GAMING DEVICE AND METHOD PROVIDING SLOT GAME HAVING VIRTUAL MAP DRIVEN REEL STOP POSITION DETERMINATIONS

• US 20100234089A1
• Filed: 03/16/2009
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Powell, Tracy Lee, Gail, Theodore M., Baerlocher, Anthony J., Wolf, Bryan D., Saffari, Ali Mohamad
• Granted Patent: US 8,911,288 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/20
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3265 Influencing the position of stopped moving members to achieve a winning arrangement, e.g. nudging, shuffling, holding
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

Various embodiments of the disclosed gaming device include a housing which supports a plurality of mechanical reels and a plurality of stop input devices which are configured to provide a Pachisuro-style slot game. Each of the plurality of reels is associated with a different one of the plurality of stop input devices. Each stop input device enables a player to stop the respective reel when the reel is spinning by activating the stop input device. Each reel includes a plurality of stop positions and each stop position includes a symbol. The gaming device also includes a processor and a memory device. For each reel, the processor randomly determines the stop position at which the reel ultimately stops based on a virtual map stored in the memory device for an initiating stop position of that reel which is selected by the player'"'"'s activation of the stop input device for that reel.

Claims

1. A gaming system including:

a display device including a plurality of mechanical reels, each of the plurality of mechanical reels including a plurality of stop positions and each stop position including a symbol;

an input device including, for each of the plurality mechanical reels, a separate stop input device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device storing;

(i) a virtual map for each stop position of each mechanical reel, each of said virtual maps including a range of stop positions and a weight associated with each respective stop position in said virtual map,

(ii) a paytable including a plurality of predetermined winning symbol combinations, and for each predetermined winning symbol combination, an award associated with said predetermined winning symbol combination, and

(iii) a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device, for a play of a game, to;

(a) spin each of the plurality of mechanical reels;

(b) for each of the plurality of mechanical reels, when said mechanical reel is spinning;

(i) enable the player to cause the mechanical reel to stop spinning by activating the stop input device associated with said mechanical reel, which causes a selection of an initiating stop position based on the position of the mechanical reel when said stop input device is activated;

(ii) determine which of the stop positions following the initiating stop position the mechanical reel will stop at based on the weights in the virtual map associated with the initiating stop position and a randomly determined number; and

(iii) cause the stopping of the mechanical reel based on the random determination;

(c) after each of the mechanical reels stop spinning, determine if at least one of the plurality of predetermined winning symbol combinations of the paytable are displayed;

(d) determine any awards associated with any displayed predetermined winning symbol combinations of the paytable; and

(e) display and provide any determined awards to the player.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein each of the stop input devices are separate electromechanical input devices.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the symbols is a blank symbol.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein for each of a plurality of the virtual maps, each of the stop positions of said virtual map in the range of stop positions is associated with a different weight.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein for at least one of the virtual maps, a plurality of stop positions in the range of stop positions of said virtual map are associated with a same weight.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to, for at least one of the reels, randomly determine the number before the player activates the stop input device for that reel.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to, for at least one of the reels, randomly determine the number after the player activates the stop input device for that reel.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory device stores a component paytable for each combination of stop positions of the plurality of mechanical reels, each component paytable having an average expected payback percentage within a designated range of average expected payback percentages.

9. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to determine a multiplier to apply to the determined award using a multiplier table associated with the combination of virtual maps and an additional randomly determined number for the multiplier table, the multiplier table including a plurality of multipliers and a weight associated with each respective multiplier.

10. The gaming system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to randomly determine the additional number used to determine the multiplier before the player activates the stop input device for that reel.

11. The gaming system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to randomly determine the number used to determine the multiplier after the player activates the stop input device for that reel.

12. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the game is a bonus game.

13. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the game includes a plurality of levels, wherein a first mechanical reel spin speed for at least one of the plurality of reels in a first one of the plurality of levels is different than a second mechanical reel spin speed for at least one of the plurality of reels in a second one of the plurality of levels.

14. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to enable the player to wager an amount in addition to a base wager to receive a free spin if a designated predetermined symbol combination is displayed when all of the mechanical reels stop spinning.

15. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device to enable the player to wager an amount in addition to a base wager to receive assistance from the gaming system for one or more plays of the game.

16. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein the assistance is selected from the group consisting of:

(a) an indication associated with one or more symbols, mechanical reels or stop input devices to inform the player to activate one or more of the stop input devices at an optimal point in time, and (b) a reel spin speed for at least one of the mechanical reels which is slower than the reel spin speed of the at least one mechanical reel during a non-assisted game play.

17. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the memory device stores an additional virtual map for each entire reel including each of the stop positions of the respective reel and a weight associated with each respective stop position in said virtual map for the entire reel.

18. The gaming system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to for at least one of the plurality of mechanical reels, if the player has not activated the stop input device associated with said mechanical reel after a predetermined amount of time, determine which of the stop positions said mechanical reel will stop at using said additional virtual map for said mechanical reel, based on the weights in said additional virtual map for the entire reel and a randomly determined number.

19. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to for at least one of the plurality of mechanical reels, if the player has not activated the stop input device associated with the mechanical reel after a predetermined amount of time, randomly determine the initiating stop position for the reel when the reel is spinning.