Bunco gaming device, method and bonus game
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of playing a wagering dice game having a number of stages to be wagered on, comprising:
- a player making a wager according to a number of sequential stages desired to be played;
initiating play of a first stage of the game, wherein if a win is experienced on the first stage and if the second stage was wagered, play of the game advances to the second stage, and wherein if a win is not experienced, the game is over and all wagers are lost;
initiating play of a second stage of the game, wherein if a win is experienced on the second stage and if the third stage was wagered, play of the game advances to a third stage and a payout is earned, wherein if a win on the second stage is not experienced, the game is over and all wagers, except any payout on the first stage are lost; and
sequentially initiating play of any number of respective stages of the game after the second stage, the any number of stages comprising one of a final stage which is a pre-set maximum stage for the game, and a desired stage, the desired stage being a stage between the final and the second stage optionally selected by the player to be the utmost wagered stage, wherein if a win is sequentially experienced on each sequentially succeeding stage up to and including one of the final and desired stage, and if each succeeding stage up to and including the one of the final and desired stage was wagered, then a payout is earned on each sequential stage and play of the game advances sequentially up to and including one of the final and desired stage, wherein after the play of one of the final and desired stage, the game is then over, and wherein if a win is not experienced on any played stage after the first stage, the game is over and all wagers, except the payouts from any of the preceding stages, are lost.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A dice game is comprised of a plurality of stages. Each operation of the game begins with the operation of a first stage. In one embodiment, depending on the outcome of the first stage the game may be over, or there may be an operation of a second stage.
91 Citations
116 Claims
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1. A method of playing a wagering dice game having a number of stages to be wagered on, comprising:
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a player making a wager according to a number of sequential stages desired to be played;
initiating play of a first stage of the game, wherein if a win is experienced on the first stage and if the second stage was wagered, play of the game advances to the second stage, and wherein if a win is not experienced, the game is over and all wagers are lost;
initiating play of a second stage of the game, wherein if a win is experienced on the second stage and if the third stage was wagered, play of the game advances to a third stage and a payout is earned, wherein if a win on the second stage is not experienced, the game is over and all wagers, except any payout on the first stage are lost; and
sequentially initiating play of any number of respective stages of the game after the second stage, the any number of stages comprising one of a final stage which is a pre-set maximum stage for the game, and a desired stage, the desired stage being a stage between the final and the second stage optionally selected by the player to be the utmost wagered stage, wherein if a win is sequentially experienced on each sequentially succeeding stage up to and including one of the final and desired stage, and if each succeeding stage up to and including the one of the final and desired stage was wagered, then a payout is earned on each sequential stage and play of the game advances sequentially up to and including one of the final and desired stage, wherein after the play of one of the final and desired stage, the game is then over, and wherein if a win is not experienced on any played stage after the first stage, the game is over and all wagers, except the payouts from any of the preceding stages, are lost. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of playing a wagering dice game having a plurality of stages to be wagered against, each stage representing a roll of the dice, comprising:
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a player making a wager according to a number of stages desired to be played, wherein the wager made on a stage creates an eligibility for playing that stage;
initiating play of a first stage of the game by rolling plural dice, wherein each different number appearing on each of the die becomes a respective point-to-match that is stored and displayed, wherein if all die numbers match, a win is experienced and a payout is earned, and wherein play advances to a second stage if the second stage was wagered, independent of whether a win was experienced;
initiating play of a second stage by rolling the dice;
determining whether any of the numbers appearing on a die from the second roll match the point(s)-to-match, wherein at least one match is considered a win and play advances to a third stage if the third stage was wagered, but the game is over and any remaining wagers are lost if there is no match, and further wherein for a point matched, a payout is earned, each point-to-match that matches at least one of the dice for the second stage remaining for a third stage, if a third stage was wagered upon;
initiating play of a third stage by rolling the dice;
determining whether any numbers appearing on a die from the third roll match the point(s)-to-match left from the second stage, wherein at least one match is considered a win and play advances to a fourth stage if the fourth stage was wagered, but the game is over and any remaining wagers are lost if there is no match, and further wherein for a point matched, another payout is earned, each point-to-match that matches at least one of the dice for the third stage remaining for a fourth stage if a fourth stage was wagered upon;
initiating play of a fourth through nth stage by rolling the dice in each respective stage; and
making an identical determination for each respective fourth through nth stage as performed for the second and third stages in order to continue play up to the nth stage, or to end the game when no point(s)-to-match remaining from a preceding stage can be matched to the numbers appearing on the dice of a current stage. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A video machine configured as a wagering dice game, comprising:
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a first, a second, and up to predetermined nth stage to be wagered upon;
an input for wagering an amount;
a microprocessor receiving signals from the input for determining the number of stages to be wagered, and including a program for controlling the play of the game as a function of the stages wagered wherein, a player makes a wager according to a number of stages desired to be played;
play of a first stage of a dice game is initiated, and if a win as based upon a predetermined methodology is experienced on the first stage and if the second stage was wagered, play of the game advances to the second stage, but if a win is not experienced, the game is over and all wagers are lost;
play of a second stage of the game is initiated if wagered and the first stage resulted in a win, and if a win is experienced on the second stage and the next successive stage was wagered, play of the game advances to the succeeding stage, a payout is earned, but if a win on the second stage is not experienced, the game is over and all wagers, except any payout on the first stage are lost; and
play of each successive stage up to the nth stage of the game is initiated, and if a win is experienced on each successive stage, a payout is earned and the game continues to a subsequent stage, but if a win is not experienced, the game is over and only payouts from the preceding stages are retained.
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8. A method of playing a dice game, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a player with a first stage game of dice upon which a first wager is placed by the player;
(b) providing the player with a second stage game of dice upon which a second wager is placeable;
each said stage having an advancement condition and a terminating condition;
(c) playing said first stage game;
(d) determining which of said advancement and terminating conditions is presented by said first stage game as played;
(e) if an advancement condition is presented by said first stage game as played, then advancing to said second stage game, but if a terminating condition is presented by said first stage game as played, the game is over and at least part of said second wager is lost;
(f) playing said second stage game if an advancement condition is presented at step (e) and a second wager has been placed; and
(g) determining which of said advancement and terminating conditions is presented by said second stage game as played. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29)
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12. A method of playing a dice game, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a player with a first stage dice game upon which a first wager is placed by the player;
(b) providing the player with a successive stage dice game (n1) up to a predetermined xth stage (nx) dice game upon which respective n1 to nx wagers are placeable;
each said stage having a winning condition and a losing condition;
(d) playing said first stage game;
(e) determining which of said winning and losing conditions is presented by said first stage game as played;
(f) if a winning condition is presented by said first stage game as played, then advancing to said successive stage game, but if a losing condition is presented by said first stage game as played, the game is over and any wager at a stage higher than the first game stage is lost;
(g) playing said successive stage game if a winning condition is presented by said first stage game as played, and a wager has been placed on said successive stage game; and
(h) determining which of said winning and losing conditions is presented by said successive stage game as played, and if a winning condition is presented, then advancing through additional stage games up through said nth stage game if at each respective additional stage game a wager has been placed on that stage game and its preceding stage game presents a winning condition, but if a losing condition is presented at an additional stage game, the game is over and any wager at a stage higher is lost.
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15. A method for operating a processor-controlled gaming machine comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing dice elements in a manner that can be visualized by a player;
(b) providing a mechanism for a wager input from the player;
(c) providing a mechanism for game operational input from the player;
(d) providing a first stage game of dice upon which a first wager is placed by the player;
(e) providing the player with a second stage game of dice upon which a second wager is placeable;
each said stage having an advancement condition and a terminating condition;
(f) displaying at least said first stage game using at least some of said dice elements;
(g) playing said first stage game;
(h) determining which of said advancement and terminating conditions is presented by said first stage game as played;
(i) if an advancement condition is presented by said first stage game as played, then advancing to said second stage game, but if a terminating condition is presented by said first stage game as played, the game is over and at least part of said second wager is lost;
(j) displaying said second stage dice game using at least some of said gameplay elements if said second stage game is not already displayed and playing said second stage game if an advancement condition is presented at step (i) and a second wager has been placed;
(k) determining which of said advancement and terminating conditions is presented by said second stage game as played; and
(l) providing a payout for an advancement condition.
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24. A video dice game comprising:
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a video display device;
a cpu having a program operating a dice game;
a wager input mechanism which registers a wager placed by a player, said wager including an ability to register bets upon successive stages of play of the game;
a set of differing gameplay element indicia, and a subset established from said set of gameplay element indicia of at least one match indicia against which representations of dice are to be matched in the course of play, said dice having a plurality of said gameplay element indicia thereon as facets of each die;
said program establishing a first stage dice toss, and determining whether said first stage toss presents an advancement condition based upon a match of at least one die indicium with a match indicium;
said program establishing a second stage toss if a bet has been registered for said second stage toss and a predetermined stage advancement condition is presented by said first stage toss, but if a stage advancement condition is not presented by said first stage toss, the game is over and at least a portion of bets on said first and second stage tosses are lost; and
said program including a payout output based upon said wager and predetermined values for said first and second stage tosses according to a preset table.
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28. A video dice game comprising:
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a video display device;
a cpu having a program operating a dice game;
a wager input mechanism which registers a wager placed by a player, said wager including an ability to register bets upon successive stages of play of the game;
a set of differing gameplay element indicia;
representations of dice having a plurality of said gameplay element indicia thereon as facets of each die;
said program establishing a first stage dice toss, and determining whether said first stage toss presents an advancement condition based upon a predetermined game format;
said program establishing a second stage toss if a bet has been registered for said second stage toss and an advancement condition is presented by said first stage toss, but if an advancement condition is not presented by said first stage toss, the game is over and at least a portion of bets on said first and second stage tosses are lost; and
said program including a payout output based upon said wager and predetermined values for said first and second stage tosses according to a preset table.
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30. A method for playing a dice game comprising:
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providing a set of dice having a plurality of differing indicia thereon as facets of each die;
establishing a subset from said indicia of at least one match indicia against which said dice are to be matched in the course of play;
placing a bet upon at least one of a plurality of stages of the game, with each stage comprising a toss of the dice;
making a first stage dice toss, and determining whether said first stage toss presents an advancement condition based upon a predetermined game format;
making a second stage toss if a bet has been registered for said second stage toss and said predetermined advancement condition is presented by said first stage toss, but if an advancement condition is not presented by said first stage toss, the game is over and at least a portion of bets on said first and second stage tosses are lost; and
providing a payout output based upon said bet(s) and predetermined values for said first and second stage tosses according to a preset schedule. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A dice gaming machine comprising:
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a gaming unit having first and successive stages of a dice game to play up to a predetermined nth stage, each said stage having a winning condition and a losing condition;
an interface mechanism with said gaming unit allowing gameplay input for a player, said gameplay input including wagering input allowing the player to register a bet upon one or more stages of play;
an operational device operating said gaming unit upon player input including an operational command, said operational device determining which of said winning and losing conditions is presented by a first stage as played, and if a winning condition is presented by said first stage as played, then advancing said gaming unit to a successive stage, but if a losing condition is presented by said first stage as played, the game is over and at least any successive stage bet registered is lost; and
said operational device operating said gaming unit for said successive stage if a winning condition is determined for a preceding stage and a bet has been registered for said successive stage, and determining which of said winning and losing conditions is presented by said successive stage as played, up to said nth stage. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39)
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38. A video dice game, comprising:
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a video display device;
a cpu having a program operating a dice game;
a wager input mechanism which registers a wager placed by a player, said wager including an ability to register bets upon successive stages of play of the game;
a set of differing gameplay element indicia, and a subset established from said set of gameplay element indicia of at least one match indicium against which representations of dice are to be matched in the course of play, said dice having a plurality of said gameplay element indicia thereon as facets of each die;
said program establishing a first stage dice toss, and determining whether said first stage toss presents an award condition based upon a match of at least one die indicium with a match indicium;
said program establishing a second stage toss if a bet has been registered for said second stage toss; and
said program including a payout based upon said wager and predetermined values for each stage toss according to a preset table.
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40. A video dice game, comprising:
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a video display device;
a cpu having a program operating a dice game;
a wager input mechanism which registers a wager placed by a player;
a set of differing gameplay element indicia, and a subset established from said set of gameplay element indicia of at least one match indicium against which representations of dice are to be matched in the course of play, said dice having a plurality of said gameplay element indicia thereon as facets of each die;
said program establishing a first stage dice toss;
said program establishing further stage tosses if a predetermined sufficient wager has been registered for each said further stage dice toss; and
said program including a payout based upon said wager and a predetermined value for a winning condition presented by a stage toss according to a preset table. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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45. A video dice game, comprising:
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a video display device;
a cpu having a program operating a dice game;
a wager input mechanism which registers a wager placed by a player;
a set of differing gameplay element indicia, and a subset established from said set of gameplay element indicia of at least one match indicium against which representations of dice are to be matched in the course of play, said dice having a plurality of said gameplay element indicia thereon as facets of each die;
said program establishing a first stage dice toss;
said program establishing a second stage toss if a predetermined sufficient wager has been registered for said second stage toss;
said program establishing further stage tosses if a predetermined sufficient wager has been registered for each said further stage toss; and
said program including a payout based upon said wager and a predetermined value for a winning condition presented by a stage toss according to a preset table.
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50. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a plurality of randomly selected match points at the start of the game, said match points each having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
tossing a plurality of dice elements for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed whether its randomly selected indicium matches a match indicium of said match points;
providing an award according to a predetermined paytable for each match on a toss; and
eliminating from play any match point which is not matched on a toss. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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59. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing at least one selected match point at the start of the game, each said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of said dice elements;
tossing a plurality of dice elements for a random selection of a die indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed whether its randomly selected die indicium matches a match indicium of a match point;
providing an award according to a predetermined paytable for a match of a die and match indicium on a toss; and
eliminating from play any match point which is not matched on a toss.
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68. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a match point at the start of the game, said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
placing a wager upon the game;
tossing a plurality of dice elements at each stage of play for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of a match point; and
providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss.
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77. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a plurality of match points at the start of the game, each said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
placing a wager upon the game;
tossing a plurality of dice elements at a first stage of play for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of said match point;
eliminating from play any match point which is not matched on a toss;
continuing with a toss on a subsequent stage of play provided that at least one match point remains; and
providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss, wherein said award is a function of the additive number of matches achieved. - View Dependent Claims (78, 79, 80)
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81. A method for operating a gaming machine for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a match point at the start of the game, said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
placing a wager upon the game;
tossing a plurality of dice elements at each stage of play;
determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of said match point; and
providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83)
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84. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a plurality of match points at the start of the game, each said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
placing a wager upon the game;
tossing a plurality of dice elements at a first stage of play for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of said match point;
eliminating from play any match point which is not matched on a toss;
continuing with a toss on a subsequent stage of play up to a preset maximum number of stages, provided that at least one match point remains for each such subsequent stage; and
providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss, wherein said award is a function of the additive number of matches achieved. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86)
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87. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a plurality of match points at the start of the game, each said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
placing a wager upon the game;
tossing a plurality of dice elements at a first stage of play for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of said match point;
providing a randomly allocated free advancement feature;
eliminating from play any match point which is not matched on a toss except when said free advancement feature has been allocated;
continuing with a toss on a subsequent stage of play provided that at least one said match point remains; and
providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss, wherein said award is a function of the additive number of matches achieved.
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88. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a match point at the start of the game, said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
placing a wager upon the game;
tossing a plurality of dice elements at each stage of play for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of said match point;
providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss; and
ending said game if no match is made at a stage of play. - View Dependent Claims (89)
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90. A method for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising the steps of:
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providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
establishing a match point at the start of the game, said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
placing a wager upon the game;
tossing a plurality of dice elements at each stage of play for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed;
determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of said match point;
providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss;
providing a randomly allocated free advancement feature; and
ending said game if no match is made at a stage of play unless said free advancement feature has been allocated, in which event the game continues to the next stage of play. - View Dependent Claims (91)
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92. A video machine configured as a wagering dice game, comprising:
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a video display device;
a cpu having a program operating a dice game;
a wager input mechanism which registers a wager placed by a player;
said program establishing a set of differing gameplay dice elements, including a subset of at least one match point at the start of the game, each said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
said program determining and displaying a toss of a plurality of dice elements including a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed, with a determination for each die element tossed whether its randomly selected indicium matches a match indicium of a match point; and
said program providing an award according to a predetermined paytable for each match on a toss, and eliminating from play any match point which is not matched on a toss. - View Dependent Claims (93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98)
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99. A dice gaming machine comprising:
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a gaming unit having a display of first and successive stages of a dice game to play up to a predetermined nth stage;
an interface mechanism with said gaming unit allowing gameplay input for a player, said gameplay input including wagering input allowing the player to register a bet;
an operational device operating said gaming unit upon player input including an operational command, said operational device providing dice elements having a plurality of differing indicia thereon;
said operational device establishing a match point at the start of the game, said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
said operational device tossing a plurality of dice elements at each stage of play for a random selection of an indicium for each die element tossed, and determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of a match point; and
a payout mechanism including an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss. - View Dependent Claims (100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108)
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103. A bonus game with a display for a gaming machine comprising the steps of:
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providing a path of play, said path having a plurality of stopping points thereon;
displaying a subset of said plurality of stopping points in a circular fashion on the display;
selecting one of said plurality of stopping points; and
updating the display such that said subset of plurality of stopping points always includes said selected stopping point.
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109. A gaming machine for playing a Bunco-type dice game comprising:
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a video display device;
a cpu having a program operating a dice game;
a wager input mechanism which registers a wager placed by a player;
said program establishing a set of differing gameplay dice elements, including a subset of at least one match point at the start of the game, each said match point having a match indicium for potential matching with a subsequent toss of the dice elements;
said program establishing and displaying a random toss of a plurality of dice elements at each stage of play, and determining for each die element tossed at a stage of play whether its randomly selected indicium matches said match indicium of said match point; and
a payout mechanism providing an award according to a predetermined first paytable for each match on a toss. - View Dependent Claims (110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115)
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116. A bonus game for a gaming machine comprising the steps of:
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providing a path of play, said path having a plurality of stopping points thereon, at least some of said stopping points including award values associated therewith, some of said stopping points having an end game result associated therewith after a predetermined threshold of advancement by the play along said path;
determining a player'"'"'s first advancement along said path to a stopping point by a RNG;
providing the player with an option at a stopping point having an award associated therewith of accepting said award as a payout or continuing along said path of play;
in the event the player chooses to continue along said path of play, determining a player'"'"'s second advancement along said path to a next stopping point by a RNG;
again providing the player with an option at a next stopping point having an award associated therewith of accepting said award as a payout or continuing along said path of play; and
automatically terminating said bonus game either when the player advances to a stopping point having an end game result associated therewith with no award being provided to the player as a result of advancement by the player along said path or upon a predetermined path end being achieved by the player.
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Specification