of the main board 41 is connected to an output port 55 for outputting information of the pachinko machine 1 to a game hall management computer (not shown).

  Next, the payout control board 45 and the relay board 47 will be described. The payout control board 45 incorporates a CPU 45 a, an input interface (not shown), a RAM and a ROM, and is connected to a prize ball payout device 49. Then, according to the command transmitted from the main board 41, the prize ball payout device 49 is controlled. The relay board 47 has a normal symbol operation switch 71 for detecting the passing of the game ball to the normal symbol start gate 12, a special winning opening opening solenoid 72 for opening / closing the opening / closing member of the special winning opening 16, and a special symbol starting. An electric accessory opening solenoid 73 for opening / closing the opening / closing member of the electric accessory 15, a big prize opening switch 75 for detecting a gaming ball won in the big prize opening 16, and a game ball winning in the normal prize opening 17 to 20 Are connected to a normal symbol opening switch 76, a normal symbol display unit 24, a special symbol display unit 25, a normal symbol memory number display LED 59, and a special symbol memory number display LED 60. The relay board 47 relays wiring of switches and solenoids and relays from the main board 41 to a display unit or the like that is directly controlled. In addition, when a game ball wins the special symbol starting electric accessory 15, the big winning opening 16, and the normal winning openings 17 to 20, a predetermined number of gaming balls are paid out.

  Next, the sub integrated board 58, the effect control board 43, and the lamp driver board 46 will be described. The sub integrated board 58 is provided with a CPU 581, a RAM 582, and a ROM 583, and is connected to the effect control board 43, the lamp driver board 46, and the speaker 48. Then, in accordance with a command transmitted from the main board 41, comprehensive control such as production is performed. Further, the effect control board 43 incorporates a CPU 43a, an input interface (not shown), RAM and ROM, and controls the display screen 28. The lamp driver board 46 incorporates a CPU 46a, an input interface (not shown), a RAM and a ROM, and a lighting device 35 is connected thereto. Based on the command transmitted from the sub-integrated board 58, the light emission of the lighting device 35 is controlled.

  Next, the power supply substrate 42 will be described. The power supply board 42 is connected to the main board 41 and the game ball launching device 37, and supplies DC stabilized power to each board and the game ball launching device 37. The game ball launching device 37 includes a launching motor (not shown), a touch sensor provided on the launching handle 7, a launching device stop switch, a firing strength adjustment volume, and the like. The game ball launching device 37 has a fixed interval (in this embodiment, 0.6 seconds). ) Launch one game ball into the game area every time.

  Next, the storage area of the RAM 52 of the main board 41 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a storage area of the RAM 52 of the main board 41. As shown in FIG. 4, in the RAM 52, it is determined whether or not a game ball has won a prize in each winning opening such as a counter storage area 5201 for storing various counters, a normal symbol start gate 12, a special symbol start electric accessory 15 and the like. A winning ball flag storage area 5202 for storing a flag to indicate, a normal hit relation information storage area 5203 for storing a random number acquired when a game ball passes through the normal symbol start gate 12, and a normal number for storing a normal symbol operation reserved ball number Symbol actuated ball number storage area 5204, jackpot relation information memory area 5205 for storing random numbers acquired when winning a game ball to the special symbol starting electric player 15, special symbol actuated hold for storing the number of special symbol actuated balls Control commands output to the ball number storage area 5206, the main board 41, the sub-integrated board 58, the payout control board 45, the relay board 47, etc. Command relation storage area 5207 to the flag relation storage area 5208 for storing various flags. Further, the RAM 52 is provided with various storage areas not shown.

  Next, each counter stored in the counter storage area 5201 of the RAM 52 will be described. The counter stored in the RAM 52 includes a random number acquisition counter for acquiring a random number, a timer counter for measuring time, a winning ball counter for counting the number of winning balls, and the like.

  First, the random number acquisition counter will be described. Examples of the random number acquisition counter include a normal hit determination counter, a big hit determination counter, a big hit special symbol determination counter, a category determination counter, and a variation pattern determination counter. The values of these counters are determined at regular intervals (for example, in the counter update process of the main process (S12, see FIG. 9)) that is executed based on the interrupt signal from the interrupt signal generation circuit 57 (see FIG. 3). , A predetermined amount (for example, “1”) is added every 2 ms which is an interval of interrupt signal generation. Each counter has a minimum value (lower limit value) and a maximum value (upper limit value), and is configured to circulate in a numerical value in a range from the minimum value to the maximum value. Then, every time the value is rounded to the same value as the initial value by the update, a new initial value is acquired, and “1” is added to the initial value. For the determination of the new initial value, a random number generated by an initial value random number process for generating a random number by a predetermined algorithm is used. These random number acquisition counters are used in a normal symbol process (S16, see FIG. 9) and a special symbol process (see FIGS. 10 to 12) of the main process described later.

  Next, the timer counter will be described. The timer counter is a counter used for measuring time, and a predetermined value is stored as an initial value at the start of time measurement. For example, when measuring 1 second, “500” is stored as an initial value. Then, “1” is subtracted by “1” in the counter update process (S12, see FIG. 9) performed every 2 ms, which is the interval of interrupt signal generation. If the value is not “0”, the value is “ It is determined that the predetermined time has passed by becoming “0”.

  Next, the winning ball counter will be described. The winning ball counter is used to count the number of game balls that have won the big winning opening 16 while the big winning opening 16 performs one opening / closing operation. The initial value of this counter is “0”, and is incremented by “1” every time a winning is detected in a switch read process (S11, see FIG. 9) of the main process described later. Then, it is initialized when the special winning opening 16 is closed.

  Next, the jackpot relation information storage area 5205 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a jackpot relation information storage area 5205 of the RAM 52. The jackpot relation information storage area 5205 is used in a special symbol process (see FIGS. 10 to 12) of the main process described later. As shown in FIG. 5, the jackpot relation information storage area 5205 is provided with a determination area and first to fourth storage areas. In the first to fourth memory areas, random numbers acquired by the game balls (special symbol operation holding balls) that have won the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 and have not yet been notified of the result of the jackpot determination are stored. . The determination area stores information on the result of the jackpot determination that is currently being performed and random numbers that are the basis of the jackpot game.

  In each of the determination area and the first to fourth storage areas, a jackpot random number field in which the value of the jackpot determination counter is stored, a jackpot special symbol determination random number field in which the value of the jackpot special symbol determination counter is stored, and a category determination counter A category determination random number column in which the value of the variation pattern is stored and a variation pattern determination random number column in which the value of the variation pattern determination counter is stored are provided. Then, when the game ball passes through the special symbol starting electric accessory 15, each value is stored in a storage area corresponding to the value of the special symbol operation reserved ball number storage area 5206 of the RAM 52, and the jackpot determination, jackpot is based on this value Are determined, the variation pattern category is determined, and the variation pattern belonging to the determined category is determined. Then, when the processing for the value stored in the determination area is completed, the value stored in the first storage area is shifted to the determination area, and processing such as the next jackpot determination is performed based on this value. Along with this, each value in the second to fourth storage areas is shifted to the one numbered young storage area, and the value in the fourth storage area is cleared. Here, the number of storage areas is four. In other words, the number of game balls that have won the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 can store a random number and can hold the operation is four. Accordingly, the upper limit of the number of special symbol operation reserved balls is four, and the value of the special symbol operation reserved ball number storage area 5206 does not take a value larger than “4”. In the ordinary hit relation information storage area 5203 of the RAM 52, similarly, a determination area and first to fourth storage areas are provided so that information on four game balls can be held.

  Next, the storage area of the ROM 53 of the main board 41 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a storage area of the ROM 53 of the main board 41. The ROM 53 has an initial setting storage area 5301 for storing initial values stored in the respective storage areas when the pachinko machine 1 is reset, and a control program for storing various programs for the CPU 51 to control the pachinko machine 1. A storage area 5302, a control command table storage area 5303 for storing a table of control commands output from the main board 41 to each sub-board, and a special symbol combination pattern storage area for storing a combination of special symbols to be displayed on the special symbol display unit 25 5304, a category determination table storage area 5305 for storing a category determination table for determining the category of the variation pattern according to the number of reserved balls, a special symbol variation pattern for storing information such as a table regarding the variation pattern of the special symbol and the demo symbol Storage area 5306, large Or determination, usually hit determination, the determination table storage area 5307 for storing various tables referred to when determining the like of the special symbols is performed is provided. Further, the ROM 53 is provided with various storage areas not shown.

  Next, the category determination table stored in the category determination table storage area 5305 of the ROM 53 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing the category determination table stored in the category determination table storage area 5305 of the ROM 53 in association with the change frequency notification command transmitted from the main board 41 according to the category determination random number. As described above, the category is an effect category to which each notification effect belongs. In the pachinko machine 1, “variation once + non-reach”, “variation once + reach”, “design variation twice”, “ Five categories of “symbol variation 3 times” and “symbol variation 4 times” are provided.

  In the notification effect belonging to the category of “variation once + non-reach”, the demo symbol is changed once, and the combination of the demo symbols indicating the deviation is fixedly displayed without passing the reach effect during the change. . Therefore, when the determination result is a big hit, the category of “change once + non-reach” is not selected. In the notification effect belonging to the category of “variation once + reach”, the left and right demo symbols become the same symbol without temporary stop, and thereafter various reach effects are performed. In the notification effect belonging to the category of “symbol variation twice”, the demo symbol variation is performed twice, but the reach effect may or may not be performed during the second demo symbol variation. In the notification effect of “symbol variation 3 times”, the demonstration effect is changed three times, and in the notification effect of “symbol change 4 times”, the demo symbol change is executed four times, and the reach effect is performed during the last demo symbol change. In addition, the effect time is longer for the notification effect with a larger number of symbol variations, and the notification effect in which the reach effect is performed is longer than the non-reach notification effect.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the jackpot expectation degree for each category is assigned by changing the category selection ratio according to the result of the jackpot determination. For example, the ratio of the category with the highest expectation of “symbol variation 4 times” is “48/128” in the case of jackpot, but is significantly smaller than in the case of jackpot in the case of losing ( For example, 2/128 when the number of reserved balls is 4. In the pachinko machine 1, the expectation level is assigned to each category so that the greater the number of changes in the demo symbol executed during one notification effect, the higher the expectation level of the jackpot. Therefore, the player enjoys the game while expecting that a notification effect with a greater number of symbol variations is executed.

  Here, in the pachinko machine 1, when the game ball wins the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 during the execution of the notification effect, the various random numbers obtained are stored as the holding balls, and the jackpot determination for the stored holding balls is made. The result is sequentially notified to the player. However, since the maximum number of hold balls that can be stored is “4”, when there are many stored hold balls, the notification effect is executed in a shorter time in order to prevent a decrease in the chance of executing the jackpot determination. It is desirable. In addition, when the number of reserved balls is small, it is desirable to perform the notification effect for a longer time in order to entertain the player by shortening the time during which the notification effect is not performed. In order to realize this, conventionally, a table for determining a variation pattern has to be stored separately according to the number of balls held.

  On the other hand, in the pachinko machine 1, before specifically determining the variation pattern, the category of the notification effect is determined according to the number of reserved balls using the category determination table shown in FIG. Thereafter, one of the variation patterns belonging to the already determined category is determined using a variation pattern determination table (see FIG. 8) described later. The category determination table (see FIG. 7) is configured such that a category with a shorter presentation time (a category with a lower expectation) is more easily determined as the number of reserved balls is larger. For example, when it is determined that there is a shift in the normal state (non-short-time state) and the value of the category determination random number is 120, if the number of reserved balls is “3”, the category of “symbol variation 3 times” is determined. On the other hand, if the number of reserved balls is “4”, the “symbol variation twice” category is determined. As a result, it is possible to easily realize a reduction in the chance to execute the jackpot determination and a reduction in the time during which the notification effect is not performed. Note that the probability that the determination result is a jackpot is about 1/300, and even if the category selection ratio in the case of a jackpot is changed according to the number of reserved balls, the effect is small. The category selection ratio is the same regardless of the number of reserved balls. However, it goes without saying that the category selection ratio may be changed even in the case of jackpot.

  Further, in the pachinko machine 1, it is possible to cause the player to guess or grasp the number of symbol fluctuations in a notification effect performed thereafter by the display mode of the reserved ball in the reserved ball number display unit 29 (see FIG. 2). That is, it is possible to notify the player of the minimum number of symbol variations in the notification effect corresponding to the first displayed specific mark 32 among the displayed specific marks 32 by the number of displayed specific marks 32. In order to execute this process, it is necessary to grasp in advance the number of symbol fluctuations executed during the notification effect before the notification effect is actually performed. However, it has been difficult to grasp the number of symbol fluctuations in the notification effect executed after that when the random number is acquired. In particular, in a gaming machine that changes the execution ratio of the notification effect according to the number of reserved balls as described above, it is impossible to grasp the number of reserved balls when the notification effect is executed when a random number is acquired. Therefore, it was not possible to accurately grasp the type of notification effect executed thereafter.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the category determination table is configured so that the category with the larger number of symbol variations is determined as the value of the category determination random number increases. Thereby, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the symbol variation has been performed a predetermined number of times or more when winning the game ball to the special symbol starting electric accessory 15. For example, when it is determined that there is a shift during the normal state, it is possible to determine whether or not the number of symbol fluctuations is performed twice or more by determining whether the value of the category determination random number is 115 or more. it can. When the game ball wins the special symbol start electric accessory 15, a change frequency notification command for notifying the minimum number of symbol changes is transmitted from the main board 41 to the sub integrated board 58.

  More specifically, when it is determined that there is a shift in the normal state, if the value of the category determination random number is 1-114, the number of symbol fluctuations is one or two depending on the number of reserved balls. Therefore, a “change once command” indicating that the minimum number of symbol changes is one is transmitted from the main board 41 to the sub-integrated board 58. When the sub-integrated board 58 receives the change once command, in order to notify the player of the minimum number of symbol fluctuations to be executed, the sub-integrated board 58 performs the processing with the symbol fluctuation frequency in the notification effect corresponding to the command as one. Do. Further, if the value of the category determination random number is 115 to 121, the number of symbol fluctuations is either 2 or 3. Therefore, a “two or more times fixed command” indicating that the minimum number of symbol fluctuations is two. Is sent. If the value of the category determination random number is 122 to 125, a “three or more times confirmation command” indicating that the minimum number of symbol variations is three is transmitted. If the value is 126 to 127, the number of reserved balls is set. Regardless of this, a “four times confirmed command” is transmitted indicating that four symbol variations are performed.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to easily grasp the minimum number of symbol fluctuations in a notification effect executed thereafter when the game ball wins the special symbol starting electric accessory 15. Note that the configuration of the category determination table that is referred to during the time reduction state is the same as that of the table that is referred to during the normal state, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the special symbol variation pattern determination table stored in the special symbol variation pattern storage area 5306 of the ROM 53 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a special symbol variation pattern determination table stored in the special symbol variation pattern storage area 5306 of the ROM 53. The variation pattern is a variation pattern of a symbol used when a determination result by jackpot determination is shown. Due to this variation pattern, the variation time of the symbol displayed on the special symbol display unit 25 and the demo symbol display unit of the display screen 28, the display screen 28, the illumination device 35, the speaker 48, etc. in synchronization with the variation of these symbols. The pattern of the notification effect performed by is determined.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the variation pattern determination table is provided with a table according to the gaming state (normal state or short-time state) at the time of jackpot determination and the result of jackpot determination (hit or miss). In each table, one or a plurality of variation patterns are associated with the category described above. In special symbol processing (see FIG. 10 to FIG. 12) to be described later, a special symbol variation pattern determination table corresponding to the gaming state and the determination result is referred to, and the variation pattern belonging to the category determined by the category determination table and the category determination random number is changed. One of them is determined by the value of the variation pattern determination random number. For example, when it is determined that there is a shift in the normal state and the category of “symbol variation twice” is determined, any one of the variation patterns of reach non-establishment, normal reach, super A, and super B is determined. Any variation pattern that can be determined in this case is a variation pattern in which the variation of the demo symbol is executed twice. Further, when the category of “variation once + non-reach” is determined, a non-reachable variation pattern that is a variation pattern in which the reach effect is not executed is determined regardless of the value of the variation pattern determination random number. The variation time (ie, the time of the notification effect) in the notification effect of non-reach is set to be shorter as the number of reserved balls is larger. Thus, in addition to changing the appearance ratio of the notification effect according to the number of reserved balls, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the opportunity to execute the jackpot determination will be lost.

  It should be noted that the category determination table and the special symbol variation pattern determination table used in this embodiment are merely examples, and it goes without saying that the contents of the table can be set as appropriate. For example, the category determination table (see FIG. 7) of the present embodiment is configured such that a category with a larger number of symbol variations is selected as the value of the category determination random number increases. However, the present invention can be realized even in a configuration in which a category with a small number of symbol variations is selected as the random number value increases. In other words, if each category is associated with a random number in the order of the number of symbol changes according to the ascending or descending order of the random number value, it is determined from the random number value whether or not a predetermined number of or more symbol changes are executed regardless of the number of reserved balls. Can do. Needless to say, the number of categories, the type of notification effect, the variation time, and the like can be set as appropriate.

  Next, details of the operation of the main board 41 of the pachinko machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of main processing in the main board 41, and FIGS. 10 to 12 are flowcharts of subroutines of special symbol processing executed in the main processing. Hereinafter, each step of the flowchart is abbreviated as “S”.

  The pachinko machine 1 is controlled by a control program stored in the control program storage area of the ROM 53. The main process of the control program is executed by the CPU 51 when the CPU 51 senses an interrupt signal generated by the interrupt signal generation circuit 57 (see FIG. 3). Since the interrupt signal is generated at regular intervals (2 ms in the present embodiment), the main process is repeatedly executed every 2 ms.

  First, main processing performed on the main board 41 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, when the main process is started by sensing an interrupt signal, first, a command output process is performed (S10). In this command output process, a control command is output to the sub-integrated board 58, the payout control board 45, the relay board 47, etc. via the I / O interface 54. The control command includes a change count notification command for notifying the increase of the reserved ball and the minimum number of symbol variations for the reserved ball, a variation pattern specifying command for specifying the determined special symbol variation pattern, and stopping the special symbol. There are many commands such as a command for instructing a timing, a command for informing a decrease in the number of held balls, a command for informing the start of a jackpot game, and a command for instructing the opening / closing timing of an electric accessory. The control command output here is a control command stored as an output command in the command relation storage area 5207 of the RAM 52 in the main process executed last time.

  Next, a switch reading process is performed (S11). In this switch reading process, a process for detecting a winning of a game ball in the normal symbol starting gate 12, the special symbol starting electric accessory 15, the normal winning ports 17 to 20, and the big winning port 16 is performed. Specifically, it is determined whether or not a game ball is detected by each switch (see FIG. 3) provided at these winning openings, and when a game ball is detected, a winning ball flag storage area in the RAM 25 is detected. A flag corresponding to each switch stored in 5202 is turned ON. Further, the number of game balls won during one opening of the big winning opening 16 is counted by a winning ball counter. At the start of the switch reading process, all flags in the winning ball flag storage area are reset.

  Next, a counter update process is performed (S12). As described above, in this counter update process, each value of the random number acquisition counter stored in the counter storage area of the RAM 52 is added by a predetermined amount, and each value of the timer counter is subtracted by a predetermined amount.

  Next, special electric accessory processing is performed (S13). In the special electric accessory process, a command for instructing the opening / closing operation of the big prize opening 16 is performed during the big hit game. Also, at the end of the jackpot game, a flag (probability change flag and short-time / medium flag) for generating either the short state at the time of probability change or the short state at the time of non-probability change according to the type of the special symbol on which the jackpot game is based ) Is performed.

  Next, special symbol processing is performed (S14). In this special symbol processing, processing such as prefetching of information about jackpot random numbers, acquisition of variation number information from category determination random numbers, jackpot determination, variation pattern determination, instruction, symbol variation start and termination instructions, etc. are performed. . This special symbol process will be described later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  Next, ordinary electric accessory processing is performed (S15). In this ordinary electric accessory process, when a normal hit is achieved, a process for facilitating winning a game ball by opening the opening / closing member of the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 for a predetermined time is performed. It should be noted that the opening time of the special symbol starting electric member 15 once is longer in the short time state than in the normal state.

  Next, normal symbol processing is performed (S16). In the normal symbol process, when the game ball passes through the normal symbol start gate 12, the value of the normal hit determination counter is acquired as a normal hit random number. Then, a normal hit determination is performed based on the acquired random number, and a process of displaying the determination result on the normal symbol display unit 24 is performed. Note that the variation time of the normal symbol displayed on the normal symbol display unit 24 is shorter in the short time state than in the normal state.

  Next, a payout process (S17) for paying out prize balls and an error check (S18) are performed. If an error has occurred in the pachinko machine 1, an error is displayed on the display screen 28 or an error sound is generated on the speaker 48. Therefore, an error command to be transmitted to the sub-integrated board 58 in the command output process of S10 is stored in the command related storage area of the RAM 52. Next, in the information output process (S19), various kinds of information such as jackpot information, starting information, etc. of the pachinko machine 1 are output via the output port 55 to a game hall management computer (not shown). When the information output process ends, the main process ends. When the interrupt signal is received from the interrupt signal generation circuit 57, the main process is executed again from the beginning.

  Next, details of the special symbol process (S14) of the main process will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. As described above, special symbol processing includes pre-reading information about jackpot random numbers, obtaining variation number information from category determination random numbers, determining jackpots, determining variation patterns, instructions, instructions for starting and ending symbol variations, etc. Processing is performed.

  First, the flags used in the special symbol process will be described. In the flag-related storage area of the RAM 52, a special symbol display state flag, a jackpot gaming state flag, a probability variation flag, a time-short / medium flag, and the like are stored. The special symbol display state flag is a flag indicating the state of the special symbol display unit 25, and is “1” when the special symbol display unit 25 is fluctuating (fluctuating), and when it is stopped (during stop display). ) Stores “2”, and “0” is stored when the state is neither variable nor stopped. The jackpot game state flag is “ON” because “1” is stored during the jackpot game. Further, the probability variation flag is “ON” because “1” is stored during the probability variation in which the probability of determining that the jackpot is higher than in the normal state. In the hour / short flag, “1” is stored in the hour / short state when the normal symbol variation time is shorter than normal and the opening / closing member opening time of the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 is longer than normal. ON ".

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the special symbol process of the main process is started, it is determined whether or not a game ball has won the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 (S21). In the switch reading process (S11, refer to FIG. 9), when the winning of the game ball to the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 is not detected (S21: NO), the process proceeds to the determination of S41 (refer to FIG. 11) as it is. To do.

  When a winning of a game ball to the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 is detected (S21: YES), a process for obtaining a random number for the game ball is performed. However, the number of special symbol actuated holding balls that can acquire and store random numbers is “4”. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the value of the special symbol operation reserved ball number storage area 5206 in the RAM 52 is “4” (S22). If it is “4” (S22: YES), this game ball Since the random number cannot be stored, the process proceeds to S41.

  When the number of special symbol operation reservation balls is “0” to “3” (S22: NO), “1” is added to the value of the special symbol operation reservation balls number storage area 5206 (S23). . Then, the values of the jackpot determination counter, the jackpot special symbol determination counter, the category determination counter, and the variation pattern determination counter in the counter storage area 5201 are acquired (S24).

  Next, prefetching of information about the acquired jackpot random number (the value of the jackpot determination counter) is performed, and a jackpot random number prefetching command indicating the result of prefetching is stored in the RAM 52 (S25). The information prefetched in this process is information on the result of the jackpot determination that is subsequently performed on the acquired jackpot random number, and either “big jackpot” or “out of line” information is prefetched. In this embodiment, the table for performing jackpot determination includes a low probability determination table used during a normal state (during non-probability fluctuation), and a high probability that the probability of determining a jackpot is higher than during non-probability fluctuation. A probability determination table is provided. Therefore, in the jackpot random number prefetch process (S25), information about the jackpot determination result obtained by applying a random number to the table corresponding to the gaming state at that time is prefetched. In the present embodiment, when the game state is changed, it is set so that the effect processing is not performed according to the information that has been prefetched at that time. Therefore, even if the gaming state at the time of random number acquisition (prefetching) and the gaming state at the time of actual jackpot determination are different, there will be no contradiction in performance.

  Next, information on the number of symbol fluctuations (fluctuation frequency information) performed during the notification effect on the newly acquired random number is acquired according to the gaming state and information prefetched from the jackpot random number. First, it is determined whether or not the gaming state is a time-short state based on the time-shortage flag (S28). If it is not in the short time state (S28: NO), it is determined whether or not the prefetched information is a “big hit” (S29). If it is “out” (S29: NO), information on the number of changes in the normal state and out of place is obtained from the newly obtained category determination random number (S30). As described above, the variation number information obtained here is determined according to the category obtained by the category determination table (see FIG. 7). Specifically, in the normal state and out of place, if the value of the category determination random number is 1-114, information indicating that the minimum number of symbol variations is 1 is obtained. If it is 115-121, the information which shows that the minimum frequency | count of a design fluctuation is 2 is obtained. If it is 122 to 125, information indicating that the minimum number of times is 3 times, and if 126 to 127, information indicating that the number of symbol fluctuations is 4 times regardless of the number of reserved balls is obtained. .

  Further, when the gaming state is not the short-time state (S28: NO) and the prefetched information is “big hit”, the variation number information in the normal state and big hit is obtained from the newly acquired category determination random number. Is obtained (S31). Further, if the gaming state is the short time state (S28: YES) and the pre-read information is “out of” (S33: NO), the variation number information in the short time state and out of time is obtained (S34). If the gaming state is the short-time state (S28: YES) and the pre-read information is “big hit” (S33: YES), the number-of-changes information in the short-time state and big hit is obtained from the category determination random number (S35). .

  Next, a change count notification command for notifying the sub integrated board 58 of the change count information obtained from the category determination random number is stored in the command relation storage area 5207 of the RAM 52 (S37). As described above, the change frequency notification command includes the “variation 1 time command”, “2 times or more confirmed command”, “3 times or more confirmed command”, and “4 times confirmed command” according to the obtained variation count information. It will be either. And the random number acquired by random number acquisition processing (S24) is memorize | stored in the memory area of the number corresponding to the value of the special symbol action reservation ball number memory area 5206 among the jackpot relation information memory area 5205 (refer FIG. 5). (S38). Specifically, the jackpot determination counter value in the jackpot random number column, the jackpot special symbol determination counter value in the jackpot special symbol determination random number column, the category determination random number value in the category determination random number column, and the variation pattern determination The value of the variation pattern determination counter is stored in the random number column. Then, the process proceeds to S41.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11, it is determined whether or not the game state is a jackpot gaming state (S41). When it is a jackpot game state, the jackpot determination and the notification of the determination result are not performed. Therefore, if the jackpot gaming state flag is “ON” and it is determined that the jackpot gaming state is set (S41: YES), the process directly returns to the main process.

  When the jackpot game state flag is “OFF” (S41: NO), since it is not the jackpot game state, processing relating to the control of the special symbol display unit 25 and the notification effect is performed. First, it is determined whether or not the special symbol display unit 25 is changing based on the special symbol display state flag (S42). If the special symbol display state flag is not “1” and is not changing (S42: NO), it is determined whether or not the special symbol is being stopped (S43). If the special symbol display state flag is not “2” and the special symbol displayed on the special symbol display unit 25 is not being stopped (S43: NO), the big hit determination is performed.

  Therefore, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, it is determined whether or not there is a game ball to be subjected to the jackpot determination (S45). If the value in the special symbol operation reserved ball number storage area 5206 of the RAM 52 is not equal to or greater than “1” (S45: NO), there is no game ball to be subjected to the jackpot determination, and the process directly returns to the main process. If it is equal to or greater than “1” (S45: YES), there is a game ball for which a jackpot determination is to be made. The value stored in the area (see FIG. 5) is shifted. That is, the random number stored in the first storage area is shifted to the determination area, the random number stored in the second to fourth storage areas is shifted to the storage area one number lower, and the value in the fourth storage area Is cleared (S47). Then, the reserved ball number subtraction command for notifying the sub integrated board 58 of the subtraction of the special symbol operation reserved ball number is stored in the RAM 52 (S48).

  Next, a jackpot determination according to the gaming state is performed (S49). As described above, the determination table for performing jackpot determination includes a low probability determination table used in the normal state (non-probability fluctuation), and a high probability that the probability of determining the jackpot is higher than in the normal state. And a determination table. The jackpot determination is performed by referring to one of the determination tables depending on whether or not a probability variation state has occurred.

  When it is determined that the jackpot is determined to be a jackpot (S50: YES), the jackpot combination stored in the special symbol combination pattern storage area 5304 of the ROM 53 based on the value stored in the jackpot special symbol determination random number column One of these is determined (S51). And the process which determines the category of alerting | presentation effect is performed according to whether it is in a time-short state. When the time / short flag is “ON” and it is determined that the time is short (S52: YES), the time / middle jackpot category determination table (FIG. 7) according to the number of reserved balls at that time. Reference) is referred to, and the category of the notification effect is determined based on the value stored in the category determination random number column (see FIG. 5) (S53). Then, the process proceeds to S61. If it is determined that the time is not short (S52: NO), the category is determined by referring to the jackpot table in the normal state (S54), and the process proceeds to S61.

  If the jackpot is not determined to be a jackpot (S50: NO), a special symbol ("-" in the present embodiment) indicating a loss is determined (S56). If the time is short (S57: YES), the outage category determination table for the time is referred to determine the category of the notification effect (S58), and the process proceeds to S61. If the time is not short (S57: NO), the category is determined by referring to the table of detachment in the normal state (S59), and the process proceeds to S61.

  Next, one of the one or more variation patterns belonging to the determined category is determined by referring to the special symbol variation pattern determination table (see FIG. 8) (S61). For example, when it is determined that the game is a big hit during the normal state, if the determined category is “symbol variation twice” and the value of the variation pattern determination random number is “10 to 59”, the variation pattern of “super A” Will be determined.

  Next, a variation pattern designation command for indicating the determined variation pattern and for instructing the variation start of the special symbol and the demo symbol is stored in the command relation storage area 5207 of the RAM 52 (S62). Then, the variation time of the special symbol determined for each variation pattern is stored in the special symbol variation time counter (S63), and “1” indicating that the special symbol is changing is stored in the special symbol display state flag. (S64), the process returns to the main process.

  Further, in the determination of S42 shown in FIG. 11, when the special symbol display state flag stores “1” and it is determined that the special symbol display unit 25 is changing (S42: YES), the change is made. It is determined whether time has passed (S71). When the value of the special symbol variation time counter set in S63 (see FIG. 12) becomes “0”, the variation time has passed (S71: YES), so the special symbol is stored in the command related storage area 5207 of the RAM 52. A stop command is stored (S72). This special symbol stop command is a command for instructing the special symbol display unit 25 to stop the variation of the special symbol and to end the variation effect performed by the display screen 28 or the like. Then, a predetermined stop display time is stored in the special symbol stop time counter (S73), and “2” indicating that the special symbol is being stopped is stored in the special symbol display state flag (S74). Return to. On the other hand, if it is determined in S71 that the value of the special symbol variation time counter is not “0” and the variation time has not yet elapsed (S71: NO), the variation of the special symbol is continued. Therefore, the special symbol process is terminated as it is, and the process returns to the main process.

  Further, in the determination of S43, when “2” is stored in the special symbol display state flag and it is determined that the special symbol display unit 25 is in the stop display (S43: YES), the stop display time is set. It is determined whether or not it has elapsed (S75). If the value of the special symbol stop time counter set in S73 is not “0” (S75: NO), the special symbol process is terminated as it is, and the process returns to the main process. On the other hand, when the counter value is subtracted to “0” in the counter update process (S12, see FIG. 9), the stop display time has elapsed (S75: YES), and the special symbol display unit 25 “0” indicating that neither stop display nor change is stored in the special symbol display state flag (S76). Then, a short / medium flag process is performed (S77). In the pachinko machine 1, the non-stochastic fluctuation short-time state that occurs after the end of the jackpot game ends when the jackpot determination is performed 100 times. Therefore, in the process of S77, when the jackpot determination is made 100 times during the non-probability fluctuation time-saving state, the processing for setting the time-shortage flag to “0” is performed.

  Next, when it is determined that the jackpot is made in the previous jackpot determination (S78: YES), “1” indicating the jackpot gaming state is stored in the jackpot gaming state flag and is set to “ON” ( In step S79, a jackpot game start command for notifying the sub-integrated board 58 of starting the jackpot game is stored (S80), and the process returns to the main process. On the other hand, if it is not determined to be a big hit (S78: NO), the process directly returns to the main process.

  Next, processing in the sub integrated substrate 58 will be described. In the sub-integrated board 58, processing for controlling effects by the display screen 28, the lighting device 35, the speaker 48, and the like is performed according to the command transmitted from the main board 41. In particular, in order to notify the player of the minimum number of symbol variations in the notification effect that is performed thereafter, a process for controlling the display of the number of reserved balls is performed according to the variation number information notified from the main board 41. .

  First, the RAM 582 of the sub integrated substrate 58 will be described. The RAM 582 includes a variation pattern storage area in which a variation pattern designated by the main board 41 is stored, a counter storage area in which various counters are stored, a reserved ball number storage area in which a special symbol operation reserved ball number is stored, and an effect control Storage areas such as a command relation storage area for storing control commands output to the substrate 43 and the like and a flag relation storage area for storing various flags are provided.

  Counters stored in the counter storage area include a reset determination counter and a specific mark display number counter. The reset determination counter is used for determining the timing for resetting the display mode of the number of reserved balls, that is, the timing for changing the specific mark 32 displayed on the number of reserved balls 29 to the normal mark 31. It is also used when determining whether or not the specific mark 32 is being displayed. In the present embodiment, the display mode of the number of reserved balls is reset in response to the end of the notification effect in which the minimum number of symbol variations is indicated by the number of reserved balls display unit 29. Therefore, when it is decided to display the specific mark 32, a reset determination counter is set, and every time the notification effect ends, “1” is subtracted, and the counter value becomes “0”. As a reset. The specific mark display number counter is a counter for counting the number of remaining display of the specific mark 32, and “1” is subtracted every time one specific mark 32 is displayed. Details thereof will be described later with reference to a flowchart.

  Next, the ROM 583 of the sub integrated board 58 will be described. The ROM 583 stores various programs for the CPU 581 to assist the control of the pachinko machine 1. Various tables such as a control command table storage area for storing a table of control commands output from the sub-integrated board 58 to the effect control board 43 and the lamp driver board 46, and a table for determining the display mode of the number of reserved balls. Various storage areas such as a table storage area in which are stored are provided.

  Next, the display mode of the number of reserved balls, and the correspondence between the winning ratio of each display mode and the change frequency notification command will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a table showing the winning ratio of the number of specific marks that can be displayed, which are drawn in accordance with the change frequency notification command received from the main board 41. The sub-integrated board 58 draws the number of specific marks that can be displayed on the reserved ball number display unit 29 in accordance with the fluctuation number information notified from the main board 41 by the fluctuation number notification command. Then, the display of the number of reserved balls is controlled with the number determined by lottery as the upper limit of the display number of the specific mark.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in the sub-integrated board 58, the number of specific marks 32 that can be displayed is determined with the minimum number of symbol fluctuations indicated by the fluctuation number information as the upper limit of the display number of the specific marks 32. For example, when a “two or more confirmed commands” indicating that the number of symbol variations is two or three is received, the number of specific marks 32 that can be displayed is zero, one, and two Either. Thereby, the player can grasp | ascertain the minimum frequency | count of design fluctuation | variation from the number of the specific marks 32 displayed on the number-of-holding-balls display part 29. FIG.

  In addition, the rate at which the specific mark 32 is displayed is higher when a category having a larger number of symbol variations is determined. For example, when a “change once command” is transmitted, none of the specific marks 32 are displayed at a ratio of 992/1024, whereas when a “confirm command more than once” is transmitted, At least one specific mark 32 is displayed at a ratio of “512/1024”. As a result, the player can expect that a continuous variation effect accompanied by a plurality of symbol variations will be executed when at least one specific mark 32 is displayed.

  Then, when a value smaller than the number of symbol fluctuations actually performed is determined as the number of displayable specific marks 32, the symbol fluctuations are performed more times than the number of displayed specific marks 32. It will be. Similarly, when the number of reserved balls does not increase and all of the displayable specific marks 32 are not displayed, the symbols vary more than the number of times that the player has grasped. Thereby, the player can enjoy the game while always expecting that the symbol variation is performed more times.

  Hereinafter, the sub integrated substrate processing performed in the sub integrated substrate 58 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of sub-integrated board processing in the sub-integrated board 58. When the sub-integrated substrate processing is started, first, it is determined whether or not a change count notification command for notifying an increase in the number of reserved balls and the minimum number of symbol variations for the reserved balls has been received (S101). If it is received (S101: YES), “1” is added to the value of the reserved ball number storage area of the RAM 582 (S101), and it is determined by the reset determination counter whether or not the specific mark 32 is being displayed. (S103). In the pachinko machine 1, when the specific mark 32 is already displayed on the reserved ball number display unit 29, a lottery for determining whether or not to display the specific mark 32 is performed in order to avoid a complicated display mode. The processing is not performed, and the mark 30 is displayed in the display mode that has already been determined. Therefore, if it is determined that the reset determination counter is not “0” and the specific mark 32 is being displayed (S103: YES), the process proceeds to the determination of S111 as it is.

  When the value of the reset determination counter is “0” and it is determined that the specific mark 32 is not displayed (S103: NO), a random number is acquired, and a lottery for displaying the number of reserved balls is performed ( S104). As described above, this lottery is performed by referring to the table stored in the ROM 583 according to the received change frequency notification command. If it is not won to execute the display of the specific mark 32 (S105: NO), the process directly proceeds to the determination of S111. When winning (S105: YES), the upper limit (any one of 1 to 4) of the display number of the specific mark 32 determined by lottery is the specific mark display number for counting the remaining display number of the specific mark 32. The counter is set (S106). Then, in order to determine the timing at which the specific mark 32 is changed (reset) to the normal mark, that is, the time point when the notification effect for the newly added holding ball is finished, the number of holding balls at that time is being executed. A value obtained by adding “1” corresponding to the notification effect is set in the reset determination counter (S107).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the specific mark display number counter is “0” (S111). If the specific mark display number counter indicating the remaining display number of the specific mark 32 is not “0” (S111: NO), a command for additionally displaying one specific mark 32 on the reserved ball number display unit 29 is: It is transmitted to the effect control board 43 (S112). Then, the value of the specific mark display number counter is decremented by “1” (S113), and the process returns to the determination of S101. If the specific mark display number counter is “0” (S111: YES), a command for additionally displaying the normal mark 31 is transmitted (S114), and the process returns to the determination of S101.

  If the change frequency notification command has not been received (S101: NO), it is determined whether or not a change pattern designation command has been received from the main board 41 (S121). If received (S121: YES), the variation pattern specified by the command is stored in the variation pattern storage area of the RAM 582 (S122). And the process which starts the alerting | reporting effect according to the designated fluctuation | variation pattern is performed, the fluctuation | variation of a demo symbol is started (S123), and it returns to judgment of S101. When a variation pattern for executing a continuous variation effect is specified, the display screen 28 is subjected to a plurality of demonstration symbol variations with a temporary stop during one notification effect.

  If the variation pattern designation command has not been received (S121: NO), it is determined whether a special symbol stop command has been received (S131). If it has been received (S131: YES), the notification effect that has been executed is terminated and a process of confirming and displaying the demo symbol is performed (S132). Next, if the value of the reset determination counter is “1” or more, a process of subtracting “1” is performed (S133), and it is determined whether or not the value of the reset determination counter is “0” (S134). . If it is not “0” (S134: NO), the display mode of the number of reserved balls is not reset, and the process directly returns to the determination of S101. If it is “0” (S134: YES), a command to change (reset) all displayed specific marks 32 to normal marks 31 is transmitted to the effect control board 43 (S135), and the determination in S101 is performed. Return to.

  If a special symbol stop command has not been received (S131: NO), it is determined whether another command has been received (S141). If received (S141: YES), various processes according to the received command are performed (S142), and the process returns to the determination of S101. In particular, when a jackpot game start command is received, a process for starting an effect during the jackpot game and a process for initializing the values of the specific mark display number counter and the reset determination counter to the initial value “0” are performed. Is called. As a result, the variation number information notified by the variation number notification command and the actual number of symbol variations performed are prevented from contradicting before and after the game state change. Further, when the reserved ball number subtraction command is received, a process of deleting the mark 30 displayed first among the displayed marks 30 is performed. If no command is received (S141: NO), the process directly returns to the determination in S101.

  Next, the display mode and effect of the reserved ball number display unit 29 of the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a display mode of the reserved ball number display unit 29 in the pachinko machine 1 as time elapses. In this example, with respect to the third reserved ball displayed on the reserved ball number display unit 29, the variation number information of “3 or more variations” indicating that the number of symbol variations is 3 or 4 times is acquired, This represents a case where the upper limit of the number of display of the specific mark 32 is determined as “3”.

  In this example, first, while two normal marks 31 are displayed, a game ball wins the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 and a random number is acquired. Then, fluctuation number information indicating that the number of symbol fluctuations is 3 or 4 is obtained from the acquired random number, and a “three or more times fixed command” is transmitted to the sub-integrated board 58. In the sub-integrated board 58, a table in the case of receiving the “determined command three times or more” is referred to, and the lottery of the display mode of the number of reserved balls, that is, the lottery of the upper limit of the display number of the specific mark 32 is performed. Then, it is determined that the upper limit of the number of displays is “3”, “3” is set in the specific mark display number counter, “4” is set in the reset determination counter, and the specific mark 32 is displayed in the reserved ball number display section. 29 is additionally displayed. When one specific mark 32 is additionally displayed, the value of the specific mark display number counter is subtracted to “2”.

  Here, in the pachinko machine 1, the lottery of the display mode of the number of reserved balls is performed such that the greater the number of symbol fluctuations indicated by the fluctuation number information, the higher the ratio of displaying the specific mark 32 ( (See FIG. 13). Therefore, when even one specific mark 32 is displayed, the player is notified that the notification effect corresponding to the specific mark 32 displayed first becomes a continuous variation effect at a higher rate than in the case of the normal mark 31. Can be recognized. Therefore, the player can enjoy the game while more strongly expecting the continuous variation effect to be executed by displaying the specific mark 32.

  Next, in this example, the notification effect is finished once, the number of held balls is decreased by 1, and the value of the reset determination counter is subtracted to “3”. Then, while the next notification effect is being executed, the game ball wins the special symbol start electric accessory 15 again. Since the value of the specific mark display number counter at this time is “2”, one specific mark 32 is additionally displayed, and the value of the specific mark display number counter is subtracted to “1”. At this time, the player can recognize that the symbol variation is performed at least twice during the notification effect corresponding to the second holding ball from the left.

  Next, the notification effect ends again, the number of held balls decreases by one, and the value of the reset determination counter is subtracted to “2”. Then, two reserved balls are increasing while the next notification effect is being executed. At the time of the first holding ball increase, the value of the specific mark display number counter is “1”, so the mark to be additionally displayed is the specific mark 32, and the value of the specific mark display number counter is “0” along with the additional display. Is subtracted. When the second reserved ball increases, the value of the specific mark display number counter is “0”, so that the normal mark 31 is displayed. Accordingly, the player can recognize that the symbol variation is performed at least three times during the next notification effect. Although the latest mark 30 is the normal mark 31, the number of display of the specific mark 32 indicates the minimum number of symbol variations, so the number of symbol variations in the next notification effect is three or four times. Therefore, the player can enjoy the game in expectation that the number of symbols changes more times than the number of display of the specific mark 32.

  Next, the holding ball is decremented by 1, the value of the reset determination counter is subtracted to “1”, and the notification effect corresponding to the first specific mark 32 displayed among the three specific marks 32 displayed. Is executed. This notification effect is a continuous variation effect with three symbol variations, and the percentage of jackpots displayed is higher than the notification effect of two or one symbol variation. When the notification effect ends, the value of the reset determination counter is subtracted to “0”, so that the displayed specific mark 32 is changed (reset) to the normal mark 31 and the next notification effect is executed. It will be.

  Thus, according to the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, when a new random number is acquired, the variation number information, which is information on the number of symbol variations performed during one notification effect, is obtained. Obtained from. In accordance with the number-of-changes information, the display mode of the number of held balls until the notification effect where the number-of-changes information is obtained is determined, and the mark 30 is displayed every time the number of held balls increases in the determined display mode Is done. As a result, when the number of reserved balls increases, in addition to giving the player an opportunity to make a jackpot determination, the player can guess or grasp the number of symbol fluctuations in the notification effect that is executed thereafter. Can do. That is, the player can get an opportunity to guess or grasp the number of symbol fluctuations every time the number of reserved balls increases. Therefore, the player can continue the game while strongly expecting that the number of reserved balls increases.

  In addition, in the pachinko machine 1, a lottery of the display mode of the number of reserved balls is performed with the number of symbol fluctuations performed during one notification effect as the upper limit of the display number of the specific mark. Thereby, the player can be notified of the minimum number of symbol variations executed during one notification effect by the number of specific marks 32. Therefore, the player can enjoy the game with the aim of increasing the number of reserved balls while expecting to grasp the minimum number of symbol fluctuations at an earlier stage. Furthermore, since the actual number of symbol fluctuations may be greater than the number of display of the specific mark 32, the game can be continued without sacrificing the player's expectation on the way. In addition, since the notification effect corresponding to the first specific mark 32 displayed among the plurality of specific marks 32 is a continuously varying effect, the player can determine which holding ball corresponds to the notification effect corresponding to the continuously varying effect. Can be easily grasped.

  In addition, as described above, in the pachinko machine 1, a plurality of notification effect categories are provided according to the number of symbol fluctuations. At the start of the notification effect, the category is first determined and then the variation pattern belonging to the determined category is determined. One is determined and the notification effect is controlled. Therefore, it is possible to easily control the display of the number of reserved balls by grasping only the category without grasping the details of the notification effect executed thereafter at the time of random number acquisition. In addition, a plurality of tables for determining the category are provided according to the number of reserved balls at the start of the notification effect, and the variation number information is obtained from the random value according to the correspondence between the category and the random value in this table. Can do. As a result, it is possible to easily obtain the variation count information at the time of random number acquisition while changing the category selection ratio according to the number of reserved balls. And since the sub integration board | substrate 58 can control the display mode of the number of reservation balls according to the fluctuation | variation frequency information obtained with the main board | substrate 41, it hold | maintains without increasing the processing burden of the main board | substrate 41 excessively. Various effects using the display of the number of balls can be executed.

  It should be noted that the special symbol start electric accessory 15 in the present embodiment corresponds to the “start opening” of the present invention, and the start opening switch 70 corresponds to the “game ball detecting means”. The CPU 51 of the main board 41 that acquires random numbers in S24 of FIG. 10 functions as “random number acquisition means”, and the jackpot relation information storage area 5205 of the RAM 52 corresponds to “random number storage means”. The CPU 51 of the main board 41 that performs the jackpot determination in S49 of FIG. 12 functions as a “hit determination unit”, and the display screen 28 corresponds to the “display unit”. The variation pattern corresponds to the “effect pattern” of the present invention, and the special symbol variation pattern storage area 5306 of the ROM 53 corresponds to the “effect pattern storage means”.

The CPU 51 of the main board 41 that determines the variation pattern in S61 of FIG. 12 functions as an “effect pattern determination unit”, and the CPU 581 and the effect control board of the sub-integrated board 58 that control the execution of the notification effect in S123 and 132 of FIG. 43 functions as “notification effect control means”. The retained ball number display unit 29 corresponds to “reserved ball number display means”, and the CPU 581 and the effect control substrate 43 of the sub-integrated substrate 58 that control the display of the retained ball number display unit 29 in S112, 114, 142 of FIG. It functions as “reserved ball number display control means”. CPU51 of the main substrate 41 to obtain the fluctuation count information in S25~S35 in FIG 10 functions as the "information acquisition means", CPU 581 of the sub-integrated substrate 58 to perform the lottery pending cell count display mode in S10 4 in FIG. 14 Functions as “display mode determining means”. The CPU 51 of the main board 41 that transmits the change frequency notification command stored in S37 of FIG. 10 to the sub-integrated board 58 in S10 of FIG. 9 functions as a “change frequency information transmission unit” .

The CPU 51 of the main board 41 that determines the category of the variation pattern in S50 to 59 of FIG. 12 functions as “ effect type determining means”. The category determination table storage area 5305 of the ROM 53 corresponds to “ production type determination table storage means”. This corresponds to the control program storage area 5302 “corresponding information storage unit” of the ROM 53 for storing a program for associating the value of the category determination random number and the variation count information for executing the processing of S30, 31, 34, and 35 in FIG. . The main board 41 corresponds to “main control means ”, and the sub integrated board 58 and the effect control board 43 correspond to “sub control means ”.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  First, in the present embodiment, the normal mark 31 and the specific mark 32 are used to cause the player to estimate or grasp the number of symbol variations, but the display mode of the number of reserved balls can be changed as appropriate. For example, by adding a number to the mark to be notified of the number of symbol changes, and increasing the number of the mark “1”, “2”, “3” each time the number of reserved balls increases, You may make a player guess the number of symbol fluctuations. Further, the form of the specific mark 32 may be changed according to the number of the specific marks 32 in the reserved ball number display unit 29. For example, when one specific mark 32 is displayed, the color of the specific mark 32 is black. When two specific marks 32 are displayed, at least one of the specific mark 32 already displayed and the specific mark 32 to be additionally displayed is blue. And Similarly, the mode of the specific mark 32 is also changed when three or four are displayed. Thereby, not only the number of the specific marks 32 but also the number of symbol fluctuations can be easily guessed by the player depending on the mode of the marks. Further, the number of symbol fluctuations may be estimated by changing the background of the mark 30, the frame of the reserved ball number display unit 29, and the like.

  Further, in the present embodiment, for example, when the upper limit of the number of display of the specific mark 32 is determined to be “2”, after two specific marks 32 are displayed and the number of reserved balls further increases, additional display is performed. The mark to be made is the normal mark 31. However, this can also be changed, and it is also possible to additionally display a mark 30 consisting of a question mark or the like that is peculiar when the number of held balls increases beyond the determined upper limit. In this case, after determining that the specific mark display number counter is “0” in S111 of FIG. 14 (S111: YES), it is determined from the value of the reset determination counter whether or not the specific mark 32 is being displayed. If the specific mark 32 is being displayed, the unique mark 30 may be displayed. Thereby, it is possible to make the player further expect that the number of symbols changes more than the number of display of the specific mark 32.

  In the present embodiment, the specific mark 32 is increased by one each time the reserved ball is increased by one. However, a plurality of specific marks 32 may be displayed at a time when the number of reserved balls increases by one. For example, before performing the process of S112 in FIG. 14, a lottery is performed to determine whether or not to perform additional display of the specific mark 32 at this time. Only the subtraction of the specific mark display number counter is performed without performing the display (S112) (S113). Then, when the number of reserved balls increases from the next time, the specific mark 32 is additionally displayed (S112), and the normal mark 31 that has already been displayed is changed to the specific mark 32. Thereby, the notification of the number of symbol fluctuations using the display of the number of reserved balls can be diversified, and the interest of the player can be more strongly attracted. In addition, when performing the additional display of the first holding ball when it is determined to display the specific mark 32, if the normal mark 31 that is already displayed exists, the additional display of the specific mark 32 has already been performed. By changing the displayed normal mark 31 to the specific mark 32, a plurality of specific marks 32 can be displayed on the reserved ball number display unit 29 from the beginning. That is, if the number of symbol fluctuations is notified in response to an increase in the number of reserved balls, the player can be expected to increase the number of reserved balls more strongly and the game can be continued.

  In the present embodiment, the number of reserved balls is displayed at the same rate regardless of whether the information prefetched in the jackpot random number prefetching process (see S25, see FIG. 10) is “big jackpot” or “missed”. (See FIG. 13). However, this can also be changed. For example, if the jackpot random number look-ahead command transmitted in response to the jackpot random number look-ahead process is a command indicating “big hit”, the lottery is performed so that the specific mark 32 is displayed at a higher rate than the command indicating “miss”. It is also possible to perform. In this case, by displaying the specific mark 32, in addition to estimating or grasping the number of symbol variations, it is possible to notify the player of the degree of expectation that is a big hit, and to attract the player's interest. . Further, the notification of the number of symbol fluctuations by the specific mark 32 can be performed only in the normal state or only in the short time state.

  In the present embodiment, the display mode of the number of reserved balls is determined at a time when a new random number is acquired. However, whether or not the mark 30 to be additionally displayed is the specific mark 32 may be determined every time the number of reserved balls increases. For example, the reserved ball number display mode lottery (S103) shown in FIG. 14 is not performed, and the minimum number of symbol changes notified by the change number notification command is set in the specific mark display number counter. If the specific mark display number counter is not “0” (S111: NO), a lottery is performed to determine whether or not the mark 30 to be additionally displayed is the specific mark 32. When the win is selected, the specific mark 32 is additionally displayed. (S112). In this modification, it is determined whether or not the value of the specific mark display number counter is “0”, and if the specific mark 32 is not “0”, the lottery of whether or not to additionally display the specific mark 32 is determined. The CPU 51 functions as “display mode determining means”.

  In addition, the present invention can be applied to various types of gaming machines. The pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment is a gaming machine having one special symbol and one reserved ball number storage area, and having only one type of jackpot determination, but has two or more special symbols. The present invention can also be applied to a gaming machine. For example, when a game ball passes between nails provided on the upper part of the special symbol start electric accessory 15, a maximum of four first reserved balls that trigger a change in the first special symbol are stored. In addition, when the opening / closing member of the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 is opened and a game ball passes from the left and right of the opening / closing member, a maximum of four second reserved balls that trigger the change of the second special symbol are stored. . Even with a gaming machine having such a configuration, the present invention can be applied, and while diversifying the game contents using a plurality of special symbols, the player can be inferred or grasped the number of symbol fluctuations. Can entertain.

  Further, in such a gaming machine, the present invention can also be applied to a gaming machine that performs so-called preferential digestion, in which a jackpot determination corresponding to one special symbol is executed in preference to the other jackpot determination. For example, the present invention can be applied even if the above-described gaming machine having two types of special symbols is a gaming machine that executes the second jackpot determination for the second holding ball in preference to the first jackpot determination. . In this gaming machine, the rate at which the opening / closing member of the special symbol starting electric accessory 15 is opened during the normal state (during the non-short-time state) is significantly lower than that during the short-time state. However, even in the normal state, the opening / closing member is rarely opened and the second holding ball may be added. Therefore, when the second reserved ball to be preferentially digested is added while the specific mark 32 is displayed according to the variation number information about the first reserved ball, “1” is added to the value of the reset determination counter. It is desirable to perform processing. More specifically, in the sub-integrated board processing shown in FIG. 14, when the change frequency notification command is received (S101: YES) and it is determined that the specific mark 32 is being displayed (S103: YES), It is determined whether or not the command is for a holding ball. And if it is a change frequency notification command for the second reserved ball, “1” may be added to the value of the reset determination counter. Thereby, even when the second reserved ball is added, it is possible to appropriately grasp the timing for resetting the specific mark 32 to the normal mark 31. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately estimate or grasp the number of symbol variations from the display mode of the reserved ball number display unit 29 while executing diversification of game contents using priority digestion.

  Further, the change frequency information acquired from the category determination random number can be changed. For example, in the present embodiment, when the number of symbol fluctuations is either 2 or 3 depending on the number of reserved balls, variation frequency information indicating that the symbol variation frequency is at least 2 is acquired. . However, if the random number is a category determination random number in which the number of symbol variations is 2 regardless of the number of reserved balls, the variation frequency information indicating that the number of symbol variations is always 2 can be acquired. It is also possible to do this. Further, the category determination table shown in FIG. 7 is configured such that a category having a larger number of symbol variations is determined as the random number value increases. However, the category determination table may be configured so that a category with a larger number of symbol variations is determined as the random number value becomes smaller. That is, even if the gaming machine changes the category selection ratio according to the number of reserved balls, if the variation count information is obtained from the correspondence between the category determination random number value and the determined category, the acquired variation count information It is possible to notify the number of symbol fluctuations according to. In the present embodiment, the value of the category determination random number is associated with the fluctuation frequency information obtained from this value by a program. It is good also as a structure which acquires the frequency | count information of fluctuation from a numerical value.

  In addition, in the pachinko machine, a large number of variation patterns are stored in order to perform various notification effects. Accordingly, there is a problem that it is difficult and difficult to pre-read which fluctuation pattern is to be used to perform the notification effect and to notify the number of symbol fluctuations according to the pre-read result. . Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, first, the category of the notification effect is determined using the category determination random number, and one of the variation patterns belonging to the determined category is determined. Yes. As a result, the category of the notification effect to be executed thereafter is pre-read and notified to the sub integrated board 58. However, both the prefetching of the notification effect category and the determination of the variation pattern may be set based on only the category determination random number. Specifically, a table in which a variation pattern and a category of the variation pattern are assigned to each random number value is stored in the ROM 53. Here, it is the same as in the present embodiment that one or more variation patterns are associated with one category. Then, in the category prefetching stage (S28 to 37, see FIG. 10), the category corresponding to the random number value is notified to the sub-integrated board 58, and in the variation pattern determining stage, the variation pattern corresponding to the random value is determined. That is, the category is prefetched using the category determination random number, and the variation pattern is also determined using the same category determination random number. By setting it as such a structure, the number of symbol fluctuations of the notification effect performed after that can be easily grasped | ascertained based on one random number. Then, the player can be easily notified of the number of symbol variations based on the category information roughly divided from the variation pattern. In this case, in the sub integrated substrate 58, the process of directly determining the variation pattern is performed by the processes of S53, 54, 58, and 59 shown in FIG. 12, and the process of S61 may be omitted.

  Further, in the present embodiment, two gaming states are set as a gaming state in which the number of jackpot determinations made per unit time is larger than usual, that is, a short time state with a probability change and a short state with a non-probability time. However, the types of time-saving states are not limited to these, and the present invention can also be applied to a gaming machine having only one type of time-saving states. Further, in the present embodiment, one variation pattern is determined from the same variation pattern candidates in the probability variation short time state and the non-probability variation short time state. However, the variation pattern may be determined by referring to a variation pattern determination table that is different for each gaming state of the normal state, the probability variation short state, and the non-probability variation short state.

  The gaming machine of the present invention is not limited to a pachinko machine, but can be applied to various gaming machines such as a pachinko machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko machine 2 Game board 15 Special symbol start electric accessory 28 Display screen 29 Reservation ball number display part 30 Mark 31 Normal mark 32 Specific mark 41 Main board 43 Production control board 51 CPU
52 RAM
53 ROM
58 Sub-integrated board 70 Start-up switch 581 CPU
582 RAM
583 ROM
5205 Jackpot related information storage area 5305 Category determination table storage area 5306 Special symbol variation pattern storage area

Claims (5)

Main control means for controlling the main control of the game and transmitting a signal according to the control;
Display means for displaying a design;
Sub-control means for controlling display by the display means by a signal received from the main control means,
The main control means includes
A game ball detecting means for detecting the passage of the game ball to a start port provided on the game board;
Random number acquisition means for acquiring a random number due to the passage of the game ball being detected by the game ball detection means;
Random number storage means for sequentially storing the random numbers acquired by the random number acquisition means;
A hit determining means for determining whether or not to execute a winning game which is a game advantageous to the player by a winning determination random number of the random numbers stored in the random number storage means;
An effect pattern storage means for storing a plurality of effect patterns of notification effects indicating the determination result of the hit determination means by making a fixed display after changing the symbol, according to the determination result of the hit determination means,
When the determination by the hit determination means is performed, one of the plurality of effect patterns stored in the effect pattern storage means is determined from the effect patterns corresponding to the determination result of the hit determination means. and a performance pattern determination means,
The sub-control means includes
Notification effect control means for causing the display means to execute the notification effect according to the effect pattern determined by the effect pattern determination means;
Among the random numbers sequentially stored in the random number storage means, the number of reserved balls that displays the number of reserved balls that are the random numbers for which the result of determination by the hit determination means is not yet shown by the notification effect;
A holding ball number display control means for controlling display of the number of the holding balls by the holding ball number display means,
A part of a plurality of types of the notification effects is a continuous execution of a plurality of symbol variations with a temporary stop that temporarily stops the symbol between the start of the symbol variation and the final display. A gaming machine that is a variable production,
The effect pattern storage means stores a plurality of effect patterns divided into a plurality of effect types in which the number of symbol variations to be executed is different,
Wherein the effect type determination random number for further determining the effect types of the random number,
By the number of pending sphere stored in the random number storage means when to start the notification effect and the effect type determination random number, includes the effect type determination means for determining the effect type of the effect pattern,
The presentation pattern determining unit determines one of the effect pattern belonging to the presentation type determined by the presentation type determination means,
For the notification Starring unloading performed in accordance with the presentation pattern determined by the performance pattern determination means, the notification effect regardless of the number of the pending sphere stored in the random number storage means when to start the notification effect Information acquisition means for acquiring variation number information representing the minimum number of symbol variations executed during the winning from the production type determination random number;
Fluctuation number information transmitting means for transmitting the fluctuation number information acquired by the information acquisition means to the sub-control means;
Depending on the variation time count information transmitted by the variation time count information transmission means, to the variation time count information has been the notification effect acquisition is completed, the display mode of the hold balls varying with the increase of the holding sphere and a display form determining means for determining a,
Before Symbol hold counts display control means, said each time hold balls increases, already with the increase of the display mode and the hold sphere of the pending sphere that has been displayed newly displayed the display of the pending sphere at least one of the embodiments, the gaming machine, characterized in that Ru was displayed in the previous Symbol Table示態like determined by the display mode decision unit. The reserved ball number display means displays the number of the reserved balls according to the number of marks as a normal display mode, and a second display mode different from the normal display mode is determined by the display mode determination unit. It is possible to display a specific mark which is a display mode different from the mark displayed in the case of,
The display mode determination means uses the number of times of symbol variation indicated by the number-of-changes information acquired by the information acquisition means as the maximum value of the total number of the specific marks to be displayed on the reservation ball number display means. 2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a display mode for increasing the specific mark is determined when a ball increases.   The holding ball number display control means, when displaying the plurality of specific marks on the holding ball number display means, the mark corresponding to the holding ball on which the continuous variation effect is executed, The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the specific mark displayed first is used. An effect type determination table for storing a table for associating the effect type with the value of the effect type determination random number according to the number of the reserved balls stored in the random number storage means and the determination result of the hit determination means. A storage means,
The effect type determining means refers to the table corresponding to the number of the reserved balls stored in the random number storage means when starting the notification effect, and determines one of the effect types. The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Stores the each of the variation time count information indicating the number of the symbol variation, the value of the presentation type determination random number, the corresponding information is information that associates accordance with the correspondence between the presentation type and the effect type determination random number in the table Corresponding information storage means,
The information acquisition means, when the effect type determination random number is acquired by the random number acquisition means, acquires the variation number information associated with the effect type determination random number by the correspondence information. Item 5. The gaming machine according to item 4.

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