GAMING MACHINE CAPABLE OF IMPROVING AMUSINGNESS

• US 20130217472A1
• Filed: 02/16/2013
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technological Group Limited, Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Aruze Gaming America Incorporated (Aruze Gaming America, Inc. /Okada/), Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Inventors: KITAMURA, Kenta, TERANISHI, Tatsuya, OSAWA, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 8,961,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/21
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3204 Player-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3216 Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

The present invention provides a gaming machine capable of improving amusingness of a game by varying the continuity of the main game. According to the present invention, a normal mode game in the normal mode is started based on an input of the bet information from the bet input device; the mode is entered from the normal mode to the chance mode when an enter condition is satisfied as a result of referring to the predetermined symbol determination table in the normal mode; a free game is started as a chance mode game in the chance mode; and the mode is returned from the chance mode to the normal mode when an end condition is satisfied as a result of referring to the specific symbol determination table in the chance mode.

Claims

1. A gaming machine capable obtaining a game result based on a plurality of rearranged symbols, comprising:

a symbol display unit for rearranging the plurality of symbols;

a bet input device for accepting a betting operation from a player to output a bet information;

a memory having a predetermined symbol determination table causing a predetermined symbol appear on the symbol display unit in a normal mode with a predetermined probability, and a specific symbol determination table causing a specific symbol appear on the symbol display unit in a chance mode with a specific probability; and

a controller for executing processes of;

(1-1) starting a normal mode game in the normal mode based on an input of the bet information from the bet input device;

(1-2) entering the mode from the normal mode to the chance mode when an enter condition is satisfied as a result of referring to the predetermined symbol determination table in the normal mode;

(1-3) starting a free game as a chance mode game in the chance mode; and

(1-4) returning the mode from the chance mode to the normal mode when an end condition is satisfied as a result of referring to the specific symbol determination table in the chance mode.

2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a video display unit for displaying an image, wherein:

the process (1-2) includes the process of;

(1-2-1) displaying an enter image on the video display unit indicating that the mode enters into the chance mode when the enter condition is satisfied.

3. The gaming machine according to claim 2, further comprising a game start input device for accepting a game start operation from a player to output a start command, wherein:

the process (1-2) includes the process of;

(1-2-2) making the game start input device ineffective after executing the process (1-2-1) and making the game start input device operative after a predetermined period of time has elapsed; and

the process (1-3) includes the process of;

(1-3-1) starting the scroll of the symbols as the chance mode game based on the start command output from the input device after executing the process (1-2-2), and rearranging a plurality of symbols.

4. The gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the process (1-2-2) includes the processes of:

(1-2-2-1) making a rotation start command from the input device ineffective after executing the process (1-2-1), and displaying the enter image on the video display unit; and

(1-2-2-2) erasing the enter image from the video display unit after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, and making the rotation start command from the input device effective.

5. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the process (1-3) includes the process of:

(1-3-2) displaying the image showing the progress of the chance mode game on the video display unit as the chance mode game continues.

6. A gaming machine capable obtaining a game result based on a plurality of rearranged symbols, comprising:

a symbol display unit for rearranging the plurality of symbols;

a video display unit for displaying an image;

a bet input device for accepting a betting operation from a player to output a bet information;

a game start input device for accepting a game start operation from a player to output a start command;

a memory having a predetermined symbol determination table causing a enter symbol appear on the symbol display unit in a normal mode with a predetermined probability, a first symbol determination table causing an end symbol appear on the symbol display unit in a chance mode with a first probability, and a second symbol determination table causing the end symbol appear on the symbol display unit in the chance mode with a second probability higher than the first probability; and

a controller for executing processes of;

(6-1) starting a unit game in the normal mode as a normal mode game based on an input of the bet information from the bet input device in the normal mode with reference to a predetermined symbol determination table;

(6-2) determining a plurality of symbols to be rearranged on the symbol display unit with reference to the predetermined symbol determination table in the normal mode;

(6-3) entering the mode from the normal mode into the chance mode if the plurality of symbols determined in the process (6-2) includes the enter symbol so as to satisfy the enter condition;

(6-4) displaying an enter image on the video display unit indicating that the mode enters into the chance mode when the enter condition is satisfied;

(6-5) making a rotation start command from the input device ineffective when the enter condition is satisfied;

(6-6) executing the process (6-4), and then erasing the enter image from the video display unit after a predetermined period of time has elapsed;

(6-7) executing the process (6-5), and then making the rotation start command from the input device effective after a predetermined period of time has elapsed;

(6-8) executing the processes (6-6) and (6-7), and then determining a plurality of symbols to be rearranged on the symbol display unit with reference to the first symbol determination table, and executing a first unit game in the chance mode as the chance mode game;

(6-9) executing the first unit game, and then returning the mode from the chance mode to the normal mode when the end symbol is included in the plurality of symbols determined in the process (6-8) so as to satisfy the end condition after;

(6-10) executing the first unit game, and then determining the plurality of symbols to be rearranged on the symbol display unit with reference to the second symbol determination table in order to execute the second and subsequent unit games in the chance mode as the chance mode games when the end symbol is not included in the plurality of symbols determined in the process (6-8) so as not to satisfy the end condition, and executing the second and subsequent games;

(6-11) executing the second and subsequent unit games, and then returning the mode from the chance mode to the normal mode when the end symbol is included in the plurality of symbols determined in the process (6-10) so as to satisfy the end condition;

(6-12) executing the second and subsequent unit games, and then determining whether or not the number of times of the second and subsequent unit games reaches a predetermined number of times when the end symbol is not included in the plurality of symbols determined in the process (6-10) so as not to satisfy the end condition;

(6-13) returning the process to the process (6-10) when the number of times of the second and subsequent unit games does not reach the predetermined of number of times as a result of the determination in the process (6-12); and

(6-14) determining the plurality of symbols to be rearranged on the symbol display unit with reference to the second symbol determination table at least once until the end condition is satisfied when the number of times of the second and subsequent unit games reaches the predetermined number of times as a result of the determination in the process (6-12), and then rearranging the plurality of symbols satisfying the end condition on the symbol display unit to return the mode from the chance mode to the normal mode.

7. The gaming machine according to claim 6, wherein the second probability changes as the number of times of the second and subsequent unit games increases in the second symbol determination table.

8. The gaming machine according to claim 7, comprising the process of displaying an image showing the progress of the chance mode game on the video display unit as the number of times of the second and subsequent unit games increases.