US20110177857A1

US20110177857A1 - System, Method and Computer Program Product for Driving a Non-Bingo Game's Progress Based on a Bingo Call Outcome

Info

Publication number: US20110177857A1
Application number: US12/947,426
Authority: US
Inventors: Andy Mound
Original assignee: GameTech International Inc
Current assignee: GameTech International Inc
Priority date: 2009-11-16
Filing date: 2010-11-16
Publication date: 2011-07-21

Abstract

A game controller utility implements a game play sequence for a non-bingo-type game driven by a bingo-type ball call outcome and displayed to a user on electronic gaming cards in an electronic gaming interface. The game controller utility generates a random pairing between one or more bingo-type game indicators and one or more die faces. As bingo-type game indicators are called in the bingo-type game being played in parallel with the non-bingo-type game, the game controller utility determines whether the currently drawn bingo-type ball call matches any one of the particular bingo-type game indicators currently paired with die faces. If a match is present, the game controller utility advances the player's token to its corresponding square on the non-bingo-type electronic gaming card in accordance with the rules of the non-bingo game and relative to the paired die face.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

Benefit of priority under 35 USC §119(e) is claimed based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/261,617, titled, “System, Method, And Computer Program Product For Driving A Non-Bingo Game's Progress Based On A Bingo Call Outcome,” filed on Nov. 16, 2009, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The illustrative embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a combination of bingo and non-bingo games, and more particularly computer controlled gaming for a combination of bingo and non-bingo games.

BACKGROUND

Bingo is a game that has been widely played for generations. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,911 to Fioretti (“Fioretti”), the description of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a traditional bingo game is played by a game operator, or “ball caller”, selecting at random from a set of seventy-five numbered balls stored in a ball hopper. In a traditional game, the numbers are divided into five subsets, with the numbers 1 through 15 associated with the letter “B”, the numbers 16 through 30 associated with the letter “I”, the numbers 31 through 45 associated with the letter “N”, the numbers 46 through 60 associated with the letter “G”, and the numbers 61 through 75 associated with the letter “0”. As a ball caller selects a ball, he or she typically calls out the number on the ball and the letter associated with the numbers. Each player then reviews his or her bingo card or cards to determine whether his or her bingo card or cards has or have a corresponding entry. Many versions of bingo conclude the game when the first person to achieve a specified pattern from the drawn numbers. The winner is usually required to call out the word “BINGO!,” which alerts the other players and caller of a possible “win.” As bingo becomes more popular, casinos and others offering the game are searching for new variations on the game in an attempt to attract and maintain more customers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention is described in a preferred embodiment in the following description with reference to the drawings, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements, as follows:

FIG. 1 represents a high level logical flowchart of an exemplary method for driving a non-bingo game's progress based on a bingo call outcome, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary schematic view of a gaming display showing the association of a bingo call outcome with a die result applied to a ‘snakes and ladders’ game, in accordance with embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of a data processing system to carry out the various features of the invention, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT(S)

The present invention is described in a preferred embodiment in the following description with reference to the figures. While this invention is described in terms of the best mode for achieving this invention's objectives, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be accomplished in view of these teachings without deviating from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Furthermore, when used and unless otherwise stated, terms such as “horizontal,” “vertical,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “back,” “over,” and “under,” and similar position related terms are not to be construed as limiting the invention to a particular orientation. Instead, such terms are to be construed only on a relative basis with respect to the accompanying depicted embodiments.
The present invention is generally directed to electronic game devices, assemblies, and systems that dispense with the need for the time and material expenditures as well as the game usage inflexibility associated with conventional paper card systems. It will be recognized by those skilled in the gaming arts that the game traditionally known as bingo is only one of a number of bingo-like games of chance. The present invention applies to the general category of bingo-like games in which a player views a proximally displayed pattern of indicia that comprises a subset of all such playable indicia, monitors a randomly or otherwise selected sequence of indicia from the set of all possible indicia supplied by a common source or controller, marks those indicia from selected sequence that appear on his/her array(s), and receives a prize if a correctly marked subset of the randomly selected sequence corresponds to a characteristic winning pattern of the indicia disposed on his/her local display. Such bingo-like games are further characterized in that each player submits payment for each proximally displayable array of indicia prior to the sequence of indicia being selected. The present invention is further directed to electronic equipment for playing a bingo-like game in a manner that closely simulates the conventional game of bingo played with paper cards while also enabling a more efficient bingo game experience to accommodate today's players who are increasingly accustomed to more fast-paced entertainment.
Generally, within the following descriptions of the figures, similar elements are provided similar names and reference numerals as those of the previous figure(s). Where a later figure utilizes the element in a different context or with different functionality, the element is provided a different leading numeral representative of the figure number (e.g., 1xx for FIGS. 1 and 2xx for FIG. 2). The specific numerals assigned to the elements are provided solely to aid in the description and not meant to imply any limitations (structural or functional) on the invention.
With reference now to the figures, there is a flow chart illustrated in FIG. 1 showing a game play sequence 100, in accordance with one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention, operated by Game Controller (GC) utility 326 as illustrated in FIG. 3 of one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention, and presented according to exemplary electronic gaming interface 200 illustrated and described in conjunction with FIG. 2, in one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention. The game play sequence 100 is preferably implemented using one or more electronic gaming cards 210 displayed to a user in electronic gaming interface 200, although it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that traditional gaming cards can be substituted therefore, or used in combination therewith, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Still further, although a preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes a standard seventy-five bingo ball hopper 223, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the total number of bingo balls, and the number of bingo balls within each subset of numbers, can be varied without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. In such alternative embodiments, the payout associated with a win may be adjusted based on the corresponding changes in the odds of such a win.
As FIG. 1 illustrates, the game play sequence 100 preferably begins at block 101 and continues to block 102, which depicts GC utility 326 (FIG. 3) distributing one or more gaming cards to persons interested in participating in playing a non-bingo game driven by a bingo ball outcome using the techniques of preferred embodiments. In preferred embodiments, a bingo game is being played in parallel with a non-bingo game of choice represented by the gaming cards 210. Regardless of the rapid, automated game control and display facilitated by gaming system 300, the underlying game preferably adheres to the basic game principles characteristic of a standard non-bingo game. In some preferred embodiments, gaming system 300 is executing the bingo game being played in parallel and in which is generating the bingo ball outcome used in the non-bingo game being played in a preferred embodiment. In such embodiments, gaming system 300 institutes basic bingo game principles including assigning each player one or more bingo cards or bingo card representations, daubing or otherwise marking all bingo cards in play for matches with a randomly generated sequence of typically alphanumeric indicia, and determining the winning card(s) as the first card(s) in the game to match the sequence of designations to produce the pre-specified game winning pattern.
In the exemplary electronic gaming interface 200 shown in FIG. 2, each one of the gaming cards 210 a-210 c represents a different game card for the non-bingo-type game of choice being played. For example, each gaming card 210 a-210 c represents a different grid maze for the game “snakes and ladders.” However, it should be appreciated that other types of gaming cards can be distributed to players such as other non-bingo gaming cards that can be driven by a bingo ball outcome of preferred embodiments. Bingo players often play multiple faces simultaneously in an arrangement commonly called “N-on play,” where N is the number of faces being played. Bingo operators therefore often sell cards having multiple faces printed thereon. The preferred embodiment of electronic gaming interface 200 shown in FIG. 2 shows three gaming cards 210 a-210 c, each representing a different grid maze
The traditional game of “snakes and ladders” is a board game played between two or more players on a playing board with numbered grid squares. On certain squares on the grid are drawn a number of “ladders” connecting two squares together, and a number of “snakes” also connecting squares together. The size of the grid (most commonly 8×8, 10×10, or 12×12) varies from board to board, as does the exact arrangement of the snakes and the ladders. As a result, the game can be represented as a state absorbing Markov chain, since from any square the odds of moving to any other square are fixed and independent of any previous game history. In traditional “snakes and ladders” play, each player starts with a token in the starting square (usually the “1” grid square in the bottom left corner, or simply, the imaginary space beside the “1” grid square) and takes turns to roll a single die (or spin a numbered spinner instead of a die) to move the token by the number of squares indicated by the die roll (or spinner spin), following a fixed route marked on the game board which usually follows a boustrophedon (ox-plow) track from the bottom to the top of the playing area, passing once through every square. If, on completion of this move, the player lands on the lower-numbered end of the squares with a “ladder”, the player can move his or her token up to the higher-numbered square. If the player lands on the higher-numbered square of a pair with a “snake”, the player must move his or her token down to the lower-numbered square. Traditionally, the winner is the player whose token first reaches the last square of the track.
With reference to FIG. 2, GC utility's 326 distribution of the gaming card(s) 210 a-210 c in block 102 is conditioned upon a player purchasing at least one of gaming cards 210 a-210 c and wagering a predetermined amount of money (betting window 211) to be applied to the outcome associated with each particular gaming card, according to some embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the cost of purchasing a gaming card can be varied by the gaming house. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a player wagers the amount set per gaming card by selecting the “Make Bet” icon 212 and selecting the number of gaming card(s) 210 a-210 c to be played simultaneously by the user by selecting the “More” or “Less” arrow icons 214 and 216, respectively. If the user wishes to clear his or her bet before commencing the game, the user may clear the bets by selecting the “Clear Bets” icon 218.
With reference now back to FIG. 2, after gaming cards 210 a-210 c are distributed as indicated in block 102, the process proceeds to block 104 where the game commences when the gaming system receives a player's initialization (e.g., a player clicking on a “Begin” button 220) to participate in the next bingo-driven game. From block 104, the process continues as shown in block 105, where GC utility 326 generates a random pairing between a particular bingo ball 205 a-205 f and a particular die face 208 a-208 f, respectively. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, before current bingo ball call 207 is made, each one of die faces 208 a-208 f (or, in an alternative preferred embodiment, a spinner result indicating a number) is randomly paired with a particular bingo ball 205 a-205 f that may or may not match the future bingo ball call.
At step 106, the computer apparatus (e.g., computer 300 of FIG. 3) randomly draws current bingo ball call 207. This current bingo ball call may be the result of a concurrently implemented bingo-like game being played on computer system 300 or external to the gaming system. The bingo ball call may be, for example, a ball draw in which bingo balls or representations of balls each having a number and letter are randomly selected from a plurality of bingo balls. It will be appreciated that this type of ball draw or other sequence of randomized indicia may be produced by a random number generator module or any other suitable module or device within the master game controller of preferred embodiments, and not necessarily a physical ball draw device. Although the embodiment described herein utilizes a computerized ball drawing apparatus, which preferably emulates a traditional bingo ball hopper, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that alternative ball drawing means may be substituted therefore without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
In a preferred embodiment, as each bingo ball is successively drawn, the currently drawn bingo ball 207 is displayed with its paired die result, if a pairing exists (as shown in window 222). From step 106, the method continues to decision block 108, which depicts GC utility 326 determining whether the currently drawn bingo ball call 207 matches any one of the particular bingo balls 205 a-205 f that are currently paired with die faces 208 a-208 f. If a decision is made at step 108 that no match is present, GC utility 326 maintains player's token 204 in its current position as shown at block 112. If a match is present, GC utility 326 advances the player's token 204 to its corresponding square on gaming card 210 a-210 c relative to the paired die face result (block 110), in accordance with the rules of the non-bingo-type game. In the present example of a “snakes and ladders” game, the players token is advanced by the number of squares indicated by the die roll (or spinner spin), following a fixed route marked on the game board, which usually follows a boustrophedon (ox-plow) track from the bottom to the top of the playing area, passing once through every square. If, on completion of this move, the player lands on the lower-numbered end of the squares with a “ladder”, the player can move his or her token up to the higher-numbered square. If the player lands on the higher-numbered square of a pair with a “snake”, the player must move his or her token down to the lower-numbered square. After advancing the player's token 204, the process continues to block 111, which depicts the step of GC utility 326 replacing the current pairing of particular bingo ball 205 with die face 208 with a new pairing with a new bingo ball. The new pairing retains the same value of die face 208, but pairs it with a particular bingo ball 205 from among the uncalled bingo balls remaining in ball hopper 223.
From blocks 111 and 112, the process proceeds to decision block 114, which depicts GC utility 326 determining whether “BINGO!” has been called during the concurrently played round of bingo. If no “BINGO!” has been called, GC utility 326 retires currently drawn bingo ball call 207 from the uncalled bingo balls remaining in ball hopper 223 (block 115) and the process returns to block 106. If “BINGO!” is called (decision block 114), the process proceeds to decision block 116, which depicts GC utility 326 determining whether the player or players have achieved a win in their non-bingo (e.g., “snakes and ladders”) game. From decision block 116, if the player(s) has/have not won in their non-bingo game, GC utility 326 displays a losing notification, which alerts the player(s) that the bingo round has concluded before the player(s) could win in their non-bingo game (block 118). However, if the player(s) has/have won in their non-bingo game, GC utility 326 displays a winning notification, which alerts the player(s) of their game winnings (block 120). From blocks 118 and 120, the process ends at termination block 122.
According to the present embodiment shown, the game of “snakes and ladders” is a single-player game, as the player does not play against other players having tokens on the same game board. More specifically, the player is betting that his or her token will reach the last square of the track before the bingo game concludes and a “BINGO” is accurately called. In addition, the preferred embodiment of the invention, the game(s) is/are not played on a physical board game, but on an electronic gaming interface 200 as shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, the player's token 204, bingo ball calls 206, current bingo ball call 207, die faces 208 a-208 f, and gaming boards 210 a-210 c (i.e., gaming card(s)) appear as graphical objects displayed on electronic gaming interface 200.
Since a preferred embodiment shown is implemented as a single-player game, each player separately moves his or her token 204 depending on the outcome of a bingo call, and play does not pass to a next player in turn. In one or more alternative preferred embodiments, the non-bingo game is a multi-player game play is passed in turn to the plurality of players as each bingo ball is called and each player moves his token in turn. In further embodiments, each player may bet that his or her token will reach the last square of the track or be the closest of the multiple players to the last square of the track before the bingo game concludes and a “BINGO” is accurately called.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, a plurality of bingo balls 205 can be paired to one or more from among a group of vector instead of to a die face 208. Such a configuration facilitates navigation of a token's movements in a maze-type game, or other type of game where vector orientation is at play. The vector indicates and drives a token in one or more of a plurality of directions, as well as indicates a magnitude length of a token movement in one or more directions. For example, a vector may indicate a number of rungs up or down a ladder on a gaming card 210.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, more than one bingo ball 205 may be paired to a particular die face or vector. Pairing more than one bingo ball 205 to a particular die face or vector arrow provides quicker completion of a game, as well as improved player odds, as compared to a single ball-to-die face pairing, for example. When a bingo ball of the plurality of bingo balls 205 is called, a match occurs with respect to the paired die face and GC utility 326 advances the player's token 204 to its corresponding square on gaming card 210 a-210 c relative to the paired die result (block 110).
Each player separately moves his or her token 204 depending on the outcome of a bingo call. In one or more alternative embodiments, the token 204 can be moved automatically by GC utility 326 (FIG. 3). Unlike, conventional “snakes and ladders,” if a player rolls a six, the player does not gain a competitive advantage by immediately taking another turn. Moreover, while the above embodiments are described within the context of a single player game, it should be recognized that other embodiments of the invention allow for more than one player to participate in the non-bingo game per one or more gaming cards 210.
With reference to FIG. 3, there is depicted a block diagram representation of an exemplary data processing system (DPS) 300 for implementing the various features of the present invention, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. As shown, data processing system (DPS) 300 comprises one or more processors or central processing units (CPU) 302 connected to memory 304 via system interconnect/bus 306. Also connected to system/interconnect bus 306 is I/O controller 308, which provides connectivity and control for input devices, of which pointing device (or mouse) 310 and keyboard 312 are shown, and output device, of which display 314 is shown. Additionally, a multimedia drive 316 (e.g., CDRW or DVD drive) and USB (universal serial bus) port 318 are illustrated, coupled to I/O controller 308. Multimedia drive 316 and USB port 318 may operate as both input and output mechanisms. DPS 300 also comprises storage 320, within which data from ball hopper 223 is utilized to keep track of the bingo balls that have been called and retired from the round of play.
DPS 300 is also illustrated with a network interface device (NID) 324 with which DPS 300 connects to another computer device (e.g., a gaming house's web server, other gaming terminals) or computer network. NID 324 may comprise a modem and/or a network adapter, for example, depending on the type of network and connection process to the network. It is however understood that application of the various processes of the invention may occur within a DPS 300 that is not connected to an external network, but receives the input data (e.g., carrier's web pages in HTML format) via some other input means, such as a CD/DVD medium within multimedia drive 316, a thumb/flash drive inserted in USB port 318, user input via keyboard 312, or other input mechanisms/process. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in FIG. 3 is a basic illustration of a data processing system and may vary. Thus, the depicted example is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.
Regardless of the particular configuration, DPS 300 functions to group players for participation in both non-bingo and bingo-like games offered through the system, generates or otherwise obtains randomized sequences of bingo ball indicia to be matched with paired indicia on non-bingo game cards or game card representations, identifies or verifies intermediate and final responses from players and game results, and communicates the responses/results to the various gaming sites.
Gaming system 10 further includes network connectivity provided by a wide area network (WAN) 15 to a remote gaming site 27 and remote nodes such as node 19. Node 19 may be an administrative node having authorized access to control features and mechanisms within master game controller 4 and other control nodes within the depicted gaming system 10. Remote gaming site 27 includes a local game controller 22 communicatively coupled to multiple e-ink bingo card displays 24 a-24 n. While not expressly depicted in FIG. 1, it will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art that a network interface may be required to couple local controller 22 to WAN 15. It will be further appreciated that local controller 22 may comprise a data processing system having a similar architecture as that previously described for master game controller 4. Regardless of its specific architecture and configuration, local controller 22 serves to generate, transfer and relay information between one or more of e-ink card display devices 24 a-24 n and master game controller 4. In a preferred embodiment, and depending on desired system control scaling, local controller 22 may also include electronic and program modules for grouping players and game type/play requests received from among e-ink display devices 24 a-24 n. For a case in which master game controller 4 serves and administers large numbers of games and/or during a time of game activity, local controller 22 may assume the functions associated with grouping players and game play requests from e-ink bingo display devices 24 a-24 n, generate a random number sequence (e.g. a simulated ball draw), determine display device responses and game results, and return responses/results to the display devices. Additionally, local controller 22 may be configured to perform the tasks normally performed by master game controller 4 in the event of a degradation or disruption in the communications link between local controller 22 and master game controller 4.
Notably, in addition to the above described hardware components of DPS 300, various features of the invention are provided as software/firmware code stored within memory 304 or other storage (e.g., storage 320) and executed by CPU 302. Thus, located within memory 304 and executed on CPU 302 are a number of software components, including operating system (OS) 325 (e.g., Microsoft Windows®, a trademark of Microsoft Corp, or GNU®/Linux®, registered trademarks of the Free Software Foundation and The Linux Mark Institute), browser 327 and other software applications, of which Gaming Controller (GC) utility 326 is shown. CPU 302 executes GC utility 326 as well as OS 325 and browser 327, which supports the execution of GC utility 326. In actual implementation, GC utility 326 may be loaded on and executed by any existing computer system to administer the game(s), as described above.
It should be appreciated that GC utility 326 within memory 304 may correspond to hardware or software (or a combination of software and hardware) that is executed on processor/CPU 302 having one or more execution units. As a preparatory step to practicing the invention in software, the computer programming code (whether software or firmware) according to a preferred embodiment will typically be stored in one or more computer readable storage mediums such as fixed (hard) drives, diskettes, optical disks, magnetic tape, semiconductor memories such as read-only memories (ROMs), programmable ROMs (PROMs), etc., thereby making an article of manufacture in accordance with the invention. The article of manufacture containing the computer programming code is used by either executing the code directly from the storage device, by copying the code from the storage device into another storage device such as a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), etc., or by transmitting the code for remote execution. The process form of the invention may be practiced by combining one or more computer-readable storage devices containing the code according to the present invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing the invention could be one or more computers and storage systems containing or having network access to computer program(s) coded in accordance with the invention.
The disclosed methods may be readily implemented in software using object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer or workstation hardware platforms. In this instance, the methods and systems of the invention can be implemented as a routine embedded on a personal computer such as a Java or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server or graphics workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated source code editor management system, or the like.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for progressing a non-bingo-type game based on a call of a bingo-type game, comprising:

distributing one or more gaming cards for a non-bingo-type game;

generating a pairing between a plurality of bingo-type game indicators and one or more non-bingo-type game indicators, wherein at least one of the plurality of bingo-type game indicators is paired with at least one of the non-bingo-type game indicators;

drawing a bingo-type game indicator during a bingo-type game;

determining if the drawn bingo-type game indicator matches a bingo-type game indicator of the plurality of bingo-type game indicators paired with a non-bingo-type game indicator of the at least one of the non-bingo-type game indicators; and

moving a token on one or more of the one or more gaming cards in accordance with rules of the non-bingo-type game and the paired non-bingo-type game indicator.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining a match, pairing the non-bingo-type game indicator with another bingo-type game indicator from among the plurality of bingo-type game indicators.

3. The method claim 1, further comprising determining if a player has won the non-bingo-type game as indicated by a token on the one or more gaming cards upon a determination there is a winner of the bingo-type game.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising notifying the player when the player has won the non-bingo-type game.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the bingo-type game is BINGO.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the non-bingo-type game is “snakes and ladders.”

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the non-bingo-type game is a single-player game where a winning outcome of the game is determined when the single-player's token reaches the last square of the track or playing card sequence before the bingo-type game concludes.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising wherein the token is automatically moved in the sequence of the non-bingo-type game in response to a match of the drawn bingo-type game indicator and a paired bingo-type game indicator.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising wherein the bingo-type game indicator is paired to a vector indicating a direction of progression on the gaming card.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising wherein the one or more non-bingo-type game indicators are one or more die faces.

11. A system for progressing a non-bingo-type game based on a call of a bingo-type game, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory medium coupled to the processor;

wherein the memory medium includes instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform:

distributing one or more gaming cards for a non-bingo-type game;

drawing a bingo-type game indicator during a bingo-type game;

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising, in response to determining a match, pairing the non-bingo-type game indicator with another bingo-type game indicator from among the plurality of bingo-type game indicators.

13. The system claim 11, further comprising determining if a player has won the non-bingo-type game as indicated by a token on the one or more gaming cards upon a determination there is a winner of the bingo-type game.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising notifying the player when the player has won the non-bingo-type game.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the bingo-type game is BINGO.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the non-bingo-type game is “snakes and ladders.”

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the non-bingo-type game is a single-player game where a winning outcome of the game is determined when the single-player's token reaches the last square of the track or playing card sequence before the bingo-type game concludes.

18. The system of claim 11 further comprising wherein the token is automatically moved in the sequence of the non-bingo-type game in response to a match of the drawn bingo-type game indicator and a paired bingo-type game indicator.

19. The system of claim 11, further comprising wherein the bingo-type game indicator is paired to a vector indicating a direction of progression on the gaming card.

20. The system of claim 11, further comprising wherein the one or more non-bingo-type game indicators are one or more die faces.

21. A computer readable memory medium comprising instructions, which when executed on a processing system, cause the processing system to perform:

distributing one or more gaming cards for a non-bingo-type game;

drawing a bingo-type game indicator during a bingo-type game;

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising, in response to determining a match, pairing the non-bingo-type game indicator with another bingo-type game indicator from among the plurality of bingo-type game indicators.

23. The method claim 21, further comprising determining if a player has won the non-bingo-type game as indicated by a token on the one or more gaming cards upon a determination there is a winner of the bingo-type game.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising notifying the player when the player has won the non-bingo-type game.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the bingo-type game is BINGO.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein the non-bingo-type game is “snakes and ladders.”

27. The method of claim 21 wherein the non-bingo-type game is a single-player game where a winning outcome of the game is determined when the single-player's token reaches the last square of the track or playing card sequence before the bingo-type game concludes.

28. The method of claim 21 further comprising wherein the token is automatically moved in the sequence of the non-bingo-type game in response to a match of the drawn bingo-type game indicator and a paired bingo-type game indicator.

29. The method of claim 21, further comprising wherein the bingo-type game indicator is paired to a vector indicating a direction of progression on the gaming card.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising wherein the one or more non-bingo-type game indicators are one or more die faces.