Gaming machine with block wagering

• US 20030157978A1
• Filed: 02/15/2002
• Published: 08/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Englman, Allon G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,747,205 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A gaming machine and a method of conducting a game of chance on the gaming machine are disclosed. The machine receives a wager from a player to purchase a series of plays of the game. In response to the wager, the machine provides the player with the series of plays and randomly generating at least one outcome for each play. The machine provides an accumulation feature that accumulates an element of the game over a plurality of the plays in the series and redeems the accumulated element for a bonus in response to a predetermined event in the game. The predetermined event may, for example, correspond to collection of a predetermined number of the element or a certain position of the element on a trail, feature ladder, or meter.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a game of chance on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

receiving a wager from a player to purchase a series of plays of the game;

providing the player with the series of plays;

randomly generating at least one outcome for each play; and

providing an accumulation feature that accumulates an element of the game over a plurality of the plays in the series.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the game includes a basic game selected from a group consisting of slots, poker, keno, bingo, blackjack, and roulette.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the accumulation feature is triggered by a special outcome in the basic game.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated element is a position on a trail, ladder, or meter.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the position identifies a credit amount, a multiplier, a number of free plays of the game, a bonus round, or movement to another position on the trail, the ladder, or the meter.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated element is a collected object.

7. The method of claim 6, further including triggering a bonus in response to collection of a predetermined number of the object during the series of plays.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulation feature is reset to include no accumulated elements prior to each purchased series of plays.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each play includes at least one respective random event that is independent of other plays in the series.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the game includes a basic game and a bonus feature triggered by a special outcome in the basic game, the at least one random event being associated with the basic game.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each play includes at least one random event that is interdependent of one or more other plays in the series.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the game includes a basic game and a bonus feature triggered by a special outcome in the basic game, the at least one random event being associated with the bonus feature.

13. The method of claim 1, further including redeeming the accumulated element for a bonus in response to a predetermined event in the game.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined event corresponds to collection of a predetermined number of the element.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined event corresponds to a certain position of the element on a trail, ladder, or meter.

16. The method of claim 1, further including providing an award to the player if the outcome is a winning outcome.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the game includes a slot game having a plurality of symbol-bearing reels that, during each play in the series, are spun and stopped to place symbols on the reels in visual association with a display area.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the game includes a draw poker game having a plurality of playing cards that, during each play in the series, are dealt from a deck and selectively replaced with substitute cards from the deck.

19. A method of conducting a game of chance on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

receiving a wager from a player;

randomly selecting an outcome from a plurality of possible outcomes, the plurality of possible outcomes including a plurality of winning outcomes defined by a pay table, the winning outcomes in the pay table being directly associated with respective non-credit-based awards; and

providing the associated non-credit-based award if the selected outcome is one of the winning outcomes.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the non-credit-based awards include a number of movements of a space identifier along a trail.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the trail includes a plurality of spaces, at least some of the spaces being associated with respective credit-based awards.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the non-credit-based awards include a number of free plays of the game.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the non-credit-based awards include a number of collected elements.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the game includes a draw poker game, the winning outcomes including respective poker hand rankings.

25. A gaming machine for conducting a game of chance, comprising:

means for receiving a wager from a player to purchase a series of plays of the game;

means for providing the player with the series of plays;

means for randomly generating at least one outcome for each play; and

means for providing an accumulation feature that accumulates an element of the game over a plurality of the plays in the series.

26. The machine of claim 25, wherein the game includes a basic game selected from a group consisting of slots, poker, keno, bingo, blackjack, and roulette.

27. The machine of claim 26, wherein the accumulation feature is triggered by a special outcome in the basic game.

28. The machine of claim 25, wherein the accumulated element is a position on a trail, ladder, or meter.

29. The machine of claim 28, wherein the position identifies a credit amount, a multiplier, a number of free plays of the game, a bonus round, or movement to another position on the trail, the ladder, or the meter.

30. The machine of claim 25, wherein the accumulated element is a collected object.

31. The machine of claim 30, further including means for triggering a bonus in response to collection of a predetermined number of the object during the series of plays.

32. The machine of claim 25, wherein the accumulation feature is reset to include no accumulated elements prior to each purchased series of plays.

33. The machine of claim 25, wherein each play includes at least one respective random event that is independent of other plays in the series.

34. The machine of claim 33, wherein the game includes a basic game and a bonus feature triggered by a special outcome in the basic game, the at least one random event being associated with the basic game.

35. The machine of claim 25, wherein each play includes at least one random event that is interdependent of one or more other plays in the series.

36. The machine of claim 35, wherein the game includes a basic game and a bonus feature triggered by a special outcome in the basic game, the at least one random event being associated with the bonus feature.

37. The machine of claim 25, further including means for redeeming the accumulated element for a bonus in response to a predetermined event in the game.

38. The machine of claim 37, wherein the predetermined event corresponds to collection of a predetermined number of the element.

39. The machine of claim 37, wherein the predetermined event corresponds to a certain position of the element on a trail, ladder, or meter.

40. The machine of claim 25, further including means for providing an award to the player if the outcome is a winning outcome.

41. The machine of claim 25, wherein the game includes a slot game having a plurality of symbol-bearing reels that, during each play in the series, are spun and stopped to place symbols on the reels in visual association with a display area.

42. The machine of claim 25, wherein the game includes a draw poker game having a plurality of playing cards that, during each play in the series, are dealt from a deck and selectively replaced with substitute cards from the deck.