GAMING MACHINE AND METHODS OF OPERATING GAMING MACHINES TO PROVIDE SKILL-BASED WAGERING GAMES TO PLAYERS

• US 20180075707A1
• Filed: 09/09/2016
• Published: 03/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Gaming Incorporated (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Gaming Incorporated (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Hirai, Tomoaki, Omoto, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 10,121,328 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• 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 17/3295 Games involving skill, e.g. dexterity, memory, thinking

Abstract

A gaming machine for providing a skill-based wagering game to a player is described herein. The gaming machine includes a controller programmed to display the skill-based wagering game on a display device, receive a signal indicating a wager being received from the player, and initiate the skill-based wagering game. The controller generates a skill event associated with the skill-based wagering game and randomly selects a skill event record associated with the skill event from a database. The controller receives a player'"'"'s selection input from a user input device in response to the displayed skill event, determines a player skill level value based on the received player'"'"'s selection, determines an award value included in the selected skill event record based on the player skill level value; and adjusts the credit balance based on the determined award value.

Claims

1. A gaming machine for providing a skill-based wagering game to a player, comprising:

a display device;

a user input device including a player selection device, an accepting device, and a cashout device, the player selection device configured to generate a signal indicating a player'"'"'s selection input, the accepting device configured to accept an item associated with a monetary value to establish a credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, the cashout device configured to receive an input to cause an initiation of a payout associated with the credit balance;

a database including a plurality of award paytables, each of the award paytables including a plurality of skill event records, each skill event record including a corresponding selection probability and a plurality of award values, each award value being associated with a corresponding skill level value;

a controller coupled to the display device and the user input device, the controller configured to;

display a skill-based wagering game on the display device;

receive a signal indicating a wager being received from the player and initiate the skill-based wagering game;

generate and display a skill event associated with the skill-based wagering game and randomly select a skill event record associated with the skill event;

receive a player'"'"'s selection input via the user input device in response to the displayed skill event;

determine a player skill level value based on the received player'"'"'s selection;

determine an award value included in the selected skill event record based on the player skill level value; and

adjust the credit balance based on the determined award value.

2. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to:

initiate the skill-based wagering game including a plurality of skill events; and

randomly select a plurality of skill event records, each of the plurality of skill events being associated with a corresponding skill event record.

3. The gaming machine of claim 2, wherein the processor is programmed to:

initiate the skill based game including a plurality of consecutive skill event stages, each skill event stage including a predefined number of skill events; and

select a corresponding award table for each skill event stage.

4. The gaming machine of claim 3, wherein the database includes a transition table including a plurality of award pattern records, each award pattern record including a pattern selection probability and a plurality of paytable values, each paytable value indicating a corresponding award paytable and being associated with a corresponding skill event stage, the processor programmed to randomly select an award pattern record from the transition table and initiate the skill based game using the selected award pattern record.

5. The gaming machine of claim 4, wherein the processor is programmed to:

identify a current skill event stage associated with a current skill event being displayed; and

determine the award paytable associated with the current skill event based on the current skill event stage.

6. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to:

display the skill event including an event time period including a predefined period of time and an image being displayed during the event time period;

determine a plurality of consecutive operation timing periods within the event time period and identify a skill level associated with each consecutive operation timing periods;

detect a player'"'"'s operation timing associated with the player'"'"'s selection input and determine a corresponding consecutive operation timing period associated with the player'"'"'s operation timing; and

determine a skill level value based on the corresponding consecutive operation timing period.

7. The gaming machine of claim 6, wherein the selected skill event record includes a range of skill level values including a high skill level and a low skill level, the high skill level having a corresponding high award value and the low skill value having a corresponding low award value, the high award value being larger than the low award value, the processor programmed to initiate the event time period having a high skill timing period associated with the high skill level and a low skill timing period associated with the low skill level.

8. The gaming machine of claim 7, wherein the processor is programmed to initiate the skill-based wagering game including a low skill mode (Beginner) and a high skill mode (Expert), the low skill mode including a corresponding high skill time period that is longer than the high skill time period included in the high skill mode.

9. The gaming machine of claim 8, wherein the processor is programmed to:

initiate a initial skill-based free game before initiating the skill-based wagering game, the initial skill-based free game including a plurality of consecutive skill events including the low skill mode;

determine a player integrated skill level associated with the initial skill-based free game based on the timing of the player'"'"'s selection inputs associated with each of the consecutive skill events; and

initiate the skill-based wagering game including the low skill mode if the player integrated skill level is less than a predefined integrated skill level and initiate the skill-based wagering game including the high skill mode if the player integrated skill level is equal to or greater than the predefined integrated skill level.

10. A method of operating a gaming machine, the gaming machine including a display device, a user input device, and a controller, the method including the controller performing the steps of:

displaying a skill-based wagering game on the display device;

receiving, from the user input device, a signal indicating a wager being placed by the player and adjusting a credit balance, the user input device including a player selection device, an accepting device, and a cashout device, the player selection device configured to generate a signal indicating a player'"'"'s selection input, the accepting device configured to accept an item associated with a monetary value to establish a credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, the cashout device configured to receive an input to cause an initiation of a payout associated with the credit balance;

initiating the skill-based wagering game upon receiving the wager;

accessing a database including a plurality of award paytables, each of the award paytables including a plurality of skill event records, each skill event record including a corresponding selection probability and a plurality of award values, each award value being associated with a corresponding skill level value;

generating a skill event associated with the skill-based wagering game, randomly selecting a skill event record associated with the skill event, and displaying the skill event on the display device;

receiving a player'"'"'s selection input via the user input device in response to the displayed skill event;

determining a player skill level value based on the received player'"'"'s selection;

determining an award value included in the selected skill event record based on the player skill level value; and

adjusting the credit balance based on the determined award value.

11. The method of claim 10, including the steps of:

initiating the skill-based wagering game including a plurality of skill events; and

randomly selecting a plurality of skill event records, each of the plurality of skill events being associated with a corresponding skill event record.

12. The method of claim 11, including the steps of:

initiating the skill based wagering game including a plurality of consecutive skill event stages, each skill event stage including a predefined number of skill events; and

selecting a corresponding award table for each skill event stage.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the database includes a transition table including a plurality of award pattern records, each award pattern record including a pattern selection probability and a plurality of paytable values, each paytable value indicating a corresponding award paytable and being associated with a corresponding skill event stage, the method including the step of randomly selecting an award pattern record from the transition table and initiate the skill based game using the selected award pattern record.

14. The method of claim 13, including the steps of:

identifying a current skill event stage associated with a current skill event being displayed; and

determining the award paytable associated with the current skill event based on the current skill event stage.

15. The method of claim 10, including the steps of:

displaying the skill event including an event time period including a predefined period of time and an image being displayed during the event time period;

determining a plurality of consecutive operation timing periods within the event time period and identify a skill level associated with each consecutive operation timing periods;

detecting a player'"'"'s operation timing associated with the player'"'"'s selection input and determine a corresponding consecutive operation timing period associated with the player'"'"'s operation timing; and

determining a skill level value based on the corresponding consecutive operation timing period.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the selected skill event record includes a range of skill level values including a high skill level and a low skill level, the high skill level having a corresponding high award value and the low skill value having a corresponding low award value, the high award value being larger than the low award value, the method including the step of initiating the event time period having a high skill timing period associated with the high skill level and a low skill timing period associated with the low skill level.

17. The method of claim 16, including the steps of initiating the skill-based wagering game including a low skill mode (Beginner) and a high skill mode (Expert), the low skill mode including a corresponding high skill time period that is longer than the high skill time period included in the high skill mode.

18. The method of claim 17, including the steps of:

initiating a initial skill-based free game before initiating the skill-based wagering game, the initial skill-based free game including a plurality of consecutive skill events including the low skill mode;

determining a player integrated skill level associated with the initial skill-based free game based on the timing of the player'"'"'s selection inputs associated with each of the consecutive skill events; and

initiating the skill-based wagering game including the low skill mode if the player integrated skill level is less than a predefined integrated skill level and initiate the skill-based wagering game including the high skill mode if the player integrated skill level is equal to or greater than the predefined integrated skill level.

19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to:

display a skill-based wagering game on the display device;

receive, from the user input device, a signal indicating a wager being placed by the player and adjusting a credit balance, the user input device including a player selection device, an accepting device, and a cashout device, the player selection device configured to generate a signal indicating a player'"'"'s selection input, the accepting device configured to accept an item associated with a monetary value to establish a credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, the cashout device configured to receive an input to cause an initiation of a payout associated with the credit balance;

initiate the skill-based wagering game upon receiving the wager;

access a database including a plurality of award paytables, each of the award paytables including a plurality of skill event records, each skill event record including a corresponding selection probability and a plurality of award values, each award value being associated with a corresponding skill level value;

generate a skill event associated with the skill-based wagering game, randomly selecting a skill event record associated with the skill event, and displaying the skill event on the display device;

receive a player'"'"'s selection input via the user input device in response to the displayed skill event;

determine a player skill level value based on the received player'"'"'s selection;

determine an award value included in the selected skill event record based on the player skill level value; and

adjust the credit balance based on the determined award value.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage media according to claim 19, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to:

initiate the skill-based wagering game including a plurality of skill events; and

randomly select a plurality of skill event records, each of the plurality of skill events being associated with a corresponding skill event record.