Gaming machine and system for redeeming an accrued attribute in subsequent gaming instances

• US 10,019,872 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2015
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Sherrets, Nathan D., Vandaele, Bryan J., Schurman, Aaron J.
• Primary Examiner(s): LIM, SENG HENG
• Application Number:
  US14/807,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20170024970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games

Abstract

A gaming system includes a gaming machine for redeeming an accrued attribute in subsequent plays of a wagering game. A wagering game instance may include a randomly triggered bonus game. One or more occurrences, events, or conditions are accrued in a tally during the bonus game. The tally grants an attribute for redemption in one or more subsequent randomly generated outcomes (e.g., subsequent plays of the wagering game, spins of the bonus game, etc.). The occurrences, events, or conditions may include any quantifiable measurement, including a number of winning, losing, or performed spins of the bonus game, appearance of specific symbols, wins over a threshold amount, etc. The resulting attribute(s) diminish over time and may include a win amount multiplier, a number of added symbols to one or more reels, a modified math model for a predetermined number of spins, additional game features or eligibility, etc.

Claims

1. A gaming system, comprising:

a regulated gaming machine primarily dedicated to playing at least one casino wagering game, the gaming machine including an electronic display device and one or more electronic input devices; and

game-logic circuitry configured to;

detect, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance;

direct the electronic display device to display the casino wagering game,

initiate a base-game instance of the casino wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance,

in response to a triggering event occurring during the base-game instance, perform a bonus game by conducting one or more free plays and maintaining a tally of a predetermined condition occurring during the one or more free plays,

subsequent to conducting the one or more free plays, designate an attribute corresponding to a value of the tally,

conduct a plurality of additional base-game instances in accordance with the attribute,

reduce the attribute upon conclusion of each of the plurality of additional base-game instances until the attribute is depleted; and

receive, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the attribute is an award multiplier adjusting an award for a symbol-based outcome of an additional base-game instance.

3. The gaming system of claim 2, wherein the award multiplier is associated with one or more predetermined symbols.

4. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein, in response to a winning combination of symbols that includes a plurality of the one or more predetermined symbols, adjusting a corresponding award using a sum of the award multipliers of the one or more predetermined symbols.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the one or more free plays are conducted until a predetermined number of winning free play outcomes are achieved, and the predetermined condition includes an occurrence of each free play.

6. The gaming system of claim 5, wherein one or more outcome symbols of one or more free play reels used to generate the free play outcomes are removed at the conclusion of each free play to increase the probabilistic chances of obtaining subsequent winning free play outcomes.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the attribute corresponds to a number of symbols that are added to one or more reels during the additional base-game instances.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein conducting the plurality of additional base-game instances in accordance with the attribute includes one of adding a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute to one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, replacing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute on one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, removing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute from one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, removing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute having the lowest relative value from one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, and replacing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute on one or more reels of the additional base-game instances with a symbol having a higher relative value.

9. A method of operating a gaming system, the gaming system including game-logic circuitry and a regulated gaming machine, the gaming machine primarily dedicated to playing at least one casino wagering game that includes a base game and a bonus game, the gaming machine including an electronic display device and one or more electronic input devices, the method comprising:

detecting, by the game-logic circuitry, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices;

directing, by the game-logic circuitry, the electronic display device to display the casino wagering game;

responsive to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance, initiating, by the game-logic circuitry, a base-game instance of the casino wagering game;

in response to a triggering event occurring during the base-game instance, performing, by the game-logic circuitry, the bonus game including conducting one or more free plays and maintaining a tally of a predetermined condition occurring during the one or more free plays;

subsequent to conducting the one or more free plays, designating, by the game-logic circuitry, an attribute of the base game corresponding to a value of the tally;

conducting, by the game-logic circuitry, a plurality of additional base-game instances in accordance with the attribute,

reducing, by the game-logic circuitry, the attribute upon conclusion of each of the plurality of additional base-game instances until the attribute is depleted; and

receiving, by the game-logic circuitry, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the attribute is an award multiplier adjusting an award for a symbol-based outcome of the additional base-game instances.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the award multiplier is associated with one or more predetermined symbols.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein in response to a winning combination of symbols that includes a plurality of the one or more predetermined symbols, adjusting a corresponding award using a sum of the award multipliers of the one or more predetermined symbols.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more free plays are conducted until a predetermined number of winning free play outcomes are achieved, and the predetermined condition includes an occurrence of each free play.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein one or more outcome symbols of one or more free play reels used to generate the free play outcomes are removed at the conclusion of each free play, by the game-logic circuitry, to increase the probabilistic chances of obtaining subsequent winning free play outcomes.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the attribute corresponds to a number of symbols that are added to one or more reels during the additional base-game instances.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein conducting, by the game-logic circuitry, the plurality of additional base-game instances in accordance with the attribute includes one of adding a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute to one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, replacing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute on one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, removing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute from one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, removing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute having the lowest relative value from one or more reels of the additional base-game instances, and replacing a number of symbols corresponding to the attribute on one or more reels of the additional base-game instances with a symbol having a higher relative value.

17. A gaming system, comprising:

a regulated gaming machine primarily dedicated to playing at least one casino wagering game that includes a base game and a bonus game, the gaming machine including an electronic display device and one or more electronic input devices; and

game-logic circuitry configured to;

detect, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance;

direct the electronic display device to display the casino wagering game, initiate a base-game instance of the casino wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance,

in response to a triggering event in the base-game instance, initiate the bonus game including conducting a number of free plays until a predetermined number of winning bonus-game outcomes of the free plays have resulted,

subsequent to the bonus game, conduct a plurality of additional base-game instances using an attribute corresponding to the number of conducted free plays, the attribute being associated with one or more symbols of the additional base-game instances,

reduce the attribute following each subsequent base-game instance until the attribute is depleted; and

receive, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

18. The gaming system of claim 17, wherein the attribute is an award multiplier and winning outcome awards that include the one or more symbols are correspondingly adjusted by the award multiplier during the additional base-game instances.

19. The gaming system of claim 18, wherein in response to a winning combination of symbols that includes a plurality of the one or more predetermined symbols during the additional base-game instances, adjusting a corresponding award using a sum of the award multipliers of the one or more predetermined symbols.

20. The gaming system of claim 17, wherein a free play outcome symbol of one or more free-play reels used to generate the bonus game outcomes is removed at the conclusion of each free play to increase the probabilistic chances of obtaining subsequent winning bonus game outcomes.