Gaming machine with skill-based compensation

• US 20060258434A1
• Filed: 05/12/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Jaffe, Joel R., Steere, Noel S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,177,621 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/16
• 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 for conducting a wagering game includes a basic wagering game and a bonus wagering game. The bonus wagering game has a skill-based component that involves skill and a random component where no skill is involved. The gaming machine uses the random component to compensate players for a lack of optimal play during the skill-based component. The compensation is provided in a manner that appears random to the players to prevent the players from intentionally playing for the compensation.

Claims

1. A gaming machine comprising:

a value input device for accepting a wager from a player at said gaming machine; and

a display unit for displaying a wagering game on said gaming machine, said wagering game having an outcome that is randomly selected from a plurality of outcomes, said plurality of outcomes including a special-event outcome;

wherein in response to said randomly-selected outcome being said special-event outcome, said display unit displaying a special event having a skill-based component and a random component, said skill-based component being playable by said player to achieve an optimal strategy and a non-optimal strategy, and in response to said player achieving said non-optimal strategy, said random component compensating said player for said non-optimal strategy in said skill-based component.

2. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein said wagering game is a basic wagering game and said special event is a bonus wagering game.

3. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein said random component is a credit amount given to said player upon conclusion of said special event.

4. The gaming machine of claim 3, wherein said credit amount is related to a difference between an amount that said player actually won and an amount that said player would have achieved with said optimal strategy for said skill-based component.

5. The gaming machine of claim 3, wherein said credit amount appears as a randomly-selected credit amount to said player.

6. The gaming machine of claim 3, wherein said credit amount is a percentage of a difference between an amount that said player actually won and an amount that said player would have achieved with said optimal strategy for said skill-based component, said percentage added to or subtracted from said difference.

7. The gaming machine of claim 3, wherein said randomly appearing credit amount is a predetermined amount added to or subtracted from a difference between an amount that said player actually won and an amount that said player would have achieved with said optimal strategy for said skill-based component.

8. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein said random component is a player-selection game awarded to said player upon conclusion of said special event, said player-selection game having a plurality of player-selectable elements from which said player may select, said player-selectable elements including elements revealing a credit amount and a game-termination symbol when selected.

9. The gaming machine of claim 8, wherein, in said player-selection game, said random component is controlled by reducing a likelihood of said player selecting said game-termination symbol to compensate for said non-optimal strategy.

10. The gaming machine of claim 8, wherein, in said player-selection game, said random component is controlled by adjusting an amount of said credit amount to compensate for said non-optimal strategy.

11. The gaming machine of claim 1 wherein said skill-based component includes multiple rounds and said random component includes an increase in a credit amount that may be awarded to said player during each round to compensate for said non-optimal strategy.

12. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein said skill-based component includes multiple rounds and said random component includes an increase in a likelihood of said player completing each round to compensate for said non-optimal strategy.

13. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein said skill-based component is a multiplier option for multiplying a credit amount won by said player during said bonus wagering game, said optimal strategy comprises selecting said multiplier option and said non-optimal strategy comprises not selecting said multiplier option.

14. A method of conducting a wagering game on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

accepting a wager input from a player at said gaming machine, said wager input initiating a wagering game in which an outcome is randomly selected from a plurality of outcomes, said plurality of outcomes including a special-event outcome;

displaying a special event upon occurrence of said special-event outcome as said randomly-selected outcome, said special event including a skill-based component and a random component; and

controlling said random component to compensate said player for achieving a non-optimal strategy in said skill-based component.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said random component is a credit amount that is awarded to said player and said step of controlling said random component comprises awarding said credit amount to said player in response to said player achieving a non-optimal strategy in said skill-based component a predetermined number of times.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said predetermined number of times may be any rational or irrational number of times.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said predetermined number of times is consecutive.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein said predetermined number of times is non-consecutive.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein said step of controlling said random component comprises controlling the credit amount of said random component.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein said step of controlling said random component comprises controlling an occurrence of said random component.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said step of controlling an occurrence of said random component is performed in such a way that said random component appears to occur at randomly-selected times to said player.

22. The gaming machine of claim 14, wherein said skill-based component has three or more levels of skill and said random component includes three or more levels of compensation, each level of compensation corresponding to one of said levels of skill.

23. A computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions for directing a gaming machine to perform the method of claim 14.

24. A method of conducting a wagering game on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

accepting a wager input from a player at said gaming machine, said wager input initiating a wagering game in which an outcome is randomly selected from a plurality of outcomes, said wagering game having a skill-based component and a random component;

displaying said skill-based component for play by said player, said skill-based component being playable by said player to achieve an optimal strategy and a non-optimal strategy; and

is

controlling said random component to compensate said player for achieving a non-optimal strategy in said skill-based component.