Video gaming machine

• US 5,697,843 A
• Filed: 12/23/1994
• Issued: 12/16/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Spielo Gaming International
• Original Assignee: Spielo Gaming International
• Inventors: Ross, David, Hache, Nathalie, Vinneau, Michel, Maillet, Charles, Manship, Jon
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno, Benjamin H.
• Application Number:
  US08/361,726
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 273/138 A, 273/143 R, 463/20, 463/25
• US Class Current: 463/20
• 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 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A video slot machine includes a display screen on which the wheels of a slot machine are simulated. The display screen is divided into an army of cells with each cell displaying an individual game element selected randomly from a group of available game elements during a game play. Pay-out lines are associated with the rows, columns and diagonals of the array of cells and visually indicate some of the pre-determined sets of cells which are examined to detect winning combinations of displayed game elements. Pay-out tables are stored in memory within the machine and hold information concerning combinations of elements in all of the pre-determined sets of cells which result in a win when displayed on the screen and the amount to be paid for each win. When the game is played and the screen displays a randomly selected game element in each of its cells, the machine consults each of the pay-out tables to determine if the game elements as displayed in the cells result in a winning combination of elements as stored in the pay-out tables and calculates the amount to be paid. Therefore, depending on the elements displayed in the army of cells, winnings from more than one pay-out table may result. The winning combinations of elements, the pre-determined sets of cells, the number of available elements and the amount paid for each winning combination of displayed elements are selected so that the expected return of the video slot machine complies with regulatory restrictions while still ensuring that the game is dynamic and appealing to a player.

Claims

1. A video gaming machine comprising:

a housing having a display on which an array of generally randomly selected game elements are displayed during a game play;

random selection means for selecting generally at random the game elements to be displayed;

a game element table storing a list of the game elements for selection, the probability of selection of some of the game elements being greater than the probability of selection of other of said game elements;

a plurality of pay-out tables storing winning combinations of game elements which can appear on said display and a pay-out value associated with each of said winning combinations of game elements, the pay-out values and the winning combinations of game elements in said pay-out tables being chosen so that the expected return of said machine is significant and so that the actual return of the machine is approximately the same as the expected return of said machine;

pay-out detection means examining said array and said pay-out tables and determining when a combination of game elements displayed in said array is a winning combination of game elements; and

means for paying out to a player when a winning combination of game elements appears in said array, the pay-out to said player being based on said pay-out value associated with the winning combination of game elements as displayed and the amount bet by said player.

2. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 1 wherein a plurality of winning combinations of game elements may appear on said display during a game play, said pay-out means paying out to said player for each winning combination of game elements appearing on said display.

3. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 2 wherein the actual return of said video gaming machine is approximately equal to the expected return of said video gaming machine.

4. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 3 wherein at least some of said winning combinations of game elements appear in more than one of said pay-out tables.

5. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 4 wherein pay outs from some of said pay-out tables are accumulated separately as bonus credits and are not paid out directly to a player and wherein at least one of said pay-out tables has a combination of game elements therein which results in said bonus credits being paid out to a player.

6. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 5 wherein all pay outs from one of said pay-out tables are accumulated as bonus credits.

7. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 6 wherein only one of said pay-out tables has a combination of game elements therein which results in said bonus credits being paid out to a player.

8. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 2 wherein said pay-out tables are selected so that said machine has an expected return greater than 0.8.

9. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 8 wherein said pay-out tables are selected so that said machine has an expected return equal to at least 0.9.

10. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 8 wherein said pay-out tables are selected so that a winning combination of game elements is displayed approximately between 40% and 50% of all game plays.

11. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 10 wherein said array has at least three rows and three columns and wherein winning combinations of game elements can occur along the rows, columns or diagonals of said array, said machine further including means to permit a player to place a bet on each row, column and diagonal, said pay-out means paying out to a player for each winning combination of game elements appearing in a row, column and diagonal of said array on which a bet was placed during a game play.

12. A video gaming machine as defined in claim 11 wherein one of said pay-out tables holds winning combinations of game elements associated with only said rows, columns and diagonals and wherein the other of said pay-out tables are associated with a particular game element, said payout means paying out to a player from said other pay-out tables when a pre-determined number of said cells display the same particular game element.

13. A gaming machine, comprising:

a housing having a display on which an array of generally randomly selected game elements is displayed during a game play, said array having rows and columns intersecting the rows, each column and row having a plurality of game elements;

a processor coupled to said display, a game element selector of said processor generally randomly selecting each of a set of game elements to be displayed from a plurality of different game elements;

a memory coupled to said processor, a special configuration memory portion of said memory storing a predetermined special configuration of said machine which may occur during a game play;

a pay-out memory portion of said memory storing winning combinations of game elements which can appear in said set of game elements during a game play;

a pay-out detector of said processor comparing said set of game elements with said winning combinations of game elements, said pay-out detector determining when said set of game elements includes a winning combination of game elements, a pay-out value associated with each of said winning combinations of game elements, the pay-out values and the winning combinations of game elements being chosen so that the expected return of the machine is significant and so that the actual return of the machine is approximately the same as the expected return of the machine;

a special configuration detector of said processor determining when said machine is in said special configuration, said processor altering the behavior of the machine for a plurality of subsequent game plays based on the occurrence of the special configuration; and

pay-out means for paying out to a player responsive to said pay-out detector detecting when a winning combination of game elements exists in said set of game elements.

14. The gaming machine of claim 13, wherein said special configuration comprises a predetermined configuration of game elements occurring during a game play.

15. The gaming machine of claim 14, wherein said set of game elements has columns and rows, said predetermined special configuration comprises having all of the game elements in a column of said set of elements be of the same kind, and all of the game elements in a row of said set of elements be of the same kind.

16. The gaming machine of claim 15, wherein said set of elements has an odd number of columns including a middle column and odd number of rows including a middle row, said column of said set of game elements being said middle column and said row of said set of game elements being said middle row, such that said predetermined special configuration of game elements comprises a cross.

17. A gaming machine, comprising:

a housing having a display on which an array of generally randomly selected game elements is displayed during a game play;

a processor coupled to said display, a game element selector of said processor generally randomly selecting each of a set of game elements to be displayed;

a memory coupled to said processor, a pay-out memory portion of said memory storing winning combinations of game elements which can appear in said set of game elements and pay-out values associated with respective ones of said winning combinations of game elements, the pay-out values and the winning combinations of game elements being chosen so that the expected return of the machine is significant and so that the actual return of the machine is approximately the same as the expected return of the machine;

a special configuration memory portion of said memory storing a special configuration of the machine which the machine may enter during a game play;

a pay-out detector of said processor comparing said set of game elements with said winning combinations of game elements, said pay-out detector determining when said set of game elements includes a winning combination of game elements;

a special configuration detector of said processor detecting when a current configuration of the machine matches said stored special configuration, said processor altering the behavior of the machine for a plurality of subsequent game plays responsive to detection of the special configuration; and

pay-out means for paying out to a player responsive to said pay-out detector detecting when a winning combination of game elements exists in said set of game elements.

18. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein said processor configures the gaming machine into a special mode of operation upon the occurrence of the special configuration, said pay-out memory portion storing at least one special winning combination of game elements, said pay-out detector comparing said set of game elements to said at least one special winning combination of game elements when said machine is configured into said special mode of operation;

and

said pay-out means paying out to a player when said at least one special combination of game elements exists in said array only during said special mode of operation.

19. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein said pay-out memory portion stores a plurality of special winning combinations of game elements, said pay-out detector comparing said set of game elements to each of said plurality of special winning combinations of game elements when the machine is in said special mode of operation, said pay-out means paying out to a player when any of said special winning combinations of game elements exists in said array only during said special mode of operation.

20. The gaming machine of claim 19, wherein each special winning combination of game elements within said plurality of special winning combinations of game elements specifies a predetermined number of a predetermined game element within said set of game elements, the predetermined number of any one of said special winning combinations of game elements being different from the predetermined number of any other of said special winning combinations of game elements.

21. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein said at least one special combination of game elements comprises a predetermined number of a predetermined game element within said set of game elements to be displayed.

22. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein said special mode of operation lasts for a predetermined number of game plays.

23. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein the number of plays left to play in said special mode of operation is indicated on said display.

24. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein said set of game elements is organized into columns and rows of game elements, said special configuration comprising at least one row and at least one column being occupied by one predetermined kind of game element.

25. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein said set of game elements has an odd number of rows greater than one and an odd number of columns greater than one, said special configuration comprising a middle column and a middle row being occupied by said one predetermined kind of game element.

26. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein said special configuration comprises a predetermined configuration of game elements appearing in said set of game elements to be displayed.

27. A gaming machine comprising:

a housing having a display on which an array of generally randomly selected game elements are displayed during a game play, said array having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, cells occupied by game elements in the array occupying intersections of the rows and columns, a plurality of pay-out lines associated with respective ones of at least the rows of the array;

a processor including a game element selector for selecting generally at random a set of game elements to be displayed from a plurality of kinds of game elements;

a memory coupled to said processor and including a pay-out memory portion storing a plurality of winning combinations of game elements which can appear on said display, some of said winning combinations of game elements specifying a particular configuration of elements along any pay-out line in said array, others of said winning combinations of game elements specifying that a predetermined number of a predetermined game element be among said set of game elements to be displayed, a pay-out value associated with each of the winning combinations of game elements, the pay-out values and the winning combinations of game elements being so chosen that the expected return of the machine is significant and that the actual return of the machine is approximately the same as the expected return of the machine;

a pay-out detector of said processor comparing said set of game elements to be displayed with said winning combinations of game elements; and

pay-out means responsive to said pay-out detector for paying out to a player when a sufficient match exists between a winning combination of game elements and said set of game elements to be displayed.

28. The gaming machine of claim 27, wherein pay-out lines are also associated with each of said columns of said array.

29. The gaming machine of claim 27, wherein pay-out lines are also defined on diagonals of said cells in said array, said diagonals formed at an angle to said rows and columns and each diagonal containing a plurality of said cells.