JP7324542B1 - playground - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a game machine represented by a reel game machine (slot machine), etc., and provides a game machine in which the capacity of a processing program relating to notification of operation details advantageous to a player is suppressed. A notification means 126 for notifying notification information (instruction monitor information) corresponding to an operation mode in a stop operation (FIG. 24(a)), and a winning result determination means 304 has an operation mode advantageous to the player. (So-called correct operation) is a means for determining any type of specific winning result from a plurality of types of specific winning results (push order) associated with each other, and notification information determination means 304 , when any type of specific winning result is determined among a plurality of types of specific winning results, a calculation result (step The notification information is determined based on the instruction information value obtained in S263 (step S264). [Selection drawing] Fig. 24

Description

The present invention relates to amusement machines typified by reel game machines (slot machines) and pinball game machines (pachinko machines).

The slot machine uses a predetermined number of game media and operates a start lever to perform a lottery for determining an internal winning combination from among a plurality of combinations, and rotate a plurality of reels to determine a winning combination. The reels are stopped based on the internal winning combination and the operation result of the stop button, and a profit is awarded according to the winning combination determined by the mode of the stopped reels.

There is an internal winning combination such as a push order combination in which the winning combination differs depending on the operation of the stop button. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a slot machine that notifies a player of operation contents that are advantageous to the player (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-136268 A

In the above-described conventional gaming machine, it is desired to reduce the capacity of the processing program relating to notification of operation details that are advantageous to the player.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine in which the capacity of a processing program relating to notification of operation details that are advantageous to a player is reduced.

The first game machine of the present invention for solving the above object is
a reel whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation;
a winning result determination means for determining any one of a plurality of winning results;
notification information determining means for determining notification information corresponding to the operation mode in the stop operation;
an informing means for informing the informing information;
A game machine comprising
A corresponding value is defined for each of the plurality of winning results,
The winning result determination means selects one of a plurality of types of specific winning results associated with operation modes advantageous to the player (hereinafter referred to as "a specific winning result"). ) is the means by which the
The plurality of types of specific winning results each have a predetermined number of winning results having the same advantageous operation mode in common,
the plurality of types of specific winning results, wherein the corresponding values are continuously determined for each of the advantageous operation modes;
The annunciation information determining means may perform a first process, a second process, and a third process when the particular winning result is determined by the winning result determining means. and
The first process is a subtraction process of subtracting a specific value from the corresponding value corresponding to the determined specific winning result,
The second process is a division process for dividing the value resulting from the subtraction process by the predetermined number,
The third process is a process of determining the notification information by the quotient of the result of the division process.
It is characterized by
The second game machine of the present invention for solving the above object is
a reel whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation;
a winning result determination means for determining any one of a plurality of winning results;
notification information determining means for determining notification information corresponding to the operation mode in the stop operation;
an informing means for informing the informing information;
A game machine comprising
A corresponding value is defined for each of the plurality of winning results,
The winning result determination means selects one of a plurality of types of specific winning results associated with operation modes advantageous to the player (hereinafter referred to as "a specific winning result"). ) is the means by which the
The plurality of types of specific winning results each have a predetermined number of winning results having the same advantageous operation mode in common,
the plurality of types of specific winning results, wherein the corresponding values are continuously determined for each of the advantageous operation modes;
The notification information determination means is means for performing a second process and a third process when the specific winning result is determined by the winning result determination means,
the second process is a division process of dividing the corresponding value corresponding to the determined specific winning result by the predetermined number;
The third process is a process of determining the notification information by the quotient of the result of the division process.
It is characterized by

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an amusement machine in which the capacity of a processing program relating to notification of operation contents that are advantageous to a player is reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention with its front door opened; FIG. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a winning line of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, and a diagram showing the operation of the liquid crystal display device. 4 is a circuit block diagram of a control section of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an array of symbols provided on reels of the slot machine according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a table showing the display mode and the number of payouts for each operation content of some of the winning combinations (mainly the winning combinations) of the slot machine according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a transition diagram of game states of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. (a) is a diagram showing transition winning probabilities of a pullback zone transition lottery, and (b) is a diagram showing AT winning probabilities of an AT lottery during a pullback zone executed in a pullback zone. FIG. 11 is a graph showing an example of increase and decrease in the number of difference sheets when passing through a pullback zone; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of main processing by a main control unit of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of main controller timer interrupt processing of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of first sub-controller main processing, first sub-controller command reception interrupt processing, and first sub-controller timer interrupt processing of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. Second sub-controller main processing, second sub-controller command reception interrupt processing, second sub-controller timer interrupt processing, and second sub-controller image control processing of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention It is a flow chart which shows a flow. In a conventional slot machine, it is a diagram for pointing out a problem in an example in which a continuous effect is started and then shifted to an AT state. 14A and 14B are detailed timing charts of the N+2th game and the N+3th game described with reference to FIG. 14A, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display 157 at each timing. 14A and 14B are detailed timing charts of the N+2th game and the N+3th game described with reference to FIG. 14B, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display 157 at each timing; FIG. 11 shows a detailed timing chart of the N+2th game and the N+3th game in which an irregular push was performed but no penalty occurred, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at each timing. It is the figure which each showed an example when irregular pushing is performed during continuous production, and an example when irregular pushing is performed during non-continuous production. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the ceiling counter and the number-of-games display GMV when settings are changed or when power is restored. (a) is a schematic diagram of the case where a penalty occurs during continuous performance, as described above, and (b) shows an example of the display of the number of games display GMV when a penalty occurs, as described above. FIG. 10(c1) is a conceptual diagram of a first modified example when a penalty occurs during continuous performance, and (c2) explains a second modified example when a penalty occurs during continuous performance. It is a diagram for 8A and 8B are diagrams showing a plurality of examples of display modes of an operation recommendation display REC displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a case where an error display ERR is displayed or a power failure/recovery occurs in a state where an operation recommendation display REC is displayed; (a) is a diagram showing winning combination data stored in the ROM 306 of the main control unit 300, and (b) is a flow chart of advantageous section transition processing executed by the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an instruction monitor controlled by a CPU 304 of a main control unit 300; FIG. 24 is a diagram showing another example of the winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a);

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the slot machine of the present embodiment, a plurality of reels, into which a predetermined number of game media are inserted and on which a plurality of types of symbols are applied, start rotating when a predetermined rotation start instruction operation is received. Based on the reception of the rotation start instructing operation, the propriety of the internal winning of a plurality of types of winnings is determined by a lottery, and each of the plurality of reels individually stops rotation by receiving a predetermined rotation stop instructing operation, If the condition determined by the winning combination based on the result of the lottery and the combination of symbols when the plurality of reels stop meets the predetermined payout condition, the game medium is paid out and the game ends, and if not, the game medium is discarded. It is a game machine that progresses a series of games that end without paying out.

<Overall composition>
First, the overall configuration of the slot machine 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the slot machine 100 viewed from the front side (player side). FIG. 2 is a front view showing the slot machine 100 with the front door 102 opened. FIG. 3(a) is a diagram showing a winning line.

The slot machine 100 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to an example of the gaming table of the present invention, and includes a main body 101 and a front door 102 attached to the front of the main body 101 and capable of being opened and closed with respect to the main body 101. . Three reels (a left reel 110, a middle reel 111, and a right reel 112) each having a plurality of patterns arranged on its outer peripheral surface are housed in the center of the main body 101 (not shown), and rotate inside the slot machine 100. configured to allow These reels 110 to 112 are rotationally driven by a driving device such as a stepping motor.

In this embodiment, an appropriate number of patterns are printed on strip-shaped members at equal intervals, and the strip-shaped members are attached to a predetermined circular cylindrical frame member to form reels 110 to 112 . As for the symbols on the reels 110 to 112, when viewed from the player, approximately three symbols are displayed in the vertical direction through a reel window 113 provided in front of each of the reels 110 to 112, so that a total of nine symbols can be seen. . 3(a), the symbols displayed on the upper stage of the left reel 110 (position 1 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 1) are the upper symbol of the left reel, and the middle stage of the left reel 110 ( The symbol displayed at position 2 shown in the figure; also called symbol position 2) is the middle symbol on the left reel, and the symbol displayed at the lower stage of the left reel 110 (position 3 shown in the figure; also called symbol position 3) is on the left. The bottom symbol of the reel, the symbol displayed on the top of the middle reel 111 (position 4 shown in the figure; symbol position 4) is the top symbol of the middle reel, and the symbol displayed on the middle of the middle reel 111 (position 5 shown in the figure; symbol position 5). The symbol displayed on the middle reel 111 is the middle reel symbol, the symbol displayed on the lower stage of the middle reel 111 (position 6 shown in the figure; also called symbol position 6) is the middle reel lower stage symbol, and the symbol displayed on the right reel 112 is the upper stage symbol (also called symbol position 6). The symbol displayed at position 7 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 7) is the upper symbol on the right reel, and the symbol displayed at the middle stage of right reel 112 (position 8 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 8) is displayed on the right. The symbols displayed on the middle stage of the reel and the bottom of the right reel 112 (the position of 9 in the figure; also referred to as the symbol position 9) are called the right reel bottom stage symbols, respectively, and each symbol on each of the reels 110 to 112 is displayed in the reel window 113. 3 vertically on each reel 110 to 112, 9 in total. By rotating the reels 110 to 112, the combination of symbols seen by the player changes. In other words, each of the reels 110 to 112 functions as a display device that variably displays a combination of multiple types of symbols. As such a display device, an electronic image display device such as a liquid crystal display device can be employed in addition to the reel. In addition, in the present embodiment, three reels are provided inside the central part of the slot machine 100, but the number of reels and the installation position of the reels are not limited to this.

A reel backlight (not shown) for illuminating individual symbols displayed on the reel window 113 is arranged on the back surface of each of the reels 110 to 112 . The reel backlight is desirably shielded for each pattern so that each pattern can be illuminated evenly. In the slot machine 100, near each reel 110 to 112, there is provided an optical sensor (not shown) consisting of a light projecting portion and a light receiving portion. A light-shielding piece of a certain length provided on the reel passes through the space between them. Based on the detection result of this sensor, the positions of the symbols on the reels in the rotational direction are determined, and the reels 110 to 112 are stopped so that the desired symbols are displayed on the winning line.

In this embodiment, one prize line 114 is provided, which is a middle prize line L1 composed of a left reel middle pattern (symbol position 2), a middle reel middle pattern (symbol position 5) and a right reel middle pattern (symbol position 8). ing. The winning line 114 is a line set at the stop position of the symbols visible through the reel window 113, and is the line on which it is determined whether or not the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination has been displayed. . FIG. 3(a) shows this winning line L1. A valid winning line (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “valid line”) 114 is determined in advance by the number of medals bet as game media. The slot machine 100 of the present embodiment is a machine dedicated to betting 3 coins. 114 is valid. When the winning line 114 becomes valid, the game can be started by operating the start lever 135 .

Note that the activated line (win line) is not limited to the above-described middle winning line L1, but includes, for example, left reel upper symbol (symbol position 1), middle reel upper symbol (symbol position 4), and right reel upper symbol (symbol position 7) may be one upper effective line, and the lower effective line is composed of left reel lower symbol (symbol position 3), middle reel lower symbol (symbol position 6) and right reel lower symbol (symbol position 9). One is fine. In addition, it is also possible to have one downward-sloping valid line composed of the left reel upper symbol (symbol position 1), the middle reel middle symbol (symbol position 5) and the right reel lower symbol (symbol position 9), or the left reel lower symbol (symbol). Position 3), a middle reel middle symbol (symbol position 5) and a right reel upper symbol (symbol position 7) may be one rising right line. Alternatively, it may be one irregular effective line composed of left reel middle symbol (symbol position 2), middle reel middle symbol (symbol position 5) and right reel upper symbol (symbol position 7). Also, the number of pay lines 114 is not limited to one line. For example, in addition to the middle winning line L1, a right-down winning line consisting of left reel upper symbols, middle reel middle symbols, and right reel lower symbols, and left reel lower symbols, middle reel middle symbols, and right reel upper symbols. A total of 3 lines of the upward-sloping pay lines may be set as valid pay lines, or the number of pay lines corresponding to the number of bets may be set as valid pay lines.

The notification lamp 123 is, for example, a lamp that informs the player that a specific winning combination (more specifically, a bonus combination) has been internally won in an internal winning combination lottery to be described later, or that a bonus game is in progress. be. The game medal insertable lamp 124 is a lamp for notifying that the player can insert game medals. The replay lamp 122 indicates that the current game can be replayed (no need to insert medals) when a replay combination (details will be described later), which is one of the winning combinations in the previous game, is won. ) is a lamp that informs the player.

The medal insertion buttons (also referred to as bet buttons) 130 to 132 are buttons for inserting a predetermined number of medals (referred to as credits) electronically stored in the slot machine 100 . In this embodiment, one card is inserted each time the bet button 130 is pressed, two cards are inserted when the bet button 131 is pressed, and three cards are inserted when the bet button 132 is pressed. ing. Hereinafter, operations on the bet buttons 130 to 132 are also referred to as bet operations, and the bet button 132 is also referred to as the MAX bet button. In this embodiment, light emitting bodies (called bet button lamps) are provided inside the bet buttons 130 to 132, and when the bet buttons 130 to 132 can be operated, the light emitting bodies are turned on to notify the player. can let you know. The game medal insertion lamp 129 turns on the number of lamps corresponding to the number of inserted medals, and when a specified number of medals are inserted, the game starts to indicate that the game start operation is possible. Lamp 121 lights up.

The medal insertion slot 141 is an insertion slot for the player to insert medals when starting a game. That is, medals can be inserted electronically using the bet buttons 130 to 132, or actual medals can be inserted (insertion operation) from the medal insertion slot 141, and "insertion" includes both. be.

The stored number display 125 is a display for displaying the number of medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100 . The game information display 126 is a display for displaying various internal information (for example, the number of medals to be paid out during a bonus game) numerically. The payout number display 127 is a display for displaying the number of medals to be paid out to the player as a result of winning a winning combination. In this embodiment, the accumulated number display 125, the game information display 126, and the payout number display 127 are composed of 7-segment (SEG) displays.

The start lever 135 is a lever-type switch for starting rotation of the reels 110-112. That is, when a desired number of medals is inserted into the medal slot 141 or the bet buttons 130-132 are operated to operate the start lever 135, the reels 110-112 start rotating. An operation on the start lever 135 is called a game start operation.

The stop button unit 136 is provided with stop buttons 137 to 139 composed of a left stop button 137, a middle stop button 138 and a right stop button 139. As shown in FIG. The stop buttons 137-139 are button-type switches for individually stopping the reels 110-112 that have started to rotate by operating the start lever 135, and are provided in association with the respective reels 110-112. More specifically, the left reel 110 can be stopped by operating the left stop button 137, the middle reel 111 can be stopped by operating the middle stop button 138, and the right stop button 139 can be stopped. By operating it, the right reel 112 can be stopped.

Hereinafter, operations on the stop buttons 137 to 139 are called stop operations, the first stop operation is called the first stop operation, the next stop operation is called the second stop operation, and the last stop operation is called the third stop operation. Also, the reel targeted by the first stop operation is called the first stop reel, the reel targeted by the second stop operation is called the second stop reel, and the reel targeted by the third stop operation is called the third stop reel. Further, the order in which the stop buttons 137 to 139 are stopped in order to stop all the rotating reels 110 to 112 is referred to as an operation order or a pressing order. The operation order of the stop operation with the left reel 110 as the first stop reel and the middle reel 111 as the second stop reel is called a "forward push operation order" or simply "forward push", and the left reel 110 is the first stop reel. , the operation order of the stop operation with the right reel 112 as the second stop reel is called "forward pinching", and the operation order of the stop operation with the middle reel 111 as the first stop reel is called the "middle push operation order" or simply "middle push". The operation order of the stop operation in which the first stop reel is the right reel 112 and the second stop reel is the middle reel 111 is called "reverse push operation order" or simply "reverse push", and the first stop reel is called the right reel. The operation order of the stop operation in which the reel 112 is used and the second stop reel is the left reel 110 is called "reverse pinching". In this embodiment, a luminous body (referred to as a stop button lamp) is provided inside each of the stop buttons 137 to 139, and when the stop buttons 137 to 139 can be operated, the luminous body is lit and the player can inform

The medal return button 133 is a button that is pressed to remove medals when the inserted medals are jammed. The settlement button 134 is a button for settlement of the medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100 and the medals placed on the bet, and ejecting the medals from the medal payout port 155 . The door key hole 140 is a hole into which a key for unlocking the front door 102 of the slot machine 100 is inserted. The medal payout port 155 is a payout port for paying out medals.

Below the stop button unit 136, a title panel 162 is provided for displaying the model name and attaching various certificate stamps. A medal payout port 155 and a medal tray 161 are provided below the title panel 162 . A sound hole 145 is a hole for outputting the sound of a speaker provided inside the slot machine 100 to the outside. The side lamps 144 provided on the left and right portions of the front door 102 are decorative lamps for enlivening the game. A title panel 160 and sound holes 143 are provided on the upper portion of the front door 102 .

A liquid crystal display device (effect image display device) 157 is provided in an area including the reel window 113 and its surroundings. Among them, the area inside the reel window 113 (the area covering the reel window 113) is a so-called transmissive liquid crystal through which the reels 110 to 112 can be visually recognized.

The PUSH button 192 is a button that can be operated when executing a predetermined effect. In this embodiment, based on the operation of the PUSH button 192, it is possible to display the history of the number of sheets obtained in the AT state up to now. In this embodiment, a light emitter (called a PUSH button lamp) is provided inside the PUSH button 192, and when the PUSH button 192 can be operated (can be accepted as a valid operation), the light emitter is turned on. to let the player know.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the slot machine 100 with the front door 102 opened. The main body 101 is a box-like body surrounded by a top plate 261, a left side plate 260, a right side plate 260, a bottom plate 264, and a back plate 242 and having an open front. Inside the main body 101, a main control board housing case 210 containing a main control board is arranged at a position that does not overlap with the ventilation port 249 provided on the upper part of the back plate 242. Three reels 110-112 are arranged below. On the side of the main control board storage case 210 and the reels 110 to 112, that is, on the side plate 260 on the left side, a first sub control board that constitutes the first sub control unit 400 is stored. A board storage case 220 is provided. Also, on the side plate 260 on the right side, an external centralized terminal board 248 is attached which is connected to the main control board and outputs information of the slot machine 100 to an external device.

A medal payout device 180 (a device for paying out medals accumulated in the bucket) is disposed on the lower plate 264, and a power supply board is provided above the medal payout device 180, that is, below the reels 110 to 112. A power supply device 252 is arranged, and a power switch 244 is arranged in front of the power supply device 252 . The power switch 244 can be operated by opening the front door 102, and is difficult or impossible to operate when the door is closed.

The power supply device 252 converts AC power supplied from the outside to the slot machine 100 into DC power, converts it into a predetermined voltage, and supplies power to each of the main control unit 300, the first sub-control unit 400, the second sub-control unit 500, etc., which will be described later. Supplied to the control unit and each device. In addition, a power storage circuit (for example, a capacitor) is provided for supplying power to predetermined parts (for example, the RAM 308 of the main control unit 300, etc.) for a predetermined period (for example, 10 days) even after external power is cut off. there is

A medal auxiliary storage box 240 is arranged on the right side of the medal dispensing device 180, and an overflow terminal is arranged behind it (not shown). The power supply device 252 is provided with a power cord connection portion for connecting a power cord 265 , and the power cord 265 connected here extends to the outside through a power cord hole 262 opened in the back plate 242 of the main body 101 . there is

The front door 102 is hinged to the side plate 260 on the left side of the main body 101 via a hinge device 276, and the upper part of the liquid crystal display device 157 accommodates the second sub-control board constituting the second sub-control section 500. A second sub-board case 230 and an upper speaker 272 are provided. Below the liquid crystal display device 157, there are provided a medal selector 170 for sorting inserted medals, and a path 266 through which the medals pass when the medal selector 170 drops illegal medals onto the medal receiving tray 161. there is Furthermore, a bass speaker 277 is provided at a position corresponding to the sound hole 145 .

1 and 2, the liquid crystal display device 157 includes a transmissive color liquid crystal panel 157A having a color filter, and a backlight 157B that illuminates the color liquid crystal panel 157A from the rear side with white light. LCD display. The liquid crystal panel 157A is a rectangular panel extending both inside and outside the reel window 113, and a well-known liquid crystal panel can be adopted. The liquid crystal panel 157A includes, for example, R, G, and B (red, green, and blue) filters for each pixel, and liquid crystal is placed between transparent substrates such as glass on which signal lines, switching elements, pixel electrodes, and the like are formed. A liquid crystal layer is formed by encapsulation, and this liquid crystal layer is formed by being sandwiched between polarizing plates. As for the winning lines, the liquid crystal panel 157A may be of a normally white type, but is of a normally black type in this embodiment.

The backlight 157B includes a light guide plate, a light source such as an LED for irradiating the light guide plate with light, an optical member such as a diffusion sheet, and the like. The light sources are arranged, for example, along the edge of the light guide plate, and the light propagating inside the light guide plate is reflected to the liquid crystal panel 157A. In the case of this embodiment, the backlight 157 has an opening 157b that penetrates through the reel window 113 in the thickness direction, and the player can view the reels 110 to 112 without using a light guide plate or the like. is visible. In this embodiment, backlights provided on the reels 110 to 112 are used to illuminate the portion where the liquid crystal panel 157A and the opening 157b overlap from behind. Since the reel band has a white (or milky white) color, the reels 110 to 112 can provide illumination that is not much different from the backlight 157. The part or the whole of them can also be called a backlight unit.

In the case of the present embodiment, the opening 157b is a single rectangular opening adapted to the outline of the reel window 113, but three openings corresponding to the reels 110-112 are provided so as to fill the gaps between the reels 110-112. It may be a single rectangle. It is possible to improve the definition of the image displayed in the position of the gap between the reels.

By blocking the transmission of light in the liquid crystal panel 157A, a black image appears to be displayed to the player. In addition, since the R, G, and B backlights are evenly transmitted, it appears to the player that a white image is being displayed. When a white image is displayed, it can be said that the transparency of the liquid crystal panel 157A is increased. can be said to be a state Such display of black, white, or other colors can be controlled on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

The operation of the liquid crystal display device 157 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3(b) to 3(d). This figure shows an example of the operation of the liquid crystal display device 157 .

FIG. 3(b) shows the state of the liquid crystal display device 157 when the slot machine 100 is not powered. As described above, in the case of the present embodiment, the liquid crystal display device 157 is a normally black type liquid crystal display. 112 is in a state where visual recognition is difficult.

An example of the operation of the liquid crystal display device 157 is shown in FIG. This figure shows that the entire liquid crystal display device 157 is used to display an image. At this time, in the area inside the reel window 113, the light from the reels 110 to 112 or the like serves as a backlight, and the image of the liquid crystal display device 157 becomes visible in this area. However, due to the image display of the liquid crystal display device 157, the visibility of the symbols on the reels 110 to 112 is lowered (becomes difficult to see).

FIG. 3(d) shows an example of the operation of the liquid crystal display device 157, which is different from that shown in FIG. 3(c). In this figure, the area inside the reel window 113 is different from the example (c) above. Specifically, by displaying a white image in the area inside the reel window 113, the visibility of the reels 110 to 112 is ensured. In this embodiment, this state occurs after a medal is inserted in one game. That is, in order to ensure the visibility of the reels 110-112, the state shown in FIG. 3(d) is maintained at least from the time the reels 110-112 start to stop rotating.

An example of effect display on the liquid crystal display device 157, which will be described later, is an example of a display above the reel window 113 on the liquid crystal panel 157A.

A stored number display portion 125L is provided on the left side of the reel window 113, and a payout number display portion 127L is provided on the opposite right side. The stored number display unit 125L displays the same value as the stored number displayed on the stored number display 125, and the payout number display unit 127L displays the same value as the payout number displayed on the payout number display 127. be done.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the liquid crystal display device 157 is provided with a region covering the reel window 113, and a white image is displayed to make the reels 110 to 112 visible, and an image other than white is displayed. In this case, the visibility of the reels 110-112 is reduced. In addition, in order to improve the visibility of the reels 110 to 112, it is possible to set the transmittance for each pixel constituting the image in the area covering the reel window 113, and the transmittance is set to 100% (transmissive state). may

Note that the device for displaying images is not limited to a liquid crystal display device, and any display device capable of displaying various effect images and various game information may be used. A display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, a reel (drum), or a display device including a projector and a screen may be used. In addition, the display screen has a rectangular shape, and is configured so that the player can see the entire screen. Although the display screen is rectangular in this embodiment, it may be square. In addition, a decoration (not shown) may be provided on the periphery of the display screen so that a part of the periphery of the display screen is hidden by the decoration, so that the display screen looks oddly shaped. Although the display screen is a flat surface in this embodiment, it may be a curved surface.

<Circuit Configuration of Control Unit>
Next, the circuit configuration of the control section of the slot machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG. This figure is a circuit block diagram of the control unit.

The control units of the slot machine 100 can be broadly divided into a main control unit 300 that controls the progress of a game, and a command signal (hereinafter simply referred to as “command”) transmitted by the main control unit 300. and a second sub-controller 500 that controls various devices based on commands sent from the first sub-controller 400 .

<Main control unit>
First, the main controller 300 of the slot machine 100 will be described. The main control unit 300 includes a basic circuit 302 that controls the entire main control unit 300. This basic circuit 302 includes a CPU 304, control program data, lottery data used in internal lottery for winning combinations, and reel patterns. A ROM 306 storing arrays and the like, a RAM 308 for temporarily storing data, an I/O 310 for controlling input/output of various devices, a counter timer 312 for measuring time and number of times, and a WDT. (watchdog timer) 314 is installed. Other storage devices may be used for the ROM 306 and RAM 308, and the same applies to the first sub-controller 400 and second sub-controller 500, which will be described later. A ROM, which is a storage device having a storage area for temporarily storing data, and a RAM, which is a storage device having a storage area for temporarily storing data, are used together.

The CPU 304 of the basic circuit 302 operates by inputting a clock signal having a predetermined cycle output from the crystal oscillator 315b as a system clock. Furthermore, when the power is turned on, the CPU 304 transmits data for frequency division stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 306 to the counter timer 312, and the counter timer 312 calculates an interrupt time based on the received data for frequency division. It determines and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 304 for each interrupt time. The CPU 304 uses this interrupt request as a trigger to monitor each sensor and transmit drive pulses. For example, when the clock signal output from the crystal oscillator 315b is set to 8 MHz, the frequency division value of the counter timer 312 is set to 1/256, and the data for frequency division of the ROM 306 is set to 47, the interrupt reference time is 256×47÷8 MHz. = 1.504 ms.

The main control unit 300 includes a random number generation circuit 316 that is used as a hardware random number counter that varies the numerical value in the range of 0 to 65535 based on the clock signal input from the crystal oscillator 315a, and a start signal when the power is turned on. A start signal output circuit 338 that outputs (reset signal) is provided, and the CPU 304 starts game control when the start signal is input from the start signal output circuit 338 (main control unit main processing described later). Start).

In addition, the main control unit 300 has a sensor circuit 320, and the CPU 304 detects various sensors 318 (bet button 130 sensor, bet button 131 sensor, bet button 132 sensor, medal insertion slot 141) at each interrupt time. Medal reception sensor for medals, start lever 135 sensor, left stop button 137 sensor, middle stop button 138 sensor, right stop button 139 sensor, checkout button 134 sensor, medal payout sensor for medals paid out from medal payout device 180, left reel 110 , the index sensor of the middle reel 111, the index sensor of the right reel 112, the PUSH button 192 sensor, etc.).

When the sensor circuit 320 detects the H level of the start lever sensor, it outputs a signal indicating this detection to the random number generation circuit 316 . The random number generating circuit 316 that receives this signal latches the value at that timing and stores it in a register that stores the random number used for the lottery.

Two medal reception sensors are installed in the internal passage of the medal insertion slot 141, and detect the presence or absence of passage of medals. Two start lever 135 sensors are installed inside the start lever 135 and detect the start operation by the player. The left stop button 137 sensor, the middle stop button 138 sensor, and the right stop button 139 sensor are installed on the corresponding stop buttons 137 to 139, respectively, and detect the operation of the stop button by the player.

The bet button 130 sensor, the bet button 131 sensor, and the bet button 132 sensor are installed in the corresponding medal insertion buttons 130 to 132, respectively, and the medals electronically stored in the RAM 308 are inserted into the game. Detects the submit operation when submitting as The settlement button 134 sensor is provided on the settlement button 134 . When the settlement button 134 is pressed once, the electronically stored medals are settled. The medal payout sensor is a sensor for detecting medals paid out by the medal payout device 180 . Each sensor described above may be a non-contact type sensor or a contact type sensor.

The index sensor of the left reel 110, the index sensor of the middle reel 111, and the index sensor of the right reel 112 are installed at predetermined positions on the mounts of the reels 110 to 112, and the light shielding pieces provided on the reel frame pass through. It becomes L level every time. Rotational position information indicating how much the reel rotates from the reference position from when it once goes to L level until it goes to L level again is calculated based on the value obtained by counting the clock signal output from the crystal oscillator 315b. be done. When the CPU 304 detects the L level signal, the CPU 304 determines that the reel has made one rotation, and resets the rotational position information of the reel to zero. This rotational position information is stored in the RAM 308 of the main control unit 300 .

The main control unit 300 includes a drive circuit 322 for driving the stepping motors provided on the reels 110 to 112, a drive circuit 324 for driving solenoids provided in the medal selector 170 for sorting the inserted medals, and a medal payout device 180. A drive circuit 326 for driving a motor, various lamps 339 (announcement lamp 123, game medal insertion possible lamp 124, replay lamp 122, game medal insertion lamp 129, game start lamp 121, accumulated number display 125, game information display) 126 and a drive circuit 328 for driving the payout number indicator 127).

An information output circuit 334 is connected to the basic circuit 302, and the main control unit 300 outputs an information input circuit 652 provided in an external hall computer (not shown) or the like via this information output circuit 334. The game information of the machine 100 (for example, information indicating the game state) is output.

The main control unit 300 also includes a voltage monitoring circuit 330 that monitors the voltage value of the power supply supplied from the power management unit (not shown) to the main control unit 300. The voltage monitoring circuit 330 monitors the voltage of the power supply. If the value is less than a predetermined value (9v in this embodiment), it outputs a low voltage signal to the basic circuit 302 indicating that the voltage has dropped.

The main control section 300 also has an output interface for transmitting commands to the first sub-control section 400 and enables communication with the first sub-control section 400 . Information communication between the main control unit 300 and the first sub-control unit 400 is one-way communication, and the main control unit 300 is configured to be able to transmit signals such as commands to the first sub-control unit 400. However, the first sub-controller 400 is configured so that signals such as commands cannot be transmitted to the main controller 300 .

<Sub-controller>
Next, the first sub-controller 400 of the slot machine 100 will be described. The first sub-controller 400 receives control commands transmitted by the main controller 300 via the input interface. The first sub-controller 400 comprises a basic circuit 402 that controls the entire first sub-controller 400 based on this control command. , an I/O 410 for controlling input/output of various devices, and a counter timer 412 for measuring time, number of times, and the like. The CPU 404 of the basic circuit 402 operates by inputting a clock signal having a predetermined cycle output from the crystal oscillator 414 as a system clock. The first sub-control unit 400 also stores a control program and data for controlling the entire first sub-control unit 400, a backlight lighting pattern, data for controlling various displays, and the like. are provided.

The CPU 404 transmits data for frequency division stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 406 to the counter timer 412 via the data bus at predetermined timing. The counter timer 412 determines an interrupt time based on the received frequency division data, and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 404 at each interrupt time. The CPU 404 controls each IC and each circuit based on the timing of this interrupt request.

A sound source IC 418 is provided in the first sub-control unit 400, and speakers 272 and 277 are provided in the sound source IC 418 via an output interface. The sound source IC 418 controls sound output from the amplifier and speakers 272 and 277 according to commands from the CPU 404 . An S-ROM (sound ROM) storing sound data is connected to the sound source IC 418 , and the sound data obtained from this ROM is amplified by an amplifier and output from the speakers 272 and 277 .

In addition, the first sub-control unit 400 is provided with a drive circuit 422, and various lamps 420 (upper lamp, lower lamp, side lamp 144, title panel 162 lamp, game medal insertion) are provided to the drive circuit 422 via an input/output interface. available lamp 124, bet button lamp, reel backlight, stop button lamps 137-139, PUSH button lamp, etc.) are connected.

A sensor circuit 423 is provided in the first sub-controller 400 , and the CPU 404 monitors the detection result of the door sensor 421 that detects opening of the front door 102 .

The CPU 404 also transmits and receives signals to and from the second sub-controller 500 via the output interface. The second sub-controller 500 performs display control of the liquid crystal display device 157 .

Next, the second sub-controller 500 of the slot machine 100 will be described. The second sub-control unit 500 receives the control command transmitted by the first sub-control unit 400 via the input interface, and operates the basic circuit 502 that controls the entire second sub-control unit 500 based on this control command. This basic circuit 502 includes a CPU 504, a RAM 508 for temporarily storing data, an I/O 510 for controlling input/output of various devices, and a counter for measuring time, number of times, etc. A timer 512 is mounted. The CPU 504 of the basic circuit 502 operates by inputting a clock signal having a predetermined cycle output from the crystal oscillator 514 as a system clock. The second sub-controller 500 also has a ROM 506 that stores a control program and data for controlling the second sub-controller 500 as a whole, image display data, and the like.

The CPU 504 transmits data for frequency division stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 506 to the counter timer 512 via the data bus at predetermined timing. The counter timer 512 determines an interrupt time based on the received frequency division data, and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 404 at each interrupt time. The CPU 504 controls each IC and each circuit based on the timing of this interrupt request.

A VDP 534 (video display processor) is provided in the second sub-control unit 500, and a ROM 506 and a VRAM 536 are connected to this VDP 534 via a bus. The VDP 534 reads image data and the like stored in the ROM 506 based on a signal from the CPU 504 , generates a display image using the work area of the VRAM 536 , and displays the image on the liquid crystal display device 157 .

<Pattern arrangement>
The pattern arrangement applied to each of the above-described reels 110 to 112 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, this figure is a plan view showing the arrangement of the symbols applied to each reel (the left reel 110, the middle reel 111, and the right reel 112).

On each of the reels 110 to 112, a predetermined number of symbols (20 frames numbered 0 to 19 in this embodiment) of a plurality of types (10 in this embodiment) shown on the right side of the figure are arranged. Numbers 0 to 19 shown at the left end of the figure indicate the arrangement positions of symbols on the respective reels 110 to 112 . For example, in this embodiment, the frame numbered 0 on the left reel 110 has a "bell pattern", the frame numbered 1 on the middle reel 111 has a "replay pattern", and the frame numbered 1 on the right reel 112 has a "watermelon 1" pattern. Each pattern is placed.

In addition, "Blue Seven 2 pattern" and "Watermelon 2 pattern" are marked with stars, but this means that "Blue Seven 2 pattern" and "Watermelon 2 pattern" are different from "Blue Seven 1 pattern" and " It means that the design is similar to "watermelon 1 pattern" but a different pattern (also called the same type of pattern). The "similar design" corresponds to a case where the drawn characters are the same but have different facial expressions, or the drawn object (watermelon) is the same but has different patterns. In this embodiment, star marks are added to facilitate distinguishing between similar patterns.

<Types of winning roles>
Next, the types of winning combinations of the slot machine 100 will be described.

The winning combination of the slot machine 100 includes a replay combination and a small combination. Note that the types of winning combinations are not limited to these combinations, and can be arbitrarily adopted. Among the winning combinations in the present embodiment, the replaying combination is a replaying combination that can be played again without inserting new medals, and is sometimes called an "operating combination" to distinguish it from the winning combination. . "Winning" in the present embodiment includes the case where the symbol combination of the working combination that does not accompany the payout of medals (does not accompany the payout of medals) is displayed on the active line. included.

A replay role is a winning role (operating role) that can be played without inserting medals (game media) in the next game due to winning, and the bet number set in the game will be used next time. A game can be played, and medals are not paid out. A small combination is a winning combination in which a predetermined number of medals are paid out upon winning.

The winning combination in the game is one of the combinations corresponding to the internal winning combination. These internal winning combinations are determined by a lottery (internal winning combination lottery) at the start of the game.

FIG. 6(a) is a diagram collectively showing internal winning combinations of the slot machine 100 shown in FIG.

The probability of winning an internal winning combination is determined by combining the numerical data corresponding to the range of the lottery data associated with each internal winning combination with the numerical data within the range of random numbers (65536 in this embodiment) obtained during the internal lottery described later. ). The lottery data is divided into several numerical ranges in advance, and each internal winning combination and loss are associated with each numerical range. In the internal winning combination lottery process to be described later, it is determined whether the random number value obtained as a result of executing the internal lottery corresponds to the lottery data corresponding to any internal winning combination, and the internal winning combination is determined. Actually, this lottery data is prepared with setting 1 to setting 6 that differ in the winning probability of at least one internal winning combination, and the staff of the game parlor can arbitrarily select and set any of the setting values. can be done.

As for the setting values, while the winning probability of the internal winning combination is common for each setting value, the winning probability of AT (easiness of shifting to AT), which will be described later, is set differently between setting 1 to setting 6. For example, in setting 1, the AT lottery probability when a certain internal winning combination is determined is probability A, while in setting 6, the AT lottery probability when a certain internal winning combination is determined is probability A. A higher probability B may be set.

In FIG. 6A, the range of lottery data (lottery value) is indicated by alphabets. Replay 4 to Replay 7 all show (g), which means that the lottery values are the same. For example, (g)=3000/65535. All of the 1-card hand 1 to 1-card hand 8 are indicated with (m), which also indicates that the lottery value is the same. Bells CLR1 to RCL3 all indicate (n), which also indicates that the lottery values are the same.

The relationship between the lottery values indicated by alphabets is (a) + (b) + (c) + (d) < (e) + (f) + (g) + (h) + (i) + (j) + ( k) + (l) + (m) + (n).

Note that the role of watermelon and the role of cherry are rare roles with small lottery values.

<Types of internally elected roles>
Next, the internal winning combination (condition device) of the slot machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 6(b).

FIG. 6(b) is a table showing the display mode and the number of payouts for each operation content of the common bell and the winning combination among the internally won combinations. A winning combination is an internal winning combination with a different winning combination (display mode of the reels 110 to 112) depending on the content of the stop operation (in this embodiment, the order of operation from the first stop operation to the third stop operation). say.

Note that in this embodiment, (1) the stop operation of left, center, right (stop operation in which the first stop reel is the left reel 110, the second stop reel is the middle reel 111, and the third stop reel is the right reel 112) is LCR. operation, (2) LRC operation for the stop operation of left and right center (stop operation with the first stop reel as the left reel 110, the second stop reel as the right reel 112, and the third stop reel as the middle reel 111); Left and right (stop operation with the first stop reel as the middle reel 111, the second stop reel as the left reel 110, and the third stop reel as the right reel 112) is the CLR operation, (4) middle right and left (first stop reel) the middle reel 111, the right reel 112 as the second stop reel, and the left reel 110 as the third stop reel). (6) right center left (right reel 112 as the first stop reel, second stop reel as the middle reel) The stop operation of the reel 111 and the third stop reel being the left reel 110) may be referred to as the RCL operation.

For example, in the internal lottery for the winning combination, if the pressing order bell_CLR1-3 is internally won, and (1) the LCR operation or the LRC operation is performed, it will be a loss or a winning combination of 1, and 0 or 0 1 medal is paid out, (2) if the CLR operation is performed, a bell wins and 9 medals are paid out, and (3) if the CRL operation is performed, 1 Winning a winning combination and paying out 1 medal, and (4) if the RLC operation or RCL operation is performed, it will result in a loss or winning a winning combination of 1, and 0 or 1 medal will be paid out. . In other words, in the pressing order Bell_CLR1 to 3, the bell wins when the CLR operation is performed, and the maximum number of medals is paid out. In the following, when the player is internally elected to the winning combination, the operation content when the maximum number of medals is paid out may be referred to as "correct operation". In this embodiment, the correct operation means that the order of operations from the first stop operation to the third stop operation is correct.

Similarly, in the order of pressing bell_CRL1-CRL3, the CRL operation is the correct operation, and in the case of the CRL operation, the bell wins and nine medals are paid out. Also, in the pressing order bell_RCL1-3, the RLC operation is the correct operation, and in the case of the RLC operation, the bell wins and 9 medals are paid out, and in the pressing order bell_RCL1-3, the RCL operation is correct. In the case of the RCL operation, the bell wins and 9 medals are paid out.

On the other hand, for example, when the common bell is internally won in the winning combination internal lottery, the bell is won and 9 medals are paid out regardless of the operation contents. Hereinafter, the aforementioned push order bell_CLR1-3, push order bell_CRL1-3, push order bell_RLC1-3, and push order bell_RCL1-3 are collectively referred to as "push order bell". Of these "push order bells", push order bells_CLR1 to 3 and push order bells_CRL1 to 3 are referred to as "middle first bells" for convenience of explanation. is sometimes called the "right first bell". In addition, although the number of common bells to be paid out is 9, which is the same number as the pressing order bells, the number is not limited to this, and the number may be less than the pressing order bells. medal payout can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, there is no pressing order bell that makes LCR operation or LRC operation (forward pressing or forward pinching) the correct answer, CLR operation or CRL operation (middle pressing) and RLC operation or RCL operation (reverse pressing or reverse pinching) It is a specification that there is a push order bell with the correct answer. That is, it is a specification called biased bell. By using a biased bell, it is possible to lower the ball output in the normal state (non-AT state) and increase the ball output in the AT state. Note that the biased bell is a specification in which the pressing order other than the left first stop is more advantageous to the game than the left first stop (for example, the number of payouts is large or the winning probability is high). .

The display mode and the number of payouts for each operation content when the internal winning combination (condition device) is one-card combination 1 to 8 and replay 1 to 7 are as shown in FIG. 6(b). "S Blue 7/BAR" in FIG. 6(b) means whether "Blue Seven 1 pattern" is aligned on a single (1 line) winning line or "BAR pattern" is aligned. "Fake" means that even if the symbols to be targeted are notified and the symbols are pressed, the notified symbols are not aligned. In "Replay (Peach 7/W Blue 7 Fake)", you will be notified to aim for the peach 7 pattern or aim for the blue 7 pattern on the double (2 lines) winning line. means that

<Types of game state>
Next, the types and transitions of game states of the slot machine 100 will be described. FIG. 7 is a transition diagram of the game state (specifically, the AT system game state) of the main control unit 300 of the slot machine 100. As shown in FIG. The AT game state is a game state related to the effect.

The gaming state of the slot machine 100 is roughly divided into a normal state and an AT state. The normal state is a state in which manipulation navigation is not executed, and the AT state is a state in which manipulation navigation may be executed. Here, the operation navigation is a notification effect for notifying the stop operation mode (information about the content of the stop operation), and if the stop operation is performed according to the notification content of the operation navigation, the player will be given an advantageous result. It has become. Operation navigation can be broadly classified into (1) push order navigation that reports information including the operation order (push order) of the stop operation, and (2) information that includes operation timing (for example, a pattern of the stop target, etc.). There is a pattern navigator to notify. In other words, the pressing order navigation is operation navigation that does not include the timing of eye pressing, and the pattern navigation is operation navigation that includes the timing of eye pressing. In the case of the present embodiment, for example, in the AT state, when an internal winning is made at the pressing order bell, the correct operation content (operation order) may be notified.

The normal state includes a normal stage, a challenge zone (hereinafter abbreviated as CZ), and a withdrawal zone. The AT state includes a bonus state, an AT normal state, an additional zone, and an ending state.

In addition to the seven gaming states described above, concepts of an advantageous interval and a non-advantageous interval are provided. The non-advantageous section consists of part of the period of the normal stage and part of the period of the withdrawal zone, and the advantaged section is the period other than these. Therefore, the AT state is the mode of the advantageous interval. The advantageous section of the present embodiment is a period in which the upper limit number of sheets is set. Specifically, the upper limit difference number of sheets is 2400 sheets. Here, the number of difference is the accumulated value of the difference between the number of inserted medals and the number of paid out medals in one game (the number of paid out medals - the number of inserted medals). The upper limit difference number of sheets of the advantageous section is a value for determining the end of the advantageous section, and the difference number of sheets is updated according to the result of one game. The advantageous interval may be a period in which the upper limit number of games and the upper limit number of games are set, but the advantageous interval in the slot machine 100 of the present embodiment has no upper limit of the number of games. Further, the advantageous section must be ended when the upper limit number of sheets is reached, but it can be ended even if the upper limit of the number of sheets is not reached. Furthermore, although the upper limit number of sheets is provided as an advantageous section, the technical concept of this embodiment can also be applied to a medalless gaming machine that does not use game media such as medals.

In the non-advantageous section, no lottery is conducted to determine whether or not to shift from the normal state to the AT state. Therefore, it becomes a section in which operation navigation is not executed. On the other hand, in the advantageous section, a lottery is held to determine whether or not to shift from the normal state to the AT state. Therefore, if the player wins the lottery and shifts to the AT state, the operation navigation may be executed. An advantageous section is a section in which the transition to the AT state is possible, and a non-advantageous section is a section in which the transition to the AT state is impossible.

When the setting is changed, it is set to a non-advantageous section and becomes a normal stage. If you win a role other than losing in the normal stage of the non-advantageous section, you will move to the advantageous section. When either the upper limit number of games or the upper limit difference number is reached in the advantageous section, the transition to the non-advantageous section is made. Even in a non-advantageous section (pull-back zone) that has moved from an advantageous section, if you win a role other than losing, you will move to an advantageous section.

In general, it is necessary to suppress the payout of medals in the normal state in order to realize a game feature that increases the payout of medals in a state advantageous to the player, such as the AT state. As for the stop operation of the gaming machine, it is often recommended for the player to perform the stop operation (forward pressing or forward pinching) with the first stop operation as the left. Therefore, in the case of providing a push-order role, in this embodiment, as a method of realizing a game property that suppresses medal payout in the normal state, a push-order bell with a biased bell specification (first stop operation left There is no push order bell that makes the correct answer, but there is a push order bell that makes the first stop operation or right the correct answer).

In the present embodiment, there is no push order bell indicating that the first stop operation left is the correct answer, but it may be provided separately. In this case, the internal winning probability of the pressing-order bell that the correct answer is the first stop operation left is the internal winning probability of the pressing-order bell that the correct answer is during the first stop operation, and the push order bell that the correct answer is the first stop operation right. It may be set lower than the sum of the internal winning probabilities of the top bells.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the number of games in the normal state after the end of the AT state reaches a predetermined threshold value (hereinafter referred to as ceiling game number), the game is shifted to the AT state.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is recommended to stop the first stop operation to the left in the normal state (forward push or forward pinch), and in the normal state (non-AT state) of the advantageous section, the push order bell is internally elected. In the game played, if a stop operation other than the first stop operation left (specifically, during the first stop operation, the first stop operation right) is performed, a penalty is given. Here, the penalty is, specifically, a penalty relating to the transition from the normal state to the AT state. No lottery will be held. It should be noted that even if the lottery is performed, there may be a penalty of not winning for shifting to the AT state. (2) The value of a counter that counts the number of games in the normal state up to the number of ceiling games (hereafter referred to as ceiling counter) is not updated (not added). In the present embodiment, the contents of these penalties (1) and (2) are adopted, but they are not limited to these, and other penalties may be used as long as they are related to the transition from the normal state to the AT state. good too. For example, when the stock lottery is conducted according to the internal winning hand during the omens that the AT has already decided (so-called main omens), the stock lottery may not be conducted. In the case of performing an AT upgrade lottery to shift to a better AT according to the situation, the penalty may be an example of not performing the upgrade lottery, or suppressing or not executing the preferential treatment. Also, although the penalties for shifting to the AT state have been described, penalties for shifting to the CZ state may be provided.

FIG. 7 shows the above-described seven game states, and their transition conditions are indicated on the arrows. When the transition condition corresponding to each arrow is met, the game state transitions in the direction of the arrow.

The normal stage is the initial state after the setting change. When condition A is established in the normal stage (specifically, after winning a role other than losing in the normal stage of the non-advantageous section, which is the initial state, and moving to the advantageous section, in the normal stage of the advantageous section, a rare role (for example, , strong cherry) wins the specific effect lottery based on the winning, and when the specific effect is started and the specific effect is completed, the AT normal state is transferred.As the specific effect, in this embodiment, it is a continuous effect over multiple games The continuous production may be, for example, a duel production or a freeze production.In addition, the continuous production may be a production over a plurality of games, and since it is before the transition to the AT state, it is an omen. The specific effect lottery may be 100% winning, or may be a mode in which it is determined that the AT normal state will be changed when the rare combination is won. .

If condition B is satisfied in the normal stage (specifically, after winning a hand other than losing in the normal stage of the non-advantageous section, which is the initial state, and moving to the advantageous section, in the normal stage of the advantageous section, based on the winning hand If you win the CZ shift lottery), shift to CZ. CZ is in a game state for a finite period in which the number of games is fixed (for example, 10 games). If condition D is established in CZ (more specifically, if a bonus transfer lottery based on a winning combination is won in CZ), the state shifts to the bonus state, and if condition C is established in CZ (more specifically, bonus transition in CZ If you do not win the lottery), you will move to the normal stage.

The bonus state is a gaming state for a finite period in which the number of games is fixed (for example, 30 games). The bonus mentioned here is a pseudo bonus. When the condition F is established in the bonus state (more specifically, when the AT lottery based on the winning combination is won in the bonus state), the AT normal state is entered. When the AT lottery is won, the number of games in which the player can stay in the normal AT state (hereinafter referred to as the number of AT-provided games) is awarded. On the other hand, when the condition E is established in the bonus state (more specifically, when the AT lottery is not won in the bonus state), the normal stage is entered.

The slot machine 100 of this embodiment is designed to increase the number of payout balls in the AT normal state. When the condition G is satisfied in the AT normal state (more specifically, when winning the extra zone transfer lottery based on the winning combination), the game moves to the extra zone. The add-on zone is a state in which an add-on lottery for adding the number of AT-given games is executed. That is, in the AT normal state, the game for the number of games obtained by adding the number of games given in the addition zone to the initial number of AT given games given immediately after winning the AT lottery can be executed. The extra zone is a game state for a finite period in which the number of games is fixed (for example, 10 games). When the condition H is established in the additional zone (more specifically, when the additional zone is completed by playing the number of games), the AT normal state is entered. It should be noted that the AT lottery number may not be awarded immediately after winning the AT lottery, and the initial number of AT normal state games may be determined in the additional zone.

Further, when the condition J is established in the AT normal state (more specifically, when the ending transition condition is established), the state is shifted to the ending state. Here, the case where the ending transition condition is established means the case where the difference number of sheets in the advantageous section is equal to or greater than the specified difference number (here, 2200 sheets). That is, condition J is established when the residual number of sheets before reaching the upper limit number of sheets (here, 2400 sheets) at which the advantageous section ends becomes equal to or less than a predetermined number of sheets (here, 200 sheets).

The ending state is the final state of the AT state (advantageous interval). When the condition L is satisfied in the ending state (more specifically, when the advantageous section end condition is satisfied and the pullback zone transfer lottery is won), the game moves to the pullback zone. A case where the advantageous section end condition is satisfied is a case where the difference number of sheets in the advantageous section reaches 2400 sheets, which is the upper limit difference number of sheets. Since the upper limit of the number of difference is 2400, it is possible to end the advantageous section after exceeding 2400 in consideration of the negative amount until reaching the AT state.

FIG. 8(a) is a diagram showing transition winning probabilities of pullback zone transition lottery.

In the RAM 308 of the main control unit 300, in addition to the difference number counter that counts the upper limit difference number in the advantageous section, the above-mentioned ceiling counter, the counter that counts the number of AT grant games, etc., the number of acquired numbers in the AT normal state is counted. An AT acquisition number counter is provided. The CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 executes a pullback zone transition lottery when the AT acquisition number counter reaches a predetermined second value (here, 500). In this case, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the transfer winning probability in the drawback zone transfer lottery is about 10%, and there are cases where the drawback zone is shifted. Strictly speaking, the transition winning probability (probability of transition) is 25/256, and the probability of non-transition is 231/256. At this stage, if the drawback zone shift lottery is won, in the AT normal state, the condition K is established at the time when all the AT grant game numbers are consumed before reaching the upper limit difference number at which the advantageous section ends, and the drawback is performed. Move to zone. If it moves to the pullback zone in this way, it remains in the advantageous section. On the other hand, when the acquired number in the AT normal state does not reach the predetermined second value (500), the pullback zone transition lottery is not executed. Therefore, in this case, the winning probability of the drawback zone transfer lottery is 0%. Before the number of acquired AT normal state reaches a predetermined second value (500), condition I is established when the number of AT-given games is completely consumed, and the normal stage is returned to. If you return to the normal stage in this way, you will remain in the advantageous section.

In addition, when the AT acquisition number counter reaches a predetermined second value (here, 500 cards), the drawback zone transition lottery is lost, and the AT acquisition number counter reaches the predetermined first value (advantageous section ends) When reaching a value less than the upper limit difference number of sheets (1000 sheets in this case), the pullback zone transfer lottery is executed again. As shown in FIG. 8(a), the winning probability is 100% when 1000 cards are reached. After the acquisition number in the AT normal state reaches the predetermined first value (1000) (winning the withdrawal zone transition lottery), in the AT normal state, before reaching the upper limit difference number at which the advantageous section ends Condition K is satisfied at the time when all the AT-given games are consumed, and the game shifts to the pullback zone. Even when it shifts to the pullback zone in this way, it remains in the advantageous section. Further, when the transition to the ending state is reached and the upper limit difference number of sheets (2400 sheets) at which the advantageous section ends is reached, the condition L is established, and the transition to the withdrawal zone is performed. When transitioning from the ending state to the pullback zone, it transitions to a non-advantageous section. The fact that the number of difference sheets in the advantageous section has reached the upper limit of 2400 sheets means that the number of sheets acquired in the AT normal state has reached 1000 sheets, and from the ending state it will always shift to the withdrawal zone. It will be.

Also, when the number of cards acquired in the AT normal state reaches the second value (500 cards), the probability of losing the drawback zone transfer lottery is about 90%. Even if the number of AT normal state acquisitions reaches the second value, the lottery will be lost, and even if the AT grant game number is all consumed before reaching the first value, condition I will be fulfilled. Established and returns to the normal stage. Even if you return to the normal stage in this way, you will still be in the advantageous section.

As described above, the withdrawal zone transition lottery is not executed unless the number of acquired sheets in the AT normal state has reached 500, and is executed if it has reached 500, and if it has reached 1000. must move to the withdrawal zone. As a result, the player can have a game goal in the AT normal state, and can also have a sense of expectation such as "if you get a lot, you might get more". Here, the AT acquisition number counter counts the number of acquisitions in the AT normal state, but it may count the number of acquisitions in the AT normal state and bonus state combined, or count the number of acquisitions in the entire AT state. You may In addition, the winning probability of the pullback zone transition lottery may differ depending on the setting value, and the winning probability of the pullback zone transition lottery is higher with a high setting (eg, setting 6) than with a low setting (eg, setting 1). You can make it higher. By doing so, it is possible to obtain even more game value if the setting is high. On the other hand, the winning probability of the pullback zone shift lottery may be higher with the low setting (eg, setting 1) than with the high setting (eg, setting 6). By doing so, it is possible to obtain a large amount of game value even with a low setting.

Also, in the AT normal state, a display such as "Attainment of 1000 cards may determine the withdrawal zone" may be displayed so that the game target during AT can be visually recognized. Alternatively, in the AT normal state after winning the pullback zone transfer lottery and obtaining the right to transfer to the pullback zone, a display that allows the player to specify that the player will move to the pullback zone after this is displayed. Motivation to continue playing can be enhanced.

The pullback zone shift lottery may be executed at the timing when the upper limit number of sheets at which the advantageous section ends is reached, or at the timing when all the AT-given game numbers are consumed. In this case, in the AT normal state, whether the number of sheets acquired at the execution timing has reached a predetermined second value (500 sheets) or has reached a predetermined first value (1000 sheets) Then, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the shift winning probability is different. Alternatively, the withdrawal zone transition lottery is executed at the timing when the number of acquired sheets in the AT normal state reaches the predetermined second value and the predetermined first value, and at the timing when all the AT-given game numbers are consumed. good too.

Also, after reaching the predetermined second value (500 cards) or the predetermined first value (1000 cards), if all the AT-given games are digested and then moved to the pullback zone, the Although the advantageous section continued without transitioning, at the time when all the AT-given games have been consumed, whether it is possible to acquire a sufficient number of sheets in the remaining period of the advantageous section currently staying , it may be determined whether or not to end the advantageous section and shift to the non-advantageous section. The sufficient number of sheets may be, for example, 2400 sheets or 1500 sheets which is less than 2400 sheets. That is, if it is not possible to acquire a sufficient number of coins, the current advantageous section may be ended and a non-advantageous section may be started, so that a new advantageous section can be started. This is an event in which the player is dissatisfied with the fact that, even though the AT has been won in the pullback zone and returned to the AT, the game immediately shifts to the ending state even though the number of winning cards in the returned AT is small. This is to prevent the occurrence of

The pullback zone is in a game state for a limited period of time with a fixed number of games (for example, 15 games). The number of games in the withdrawal zone is less than the number of games in the bonus state, but greater than the number of games in the add-on zone.

FIG. 8(b) is a diagram showing AT winning probabilities in the pullback zone AT lottery executed in the pullback zone.

If the AT is won by the AT lottery performed in all hands within 15 games (satisfaction of the condition M shown in FIG. 7), the AT normal state is resumed after the withdrawal zone ends, and if the AT is not won (see FIG. 7) (Condition N shown below is met), the stage shifts to the normal stage. If the player has just moved to the pullback zone, the AT lottery will not be conducted if the player wins the losing position because the player has returned to the non-advantageous section. Alternatively, even if AT lottery is performed and AT wins, it is treated as invalid. After winning a combination other than losing and shifting to an advantageous section, there is a possibility that AT will be won even if winning is lost. The diagram shown in FIG. 8(b) is an example. In addition, watermelon and weak cherry are used as weak rare roles, strong cherry and chance are set as strong rare roles, and the AT winning probability is 45% for weak rare roles and high In the case of a rare combination, it may be distributed such as 100%. Also, the AT lottery in the pullback zone may be different depending on the setting value, and the AT winning probability is higher with the high setting (for example, setting 6) than the low setting (for example, setting 1). good too. By doing so, it is possible to obtain even more game value if the setting is high. On the other hand, the AT winning probability may be higher with the low setting (eg, setting 1) than with the high setting (eg, setting 6). By doing so, it is possible to obtain a large amount of game value even with a low setting.

Even if AT wins, the pullback zone is maintained until 15 games are completed. Also, before transitioning from the ending to the pullback zone, a pullback zone preparation state for several games may be provided, and in this pullback zone preparation state, an opportunity to return from the non-advantageous section to the advantageous section may be given. In this case, a preparation-in-preparation presentation that can be specified or suggests that the withdrawal zone preparation state may be executed. Then, when the vehicle shifts to the advantageous section in the ready state, the pullback zone is started.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing an example of increase/decrease in the number of difference sheets when passing through the withdrawal zone.

In FIG. 9, the vertical axis represents the number of game media (the number of medals), and the horizontal axis represents the passage of time. The difference number represented by the graph in FIG. 9 is, as described above, the accumulated value of the difference between the number of inserted medals and the number of paid out medals in one game (number of paid out-number of inserted medals). The setting is changed, and the difference number is reset to zero. In addition, the game state has changed to the normal state due to the setting change. During the normal state, the difference number of sheets decreases, but when it shifts to the AT state (first time), it turns to increase. When the number of AT-given games is completed in the AT normal state, the acquired number in the AT normal state has reached 500, and the drawback zone shift lottery is executed. However, when the winning probability of about 10% shown in FIG. 8A is lost (condition I shown in FIG. 7 is established), the game shifts to the second normal state. During the second normal state, the difference number of sheets also decreases, but when the state shifts to the AT state (second time), it turns to increase, and the difference number of sheets increases to a positive value. Before long, the number of AT-given games is digested even in the AT state (second time). The number of acquired cards in the AT normal state exceeds 1000 (satisfaction of condition K shown in FIG. 7), and the process moves to the withdrawal zone. Since the withdrawal zone is in the normal state and operation navigation is not executed, the difference number of sheets decreases. Winning the AT lottery in the pullback zone, and after the 15 games of the pullback zone are completed, the AT state (third time) is entered. In the AT state (third time), the difference number reaches 2400, which is the upper limit difference number. As a result, the condition L shown in FIG. 7 is established, and the transition to the retraction zone is made. Also, the advantageous section is reset and becomes a non-advantageous section. In the pullback zone, the number of difference is reduced, the AT lottery cannot be won in the pullback zone, and the state shifts to the normal state after the 15 games of the pullback zone are completed.

As described above, in the slot machine 100 of the present embodiment, if the number of winning cards reaches 1000 or more in one AT state, the machine always shifts to the withdrawal zone. In addition, the withdrawal zone transition lottery is executed when the advantageous section end condition is satisfied and when the number of AT given games is consumed in the AT normal state. A drawback zone shift lottery may be performed even when the number of sheets reaches 500, and if a lottery is won, the right to shift to the pullback zone may be reserved until the number of AT-given games is exhausted. By doing this, even if the number of acquisitions does not reach 1000, there are more opportunities to acquire the right to move to the withdrawal zone, and in the middle of the AT state or at the stage when the number of AT-given games has been consumed, Makes it easier to perform. As the fanning effect, for example, if the pullback zone transfer lottery is won, a production that can specify or suggests that the transfer to the pullback zone may be executed, and when the number of acquired cards approaches 500 , when reaching 450), the display of the acquired number on the AT state screen may blink or change color, and when reaching 500, it may blink or change color. .

Note that the number of coins obtained in one advantageous section may be used instead of the number of coins obtained in one AT state. Further, when the number of AT-given games is not added even once and the AT-given games are exhausted, the pullback zone shift winning probability may be increased to more than about 10%.

Note that the obtained number may refer to the virtual difference number instead of the actual obtained number. The virtual difference number referred to here is the expected number of sheets that the game value is obtained as expected on the gaming machine. For example, in the normal state (non-AT state), the number of sheets actually obtained by forward pressing is counted. The number of cards obtained by performing irregular pushing in the normal state is treated as 0 (not counted). A fair game machine can be provided because the game value obtained by playing the game not recommended is not counted. To count the number of sheets that can be obtained by operating in the correct operation order even if the operation navigation is not followed in the AT state. That is, even if the push order navigation is ignored, the number of sheets is counted according to the push order navigation. Even if the pressing order is wrong during the AT state, the pullback zone transition lottery will perform the transition lottery assuming that the correct operation has been performed. As a result, although the number actually exceeded 1,000, only 990 could be obtained due to a mistake in the order of pushing. It is possible to prevent the player from being disadvantaged.

The gaming machine is provided with a difference number counter for counting a pure difference number, as well as a counter for counting a virtual difference number (virtual difference number counter). The initial value of this virtual difference number counter is greater than zero. Even if the count value falls below the initial value due to the game situation, there is a margin to reach the negative range, and the period for counting without considering the negative becomes longer. Also, the absolute value (second absolute value) on the negative side of the initial value of the virtual difference number counter is larger than the absolute value (first absolute value) on the positive side of the initial value. Even if the acquisition difference number exceeds the value obtained by subtracting the first absolute value from the initial value due to the game situation of the player, it is possible to leave room for the player to recover.

In addition, the differential number counter counts the difference in the positive range (the number of payouts minus the number of inputs inserted, ignoring the negative portion and counting only the positive portion), and the actual number of payouts in a day including the negative portion. - An actual measurement counter is also provided to count the number of inserted sheets. The difference number counter and the virtual difference number counter are not initialized when power is restored and the actual measurement counter is initialized when power is restored. By preventing the difference number counter and virtual difference number counter from being initialized by power failure and power recovery, it will not be initialized even if the power is turned on before the store opens, and by taking over the count value of the previous day, the game machine can be used immediately after the store opens. You can expect better performance.

According to the above description,
"A reel whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation [for example, the left reel 110, the middle reel 111, and the right reel 112],
Notification means [for example, liquid crystal display device 157];
Control means [for example, the main control unit 300] for controlling the transition of the game state;
A game machine comprising
The control means sets the game state to an operation mode advantageous to the player in the stop operation [for example, the first stop reel is the middle reel 111, the second stop reel is the right reel 112, and the third stop reel is the left reel 110]. Stop operation] can be notified by the notification means [for example, AT state (AT normal state, ending state)].
When the information game state satisfies a first condition [for example, the number of acquired game media in the AT state is 1000 or more], the control means controls the information game state after the information game state ends. A means for shifting to a special game state [for example, a pullback zone] that can shift to an information game state,
A playground characterized by: 』
explained.

According to this game machine, the player may aim to satisfy the first condition in the information game state, and it can be expected that the player's willingness to participate will increase. Further, since the special game state is prepared even after the information game state ends, the player can be motivated to continue the game, and the player's willingness to play can be positively increased.

again,
``The control means is a means that may shift to the special game state when the information game state ends even if the first condition is not satisfied in the information game state [for example, , Even if the number of game media acquired in the AT state is less than 1000, if the number is 500 or more, the transfer lottery may be won],
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

again,
"The first condition is a condition that is established when the game value [eg, medal] acquisition status in the information game state is a predetermined first situation [eg, 1000 or more].
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

If the game value acquisition situation is the predetermined first situation, it is possible to give a sense of expectation that the number of balls to be paid out may be increased.

again,
``The control means is a means for shifting to the special game state when the information game state ends when the first condition is not satisfied in the information game state but the second condition is satisfied. can be,
The second condition is that the game value acquisition situation in the information game state is a predetermined second situation [for example, 500 or more and less than 1000 coins] that does not satisfy the predetermined first situation, and the transition lottery [ For example, the pullback zone transition lottery] is won [for example, about 10% winning probability shown in FIG. 8(a)].
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

Since the opportunity to shift to the special game state is given even if the predetermined first situation is not satisfied, it is possible to suppress the loss of interest in the game.

again,
“Equipped with an advantageous section that is advantageous for players,
The notification game state is one of the game states in the advantageous section,
The advantageous section is a section that may end when the gaming value acquisition situation in the advantageous section reaches a predetermined third situation [for example, 2400 or more],
The informing game state is a state that may end when the game value acquisition situation in the advantageous section reaches the predetermined third situation,
the predetermined third situation is a situation that exceeds the predetermined first situation;
When the advantageous section ends and the information game state transitions to the special game state [for example, the pullback zone] [for example, when the condition L shown in FIG. 7 is satisfied], the special game state becomes a new advantageous It may be a game state in the section [for example, internal winning in a role other than losing],
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

If a new advantageous section is started in the special game state, the maximum amount of game value that can be acquired in the advantageous section can be guaranteed.

<Operation of the slot machine>
Next, the processing of the main control section 300, the first sub-control section 400, and the second sub-control section 500 will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Main control unit main processing>
First, main control unit main processing executed by the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that this figure is a flow chart showing the flow of the main processing of the main controller.

As described above, the main control unit 300 is provided with the activation signal output circuit (reset signal output circuit) 338 that outputs the activation signal (reset signal) when the power is turned on. The CPU 304 of the basic circuit 302 that has received this activation signal is reset-started by the reset interrupt and executes the main control section main processing shown in FIG.

When the power is turned on, first, in step S101, initial setting processing of the main control unit is performed. In this main control unit initial setting process, the stack initial value is set to the stack pointer (SP) of the CPU 304, interrupt inhibition is set, the I/O 310 is initialized, various variables stored in the RAM 308 are initialized, and the WDT 314 is initialized. Allow operation and set initial values.

In step S103, a game start process is executed. In this process, it is checked whether or not medals have been inserted (maintenance or operation of the bet buttons 130 to 132), and if medals have been inserted, preparations are made to send an insert command indicating this. If the player wins the replay in the previous game, the same number of medals as the medals inserted in the previous game are inserted, so the player does not need to insert medals. Also, it checks whether or not the start lever 135 has been operated while the specified number (2 or 3) of medals has been used. Confirm and start playing.

In step S105, various lottery processes including internal winning combination lottery process and the like are executed.

In step S107, reel stop data corresponding to the first stop operation is prepared based on the result of the internal winning combination lottery. This reel stop data is stored in the ROM 306 of the main control section 300 .

In step S109, the rotation of the reels 110 to 112 is started under the condition that the game interval timer (subtracted by the timer updating process described later) is 0, and the initial value is set to the game interval timer. Also, when the reels 110 to 112 start rotating, preparations are made to transmit a reel rotation start command to the first sub-controller 400 . After that, when the reels 110-112 reach a predetermined rotational speed, the optical sensors provided on each reel are detected, and the symbol position of each reel is grasped, the stop operation to the stop buttons 137-139 is activated. The game interval counter secures the minimum time required for one game (4.1 seconds in this embodiment) to suppress gambling.

In step S111, a reel stop control process is executed. In this process, when one of the stop buttons 137-139 is pressed after the stop operation is validated, the reels 110-112 corresponding to the pressed stop button 137-139 are stopped. Specifically, every time a stop operation is performed, the stop table of the reel stop data is referred to, and the reels 110 to 112 corresponding to the stop operation are stopped according to the number of pull-in frames set in the stop table. Further, reel stop data corresponding to the second stop operation is prepared for the first stop operation, and reel stop data corresponding to the third stop operation is prepared for the second stop operation. For each stop operation, preparations are made to send the corresponding command (first to third press commands) to the first sub-control unit 400, and each time the reels 110 to 112 stop, the corresponding command (first 1st to 3rd stop commands) to the first sub-controller 400. When all the reels 110 to 112 are stopped, the process proceeds to step S113.

In step S113, a winning determination process is performed. Here, when a symbol combination corresponding to some winning combination is displayed on the activated winning line, it is determined that the winning combination has been won. After determining the winning combination, preparations are made to transmit the winning command to the first sub-control unit 400 .

In step S 115 , if a winning combination with a payout is won, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination is given (paid out), and the given number is displayed using the payout number display 127 .

In step S117, state update processing for updating various states in the slot machine 100 is executed. For example, provided in the RAM 308 of the main control unit 300, updating the difference number counter that counts the upper limit difference number in the advantageous section, updating the above-mentioned ceiling counter, updating the counter that counts the number of AT given games, updating the above-mentioned , the AT acquisition number counter, etc. are updated.

One game is completed by the above. Thereafter, the game progresses by returning to step S103 and repeating the above-described processing.

<Main control unit 300 timer interrupt processing>
Next, the main controller timer interrupt processing executed by the CPU 304 of the main controller 300 will be described with reference to FIG. This figure is a flow chart showing the flow of the main controller timer interrupt processing.

The main control unit 300 includes a counter timer 312 that generates a timer interrupt signal at a predetermined cycle (about once every 2 ms in this embodiment). Processing is started at a predetermined cycle.

In step S201, timer interrupt start processing is performed. In this timer interrupt start processing, processing such as temporarily saving the values of each register of the CPU 304 to the stack area is performed.

In step S203, the WDT 314 is periodically turned on so that the count value of the WDT 314 does not exceed the initial set value (32.8 ms in this embodiment) and a WDT interrupt does not occur (so that an abnormality in processing is not detected). In the embodiment, a restart is performed once every 2 ms, which is the cycle of the main controller timer interrupt.

In step S205, input port state update processing is performed. In this input port state update processing, the detection signals of the sensor circuits 320 of the various sensors 318 are input via the input port of the I/O 310 to monitor the presence or absence of the detection signals. It is stored in the provided signal state storage area. Note that the state of the optical sensor is confirmed in this process.

In step S207, various game processes are executed, and processes corresponding to the interrupt status are executed.

In step S209, timer update processing is performed. For example, a process of updating various timers in units of time, such as subtracting a game interval timer, is executed.

In step S<b>211 , command setting transmission processing is performed, and various commands that have been prepared for transmission in main processing, timer interrupt processing, etc. of the main control section 300 are transmitted to the first sub-control section 400 . The output schedule information to be transmitted to the first sub-control unit 400 includes strobe information (if it is ON, it indicates that data is set), command type (in this embodiment, basic command, input command, start lever Receipt command, internal winning command, effect command accompanying effect lottery processing, reel rotation start command accompanying start of rotation of reels 110 to 112, first to third press commands accompanying acceptance of operation of stop buttons 137 to 139, reel 1st to 3rd stop commands associated with the stop of 110 to 112, winning command, payout number command and payout end command accompanying medal payout processing, status update command, item addition command, acquired points command, setting change command, power recovery command ) and command data (predetermined information corresponding to the command type).

In the first sub-control unit 400, the command type included in the received output schedule information enables the determination of the effect control according to the change in the game control in the main control unit 300, and is included in the output schedule information. Based on the information of the command data, it becomes possible to determine the effect control contents.

In step S213, an external signal setting process is performed. In this external signal setting process, the game information stored in the RAM 308 is output to the information input circuit 652 separate from the slot machine 100 via the information output circuit 334 .

In step S215, device monitoring processing is performed. In this device monitoring process, first, in step S205, the signal states of the various sensors 318 stored in the signal state storage area are read out, and the presence or absence of an error related to medal insertion abnormality, medal payout abnormality, etc. is monitored. (Not shown) Execute error processing. Furthermore, the medal blocker 171, various lamps 339, and various 7-segment (SEG) displays are set according to the current game state.

In step S217, it is monitored whether the low voltage signal is on. If a low voltage signal is received (power cutoff is detected), the process proceeds to step S221, and if a low voltage signal is not received (power cutoff is not detected), the process proceeds to step S219. move on.

In step S219, timer interrupt end processing is performed. In this timer interrupt end processing, processing such as setting the value of each register temporarily saved in step S201 to each original register is performed. After that, the process returns to the main control unit main process shown in FIG.

On the other hand, in step S221, information that needs to be saved, such as specific variables and stack pointers for returning to the state at the time of power failure when power is restored, is saved in a predetermined area of RAM 308. A checksum value for the area is derived and stored in the RAM 308, and a power supply flag indicating that power-off processing has been performed is set to ON.

<Processing of the first sub-controller>
Next, the processing of the first sub-controller 400 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 12A is a flowchart of the main processing executed by the CPU 404 of the first sub-controller 400. FIG. FIG. 12(b) is a flowchart of command reception interrupt processing of the first sub-controller 400. FIG. FIG. 12(c) is a flowchart of the timer interrupt processing of the first sub-controller 400. FIG.

First, the main processing of the first sub-controller 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 12(a).

When power is turned on, initialization processing is first executed in step S301. In this initialization processing, initial setting of input/output ports, initialization processing of storage areas in the RAM 408, and the like are performed. In this process, the RAM 408 is provided with an area for storing internal winning information representing the result of internal winning and an area for storing RT update information representing the game state.

In step S302, it is determined whether the timer variable is 10 or more, and this process is repeated until the timer variable reaches 10. When the timer variable becomes 10 or more, the process proceeds to step S303.

In step S303, 0 is substituted for the timer variable.

In step S304, command processing, which is processing corresponding to each command received from the main control unit 300, is executed.

In step S305, effect control processing is performed. Here, production is prepared according to the production reservation information in the production reservation area provided in the RAM 408 . This preparation includes, for example, performing processing such as reading the effect data from the ROM 406, and performing updating processing of the effect data when the effect data needs to be updated.

In step S306, sound control processing is performed based on the processing result of step S305. For example, if there is a command for the sound source IC 418 in the performance data read in step S305, this command is output to the sound source IC 418.

In step S307, lamp control processing is performed based on the processing result of step S305. For example, if there is a command for various lamps 420 in the performance data read out in step S305, this command is output to the drive circuit 422. FIG.

In step S309, information output processing is performed to set the command to be transmitted to the second sub-controller 500 based on the processing result of step S305. For example, if there is a command to be sent to the second sub-controller 500 in the effect data read out in step S305, the setting for outputting this control command is made, and the process returns to step S302.

Next, the command reception interrupt processing of the first sub-controller 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 12(b). This command reception interrupt process is a process executed when the first sub-controller 400 detects a strobe signal output by the main controller 300 . In step S401 of command reception interrupt processing, the command output by the main control unit 300 is stored in the command storage area provided in the RAM 408 as an unprocessed command.

Next, the first sub-controller timer interrupt processing executed by the CPU 404 of the first sub-controller 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 12(c). The first sub-control unit 400 includes a hardware timer that generates a timer interrupt at a predetermined period (once every 2 ms in this embodiment). period.

In step S501, 1 is added to the value in the timer variable storage area of the RAM 408 described in step S302 in the first sub-controller main process shown in FIG. 12A and stored in the original timer variable storage area. Therefore, in step S302, the value of the timer variable is determined to be 10 or more every 20 ms (2 ms×10).

In step S502, the command is sent to the second sub-control unit 500 set in step S309, the random number value for effect is updated, and the like.

<Processing of the second sub-controller>
Next, the processing of the second sub-controller 500 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13(a) is a flowchart of the main process executed by the CPU 504 of the second sub-controller 500. FIG. FIG. 13(b) is a flowchart of command reception interrupt processing of the second sub-controller 500. FIG. FIG. 13(c) is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing of the second sub-controller 500. FIG. FIG. 13(d) is a flowchart of the image control processing of the second sub-controller 500. FIG.

First, in step S601 of FIG. 13A, various initial settings are performed. When power is turned on, initialization processing is first executed in step S601. In this initialization processing, input/output port initialization processing, initialization processing of storage areas in the RAM 508, initialization processing of storage areas in the VRAM 518, and the like are performed.

In step S602, it is determined whether the timer variable is 10 or more, and this process is repeated until the timer variable reaches 10. When the timer variable becomes 10 or more, the process proceeds to step S603.

In step S603, 0 is substituted for the timer variable.

In step S604, command processing is performed. In command processing, the CPU 504 of the second sub-controller 500 determines each command received from the CPU 404 of the first sub-controller 400 .

In step S605, effect control processing is performed. Specifically, if there is a new command in step S604, processing corresponding to this command is performed. For example, a process of reading effect data for performing image control on a background image from the ROM 506 is executed. In addition, processing such as reading other effect data from the ROM 506 is performed, and when the effect data needs to be updated, the effect data is updated.

In step S606, image control processing (described in detail later) is performed based on the processing result of step S605. For example, if there is an image control instruction in the effect data read in step S605, image control corresponding to this instruction is performed. For example, image control is performed on display images (notification images, background images). When this image control processing ends, the process returns to step S602.

Next, command reception interrupt processing of the second sub-controller 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 13(b). This command reception interrupt process is a process executed when the second sub-controller 500 detects the strobe signal output by the first sub-controller 400 .

In step S701 of the command reception interrupt process, the command output by the first sub-controller 400 is stored in the command storage area provided in the RAM 508 as an unprocessed command.

Next, the second sub-controller timer interrupt processing executed by the CPU 504 of the second sub-controller 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 13(c). The second sub-control unit 500 has a hardware timer that generates a timer interrupt at a predetermined cycle (once every 2 ms in this embodiment). period.

In step S801, 1 is added to the value in the timer variable storage area of the RAM 508 described in step S602 in the second sub-controller main process shown in FIG. 13A and stored in the original timer variable storage area. Therefore, in step S602, the value of the timer variable is determined to be 10 or more every 20 ms (2 ms×10).

In step S802, processing for updating the random number value for effect, etc. is performed.

Next, the image control processing in step S606 in the main processing of the second sub-controller 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 13(d). This figure is a diagram showing a flowchart showing the flow of image control processing.

In step S901, an instruction to transfer image data is issued. Here, the CPU 504 first swaps designation of the drawing areas of the display area A and the display area B of the VRAM 536 . As a result, the image of one frame stored in the display area not designated as the drawing area is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 157 . Next, the CPU 504 sets the ROM coordinates (the transfer source address of the ROM 506), the VRAM coordinates (the transfer destination address of the VRAM 518), and the like in the attribute register of the VDP 516 based on the position information table, and then transfers the image from the ROM 506 to the VRAM 518. Set an instruction to start data transfer. The VDP 516 transfers the image data from the ROM 506 to the VRAM 518 based on the command set in the attribute register. After that, the VDP 516 outputs a transfer end interrupt signal to the CPU 504 .

In step S902, it is determined whether or not a transfer end interrupt signal has been input from the VDP 516. If a transfer end interrupt signal has been input, the process proceeds to step S903; otherwise, a transfer end interrupt signal has been input. wait for

In step S903, parameters are set based on the production scenario configuration table, attribute data, and the like. Here, in order to form a display image in the display area A or B of the VRAM 518 based on the image data transferred to the VRAM 518 in step S901, the CPU 504 obtains image data information (coordinate axes of the VRAM 518, image size, etc.) forming the display image. , VRAM coordinates (placement coordinates), transparency, etc.) to the VDP 516 . The VDP 516 sets parameters according to the attributes based on the instructions stored in the attribute registers.

In step S904, a drawing instruction is given. In this drawing instruction, the CPU 504 instructs the VDP 516 to start drawing an image. The VDP 516 starts drawing an image in the frame buffer according to instructions from the CPU 504 .

In step S905, it is determined whether or not a generation end interrupt signal has been input from the VDP 516 based on the end of image rendering. wait for is entered.

In step S906, a scene display counter, which is set in a predetermined area of the RAM 508 and counts how many scenes of images have been generated, is incremented (+1), and the process ends.

Next, an example of an effect in which the continuous effect is shifted to the AT state will be described.

The RAM 308 of the main control section 300 is provided with a precursor G number A counter, and the RAM 408 of the first sub-control section 400 is provided with a precursor G number B counter. Under the condition A shown in FIG. 7, the state shifts to the AT state (AT normal state) under the condition that the continuous effect ends. Here, the continuous effect becomes a duel effect, which is executed over 4 games, and when the duel effect ends, the game shifts to the AT state. A game in which a continuous effect is being executed corresponds to a game that is a precursor to shifting to the AT state. Whether the precursor G number A counter or the precursor G number B counter is a counter that counts the number of remaining games that serve as precursors before shifting to the AT state. It should be noted that the portent G number A counter is a counter for managing the transition to the AT state for earning paid balls, and is managed by the main control section 300 . On the other hand, the portent G number B counter is a counter for management of effects, and is managed by the first sub-controller 400 .

FIG. 14 is a diagram for pointing out a problem in an example of a conventional slot machine in which a continuous effect is started and then the state shifts to the AT state. In FIG. 14, the process progresses from left to right in both the upper part of FIG. 14(a) and the lower part of FIG. 14(b).
FIG. 14 shows the number of games played (the number of games), the winning combination, the order of pressing, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157, the occurrence of penalty, the progress of the effect, the count value of the precursor G number A counter, and the count value of the precursor G number B counter. each is shown. The display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 is controlled based on the value of the precursor G number B counter managed by the first sub-controller 400 .

In FIG. 14(a) shown in the upper part, a rare combination (for example, strong cherry) is won, and the continuous effect is started from the Nth game. That is, the effect 1 of the continuous effects is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a notification image (mission image of "defeat the swordsman") notifying that the duel effect will start. . At the stage of winning a rare combination (for example, a strong cherry), a value of "4" is set to both the portent G number A counter and the portent G number B counter. The count value of the precursor G number A counter in this N-th game is updated from "4" to "3", and the count value of the precursor G number B counter is similarly updated from "4" to "3". .

In the game of the N+1th game, the effect 2 of the continuous effects is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which a master swordsman as an enemy appears. The count value of the precursor G number A counter in the N+1 game is decremented by 1 due to the update to be "2", and the count value of the precursor G number B counter is also "2".

In the game of the N+2th game, an effect 3 of the continuous effects is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which the hero, the lord, and the enemy, the master swordsman, face each other. The count value of the precursor G number A counter in the N+2th game is further decreased by one due to the update to be "1", and the count value of the precursor G number B counter is also "1". It should be noted that the winning combination here is a bell in order of pressing whereas the previous winning combination was a loss, but since it is in the normal state (not in the AT state), operation navigation is not executed and the first stop is performed. A stop operation is performed by forward pressing with the operation on the left.

In the N+3th game (fourth game after the start of the continuous effect), the effect 4 (corresponding to the final effect) of the continuous effect is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 shows the main character, Mr. A scene is displayed in which is defeated by the enemy swordsman, and the AT transition is announced. The count value of the precursor G number A counter in the N+3th game is "0" as a result of updating, and the count value of the precursor G number B counter is also updated as a result of "0".

In the N+4th game, the normal state is shifted to the AT state (AT normal state). On the liquid crystal display device 157, a notification screen (AT start screen displaying "AT start") is displayed to notify that the AT state has been entered based on the fact that the count value of the precursor G number B counter is "0". ) is displayed. Further, based on the fact that the count value of the portent G number A counter is "0", the main control unit 300 is permitted to transmit information regarding the operation order of the winning combination to the first sub-control unit 400. Become. As a result, on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157, the display of "321" (reverse push operation navigation display) is displayed to inform the correct operation of the pushing order bell, which is the winning combination.

FIG. 14(b) shown in the lower part shows an example in which a continuous effect is executed and a penalty occurs in the game during the continuous effect as in the case of FIG. 14(a) shown in the upper part. The following description will focus on differences from the example shown in FIG. 14A.

Again, let's talk about penalties. First, (a) be in a normal state of an advantageous section (not in a non-advantageous section and not in an AT state), (b) be a game in which the bell is internally won in the pressing order, and (c) the first stop operation. When all the conditions (a) to (c) of (a) to (c) are satisfied that a stop operation (so-called irregular push) has been performed other than the left (specifically, during the first stop operation, the first stop operation right) will be subject to penalties. In other words, a penalty is not imposed just by performing an irregular push. This prevents repeated irregular pushes to find a strategy, and also prevents excessive penalties. However, a penalty may be given regardless of the winning combination such as the pressing order of the bell ((a)+(c) gives a penalty). In addition, as will be described later, when an irregular push is performed, regardless of whether or not a penalty is given, an operation recommendation display such as "recommended to push left" is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 157 to inform the player of the recommended push. Plan.

Also, there is no penalty in non-advantageous sections. This is because if you prohibit the transition to an advantageous section when an irregular push is performed in a non-advantageous section, it will be possible to continuously perform irregular pushes in a non-advantageous section to earn more medals. Therefore, there is also a meaning to prevent such a thing. Also, the timing of shifting from the non-advantageous section to the advantageous section may be the first game after the setting change, but the first game after the setting change is often when the amusement arcade opens. First thing in the morning, the reels are not warmed up, so it takes time to accelerate the reels, and the timing at which the stop operation can be accepted tends to be slightly delayed. Therefore, although the player presses the left stop button 137 in the first operation, the above timing may be shifted and the timing at which the middle stop button 138 is actually pressed may be the above timing. Since it would be cruel to the player to give a penalty even in such a case, the penalty is not generated in the non-advantageous section.

When an action subject to a penalty is performed, (1) the lottery for determining whether or not to shift from the normal state to the AT state in the game is not performed. (2) The value of the ceiling counter that counts the number of games in the normal state up to the number of ceiling games is not updated. Furthermore, in this example, (3) the count value of the precursor G number A counter is not updated. penalties occur.

In the example shown in FIG. 14(b), in the N+2th game (effect 3 of the continuous effects), a stop operation is performed with the first stop operation as the right. A stop operation with the first stop operation as the right is an irregular push. Here, since it is internally elected to the push order bell in the normal state of the advantageous section, it becomes a target action of the penalty, the penalty occurs, and even if the N+3th game of the next game is started, the precursor G number A counter count value remains "1". On the other hand, the count value of the precursor G number B counter is updated to "0".

In this example as well, the normal state is shifted to the AT state (AT normal state) in the N+4th game. The AT start screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 157 based on the fact that the count value of the precursor G number B counter is "0". On the other hand, since the count value of the prognostic G number A counter is not "0", the information regarding the operation order of the winning combination has not been transmitted from the main control unit 300 to the first sub-control unit 400, and the liquid crystal display device The display screen of 157 does not display the operation navigation display for informing the correct operation of the pressing order bell, which is the winning combination. As described above, in the conventional slot machine, there is a problem that the occurrence of the penalty causes a lag between the start of operation navigation and the presentation.

The slot machine 100 of this embodiment is devised to solve this problem.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing detailed timing charts of the N+2th game and the N+3th game described using FIG.

In FIG. 15, time elapses from left to right. Further, in FIG. 15, "start operation", "first stop", "second stop", and "third stop", which are operations of the start lever 135, are shown as "game progression". Below that, the ``left stop Sw'' that is the left stop button 137 sensor, the ``middle stop Sw'' that is the middle stop button 138 sensor, and the ``right stop Sw'' that is the right stop button 139 sensor are also shown. It is Each Sw enters a receivable state after the start operation, and when a stop operation is received in the receivable state, the receivable state ends. Below that, the rotating states of the left reel 110, the middle reel 111 and the right reel 112 are also shown. Below that, the display contents of "liquid crystal display", which is the liquid crystal display 157, are also shown. In this example, in the continuous effect, the character display NTG of "NEXT" indicating that the effect continues to the next game is displayed in the lower right portion of the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 (from the third stop to the start of the next game). period). Furthermore, a game number display GMV is displayed at the lower left of the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 . The value of the number-of-games display GMV is the number of games managed by the first sub-controller 400, and is incremented, for example, by 1 each time a start lever acceptance command is received from the main controller 300 after the power is turned on. value. The matters described above also apply to FIGS. 16 and 17 .

The timing at which the start operation is performed is the timing of (A1), the N+2th game is started, and the execution of the effect 3 of the continuous effects is started. In the (N+2)th game, the player wins internally at the pushing order bell. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A1), a close-up screen of the main character, Lord, is displayed. Also, when the game starts, the number of games displayed GMV is updated from "99G" to "100G". After that, "100G" continues to be displayed in the game number display GMV until a notice is given.

In the N+2th game in the normal state, first the left stop button 137 is operated to perform the first stop. Since the left stop button 137 is first operated, it is not an irregular push, and the first stop action here is not a penalty target action. The timing at which the first stop operation is performed is the timing (A2), and the left reel 110 stops. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A2), a close-up screen of the swordsman playing the role of the enemy is displayed.

Next, the middle stop button 138 is operated to perform the second stop to stop the middle reel 111, and finally the right stop button 139 is operated to perform the third stop. The timing at which the third stop operation is performed is the timing (A3), and the right reel 112 is stopped. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A3), there is the same scene as the scene shown on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 in the N+2 game in FIG. is displayed. Furthermore, in this example, the character display NTG of "NEXT" is added to the lower right with the third stop operation as a trigger.

The timing (A4) is the timing from the third stop to the start of the next game. The display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at this timing (A4) is the same as the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the previous timing (A3).

Then, when the start lever 135 is operated and the start operation is performed, the next game (N+3 game) is started, and this time, the execution of the effect 4 of the continuous effects is started. The timing when the N+3 game is started is the timing of (A5). In the N+3th game, the replay is internally won. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A5), the main character, Lord, is displayed in the upper half, and the villain, the master swordsman, is displayed in the lower half. Also, when the game starts, the character display NTG of "NEXT" disappears, and the game number display GMV is updated from "100G" to "101G".

Also in the N+3th game, the left stop button 137 is first operated to perform the first stop. The timing at which the first stop operation is performed is the timing (A6), and the left reel 110 is stopped. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A6), the scene after the lord, the main character, and the master swordsman, who is the enemy, are shown. Also, the number-of-games display GMV of "101G" is continuously displayed.

Next, the middle stop button 138 is operated to perform the second stop to stop the middle reel 111, and finally the right stop button 139 is operated to perform the third stop. The timing at which the third stop operation is performed is the timing of (A7), and the right reel 112 stops. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A7), a scene in which the master swordsman playing the role of the enemy is cut is displayed. Even if the third stop is made, the N+3 game is the last game (fourth game) of the continuous effect, so there is no continuous effect and the character display NTG of "NEXT" is additionally displayed. do not have. However, the number-of-games display GMV of "101G" continues to be displayed.

The timing (A8) is the timing between the third stop and the start of the next game (until the transition to the AT state). The display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A8) is the same as the scene shown on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 for the N+3 game in FIG. and an AT transition is announced. Also here, the number-of-games display GMV of "101G" is continuously displayed.

FIG. 16 is a detailed timing chart of the N+2th game and the N+3th game described using FIG. 14B, and a diagram showing the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at each timing. In the following, differences from FIG. 15 will be mainly described, and redundant description may be omitted.

The (N+2)th game is started, and the execution of the effect 3 of the continuous effects is started. In this N+2th game, an internal winning is made at the pushing order bell. The game number display GMV on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 is updated to "100G". In this example, in the N+2th game in the normal state, the right stop button 139 is first operated to perform the first stop. The first stop action here is an irregular push, and is an action subject to a penalty because it is internally won at the push order bell in the normal state of the advantageous section. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A2) when the first stop operation is performed, an operation recommendation display REC such as "Press left is recommended" is displayed so as to overlap the close-up screen of the master swordsman who plays the role of the enemy. be done. At the timing when the operation recommendation display REC is displayed, the number-of-games display GMV remains "100G".

Next, the middle stop button 138 is operated to perform the second stop to stop the middle reel 111, and finally the right stop button 139 is operated to perform the third stop. A dark display is added to the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A3) when the third stop operation is performed. That is, as in (A3) in FIG. 15, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which the main character, the lord, and the villain, the master swordsman, are facing each other. is difficult to see. The addition of a blackout indicates that a penalty has occurred in that game. Further, the character display NTG of "NEXT" is not additionally displayed, or even if it is additionally displayed, it is difficult to visually recognize due to the dark display. On the other hand, the recommended operation display REC and the number-of-games display GMV are not darkened, and the displays REC and GMV are easily visible. The number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 is returned by one game at the timing of the third stop (timing of adding a dark display), and the game number display GMV is switched to display "99G". .

After the third stop, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A4) until the start of the next game is the same as the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the previous timing (A3). That is, although the dark display continues, the recommended operation display REC and the number-of-games display GMV of "99G" are visible.

Then, when the start lever 135 is operated and the start operation is performed, the next game (N+3 game) is started. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A5) when the N+3 game is started, the display of the blackout display is finished and the display of the operation recommendation display REC is also finished. As described above, the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 is returned by one game, and the game number display GMV is updated to "100G". That is, it is set back by 1 in a game in which a penalty is incurred, and advanced by 1 at the start of the next game. Therefore, as for the continuous effect, the effect 3 of the continuous effect is re-executed according to the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 . On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157, the same display screen as the timing of (A1) is displayed.

In the (N+3)th game, the replay is internally won, and the left stop button 137 is first operated to perform the first stop. The first stop action here is not a penalty action. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A6) when the first stop operation is performed, the same display screen as at the timing (A2) is displayed, but the operation recommendation display REC is not displayed. .

Next, the middle stop button 138 is operated to perform the second stop to stop the middle reel 111, and finally the right stop button 139 is operated to perform the third stop. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A7) when the third stop operation is performed, the same display screen as at the timing (A3) in FIG. 15 is displayed. That is, a scene in which the main character, the lord, and the villain, the master swordsman, are facing each other are displayed, and the character display NTG of "NEXT" is added at the lower right. At the bottom left, the game count display GMV of "100G" is continuously displayed.

After the third stop, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing of (A8) until the next game is started (until the game shifts to the AT state) is the same as the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the previous timing of (A7). is the same as the display screen of

In the slot machine 100 of the present embodiment, as described above, the number of games managed by the first sub-controller 400 is set back by 1 when a penalty occurs, and advanced by 1 when the next game starts. As a result, the number of games in the game in which the penalty occurred is the same as the number of games in the next game. This is the same as the predictive G number A counter managed by the main control unit 300 described with reference to FIG. This solves the problem that there is a gap between the start of and the performance. Moreover, in the game in which the penalty occurred, the display is blacked out and the game number display GMV is returned by 1, so it is easy to understand the game in which the penalty occurred, and it is as if the penalty occurred in the next game. To prevent misunderstandings from being given to a player and to prevent the amusement of the game from attenuating.

The display start timing of the dark display may be the same as the display start timing of the recommended operation display REC. Alternatively, the display start timing of the dark display may be the timing (A2), and the display start timing of the operation recommendation display REC may be the timing (A3). Furthermore, the display start timing of the dark display may be the second stop timing, and the display start timing of the operation recommendation display REC may be the second stop timing. Also, the timing at which the dark display ends is not limited to the timing of (A5), and may be the timing after a while has passed since the third stop operation of the game in which the irregular pressing was performed. It may be the timing at which it was performed. Further, the timing at which the value of the number-of-games display GMV is returned by 1 may be within the game in which the penalty occurred, and may be the timing of (A2), the timing of (A4), It may be the timing of the second stop. It should be noted that even if the value of the game number display GMV is returned by 1 in a game in which a penalty has occurred, the effect itself will proceed as it will be as described later, and the standby game for the number of games that resulted in the penalty will occur after a series of effects are completed. or it may occur before the AT state is entered.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing detailed timing charts of the N+2th game and the N+3th game in which irregular pressing was performed but no penalty occurred, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at each timing. In the following, differences from FIG. 16 will be mainly described, and redundant description may be omitted.

The (N+2)th game is started, and the execution of the effect 3 of the continuous effects is started. In this N+2th game, an internal winning is made not by pressing the bell, but by losing. In this example as well, the right stop button 139 is first operated in the N+2th game in the normal state to perform the first stop. The first stop action here is an irregular push, which is a normal state in the advantageous section, but is not an action subject to a penalty because it is not internally won at the pushing order bell. At the timing (A2) when the first stop operation is performed, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays "Recommended left press" so as to overlap the close-up screen of the master swordsman as the villain due to the irregular press. is displayed.

Next, the middle stop button 138 is operated to perform the second stop to stop the middle reel 111, and finally the right stop button 139 is operated to perform the third stop. Since no penalty has occurred on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A3) when the third stop operation is performed, no blackout display is added, and the main character is displayed as in (A3) in FIG. A scene is displayed in which the lord and the enemy swordsman are facing each other. However, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed so as to overlap. In addition, the game number display GMV continues to be displayed at the lower left as "100G", and the character display NTG of "NEXT" triggered by the third stop operation is added at the lower right.

After the third stop, on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 at the timing (A4) until the start of the next game, the operation recommendation display REC disappears (is hidden), and (A4) in FIG. The same display screen as the timing is displayed. The timing at which the operation recommendation display REC disappears may be after a while after the third stop, at the same time as the third stop, or at the same time as the second stop. Alternatively, the operation recommendation display REC may disappear after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of display regardless of the operation. However, if the operation recommendation display REC is displayed only for a moment, it cannot be distinguished from the presentation of the stop operation opportunity, so it is preferable that the operation recommendation display REC is continuously displayed at least until the third stop. Further, in the irregular pressing during the continuous effect, the mode of display of the operation recommendation display REC differs depending on the winning combination. That is, as in the example shown in FIG. 17, in the case where the pressing order bell is not won, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed when the irregular pressing is performed, but the effect that triggers the third stop is executed. 3 After a while after stopping, the operation recommendation display REC is hidden. On the other hand, as shown in the example shown in FIG. 16, in the case of winning the pressing order bell, if the irregular pressing is performed, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed, and the effect that triggers the third stop is not executed (visible by dark display) difficult), and the operation recommendation display REC is kept displayed until immediately before the next game is started.

The following (each timing of (A5) to (A8)) is the same as the example in FIG.

As in this example, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed when the irregular pressing is performed regardless of whether or not a penalty has occurred. When a penalty occurs, the operation recommendation display REC continues to be displayed until the game in which the irregular pressing is performed ends (until the next game starts) as in the example shown in FIG. 16, but the penalty occurs. If you don't, it will disappear sooner than if the penalty occurred. Alternatively, the length of the display period of the operation recommendation display REC is fixed, and disappears even if the player does not perform any operation. Also, even if an irregular push is performed, if no penalty is incurred, the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 does not change (it is not reset by 1), and the number of games is displayed. The GMV value is also continuously displayed without change.

Next, a comparison is made between the case where the irregular push is performed during the continuous performance and the case where the irregular push is performed during the non-continuous performance.

18A and 18B are diagrams showing an example of a case where an irregular push is performed during a continuous effect and an example of a case where an irregular push is performed during a non-continuous effect, respectively.

FIG. 18(a) on the upper side shows an example of a case where an irregular push is performed during a continuous effect, and FIG. It is a figure which shows an example. It progresses from left to right in both the upper part of FIG. 18(a) and the lower part of FIG. 18(b). In addition, even in the upper part of FIG. 18 (a) and the lower part of FIG.
In FIG. 18, the number of games played (the number of games), the winning combination, the pressing order, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157, the occurrence of a penalty, the effect progress, and the game number display GMV displayed at the lower left of the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 values are shown. The value of the number-of-games display GMV is the value of the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 .

The example of FIG. 18(a) shown in the upper part is the same as the examples described so far, and the continuous effect is a duel effect. A rare combination (for example, strong cherry) is won, and a continuous effect is started from the Nth game. That is, the effect 1 of the continuous effects is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a notification image (mission image of "defeat the swordsman") notifying that the duel effect will start. . "98G" is displayed in the number of games display GMV.

In the game of the N+1th game, the effect 2 of the continuous effects is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which a master swordsman as an enemy appears. The number of games display GMV has been updated and "99G" is displayed.

In the game of the N+2th game, the push order bell is internally won, and the right stop button 139 is first operated to perform the first stop. The first stop action here is an irregular push, and since the push order bell is internally won in the normal state of the advantageous section, it is an action subject to a penalty, and a penalty occurs. In the game of the N+2th game, an effect 3 of the continuous effects is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which the hero, the lord, and the enemy, the master swordsman, face each other. Further, an operation recommendation display REC such as "recommended to press left" is displayed overlapping the display of the above scene due to the irregular pressing. Also, since the penalty has occurred, the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 is returned by one game, and the value of the number of games display GMV changes from "100G" to "99G". Note that in this example, the darkening display is not displayed, but it may be displayed after this, and a modified example in which the darkening display is not displayed may be used.

The game of the N+3rd game is the fourth game after the start of the continuous effect. The number of games display GMV is updated and "100G" is displayed again. As for the continuous effects, the effect 3 of the continuous effects is re-executed according to the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 . On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157, the same scene as in the N+2th game is displayed, in which the main character, the lord, and the enemy, the master swordsman, face each other. The operation recommendation display REC is hidden.

The re-execution of the production may be performed by executing exactly the same production, but in the case of preparing a plurality of types of production and selecting the production by lottery, re-lottery of the production is performed. may

In the N+4th game, the 4th effect (corresponding to the final effect) of the continuous effects is executed, and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which the main character, the lord, defeats the enemy, the master swordsman, and shifts to the AT. has been notified. The value of the number of games display GMV has been updated and "101G" is displayed.

The example of FIG. 18(b) shown in the lower part is in a state where the continuous effect is not executed in the normal state of the advantageous section (the state during the non-continuous effect). More specifically, it is an example in the normal stage shown in FIG.

In the game of the Nth game, cherry, which is one of the small wins, is internally won, and a small win effect 1 is executed. The display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which the lord is surprised by the appearance of Cherry. "99G" is displayed in the number of games display GMV.

When the N+1th game is started, the number-of-games display GMV is updated to "100G". In this N+1th game, an internal win is made for the bell in the pressing order, and the normal effect is executed. In this game, an irregular push with the first stop operation as the right is performed, and an operation recommendation display REC is displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 . Here, since the push order bell is internally won in the normal state of the advantageous section, this irregular push is an action subject to penalty, the penalty occurs, and the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 is returned by one game, and the value of the game number display GMV changes from "100G" to "99G".

When the N+2th game is started, the game number display GMV is updated to "100G" again. In this (N+2)th game, watermelon, which is one of the small winning combinations, is internally won, and a small winning combination effect 2 is executed. Since it is not a continuous performance, the performance itself is not re-executed (it is not returned to the normal performance of the N+1 game), and the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 displays a scene in which the lord is surprised by the appearance of the watermelon.

When the N+3th game is started, the number-of-games display GMV is updated to "101G". In the (N+3)th game, cherry is internally won, and a minor combination effect 1 is executed. In this game as well, an irregular push with the first stop operation as the right is performed, and the operation recommendation display REC is displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 . Here, although it is in the normal state of the advantageous section, since the cherry is internally won instead of the bell in the pushing order, this irregular pushing is not an action subject to penalty, and no penalty occurs. Therefore, the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 is not returned, and the value of the number-of-games display GMV does not change.

When the N+4th game is started, the game number display GMV is updated to "102G". In this (N+4)th game, an internal win is made as a loss, and a normal effect is executed. Note that no penalty is incurred for the irregular pressing of the N+3 game, nor is it a continuous effect, so the effect itself is not re-executed (there is no return to the minor role effect 1 of the N+3 game).

When the N+5th game is started, the number-of-games display GMV is updated to "103G". In this N+5th game, the replay is internally won, and the normal effect is executed. In this game as well, an irregular push with the first stop operation as the right is performed, and the operation recommendation display REC is displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 . In this game, although it is in the normal state of the advantageous section, the replay is internally won instead of the pushing order bell, so this irregular pushing is not an act subject to penalty, and no penalty occurs. Therefore, the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 is not returned, and the value of the number-of-games display GMV does not change.

The operation recommendation display REC for the N+2 game in the example of FIG. 18(a) shown in the upper row, and the operation recommendation display REC for the N+1 game and the operation recommendation display for the N+3 game in the example in FIG. 18(b) shown in the lower row. Both the REC and the operation recommendation display REC for the N+5th game are displayed in a common manner. The operation recommendation display REC is displayed in a common manner regardless of the type of effect being executed. Further, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed in a common manner even if the production stages are different. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the operation recommendation display REC from being misunderstood as a kind of expectation effect.

As compared above, in the normal state, the irregular pressing in the game in which the pressing order bell is won is subject to penalty, and during the continuous effect, the effect is re-executed in the next game, but the non-continuous effect During the next game, the re-execution of the effect is not performed. As described with reference to FIG. 14(b), in the continuous effect (forecast effect) immediately before the transition to the AT state, there is a problem that there is a gap between the start of operation navigation and the effect, but the continuous effect ( Since such a problem does not occur unless the prognostic effect is in progress, the effect is not re-executed. However, when a penalty occurs, the value of the ceiling counter managed by the main control unit 300 is not updated. It seems that it was not updated with The ceiling counter is updated at the third stop. On the other hand, the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400 is updated when a reel rotation start command indicating the start of the game is received. Therefore, in the number of games managed by the first sub-control unit 400, the number of games is temporarily returned by one game in the game in which the penalty occurred, and in the next game, the number of games is updated at the start of the game as usual. As a result, it matches the value of the ceiling counter at the third stop of the next game.

Next, the relationship between the ceiling counter and the number of games display GMV when the setting is changed or when the power is restored will be described.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the relationship between the ceiling counter and the number-of-games display GMV when settings are changed or when power is restored. In FIG. 19, the thick white arrow indicates the flow when forward pressing (recommended operation) is performed, and the thick black arrow indicates the flow when irregular pressing (non-recommended operation) is performed.

For the ceiling counter, it is determined whether or not to update the count value at the time of the third stop. It should be noted that the timing is not limited to the third stop, as long as the timing is after the first stop is made within one game. After the first stop, the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 can know whether or not a penalty has occurred, and can determine whether or not to update the count value. The count value of the ceiling counter is not updated (the count value remains unchanged) when a penalty occurs, and the count value is updated (the count value is +1) when no penalty occurs. On the other hand, when the CPU 404 of the first sub-controller 400 receives the reel rotation command from the main controller 300, it updates (+1) the number-of-games display GMV.

FIG. 19(a) is a diagram showing an example of a case where it is decided to change the setting and shift to the advantageous section from the first game.

When the setting is changed, the ceiling counter provided in the main control unit 300 becomes 0G, and the number of games displayed GMV on the liquid crystal display device 157 also becomes 0G. Also, the game state is the game state of the non-advantageous section.

The first game is started, a winning combination other than a losing one is won, and the transition to the advantageous section starts from the second game. Hereinafter, the game determined to shift to the advantageous section is referred to as an advantageous section transition game. In addition, the advantageous section transition game becomes a game in the non-advantageous section. The ceiling counter is not updated in the non-advantageous section, but is updated at the timing of the third stop even in the non-advantageous section if it is an advantageous section transition game. The number-of-games display GMV is also not updated in a non-advantageous section, but is updated at the timing of starting the game even in a non-advantageous section if the game is to transition to an advantageous section.

When forward pressing is performed in the advantageous section transition game, the ceiling counter is updated to 1G at the third stop, and the number of games display GMV remains at 1G, as indicated by the thick white arrow. Even when irregular pressing is performed, the ceiling counter is updated to 1G at the third stop, and the game number display GMV remains at 1G, as indicated by the thick black arrow. The winning combination may be the pushing order bell or may not be the pushing order bell. In the advantageous section transition game, even if irregular pushing is performed, no penalty is imposed. As a result, the ceiling counter is updated normally during the third stop. Also, the game number display GMV updated at the start of the game remains at 1G at the third stop.

When the second game is started, it shifts to an advantageous section, but is in a normal state. The game number display GMV is updated to 2G at the timing of the start of the second game. When forward pressing is performed, the ceiling counter is updated to 2G at the third stop, and the number-of-games display GMV remains at 2G, as indicated by the thick white arrow. If an irregular push is performed while winning the push order bell, a penalty is incurred, and as indicated by the thick black arrow, the ceiling counter is not updated at the third stop and remains at 1G. Also, the number of games display GMV is returned by 1G and becomes 1G. If an irregular push is performed in a winning state other than the push order bell, the ceiling counter is updated to 2G at the third stop, and the number of games display GMV remains at 2G.

FIG. 19(b) is a diagram showing an example in which the setting is changed and the first game is not the advantageous zone transition game.

The first game is started, winning a winning combination, and the non-advantageous section remains in the second game. The ceiling counter is not updated in the non-advantageous section except for the advantageous section transition game. The number-of-games display GMV is also not updated in the non-advantageous section except for the advantageous section transition game. In addition, no penalty occurs in the non-advantageous section, and even if irregular pushing is performed, the ceiling counter is not updated at the third stop and remains at 0G, as indicated by the thick black arrow, and the number of games display GMV remains at 0G.

A second game is started, a winning combination other than a losing one is won, and the second game becomes an advantageous section transition game. The game number display GMV is updated to 1G at the timing of the start of the second game. Further, when forward pressing is performed, the ceiling counter is updated to 1G at the third stop, and the number-of-games display GMV remains at 1G, as indicated by the thick white arrow. In addition, as described above, in the advantageous section transition game, even if irregular pushes are performed regardless of the winning combination, no penalty will be incurred. The numeral GMV remains 1G.

FIG. 19(c) is a diagram showing an example in which the ceiling counter is at 1G or more when power is restored.

In this example, the ceiling counter is 100G when the power is restored. On the other hand, when the power is restored, the number of games display GMV becomes 0G. In addition, the game state at the time of the power failure and power recovery is the normal state of the advantageous section.

The first game is started, and the game number display GMV is updated to 1G. When forward pressing is performed, the ceiling counter is updated to 101G at the third stop, and the number-of-games display GMV remains at 1G, as indicated by the thick white arrow. When irregular pressing is performed while winning the pressing order bell (in the case of penalty), the ceiling counter is not updated at the third stop and remains at 100G, as indicated by the bold black arrow. On the other hand, the number-of-games display GMV updated at the start of the game remains at 1G. Even if a penalty occurs in the first game after the power is restored, the number of games displayed GMV is not returned. If an irregular push is performed in a winning state other than the push order bell, the ceiling counter is updated to 101G at the third stop, and the number of games display GMV remains at 1G.

When the second game is started, the game number display GMV is increased by 1G. When forward pressing is performed, the ceiling counter increases by 1G at the third stop, and the number-of-games display GMV remains increased by 1G, as indicated by the thick white arrow. When irregular pressing is performed while winning the pressing order bell (in the case of penalty), the ceiling counter is not updated at the third stop and remains at 100G, as indicated by the bold black arrow. Also, the number of games display GMV is returned by 1G and becomes 1G. If an irregular push is performed in a winning state other than the push order bell, the ceiling counter is updated to 101G at the third stop, and the number of games display GMV remains at 2G.

FIG. 19(d) is a diagram showing an example in which the ceiling counter is 0G when power is restored. In addition, the game state at the time of the power failure and power recovery is the normal state of the advantageous section.

The first game is started, and the game number display GMV is updated to 1G. When forward pressing is performed, the ceiling counter is updated to 1G at the third stop, and the number of games display GMV remains at 1G, as indicated by the thick white arrow. When irregular pressing is performed while winning the pressing order bell (in the case of penalty), the ceiling counter is not updated at the third stop and remains at 0G, as indicated by the bold black arrow. On the other hand, as described above, even if a penalty occurs in the first game after power is restored, the value of the game number display GMV is not returned, so the game number display GMV remains at 1G. If an irregular push is performed in a winning state other than the push order bell, the ceiling counter is updated to 1G at the third stop, and the number of games display GMV remains at 1G.

When the second game is started, the game number display GMV is increased by 1G. When forward pressing is performed, the ceiling counter increases by 1G at the third stop, and the number-of-games display GMV remains increased by 1G, as indicated by the thick white arrow. When irregular pressing is performed while winning the pressing order bell (in the case of penalty), the ceiling counter is not updated at the third stop and remains at 0G, as indicated by the bold black arrow. Also, the number of games display GMV is returned by 1G and becomes 1G. If an irregular push is performed in a winning state other than the push order bell, the ceiling counter is updated to 1G at the third stop, and the number of games display GMV remains at 2G.

If the setting is changed before opening the store, the display becomes as shown in FIG. 19(a) or (b). On the other hand, if the setting is not changed before opening the store, only the power is turned on, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 19(c) or (d). If the player finds that the setting has not been changed, the operation of the slot machine may be lowered immediately after opening, so the display of the number of games display GMV should be made uniform between the cases with and without the setting change. is preferred. Therefore, if the store clerk plays a game in the advantageous section transition game before opening the game machine where the setting has been changed, the number of games display GMV does not become 0G, so that the player cannot know whether or not the setting has been changed. On the other hand, if the setting is changed, the difference number counter (including the virtual difference number counter) in the advantageous section will be reset, and the expected number of gaming value that can be obtained in the advantageous section will decrease. It is assumed that some players will have a negative impression of the setting change, and there is a risk that the operation of the gaming machine will not be extended immediately after the opening of the store. Even in such a case, by matching the behavior of the game number display GMV with and without the setting change, it becomes difficult to distinguish whether the setting has been changed or not, thereby preventing a decrease in operation immediately after opening the store. be able to.

Next, modified examples of the examples described so far will be described.

FIG. 20(a) is a schematic diagram of a case in which a penalty occurs during continuous performance, as described above.

In this mode, when a penalty occurs during continuous performance, the performance is re-executed in the next game. In this aspect, when the number of games until the transition to the AT state is managed by both the main control unit 300 side and the first sub-control unit 400 side (so-called game number management type/mode management type), the main The number of games managed by the first sub-controller 400 can be matched with the number of games managed by the controller 300 . In addition, it is a mode that is compatible with the case where the number of games is managed even in the continuous effect of gaze (continuous effect that does not shift to the AT state even after the continuous effect is completed).

FIG. 20(b) is a diagram showing an example of display of the number-of-games display GMV when a penalty has occurred as described above.

The game number display GM is updated at the start of the game, and the number of games is increased by one. When a penalty occurs, the game number display GM returns by one game at the timing of the third stop of the game in which the penalty occurred. Then, when the next game is started, the game number display GM is incremented by one. Here, even if a penalty occurs, the game number display GM does not change, and when the next game starts, the game number display GM increases by one. However, when a penalty occurs, the ceiling counter controlled by the main control unit 300 is not updated, resulting in a deviation from the ceiling counter. Also, it is conceivable that the game number display GM does not advance when the next game is started. However, this may be misunderstood as a penalty given in the next game. On the other hand, if the game number display GM is set to go back one game within the game in which the penalty occurred, it is possible to suggest that the penalty is completed in the game, and the gap with the ceiling counter is displayed. There is an effect that there is no occurrence of

FIG. 20(c1) is a conceptual diagram of the first modified example when a penalty occurs during continuous performance.

In the first modified example, even if a penalty occurs, the continuous performance is executed until the end as it is, and the final performance (the performance of displaying the AT final screen) that is executed following the continuous performance is repeatedly executed. That is, it is a mode to eliminate the deviation from the ceiling counter by performing an extra effect immediately before shifting to the AT state (at the end of the normal state). Characters such as "waiting" are displayed on the display screen while the extra confirmation effect is being performed.

FIG. 20(c2) is a diagram for explaining a second modified example when a penalty occurs during continuous performance.

In the second modified example, even if a penalty occurs, the continuous performance is executed to the end as it is, and the final performance 4 (victory performance) of the continuous performance is repeatedly executed. While the extra winning effect is being performed, a character such as "waiting" is displayed on the display screen of the winning effect on the liquid crystal display device 157.例文帳に追加

In addition, in the case of the continuous performance of the gaze, the continuous performance is similarly executed until the end, and no extra performance is performed anywhere.

In addition, the number of games until the transition to the AT state is managed only by the main control unit 300 side out of the main control unit 300 side and the first sub-control unit 400 side, and the number of games is managed in the continuous effect of gaze. This is a mode that is compatible with the case where the In addition, it is a mode that is compatible with a specification in which an AT lottery is performed based on a winning combination rather than a specification in which the transition to the AT state is determined depending on the number of games or the mode.

In addition, if an irregular push is performed and a penalty occurs, if the rare role is internally elected in the next game in which the penalty occurred, a special process (rare role avoidance navigation ) may be executed. A player who recognizes the occurrence of a penalty by a black display or the like may be disappointed that if he/she wins a rare role immediately after the penalty, the previous penalty will affect the profit obtained from the rare role, resulting in a loss. , the rare role avoidance navigation is intentionally executed so that the player is not disappointed.

In addition, the AT lottery is not performed in the game in which the penalty occurs, but the AT lottery is performed in the next game. However, preferential treatment regarding AT (for example, a lottery to add to the number of AT-given games) that may be executed when winning an AT lottery is not performed in the game following the game in which the penalty occurred.

Next, the display mode of the operation recommendation display REC will be described.

21A and 21B are diagrams showing a plurality of examples of the display mode of the operation recommendation display REC displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157. FIG.

FIG. 21(a) shows the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 before the reels 110 to 112 start rotating, and an image is displayed using the entire display screen.

FIG. 21(b) continuing from FIG. 21(a) is a display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 when the start lever 135 is operated and all the three reels 110 to 112 are rotating. On this display screen, a normal production image (a scene in which an old man reads a letter to the lord at the castle tower) is displayed.

In FIG. 21(c1) continuing from FIG. 21(b), the lord's speech display SPE such as "I feel a sign of good opportunity" is displayed. All three reels 110-112 continue to rotate.

In FIG. 21(c2) continuing from FIG. 21(c1), only the middle reel 111 out of the three reels 110 to 112 is stopped. That is, the middle stop button 138 is operated as the first stop operation, and irregular pressing is performed. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 shown in FIG. 21(c2), an operation recommendation display REC is displayed at a position above the speech display SPE such as "There is a sign of good opportunity." That is, the operation recommendation display REC and the dialogue display SPE do not overlap. In addition, the operation recommendation display REC and the left stored number display section 125L do not overlap, and the operation recommendation display REC and the right payout number display section 127L do not overlap either.

The display mode of the operation recommendation display REC is a common display mode regardless of the type of effect being executed (for example, normal effect, minor role effect, duel effect, freeze effect, etc.).

FIG. 21(c3) is a diagram showing another display mode of the operation recommendation display REC. The operation recommendation display REC shown in this figure is a full-screen display excluding the three reels 110-112. That is, characters such as "Recommended to press left" are displayed on a gray background.

FIG. 21(c4) is a diagram showing the relationship between the operation recommendation display REC and the error display.

An error display ERR in which characters such as "error" are displayed on a gray background is displayed in full screen except for the three reels 110-112. Even if the recommended operation display REC is displayed before the error display ERR, or if the recommended operation display REC is displayed after the error display ERR, an error display is displayed on the recommended operation display REC. ERR overlaps, and the operation recommendation display REC is difficult to see. In FIG. 21(c4), the operation recommendation display REC overlapping the error display ERR is indicated by a dotted line. In this example, the operation recommendation display REC is entirely overlapped with the error display ERR displayed on the full screen, but at least a portion of the operation recommendation display REC may be overlapped. Specific errors of the error display ERR include a door opening error, a hopper clogging error, a hopper empty error, an error in the number of medals passed, and the like (the same applies to the following description).

As described above, the operation recommendation display REC is superimposed on the error display ERR, but is displayed in a region not superimposed on the dialogue display SPE, so that a part of the effect can be grasped. Further, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed substantially in the center of the display screen.

In the medalless game machine, since counting can be performed at any time, counting is possible even with the operation recommendation display REC, and the operation recommendation display REC may be displayed during counting.

Next, an example in which the error display ERR is displayed while the recommended operation display REC is displayed and the error is recovered will be described.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a case where an error display ERR is displayed or a power failure/recovery occurs while an operation recommendation display REC is displayed. In FIG. 22, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 is shown chronologically from left to right.

As described above, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed when irregular pressing is detected, but even if irregular pressing is performed, there may or may not be a penalty. The operation recommendation display REC is displayed even after the third stop when a penalty occurs, and disappears when the next game starts (see the example shown in FIG. 16). , disappears at an earlier timing than when a penalty occurs (see the example shown in FIG. 17).

FIG. 22(a1) is a diagram showing an example of a case in which a penalty is incurred due to irregular pressing.

On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 shown at the far left, an operation recommendation display REC is displayed overlapping the display of the normal effect. An error is detected while the operation recommendation display REC is displayed, the error display ERR is displayed on the entire display screen, and the operation recommendation display REC becomes invisible (hidden). That is, an error is detected in a game in which a penalty has occurred. After that, in the game in which the penalty occurred, the error is resolved and the error is recovered, the error display ERR disappears, and the operation recommendation display REC is displayed again. When the start lever 135 is operated to start the next game, the operation recommendation display REC disappears, and the display screen shows the effect display (display of minor role effect) for the next game.

FIG. 22(a2) is a diagram showing an example of a case where an irregular push is performed but no penalty occurs.

On the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 shown at the far left, an operation recommendation display REC is displayed overlapping the display of the normal effect. An error is detected before the third stop is made, the error display ERR is displayed on the entire display screen, and the operation recommendation display REC is invisible (hidden). After that, the third stop is performed, and if the error is resolved and the error is recovered before the predetermined time elapses from the third stop, the error display ERR disappears and the operation recommendation display REC is displayed again. . On the other hand, when the error is resolved after the predetermined time has passed since the third stop and the error is recovered, the operation recommendation display REC is not displayed on the display screen after the error display ERR disappears.

The timing of error detection in this example may be within a period after the third stop and before the predetermined time elapses.

As described above, if an error occurs while the operation recommendation display REC is being displayed, the error display ERR is displayed on the full screen. If the error is recovered within the display period of the operation recommendation display REC, the operation recommendation display REC remains. However, if the error is recovered after the display period has passed, the operation recommendation display REC does not remain.

Next, a description will be given of an example of a case where a power failure occurs while the operation recommendation display REC is being displayed.

FIG. 22(b1) is a diagram showing an example of a case where the power is restored after the third stop and before the next game is started.

The display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 shown at the far left is a display screen after the third stop (while the reels are stopped), and the operation recommendation display REC is displayed overlapping the display of the normal effect. Before the start lever 135 is operated (before the next game is started), a power failure and power recovery occurs, and the display screen after the power recovery is a startup screen (a screen displaying the characters "Starting"). is displayed. In this example, when power failure occurs while the reels are stopped with the operation recommendation display REC displayed, the demo screen is displayed after the start screen. On the demo screen, the recommended operation display REC is off. When the start lever 135 is operated while the demo screen is displayed, the next game is started, and the next game effect display (small role effect) is displayed on the display screen. display) is displayed. Therefore, the operation recommendation display REC immediately before the power failure is not displayed after the power is restored. Instead of the demo screen, a screen dedicated to power recovery (for example, a recovery screen displaying the words "recovery") may be displayed.

FIG. 22(b2) is a diagram showing a first example in which a power failure and power recovery occurs before the third stop where the recommended operation display REC is displayed.

The display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 shown at the far left is the display screen after the irregular pressing and before the third stop (while the reel is rotating), and the operation recommendation display REC is displayed overlapping the display of the normal effect. It is Power failure and power recovery occurs during rotation of the reels, and a startup screen is displayed on the display screen after power recovery. The first example is an example in which, when a power failure/recovery occurs during reel rotation with the operation recommendation display REC displayed, a recovery screen, which is a special screen for power recovery, is displayed after the start screen. On the return screen, the recommended operation display REC is extinguished. When the start lever 135 is operated while the return screen is displayed, the next game is started, and the effect display of the next game is displayed on the display screen. there is Therefore, even in this first example, the operation recommendation display REC immediately before the power failure is not displayed after the power is restored.

FIG. 22(b3) is a diagram showing a second example in the case where the power failure and power recovery occurs before the third stop where the recommended operation display REC is displayed.

In this second example, if the power is cut off and restored while the reels are rotating while the operation recommendation display REC is being displayed, the effect display immediately before the power cut is displayed after the start screen. Here, the display of normal production is displayed. In the effect display displayed after the start screen, the recommended operation display REC has disappeared, and when the start lever 135 is operated in this state, the next game is started, and the effect display of the next game is displayed on the display screen. there is Therefore, even in this example, the operation recommendation display REC immediately before the power failure is not displayed after the power is restored.

FIG. 22(b4) is a diagram showing a third example in which a power failure and power recovery occurs before the third stop where the operation recommendation display REC is displayed.

In this third example, if power is lost and restored while the reels are rotating while the operation recommendation display REC is being displayed, the screen immediately before the power failure is displayed after the startup screen. Here, the operation recommendation display REC is displayed overlapping the display of the normal effect. Therefore, in this third example, the operation recommendation display REC immediately before the power failure is displayed after the power is restored. It should be noted that when the next game is started, the recommended operation display REC disappears and the effect display for the next game is displayed.

According to the above description,
"Control means [e.g., main control unit 300] capable of executing second processing [e.g., AT transition lottery, ceiling counter update] that is advantageous to the player,
Display means [eg, liquid crystal display device 157] capable of displaying a value display [eg, game number display GMV] representing a value based on game progress;
A game machine comprising
The control means, when a predetermined execution condition [for example, an irregular push is performed while winning the push order bell in a normal state (non-AT state) of an advantageous section] is satisfied, A means for executing the first processing that is disadvantageous [for example, penalty processing (not performing AT transition lottery, not updating ceiling counter)],
The display means is means capable of displaying the value display in a first mode [eg, a display mode updated by 1G] at a first timing [eg, game start timing] in a certain game,
The display means, when the predetermined execution condition is met after the display is performed in the first mode, displays the Means that may display the value display in a second mode [for example, a display mode that is returned by 1G],
The display means does not display the value display in the second mode even at the second timing when the predetermined execution condition is not satisfied after the display in the first mode. means [e.g., continue displaying in the first mode],
The second aspect is an aspect different from the first aspect,
A playground characterized by: 』
explained.

According to this gaming machine, when the first process that is less advantageous than the second process is involved, at the second timing after the first timing in the certain game, the second By displaying in the second mode the value displayed in the first mode, the player can be made aware that the first process has been completed in the game. , the player's anxiety that the first process may extend to the next game can be prevented.

It should be noted that the processing that is disadvantageous to the player is processing that prevents the transition to the above-mentioned advantageous game state, preferential treatment that is advantageous to the player (for example, an additional lottery, or the initial grant G number of AT is It may be preferential processing, or processing that does not perform processing such as acquiring the right to shift to a specialized zone in the AT state.

When a predetermined execution condition is satisfied, for example, (a) the normal state of the advantageous section (not in the non-advantageous section, not in the AT state), (b) a predetermined combination (for example, pressing order (bell), and (c) an operation different from the recommended operation is performed. In addition, it may be the case that any one or more of the conditions (a) to (c) are satisfied. number of times display), or a display that is not in a one-to-one relationship with the number of games.

The display means displays the value display even at the second timing when the predetermined execution condition is not satisfied after the display is performed in the first mode, but the value display is displayed in the second timing. may not be displayed in the first mode, may not be displayed in the first mode, or may not be displayed in the first mode.

again,
"The first mode is a mode displayed by performing a first update display [for example, +1G update display] of the value display,
The second mode is a mode displayed by performing a second update display [for example, -1G update display] of the value display.
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

When the first process is involved, the second update display is displayed after the first update display is displayed within the game, so the first process is executed within the game. The player can grasp that the has been performed.

Note that the second update display may be an update display for returning the value updated by the first update display to the value before the update.

again,
"The first update display is a display that updates the value represented by the value display [e.g., the number of games] displayed on the display means by a predetermined number [e.g., one game],
The second update display is a display that returns the value updated in the first update display to the value before being updated.
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

The number of games updated by a predetermined number at the first timing is returned to the number of games before being updated when the disadvantageous first process is involved, thereby completing the disadvantageous process in the certain game. can be understood.

again,
"One of the predetermined execution conditions is a condition that is satisfied when a specific event [for example, an irregular press] occurs.
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

The specific event may be an operation by the player, or may be an operation other than the operation recommended by the gaming machine (non-recommended operation).

again,
"Equipped with a reel [for example, reels 110 to 112] whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation,
The stop operation includes a recommended stop operation [e.g., forward press stop operation],
The specific event is that a stop operation different from the recommended stop operation [for example, a stop operation of irregular pressing] has been performed.
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

By defining a stop operation that may be disadvantageous, it is possible to recommend the player to play the game with the recommended stop operation.

again,
"When a predetermined transition condition [e.g., internal winning of a hand other than losing] is satisfied, the non-advantageous section [e.g., a section in which it is impossible to shift to the AT state] is played more than the non-advantageous section. It is a configuration that shifts to an advantageous section [for example, a section that can shift to AT state] that is advantageous for the person,
The control means is means for not executing the first process even if the one condition is satisfied in the non-advantageous section,
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

For example, the timing of shifting from the non-advantageous section to the advantageous section may be the first game after the setting change, but the first game after the setting change is often the opening of the store. First thing in the morning, the reel is not warmed up, and it takes time to accelerate, and the timing at which the stop operation can be accepted is slightly delayed. Therefore, although the player presses the left stop button in the first operation, there is a possibility that the above timing is shifted and the timing at which the middle stop button is actually pressed becomes the above timing. Giving a penalty even in such a case would be cruel to the player, and by not executing the first process in the non-advantageous section even if the one condition is satisfied, It is possible to prevent the player from being disadvantaged.

In addition, the advantageous section is a section in which it is possible to shift to a notification game state (AT state) that notifies the player of an operation mode advantageous to the player in the stop operation, and the non-advantageous section is the notification. It may be a section in which it is impossible to shift to a game state.

The control means may be means for managing values based on progress of the game. More specifically, it may be a means having a counter (ceiling counter) for counting the number of games played until transition to the information game state in the advantageous section.

Further, the control means is means for updating the value of the counter in a game of the non-advantageous section immediately before transition from the non-advantageous section to the advantageous section [for example, the advantageous section transition game], and the display means. may be means for updating and displaying the value display according to the start of the game [see, for example, the thick white arrow in the advantageous section transition game in FIG. 19(a)].

again,
"The display means does not display the value display in the second mode in the game even if the predetermined execution condition is satisfied in the game for the first time after the power is restored [for example, FIG. 19(c) and (d) in the figure],
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

It is possible to prevent the player from knowing whether or not the setting has been changed.

Next, the winning combination data stored in the ROM 306 of the main control section 300 will be described.

FIG. 23(a) shows winning combination data stored in the ROM 306 of the main control unit 300. FIG.

The winning combination information on the left side shown in FIG. 23(a) is the same as the winning combination information shown in FIG. 6(a). Four patterns (CLR, CRL, RLC, and RCL) of different stop operation modes (push order) are prepared for the bell (push order bell) that is the pushing order. Furthermore, three hands (1 to 3) are prepared for each pattern. That is, three roles are prepared for each of the same pressing order. In the same pushing order, the player's profit is the same. For example, if there is only one hand for one pressing order, only a specific outcome is displayed for a specific pressing order, which makes it monotonous. As a result, even if the keys are pressed in the same order, the winning combination can be displayed in a different manner, and it is possible to prevent the number from becoming monotonous.

Each winning combination is attached with a consecutive natural number (winning combination number) such as "00" to "34" corresponding to the winning combination on a one-to-one basis.

In the explanation so far, the transition from the non-advantageous section to the advantageous section was made by winning a role other than losing. In other words, if the hand of "01" or higher associated with Replay 3 is internally won, the game shifts to the advantageous section.

In this example, if a winning combination of "04" or higher associated with Replay 1 is internally won, the game shifts to the advantageous section. A winning combination number of '04' or higher, ie, a winning combination number belonging to the range of '04' to '34', is an advantageous zone number. On the other hand, winning combination numbers less than "04", that is, winning combination numbers belonging to the range of "01" to "03" are non-advantageous section numbers. In this way, by determining winning combination numbers separately for a combination that is allowed to move to an advantageous interval and a combination that is not allowed to move to an advantageous interval, it is possible to implement a simple process in the advantageous interval transition processing described later.

The winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a) includes information on the small combination group and information on the rare combination group in addition to the winning combination information on the left side.

The information on the small winning combination includes all the winning winning combination bell winning combination and the winning combination combination 7 and single winning combination 8 among the winning combinations. Consecutive numbers (natural numbers) are attached to the small wins that are not included in this winning combination group. That is, minor winning numbers of "01" to "21" corresponding to the minor winning combination on a one-to-one basis are attached. Therefore, the minor winning combination can be identified by the minor winning combination number. On the other hand, in the push-up hand group, the group number ("00") is assigned to the entire group, and no number is attached to each bell hand or one-piece hand. For this reason, although types such as push order can be identified by the group number, small wins (push order bell_CLR, push order bell_CRL, push order bell_RLC, push order bell_RCL, single role 7, single role) 8) cannot be distinguished, and the stop operation mode (push order) cannot be identified. In other words, the group number indicates whether or not the player is in order, but does not indicate which is the correct operation (operation mode that may be most advantageous to the player). Also, it can be said that it is information that cannot specify the type of the winning combination (bell_CLR1, bell_CRL1, etc.) even if it can be specified that it is the leading combination. In the AT state, when the main control unit 300 transmits an internal winning command to the first sub-control unit 400, it transmits including the winning combination information (winning combination number), and the CPU 404 of the first sub-control unit 400 Using the winning combination information (winning combination number), a lottery relating to effects such as AT effects is carried out. Also, the main control section 300 may transmit information indicating the pressing order to the CPU 404 of the first sub-control section 400 instead of or together with the winning combination information (winning combination number). On the other hand, in the normal state (non-AT state), the CPU 404 of the first sub-control unit 400 does not need to perform the AT effect, rather than referring to the 35 winning combination numbers "00" to "34" 00” to “21”, the processing is faster and the program capacity is smaller. Therefore, when the main control unit 300 transmits an internal winning command to the first sub-control unit 400, in the normal state (non-AT state), the winning combination information (winning combination number) is not included, and the small winning combination group , and the CPU 404 of the first sub-control unit 400 uses the information of the small winning combination group to perform the processing of the effect lottery etc. conduct. In addition, the CPU 404 of the first sub-control unit 400 generates new information from the information on the small combination group (the information on the small combination group is further grouped, such as push order, replay, common bell, cherry, watermelon, chance number, etc.). information for identifying the player), and the effect lottery and effect processing may be performed using the new information.

The rare role group is obtained by further grouping the minor role group, and the information thereof is information divided into a weak rare role group, a strong rare role group, and a non-rare role group (other groups). . A unique group number (“01”) is attached to the group of weak rare hands, and no number is attached to each rare hand (watermelon, weak cherry). A unique group number (“02”) is attached to the entire group of strong rare hands, and no number is attached to each rare hand (strong cherry, chance eye). For other groups, a unique group number (“03”) is assigned to the entire group, and no number is assigned to each hand. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish between a rare combination and a non-rare combination according to the group number, and it is also possible to identify the type of rare combination such as a weak rare combination and a strong rare combination. However, with the group number, it is not possible to identify small wins, and it is not possible to know which symbols should be highlighted. The CPU 304 of the main control unit 300, when performing an AT lottery or a lottery for transition to a high-probability state, which will be described later, according to the winning combination lottery result, performs "Replay? → Bell? → Weak cherry? → Strong cherry → Watermelon? → Chance eye". ?", it is easier to process the lottery process of "Others? → Weak rare role? → Strong rare role?" There is also The same applies to lottery processing in the CPU 404 of the first sub-controller 400, and the main control unit 300 transmits the internal winning command to the first sub-controlling unit 400, including the rare combination group information in the internal winning command. In some cases.

The main control unit 300 may use the winning combination information to perform an AT lottery for determining whether to shift to the AT state, a lottery for transition to the high probability state, and a CZ lottery for determining whether to shift to the CZ state. A small combination group may be used, a rare combination group may be used, or a small combination group or a rare combination group may be used depending on the lottery target. For example, if the AT lottery wins only when a strong cherry is won (shifts to AT state), the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 can perform the lottery process using a small combination group, and the strong cherry or chance game is selected. If it is a hit (shift to AT state) only when winning , the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 can perform lottery processing using the rare combination group.

The winning combination numbers, minor combination numbers and group numbers described above are expressed in binary numbers or hexadecimal numbers on the program (the same applies to the following explanation).

FIG. 23(b) is a flowchart of the advantageous section transition processing executed by the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300. FIG.

This advantageous section transition process is executed after the winning combination is determined in various lottery process step S105 shown in FIG.

First, the CPU 304 sets any winning combination number (winning combination information) of "00" to "34" shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not the winning combination number is equal to or greater than the winning combination number "04" associated with Replay 1 (step S251). As a determination method, a comparison instruction such as a "CP instruction" can be used. It can be carried out. In the case of a numerical value without a sign, such as winning combination information, it is only necessary to perform processing according to the success or failure of the carry flag. Therefore, by using a comparison instruction, it is possible to reduce the processing load while using a simple instruction.

If the winning combination number associated with the winning combination is "04" or more, the game state is set to the advantageous interval (step S252). Here, there are a high-probability state in which the AT lottery winning probability is relatively high and a low-probability state in which the probability is relatively low. Move to low probability state. Also, the number of ceiling games may be set to the first number of games (eg, 1000 games) or may be set to the second number of games (eg, 500 games). A plurality of types of advantageous intervals are prepared by combining the transition timing of the high-probability state and the number of ceiling games. Become.

On the other hand, if the winning combination number associated with the winning combination is less than "04", the advantageous section transition processing ends and the non-advantageous section continues.

As described above, the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 determines whether the winning combination belongs to the range of "04" to "34", that is, whether the winning combination number corresponding to the winning combination is 4 or more. All you have to do is make a judgment. In terms of program instructions, in the case of a continuation of a non-advantageous section, a winning hand number is set in a predetermined register (for example, the A register), and the content of the predetermined register and the content of replay 1 ("04") are combined. , and ends when the winning combination number is less than 4, and the capacity of the program can be reduced compared to determining whether each winning combination is an advantageous section transition combination or not. In addition, it is possible to reliably exclude a combination that is not an advantageous section transition combination.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining an instruction monitor controlled by the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300. As shown in FIG.

In the AT state, the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 may use the game information display 126 shown in FIG. 1 to display the pressing order of the stop buttons 137-139. The game information display 126, which may display the number of medals to be paid out during the bonus game, functions as an instruction monitor.

FIG. 24(a) is a diagram showing a game information display 126 in which 7-segment displays are arranged side by side.

In the leftmost part of FIG. 24(a), an instruction display (numeral 7 display) for instructing CLR (center left and right) operation is shown, and on the right side thereof is shown for instructing CRL (center right and left) operation. In the center is shown an instruction display (numeral display of 9) for instructing RLC (right, left, middle) operation, and to the right of it is RCL (right, middle). Left) An instruction display (display of the number 10) is shown when instructing an operation, and on the far right, the player can perform any pressing order corresponding to 1-card role 7 and 1-card role 8. A press sequence common indication (numeral 11 indication) is shown to indicate that the benefits of all are the same.

FIG. 24B is a flow chart of instruction monitor setting processing executed by the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 .

This instruction monitor setting process is executed after the winning combination is determined in the lottery process step S105 shown in FIG.

First, the CPU 304 determines whether or not the winning combination belongs to the winning combination group of the small combination group shown in FIG. 23(a) (step S261). In terms of program commands, the number of the minor combination group to which the winning combination corresponds (the minor combination number of "01" to "21" or the group number of "00") corresponds to the group number " 00”. The CPU 304 has to refer to 35 numbers such as "00" to "34" for the winning combination numbers, but only refers to 22 numbers for the minor combination group, thereby increasing the processing speed. Also, the capacity of the program is reduced.

If the winning combination does not belong to the winning combination group, the instruction monitor setting process is terminated. On the other hand, if the winning combination belongs to the group of the winning combination, it is determined whether or not the current game state is the AT state (step S262). Among the various game states shown in FIG. 7, "01" for normal stage, "02" for CZ, "03" for withdrawal zone, "04" for bonus state, "05" for AT normal state, A game state number such as "06" is given to the addition zone, and "07" is given to the ending state. A game state number representing the current game state is set in a register (for example, A register) of the CPU 304 . At step S262, it is determined whether or not the game state number set in the register is "04" or more. If there is, an instruction information value is calculated in step S263. That is, if the current gaming state is the AT state, the process proceeds to step S263.

In step S263, processing is performed using the winning combination information (winning combination number) instead of the small combination group information used in step S261. That is, the winning combination number associated with the winning combination is divided by 3, and the value of the quotient resulting from the division is determined as the instruction information value. For example, when Bell_CLR2 is won, the winning combination number "22" is divided by 3, and the quotient is "7", so "7" is determined as the instruction information value. "3" used here corresponds to the number of hands prepared for the same pressing order. That is, in order to diversify the results, there are three winning combination numbers because three combinations with the same pressing order are prepared. is not considered, and the value of the quotient is determined as the indicator information value. This simplifies the process.

In the subsequent step S264, instruction monitor information is set based on the instruction information value calculated in step S263, and this instruction monitor setting process ends. The set instruction monitor information is displayed on the game information display 126 functioning as an instruction monitor.

It should be noted that the CPU 304 can also perform the AT lottery and the lottery in a high-probability state in which the winning probability of the AT lottery is relatively high, because of the high processing speed and the small program capacity described above. Process using group information.

FIG. 24(c) is a modification of the flowchart of the instruction monitor setting process shown in FIG. 24(b).

In the explanation so far, the game information display 12 functioning as an instruction monitor displays the numbers 7 to 11 as shown in FIG. 24(a). A display of the number 0 to a display of the number 4 are displayed.

Since steps S271 and S272 are the same as steps S261 and S262 described above, description thereof will be omitted.

If the winning combination is the winning combination and the current gaming state is the AT state, in step S273, the CPU 304 calculates the value of the winning combination number (winning combination information) associated with the winning combination as shown in FIG. 21, which is the value of the winning combination number associated with Bell_CLR1, which is the leading combination of the winning combinations of the small combination group shown in , is subtracted to obtain the winning combination information subtraction value. In step S274, the winning combination information subtraction value is divided by 3, and the resulting quotient value is used as the winning combination information subtraction division value. In step S275, the value of "1" is added to the winning combination information subtraction/division value, and if the value of the addition result exceeds "4", 0 is determined as the instruction information value, and if it exceeds "4". If not, it is determined as the value indicating information value resulting from adding "1" . For example, if Bell_CLR2 is won, first, "21" is subtracted from the winning combination number "22" to obtain a winning combination information subtraction value of "1" (step S273). Next, "1" is divided by 3, and since the quotient is "0", this "0" is used as the winning combination information subtraction division value (step S274). Finally, "1" is added to "0", and since the added value does not exceed "4", "1" is determined as the indication information value. On the other hand, if the one-card combination 7 is won, first, "21" is subtracted from the winning combination number "33" to obtain the winning combination information subtraction value of "12" (step S273). Next, "12" is divided by 3, and since the quotient is "4", this "4" is used as the winning combination information subtraction division value (step S274). Finally, "1" is added to "4", and since the added value exceeds "4", "0" is determined as the indication information value.

In the following step S276, instruction monitor information is set based on the instruction information value determined in step S275, and this instruction monitor setting process is terminated. As a result, the game information display 126 functioning as an instruction monitor displays the number 1 when instructing the CLR operation, and displays the number 2 when instructing the CRL operation. The display of the number 3 is shown when instructing the RLC operation, and the display of the number 4 is shown when instructing the RCL operation. Further, a number 0 is displayed as a display common to the pressing order, which indicates that the player's profit is the same regardless of the pressing order corresponding to the one-piece winning combination 7 and the one-card winning combination 8 .

In the instruction monitor setting process shown in FIG. 24(b) described above, the quotient obtained by the division process is displayed as it is on the instruction monitor. Lighter processing. On the other hand, depending on the number of winning combinations and types of winning combinations, the instruction monitor information displayed on the game information display 126 will be displayed from a value other than "1". In this example, "7" is displayed as shown in FIG. 24(a). On the other hand, in the instruction monitor setting process shown in FIG. 24(b), the instruction monitor information displayed on the game information display 126 can be displayed from "1", making it easier for the player to understand. can.

FIG. 25 shows another example of the winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a). In the following, differences from the winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a) will be mainly described, and overlapping descriptions may be omitted.

FIG. 25(a) shows another example 1 of winning combination data. Also in this alternative example 1, the winning combination information is the same as the winning combination information of the winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a). That is, the same 35 winning hands (small winning hands) as the winning hand information shown in FIG. 23(a) are arranged in the same order. A serial number (winning combination number) is attached.

Among the 35 winning combinations (small winning combinations) in this alternative example 1, the relationship between the display mode for each operation content and the number of payouts for the common bell and the pressing order combination is the same as the relationship shown in FIG. 6(b). .

In another example 1, when a winning combination of "05" or higher associated with replay 2 is internally won, the game shifts to the advantageous section. A winning combination number of '05' or higher, ie, a winning combination number belonging to the range of '05' to '34', is an advantageous section number. On the other hand, winning combination numbers less than '05', that is, winning combination numbers belonging to the range of '01' to '04' are non-advantageous section numbers.

The information on the small winning combination group in Example 1 includes the same winning combination group as the winning combination group information on the small combination group in the winning combination data shown in FIG. There is also a group of Small wins that are not included in either the pushing order group or the replay group are given small win numbers of '01' to '04' and '06' to '16' corresponding to the small wins on a one-to-one basis. It is Therefore, the minor winning combination can be identified by the minor winning combination number. On the other hand, in the group of replay groups, a unique group number (“05”) is assigned to the entire group, and no number is assigned to each replay combination. Therefore, although the type of combination such as the replay combination can be identified by the group number, each replay combination cannot be distinguished, and the stop operation mode (pressing order) cannot be identified.

In another example 1, the replay 1 that is not shifted to the advantageous section is also grouped into the replay group ("05"). Therefore, in the advantageous section transition processing shown in FIG. It is convenient to refer to

Although not shown, the winning combination data of Example 1 also includes the same rare combination group as the rare combination group in the winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a).

FIG. 25(b) shows another example 2 of winning combination data. Also in this example 2, the winning combination information is the same as the winning combination information of the winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a). That is, the same 35 winning hands (small winning hands) as the winning hand information shown in FIG. 23(a) are arranged in the same order. A serial number (winning combination number) is attached.

Among the 35 winning hands (small winning hands) in this alternative example 2, the relationship between the display mode and the number of payouts for each operation content of the common bell and the winning hand (small hand) is the same as the relationship shown in FIG. 6(b). .

In another example 2, when a winning combination of "21" or higher associated with the pushing order bell_CLR1 is internally won, the game shifts to an advantageous section. A winning combination number of “21” or higher, that is, a winning combination number belonging to the range of “21” to “34” is an advantageous zone number. On the other hand, winning combination numbers less than "21", that is, winning combination numbers belonging to the range of "01" to "20" are non-advantageous section numbers.

The information on the minor combination group in Example 2 includes all of the pushing order bell roles, and the pushing order group consisting of 6, 1, 7 and 8. there is Consecutive numbers (natural numbers) are attached to the small wins that are not included in this winning combination group. That is, minor winning numbers of "01" to "20" corresponding to the minor winning combination on a one-to-one basis are assigned. Therefore, the minor winning combination can be identified by the minor winning combination number. On the other hand, in the push-up hand group, the group number ("00") is assigned to the entire group, and no number is attached to each bell hand or one-piece hand. For this reason, although types such as push order can be identified by the group number, small wins (push order bell_CLR, push order bell_CRL, push order bell_RLC, push order bell_RCL, single role 6, single role) 7, 1 piece combination 8) cannot be distinguished, and the stop operation mode (push order) cannot be identified. In other words, it is not possible to tell from the group number which is the correct operation (operation mode that may be the most advantageous for the player).

Also in Example 2, the single hand 6, which is not allowed to transition to the advantageous section, is also grouped into the forward hand group ("00"). It is more convenient to refer to the winning combination information.

Although not shown, the winning combination data of Example 2 also includes the same rare combination group as the rare combination group in the winning combination data shown in FIG. 23(a).

According to the above description,
``It is determined whether or not a transition condition for transitioning to an advantageous section advantageous to the player [e.g., loss, replay 3, 1 card in RB, winning a combination other than bell in RB] is satisfied, and the transition condition is determined. is satisfied, advantageous interval setting means [for example, the CPU 304 that executes advantageous interval transition processing shown in FIG.
Winning result determination means for determining one of a plurality of winning results [for example, CPU 304 for executing internal winning combination lottery processing in various lottery processes (step S105) shown in FIG. 10];
A game machine comprising
Each of the plurality of winning results [for example, the winning combination in the winning combination information shown in FIG. 23(a)] corresponds to the first numerical information [for example, the winning combination number in the winning combination information shown in FIG. 23(a)]. is attached,
The advantageous interval setting means determines that the first numerical information corresponding to the winning result determined by the winning result determining means is a specific value [for example, "04" or "0100" expressed in binary or hexadecimal 4 represented by] or more [for example, determination result of Yes in step S251 shown in FIG. b) step S252],
If the first numerical information corresponding to the winning result determined by the winning result determining means is less than the specific value [for example, No in step S251 shown in FIG. determination result], means for not setting the advantageous section because the transition condition is not satisfied [for example, the end of the advantageous section transition process shown in FIG. 23(b)];
A playground characterized by: 』
explained.

According to this gaming machine, it is possible to set the advantageous section by determining whether or not the first numerical information corresponding to the winning result determined by the winning result determining means is equal to or greater than a specific value. This reduces the capacity of the processing program compared to determining whether or not it is an advantageous section transition hand for each winning result. Also, the data capacity does not have to be enormous.

The plurality of first numerical information associated with each of the plurality of winning results may be consecutive values or may be values arranged at intervals. Alternatively, it may be a discrete value. However, the plurality of first numerical information for each of the plurality of winning results is such that the winning result setting the advantageous interval and the winning result not setting the advantageous interval can be distinguished on the basis of the specific value. must be associated.

moreover,
Advantageous section setting means for determining whether or not a transition condition for shifting to an advantageous section advantageous to a player is satisfied, and setting the advantageous section if the transition condition is satisfied;
a winning result determination means for determining a winning result;
A game machine comprising
First information is associated with the winning result,
The advantageous interval setting means is means for setting the advantageous interval if the first information corresponding to the winning result determined by the winning result determining means satisfies a predetermined condition,
The advantageous interval setting means is means for not setting the advantageous interval if the first information corresponding to the winning result determined by the winning result determining means does not satisfy the predetermined condition,
The first information is information that is divided into information that satisfies the predetermined condition and information that does not satisfy the predetermined condition.
A playground characterized by:
may be

again,
"A winning result in which the first numerical information is greater than or equal to the specific value [for example, 31 in FIG. 23(a)] is a winning result in which the first numerical information is less than the specific value [ For example, 4 in FIG. 23(a)],
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

By doing so, the advantageous section can be set at an early stage, and the processing can be speeded up.

again,
"The total value of the winning probability of winning results in which the first numerical information is equal to or greater than the specific value [for example, (a) + (b) + (c) + (d) in Fig. 6 (a)] is The total value of the winning probability of the winning results in which the first numerical information is less than the specific value [for example, (e) + (f) + (g) + (h) + (i) in Fig. 6 (a) + (j) + (k) + (l) + (m) + (n)],
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

By doing so, the advantageous section can also be set at an early stage, and the speed of processing can be increased.

again,
"Reels [for example, reels 110 to 112] whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation,
privilege granting means [for example, main control unit 300];
A plurality of types [e.g., Bell CLR, Bell CRL, Bell RLC, Bell RCL] associated with operation modes [e.g., so-called correct operation] advantageous to the player in the stop operation are associated with the plurality of winning results. , 1 piece role 7, 1 piece role 8] operation mode result [for example, pushing order role] is included,
The privilege granting means uses second information different from the first numerical information [for example, information on a small combination group] to perform processing related to granting a privilege [for example, AT state] [for example, AT state transition lottery]. is a means for performing [for example, normal state (non-AT state)],
The second information can specify that the winning result determined by the winning result determination means is the operation mode result [for example, pushing first]. Is there [e.g., Bell CLR, Bell CRL, Bell RLC, Bell RCL, single role 7 or single role 8] is unspecifiable information,
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

From the point of view of the lottery means, there may be a game state in which the advantageous operation mode is not necessary, and conversely, the lottery using the second information may require less processing program capacity. be.

According to the above description,
"Reels [for example, reels 110 to 112] whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation,
Winning result determination means for determining one of a plurality of winning results [for example, CPU 304 for executing internal winning combination lottery processing in various lottery processes (step S105) shown in FIG. 10];
notification information determining means [for example, a CPU 304 that executes an instruction monitor setting process] for determining notification information [for example, instruction monitor information] corresponding to an operation mode in the stop operation;
notification means for notifying the notification information [for example, a game information display device 126 functioning as an instruction monitor];
A game machine comprising
A corresponding value [for example, the winning combination number shown in FIG. 23(a)] is set for each of the plurality of winning results,
The winning result determination means selects a plurality of types of specific winning results [eg, Bell CLR1, Bell CLR2, Bell CLR3, Bell CRL1, . A means that may determine any type of specific winning result (hereinafter referred to as "certain specific winning result") [for example, each winning combination of winning combination numbers 21 to 32] among Bell RCL3] and
The plurality of types of specific winning results are predetermined winning results having a common advantageous operation mode [for example, center left right (CLR), center right left (CRL), right left center (RLC), right center left (RCL)]. having a number [e.g., 3] each,
the plurality of types of specific winning results, wherein the corresponding values are determined consecutively for each of the advantageous operation modes [for example, winning numbers 21 to 32];
The annunciation information determining means may perform a first process, a second process, and a third process when the particular winning result is determined by the winning result determining means. and
The first process is a subtraction process of subtracting the corresponding value [for example, 22] corresponding to the determined specific winning result [for example, Bell CLR2] by a specific value [for example, 21] [for example, Step S273 in FIG. 24(c)],
The second process is a division process [for example, step S274 in FIG.
The third process is a process of determining the notification information by the quotient [for example, 0] of the result of the division process [for example, the value obtained by adding 1 to the quotient (0 + 1 = 1) exceeds 4 If the
A playground characterized by: 』
explained.
Also, according to the above description,
"Reels [for example, reels 110 to 112] whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation,
Winning result determination means for determining one of a plurality of winning results [for example, CPU 304 for executing internal winning combination lottery processing in various lottery processes (step S105) shown in FIG. 10];
notification information determining means [for example, a CPU 304 that executes an instruction monitor setting process] for determining notification information [for example, instruction monitor information] corresponding to an operation mode in the stop operation;
notification means for notifying the notification information [for example, a game information display device 126 functioning as an instruction monitor];
A game machine comprising
A corresponding value [for example, the winning combination number shown in FIG. 23(a)] is set for each of the plurality of winning results,
The winning result determination means selects a plurality of types of specific winning results [eg, Bell CLR1, Bell CLR2, Bell CLR3, Bell CRL1, . A means that may determine any type of specific winning result (hereinafter referred to as "certain specific winning result") [for example, each winning combination of winning combination numbers 21 to 32] among Bell RCL3] and
The plurality of types of specific winning results are predetermined winning results having a common advantageous operation mode [for example, center left right (CLR), center right left (CRL), right left center (RLC), right center left (RCL)]. having a number [e.g., 3] each,
the plurality of types of specific winning results, wherein the corresponding values are determined consecutively for each of the advantageous operation modes [for example, winning numbers 21 to 32];
The notification information determination means is means for performing a second process and a third process when the specific winning result is determined by the winning result determination means,
The second process is a division process of dividing the corresponding value [e.g. 22] corresponding to the determined specific winning result [e.g. Bell CLR2] by the predetermined number [e.g. 3] [e.g. , step S263 in FIG. 24(b)],
The third process is a process of determining the notification information by the quotient of the result of the division process [eg, 7] [eg, step S264 in FIG.
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

According to this gaming machine, even when any of the specific winning results is determined, the notification information is determined based on the calculation result obtained by the predetermined calculation process, thereby making the processing common. is achieved, and the capacity of the processing program relating to notification of operation contents that are advantageous to the player can be suppressed.

again,
``The first information [for example, the winning combination number of the winning combination information shown in FIG. cage,
The notification information determination means is means for determining the notification information based on the calculation result obtained by the predetermined calculation process using the first information,
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

The notification information can be determined according to the winning result.

again,
"First control means [for example, main control unit 300] for controlling the progress of the game;
A second control means [for example, the first sub-control unit 400] that controls the effect,
with
The notification information determining means is means controlled by the first control means,
The first control means is a means for transmitting second information different from the first information [for example, information on a minor combination group] to the second control means,
The second information can specify that the winning result determined by the winning result determining means is the specific winning result [for example, the winning result], but any one of the plurality of types The type [for example, Bell CLR1, Bell CLR2, Bell CLR3, etc.] is unspecifiable information,
The second control means is means for controlling the production using the second information,
It features a playground. 』
also explained.

From the viewpoint of the second control means, there are cases where the advantageous operation mode is not necessary, and conversely, controlling the effect using the second information reduces the capacity of the processing program. Sometimes less is needed.

The first control means may be means including the winning result determination means, and the first control means may be means including the notification information determination means.

again,
"The predetermined arithmetic processing is division processing,
The first information is information containing a corresponding value [for example, the value of the winning combination number] corresponding to the winning result on a one-to-one basis;
The annunciation information determining means, based on the calculation result obtained by dividing the corresponding value by a predetermined value [for example, 3] [for example, uses the calculation result as it is (step S264), further processing the calculation result (step S275)] to determine the notification information [for example, the CPU 304 executing the instruction monitor setting process shown in FIG. 24(b) or (c)];
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

Even if any of the specific winning results is determined, the processing can be shared by determining the notification information based on the calculation result obtained by performing division processing by a predetermined value. It is possible to suppress the capacity of the processing program.

again,
``The annunciation information determination means determines, as the annunciation information, information representing the quotient of the result of dividing the corresponding value by the predetermined value [for example, the instruction monitor shown in FIG. CPU 304 that executes the setting process],
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

By using the value of the quotient resulting from the division process, the notification information can be determined without considering the remainder of the division process, so that the capacity of the processing program can be further reduced.

again,
"A first number [e.g., 3] of the winning results [e.g., Bell_CLR] having the same advantageous operation mode are provided for each of the plurality of types of specific winning results, and
the predetermined value is the first number;
A playground characterized by: 』
also explained.

The first number is a value of 2 or more, and it is possible to prepare a plurality of specific winning results of the same advantageous operation mode with different outcomes. On the other hand, since the number of specific winning results increases, the value to be handled becomes large, but since the division is performed by the first number, the increase in the number of specific winning results can be canceled, It is possible to suppress the increase in the capacity of the processing program and the time required for the processing.

In addition,
"A reel [for example, reels 110 to 112] whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation,
Winning result determination means for determining a winning result from among a plurality of winning results [for example, a CPU 304 that executes an internal winning combination lottery process in various lottery processes (step S105) shown in FIG. 10];
an informing means [for example, a game information display 126 functioning as an instruction monitor] for informing corresponding to the operation mode in the stop operation;
A game machine comprising
The winning result determination means determines a specific winning result from among a plurality of specific winning results [e.g., pushing order] associated with an operation mode [e.g., so-called correct operation] that is advantageous to the player. and
The plurality of specific winning results includes a first specific winning result [eg Bell_CLR1] and a second specific winning result [eg Bell_CLR2];
The first specific winning result is associated with the first operation mode [for example, middle left and right pressing order] as the advantageous operation mode,
The second specific winning result is associated with the first operation mode [for example, pressing order of middle left and right] as the advantageous operation mode,
The notifying means is means capable of notifying first information corresponding to the first operation mode when the first specific winning result is determined as the winning result by the winning result determining means,
The reporting means is means capable of reporting second information corresponding to the first operation mode when the second specific winning result is determined as the winning result by the winning result determining means,
The first information and the second information are the same information [for example, the display of the number "7" shown on the far left in FIG. 24(a)].
A playground characterized by: ”
may be

The actions and effects described in the embodiments described above are merely the most preferred actions and effects, and the actions and effects of the present invention are not limited to those described here. In addition, even if a constituent element is included only in the description of each of the embodiments, examples, modifications, and various examples described above, the constituent element may be used in other embodiments, examples, and modifications or various examples. That is, unless there is a factor that prevents the application, the constituent features included only in the descriptions of the embodiments, examples, modifications, various examples, etc. Even if it is applied to various examples, it is established as a unified technical idea.

100 slot machine 101 main body 102 front door 110 left reel 111 middle reel 112 right reel 126 game information display 130-132 bet button 135 start lever 137-139 stop button 157 liquid crystal display device GMV game number display NTG "NEXT" character display REC Recommended operation display SPE Dialogue display ERR Error display

Claims (2)

a reel whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation;
a winning result determination means for determining any one of a plurality of winning results;
notification information determining means for determining notification information corresponding to the operation mode in the stop operation;
an informing means for informing the informing information;
A game machine comprising
A corresponding value is defined for each of the plurality of winning results,
The winning result determination means selects one of a plurality of types of specific winning results associated with operation modes advantageous to the player (hereinafter referred to as "a specific winning result"). ) is the means by which the
The plurality of types of specific winning results each have a predetermined number of winning results having the same advantageous operation mode in common,
the plurality of types of specific winning results, wherein the corresponding values are continuously determined for each of the advantageous operation modes;
The annunciation information determining means may perform a first process, a second process, and a third process when the particular winning result is determined by the winning result determining means. and
The first process is a subtraction process of subtracting a specific value from the corresponding value corresponding to the determined specific winning result,
The second process is a division process for dividing the value resulting from the subtraction process by the predetermined number,
The third process is a process of determining the notification information by the quotient of the result of the division process.
A playground characterized by: a reel whose rotation is stopped by a stop operation;
a winning result determination means for determining any one of a plurality of winning results;
notification information determining means for determining notification information corresponding to the operation mode in the stop operation;
an informing means for informing the informing information;
A game machine comprising
A corresponding value is defined for each of the plurality of winning results,
The winning result determination means selects one of a plurality of types of specific winning results associated with operation modes advantageous to the player (hereinafter referred to as "a specific winning result"). ) is the means by which the
The plurality of types of specific winning results each have a predetermined number of winning results having the same advantageous operation mode in common,
the plurality of types of specific winning results, wherein the corresponding values are continuously determined for each of the advantageous operation modes;
The notification information determination means is means for performing a second process and a third process when the specific winning result is determined by the winning result determination means,
the second process is a division process of dividing the corresponding value corresponding to the determined specific winning result by the predetermined number;
The third process is a process of determining the notification information by the quotient of the result of the division process.
A playground characterized by:

Images