Draw bingo

• US 20050059469A1
• Filed: 08/24/2004
• Published: 03/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Wolf, Bryan, Gail, Ted, Hollibaugh, Larry
• Granted Patent: US 8,057,292 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/19
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed

Abstract

The present invention provides methods and devices for providing a bingo game having aspects of a poker game on a network of gaming machines. Some implementations include a bingo card display in which areas of a bingo card correspond with playing cards. Some such implementations provide first phase of a bingo game that is concluded when a player daubs a game-ending pattern of a bingo card and a second phase wherein players may establish interim wins by daubing other patterns that correspond to poker hands. In some implementations, only the highest-ranking interim win results in a payout. Preferred implementations provide games with easily recognizable bingo play and payout probabilities similar to existing bingo games.

Claims

1. A method of playing an electronic bingo game, comprising:

conducting an electronic bingo game involving a plurality of players to allow at least one of the plurality of players to achieve a game-winning outcome, the conducting step comprising displaying a simulation of a bingo card;

displaying a hand of playing cards, each card of the hand corresponding with a corresponding area of the bingo card;

allowing players to optionally select cards of the hand;

permitting players to draw new cards;

displaying a pattern of the bingo card as a result of a card game; and

selecting a winning card player who achieves the highest-ranking pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the winning card player is part of a process of selecting a plurality of winning card players.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved prior to the step of allowing players to draw new cards.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved after the step of allowing players to draw new cards.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved prior to the step of selecting at least some of the plurality of winning card players.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved after the step of selecting at least some of the plurality of winning card players.

7. A method of playing an electronic bingo game, comprising:

forming a plurality of bingo cards by mapping each of a plurality of numbered areas of each bingo card to corresponding playing cards;

providing at least some of the plurality of bingo cards to bingo players;

conducting a conventional bingo game until a player daubs a game-winning pattern of numbered areas of the player'"'"'s bingo card;

displaying a first hand of playing cards for each player, each card in the hand corresponding to one of the numbered areas of the player'"'"'s bingo card;

allowing players to optionally select cards of the hand;

permitting players to draw new cards;

displaying a second hand of playing cards, the second hand including drawn cards, if any; and

paying out a prize to a player who achieves the highest-ranking second hand.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein first and second hands correspond to patterns on the bingo card.

9. A method of providing an electronic bingo game, comprising:

selecting a number of balls for an electronic simulation of a ball drop;

selecting a type of bingo card, the type including a number of areas and a game-winning pattern;

assigning ball numbers of the ball drop to areas of bingo cards;

mapping areas of the bingo card to corresponding playing cards;

displaying to players a bingo card, a ball drop display, a playing card display and means for daubing;

displaying a first ball drop session to players, the first ball drop session including hits that complete a game-winning pattern on at least one player'"'"'s bingo card;

providing the players a predetermined first time to daub hits on their bingo card;

displaying a second ball drop session to players, the second ball drop session including hits that complete all players'"'"' bingo cards;

providing the players a predetermined second time to daub hits on their bingo card;

displaying a first hand of playing cards in the playing card display corresponding to selected hits;

allowing players to select cards from their hand to hold;

allowing players who did not select all cards in their hand the opportunity to draw one or more additional cards;

displaying a second hand of playing cards in the playing card display corresponding to selected cards and the drawn cards;

determining a winning hand of cards; and

indicating the winning hand of cards.

10. A gaming method, comprising:

establishing a mapping between areas on first through Nth bingo cards and corresponding playing cards;

determining a game-winning pattern for the first through Nth bingo cards;

displaying at least one of the bingo cards and the game-winning pattern on each of a plurality of gaming machines;

displaying a first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers on each of the plurality of gaming machines;

displaying an initial hand of playing cards corresponding to initial hits of the first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers, the initial hits also corresponding to first areas of a bingo card on the same display;

determining a winning bingo player whose game-winning pattern has been filled by hits;

allowing players to select some or all cards of the hand of playing cards;

displaying a second sequence of randomly-chosen numbers on each of the plurality of gaming machines;

displaying a final hand of playing cards; and

selecting a winning card player according to the winning card player'"'"'s final hand.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping is established between playing cards of a 52-card deck and 52-area bingo cards.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping is established between playing cards of a 52-card deck and 25-area bingo cards.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the bingo cards are initially displayed without numbers.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping is established between playing cards of a C-card deck and A-area bingo cards, wherein C and A are predetermined integers.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping includes making a correspondence between at least one joker and at least one area of the bingo cards.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the bingo cards are displayed with card suits and values corresponding to areas of the bingo cards.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the bingo cards are displayed without reference to the mapping between areas of the bingo cards and playing cards.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a progressive pattern for the first through Nth bingo cards;

displaying the progressive pattern on each of the plurality of gaming machines.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying at least one of the bingo cards comprises displaying more than one bingo card on at least some of the plurality of gaming machines.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying at least one of the bingo cards comprises displaying a first bingo card having areas corresponding to playing cards and a second bingo card indicating the game-winning pattern.

21. The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping is different for each of the first through Nth bingo cards.

22. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying at least one of the bingo cards comprises the steps of receiving and processing an RNG seed.

23. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of displaying a draw key configured to identify draw cards after players have selected some or all cards of the hand of playing cards.

24. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying an initial hand of playing cards comprises displaying M playing cards corresponding to the first M hits.

25. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying an initial hand of playing cards comprises displaying M playing cards corresponding to M randomly-selected hits.

26. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying an initial hand of playing cards comprises displaying M playing cards corresponding to a predetermined sequence of M hits.

27. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying a first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers comprises displaying a first ball drop session.

28. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of allowing players an opportunity to daub randomly-chosen numbers corresponding to areas of a displayed bingo card.

29. The method of claim 10, wherein the final hand includes playing cards corresponding to final hits of the second sequence of randomly-chosen numbers, the final hits also corresponding to second areas of the bingo card on the same display.

30. The method of claim 10, wherein the game-winning pattern is completed by hits of the first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers.

31. The method of claim 10, wherein the winning bingo player is determined before the winning card player is selected.

32. The method of claim 10, wherein the winning bingo player is determined before the initial hand of playing cards is displayed.

33. The method of claim 10, wherein the winning bingo player is determined after the initial hand of playing cards is displayed.

34. The method of claim 10, wherein the winning bingo player is determined after the winning card player is selected.

35. The method of claim 10, wherein the final hand can include the same playing cards as the initial hand.

36. The method of claim 10, wherein the winning card player is selected without reference to another player'"'"'s hand.

37. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of selecting a winning card player is part of a process of selecting a plurality of winning card players.

38. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of displaying the bingo cards comprises displaying a playing card symbol in each area of the bingo cards.

39. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of allowing players to accept or reject a displayed bingo card prior to game play.

40. The method of claim 12, wherein the 52-area bingo cards are 4×

13 or 13×

4 bingo cards.

41. The method of claim 12, wherein the 52-area bingo cards display a playing card symbol in each of the 52 areas.

42. The method of claim 28, wherein players are allowed a predetermined period of time within which to daub.

43. The method of claim 28, wherein playing cards corresponding to undaubed hits are not counted in the final hand.

44. The method of claim 28, wherein playing cards corresponding to undaubed hits may not be selected for the final hand.

106. The method of claim 10, wherein playing cards are mapped to all areas of the bingo cards.

107. The method of claim 10, wherein playing cards are mapped to only some areas of the bingo cards.

45. A method of creating a graphical user interface for a gaming machine, the method comprising:

displaying a first bingo card in a first portion of a gaming machine display, each area of the first bingo card corresponding to a playing card;

displaying a ball drop of randomly-chosen numbers in a second portion of the gaming machine display;

displaying playing cards in a third portion of the gaming machine display, the playing cards corresponding to areas of the bingo card and to at least some of the randomly-chosen numbers;

displaying a draw key in a fourth portion of the gaming machine display, the draw key indicating playing cards that are available if a player chooses not to hold all playing cards in an initial hand.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein steps of displaying the bingo card, the ball drop, the playing cards and the draw key are performed simultaneously.

47. The method of claim 45, further comprising the step of displaying a daub icon configured to allow a player to daub hits from the ball drop display that correspond with areas of the bingo card.

48. The method of claim 45, wherein the step of displaying the first bingo card comprises displaying a bingo card with numbered areas.

49. The method of claim 45, wherein the step of displaying the first bingo card comprises displaying a bingo card without numbered areas.

50. The method of claim 45, wherein the step of displaying the first bingo card comprises displaying a bingo card having areas with playing card icons.

51. The method of claim 45, further comprising the step of simultaneously displaying a second bingo card having a game-winning pattern.

52. The method of claim 45, wherein the display is a touch-screen display, further comprising the step of allowing a player to select playing cards by touching selected playing cards on the display.

53. The method of claim 45, wherein the display is a touch-screen display, further comprising the step of allowing a player to daub hits from the ball drop display that correspond with areas of the bingo card.

54. The method of claim 45, further comprising the step of displaying playing cards that correspond with hits from the ball drop display.

55. The method of claim 51, wherein areas of the second bingo card do not correspond to playing cards.

56. A gaming network for playing an electronic bingo game, comprising:

a plurality of gaming machines; and

a game server configured to transmit game data to the plurality of gaming machines for conducting an electronic bingo game that allows at least one of a plurality of players to achieve a game-winning outcome, the game data comprising simulated bingo cards for display on the plurality of gaming machines;

wherein each of the plurality of gaming machines is configured to do the following;

display a hand of playing cards, each card of the hand corresponding with a corresponding area of the bingo card;

allow players to optionally select cards of the hand;

permit players to draw new cards; and

display a pattern of the bingo card as a result of a card game; and

wherein the game server is further configured to select winning card players who achieve winning patterns.

57. Computer software embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer software including instructions for controlling devices in a gaming network to perform the following steps:

conducting an electronic bingo game involving a plurality of players to allow at least one of the plurality of players to achieve a game-winning outcome, the conducting step comprising displaying a simulation of a bingo card;

displaying a hand of playing cards, each card of the hand corresponding with a corresponding area of the bingo card;

allowing players to optionally select cards of the hand;

permitting players to draw new cards;

displaying a pattern of the bingo card as a result of a card game; and

selecting a winning card player who achieves the highest-ranking pattern.

58. The computer software of claim 57, wherein a first part of the software is stored in a memory of a game server and a second part of the software is stored, at least temporarily, in memories of a plurality of gaming machines.

59. The computer software of claim 57, wherein the step of selecting the winning card player is part of a process of selecting a plurality of winning card players.

60. The computer software of claim 57, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved prior to the step of allowing players to draw new cards.

61. The computer software of claim 57, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved after the step of allowing players to draw new cards.

62. The computer software of claim 59, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved prior to the step of selecting at least some of the plurality of winning card players.

63. The computer software of claim 57, wherein the game-winning outcome is achieved after the step of selecting at least some of the plurality of winning card players.

64. Computer software embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer software including instructions for controlling devices in a gaming network to perform the following steps:

selecting a number of balls for an electronic simulation of a ball drop;

selecting a type of bingo card, the type including a number of areas and a game-winning pattern;

assigning ball numbers of the ball drop to areas of bingo cards;

mapping areas of the bingo card to corresponding playing cards;

displaying to players a bingo card, a ball drop display, a playing card display and means for daubing;

displaying a first ball drop session to players, the first ball drop session including hits that complete a game-winning pattern on at least one player'"'"'s bingo card;

providing the players a predetermined first time to daub hits on their bingo card;

displaying a second ball drop session to players, the second ball drop session including hits that complete all players'"'"' bingo cards;

providing the players a predetermined second time to daub hits on their bingo card;

displaying a first hand of playing cards in the playing card display corresponding to selected hits;

allowing players to select cards from their hand to hold;

allowing players who did not select all cards in their hand the opportunity to draw one or more additional cards;

displaying a second hand of playing cards in the playing card display corresponding to selected cards and the drawn cards;

determining a winning hand of cards; and

indicating the winning hand of cards.

65. Computer software embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer software including instructions for controlling devices in a gaming network to perform the following steps:

establishing a mapping between areas on first through Nth bingo cards and corresponding playing cards;

determining a game-winning pattern for the first through Nth bingo cards;

displaying at least one of the bingo cards and the game-winning pattern on each of a plurality of gaming machines;

displaying a first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers on each of the plurality of gaming machines;

displaying an initial hand of playing cards corresponding to initial hits of the first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers, the initial hits also corresponding to first areas of a bingo card on the same display;

determining a winning bingo player whose game-winning pattern has been filled by hits;

allowing players to select some or all cards of the hand of playing cards;

displaying a second sequence of randomly-chosen numbers on each of the plurality of gaming machines;

displaying a final hand of playing cards; and

selecting a winning card player according to the winning card player'"'"'s final hand.

66. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the mapping is established between playing cards of a 52-card deck and 52-area bingo cards.

67. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the mapping is established between playing cards of a 52-card deck and 25-area bingo cards.

68. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the bingo cards are initially displayed without numbers.

69. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the mapping is established between playing cards of a C-card deck and A-area bingo cards, wherein C and A are predetermined integers.

70. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the mapping includes making a correspondence between at least one joker and at least one area of the bingo cards.

71. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the bingo cards are displayed with card suits and values corresponding to areas of the bingo cards.

72. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the bingo cards are displayed without reference to the mapping between areas of the bingo cards and playing cards.

73. The computer software of claim 65, further comprising instructions for controlling the devices in a gaming network to perform the following steps:

determining a progressive pattern for the first through Nth bingo cards;

displaying the progressive pattern on each of the plurality of gaming machines.

74. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying at least one of the bingo cards comprises displaying more than one bingo card on at least some of the plurality of gaming machines.

75. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying at least one of the bingo cards comprises displaying a first bingo card having areas corresponding to playing cards and a second bingo card indicating the game-winning pattern.

76. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the mapping is different for each of the first through Nth bingo cards.

77. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying at least one of the bingo cards comprises the steps of receiving and processing an RNG seed.

78. The computer software of claim 65, further comprising instructions for controlling the devices in a gaming network to perform the step of displaying a draw key configured to identify draw cards after players have selected some or all cards of the hand of playing cards.

79. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying an initial hand of playing cards comprises displaying M playing cards corresponding to the first M hits.

80. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying an initial hand of playing cards comprises displaying M playing cards corresponding to M randomly-selected hits.

81. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying an initial hand of playing cards comprises displaying M playing cards corresponding to a predetermined sequence of M hits.

82. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying a first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers comprises displaying a first ball drop session.

83. The computer software of claim 65, further comprising instructions for controlling the devices in a gaming network to perform the step of allowing players an opportunity to daub randomly-chosen numbers corresponding to areas of a displayed bingo card.

84. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the final hand includes playing cards corresponding to final hits of the second sequence of randomly-chosen numbers, the final hits also corresponding to second areas of the bingo card on the same display.

85. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the game-winning pattern is completed by hits of the first sequence of randomly-chosen numbers.

86. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the winning bingo player is determined before the winning card player is selected.

87. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the winning bingo player is determined before the initial hand of playing cards is displayed.

88. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the winning bingo player is determined after the initial hand of playing cards is displayed.

89. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the winning bingo player is determined after the winning card player is selected.

90. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the final hand can include the same playing cards as the initial hand.

91. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the winning card player is selected without reference to another player'"'"'s hand.

92. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of selecting a winning card player is part of a process of selecting a plurality of winning card players.

93. The computer software of claim 65, wherein the step of displaying the bingo cards comprises displaying a playing card symbol in each area of the bingo cards.

94. The computer software of claim 65, further comprising instructions for controlling the devices in a gaming network to perform the step of allowing players to accept or reject a displayed bingo card prior to game play.

95. Computer software embodied in a machine-readable medium for controlling a gaming machine to create a graphical user interface for a gaming machine, the computer software comprising instructions for causing the gaming machine to perform the following steps:

displaying a first bingo card in a first portion of a gaming machine display, each area of the first bingo card corresponding to a playing card;

displaying a ball drop of randomly-chosen numbers received from a game server in a second portion of the gaming machine display;

displaying playing cards in a third portion of the gaming machine display, the playing cards corresponding to areas of the bingo card and to at least some of the randomly-chosen numbers;

displaying a draw key in a fourth portion of the gaming machine display, the draw key indicating playing cards that are available if a player chooses not to hold all playing cards in an initial hand.

96. The computer software of claim 95, wherein the computer software controls the gaming machine to display the bingo card, the ball drop, the playing cards and the draw key simultaneously.

97. The computer software of claim 95, further comprising instructions for controlling the gaming machine to display a daub icon configured to allow a player to daub hits from the ball drop display that correspond with areas of the bingo card.

98. The computer software of claim 95, wherein the step of displaying the first bingo card comprises displaying a bingo card with numbered areas.

99. The computer software of claim 95, wherein the step of displaying the first bingo card comprises displaying a bingo card without numbered areas.

100. The computer software of claim 95, wherein the step of displaying the first bingo card comprises displaying a bingo card having areas with playing card icons.

101. The computer software of claim 95, further comprising instructions for causing the gaming machine to display simultaneously a second bingo card having a game-winning pattern.

102. The computer software of claim 95, wherein the display of the gaming machine is a touch-screen display, further comprising instructions for causing the gaming machine to allow a player to select playing cards by touching selected playing cards on the display.

103. The computer software of claim 95, wherein the display of the gaming machine is a touch-screen display, further comprising instructions for causing the gaming machine to allow a player to daub hits from the ball drop display that correspond with areas of the bingo card.

104. The computer software of claim 95, instructions for causing the gaming machine to display playing cards that correspond with hits from the ball drop display.

105. The computer software of claim 101, wherein areas of the second bingo card do not correspond to playing cards.