SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF ELECTRONIC GAMING

• US 20180089932A1
• Filed: 09/26/2016
• Published: 03/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Limited (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Original Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Limited (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Inventors: Hase, Theodore, Hawkins, Ryan, Honeycutt, Robert, Tsombanidis, Yanis
• Granted Patent: US 10,453,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3206 Player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3246 involving coins and/or banknotes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3251 involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3258 Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
• 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

Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for electronic gaming are disclosed. In a first aspect, a method of electronic gaming includes initiating, in response to an initial wager, a primary game, selecting, in response to the initiating the primary game, a plurality of primary game symbols, and displaying the plurality of primary game symbols in a plurality of symbol display positions associated with a plurality of reel strips. The method may further include initiating, in response to the initial wager, a jackpot game, selecting, in response to initiating the jackpot game, a jackpot game symbol from a plurality of jackpot game symbols, displaying the jackpot game symbol in a symbol display position associated with a single reel strip, and determining a jackpot award based upon the jackpot game symbol.

Claims

1. An electronic method of gaming implemented using a gaming system, the gaming system including a display configured to display a wagering game, a player input interface, a credit input mechanism including at least one of a card reader, a ticket reader, a bill acceptor, and a coin input mechanism, the credit input mechanism configured to establish a credit balance that is increasable and decreasable based on wagering activity, a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable memory, and a game controller communicatively coupled to the memory, the method comprising:

receiving, by the credit input mechanism, units of credit used to initiate a wager;

initiating, by the game controller and in response to an initial wager of a selectable number of units of credit, a primary game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the primary game, a plurality of primary game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of primary game symbols in a plurality of symbol display positions associated with a plurality of primary game reel strips;

initiating, by the game controller and in response to the initial wager, a jackpot game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the jackpot game, a jackpot game symbol from a plurality of jackpot game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the jackpot game symbol only in a symbol display position associated with a single jackpot game reel strip separate from the plurality of primary game reel strips;

initiating concurrent play of the primary game and the jackpot game via an single input received from a player; and

determining, by the game controller, a jackpot award based upon the jackpot game symbol.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

initiating, by the game controller, the primary game based upon a first portion of the initial wager; and

initiating, by the game controller, the jackpot game based upon a second portion of the initial wager.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of primary game symbols concurrently with the jackpot game symbol.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

initiating, by the game controller, a secondary game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the secondary game, a plurality of secondary game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of secondary game symbols in a plurality of symbol display positions associated with the plurality of primary game reel strips; and

initiating, by the game controller and during the secondary game, the jackpot game.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the jackpot game is initiated during the primary game.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying, by the game controller and in response to the selecting the jackpot game symbol, an animated image in relation to the jackpot game symbol.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising displaying, by the game controller and in response to the selecting the jackpot game symbol, an animated image in relation to the single jackpot game reel strip.

8. An electronic gaming system comprising:

a display configured to display a plurality of primary game reel strips and a single jackpot game reel strip of a wagering game;

a player input interface configured to receive a player input;

a credit input mechanism including at least one of a card reader, a ticket reader, a bill acceptor, and a coin input mechanism, the credit input mechanism configured to receive a credit wager, the credit wager initiating play of a primary game;

a game controller;

a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable memory communicatively coupled to the game controller and having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the game controller, cause the game controller to perform operations comprising;

initiating, by the game controller and in response to an initial wager, the primary game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the primary game, a plurality of primary game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of primary game symbols in a plurality of symbol display positions associated with the plurality of primary game reel strips;

initiating, by the game controller and in response to the initial wager, a jackpot game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the jackpot game, a jackpot game symbol from a plurality of jackpot game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the jackpot game symbol only in a symbol display position associated with the single jackpot game reel strip; and

determining, by the game controller, a jackpot award based upon the jackpot game symbol.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising:

initiating, by the game controller, the primary game based upon a first portion of the initial wager; and

initiating, by the game controller, the jackpot game based upon a second portion of the initial wager.

10. The system of claim 8 further comprising displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of primary game symbols concurrently with the jackpot game symbol.

11. The system of claim 8 further comprising:

initiating, by the game controller, a secondary game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the secondary game, a plurality of secondary game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of secondary game symbols in a plurality of symbol display positions associated with the plurality of primary game reel strips; and

initiating, by the game controller and during the secondary game, the jackpot game.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the jackpot game is initiated during the primary game.

13. The system of claim 8 further comprising displaying, by the game controller and in response to the selecting the jackpot game symbol, an animated image in relation to the jackpot game symbol.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising displaying, by the game controller and in response to the selecting the jackpot game symbol, an animated image in relation to the single jackpot game reel strip.

15. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangible, computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a game controller configured for electronic gaming, cause the game controller to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the credit input mechanism, units of credit used to initiate a wager;

initiating, by the game controller and in response to an initial wager, a primary game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the primary game, a plurality of primary game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of primary game symbols in a plurality of symbol display positions associated with a plurality of primary game reel strips;

initiating, by the game controller and in response to the initial wager, a jackpot game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the jackpot game, a jackpot game symbol from a plurality of jackpot game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the jackpot game symbol in a symbol display position associated with a single jackpot game reel strip; and

determining, by the game controller, a jackpot award based upon the jackpot game symbol.

16. The article of claim 15 further comprising:

initiating, by the game controller, the primary game based upon a first portion of the initial wager; and

initiating, by the game controller, the jackpot game based upon a second portion of the initial wager.

17. The article of claim 15 further comprising displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of primary game symbols concurrently with the jackpot game symbol.

18. The article of claim 15 further comprising:

initiating, by the game controller, a secondary game;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the initiating the secondary game, a plurality of secondary game symbols;

displaying, by the game controller, the plurality of secondary game symbols in a plurality of symbol display positions associated with the plurality of primary game reel strips; and

initiating, by the game controller and during the secondary game, the jackpot game.

19. The article of claim 15, wherein the jackpot game is initiated during the primary game.

20. The article of claim 15 further comprising displaying, by the game controller and in response to the selecting the jackpot game symbol, an animated image in relation to at least one of the jackpot game symbol or the single reel strip.