Cooperative group gaming system: apparatus and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A cooperative group gaming system, comprising, in combination:
- a bank of individual gaming machines, each said individual gaming machine having means for individual play including means for receiving a wager, andeach said individual gaming machine including an indicator means;
said indicator means transitioning from an off state to an on state on each said individual gaming machine having received a communal contribution by a player to reflect player participation;
each said individual gaming machine having means for communal play, anda meter reflecting communal activity; and
communal payout means influenced by any machine participating in communal play;
wherein said communal payout means distributes an award of the communal jackpot to at least one player achieving a winning outcome recognized by the system and distributes another award to all remaining players participating in communal play.
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Abstract
A cooperative group gaming apparatus and method therefore including a plurality of gaming machines including means for individual play, means for communal play and communal payout means influenced by any gaming machine participating in cooperative group play, said plurality of gaming machines operatively coupled to at least one controller which, inter alia, communicates with at least one display means for displaying the effects of cooperative group play to game players.
623 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A cooperative group gaming system, comprising, in combination:
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a bank of individual gaming machines, each said individual gaming machine having means for individual play including means for receiving a wager, and each said individual gaming machine including an indicator means; said indicator means transitioning from an off state to an on state on each said individual gaming machine having received a communal contribution by a player to reflect player participation; each said individual gaming machine having means for communal play, and a meter reflecting communal activity; and communal payout means influenced by any machine participating in communal play; wherein said communal payout means distributes an award of the communal jackpot to at least one player achieving a winning outcome recognized by the system and distributes another award to all remaining players participating in communal play. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for sharing from communal gaming activity, the steps including:
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uniting a plurality of machines to enable both independent play and communal play; providing an indicator means on each of the plurality of gaming machines, each of the indicator means including an on state and an off state; initializing the plurality of machines by placing all indicator means to the off state; reflecting individual communal play participation by placing the indicator means to the on state on each of the plurality of gaming machines having received a communal contribution; displaying the effect of communal play, and distributing a series of awards to communal players when at least one player in the community of players achieves a recognized winning outcome by giving an award to the one player achieving the winning outcome and another award to remaining players. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for providing a cooperative group gaming system;
- the steps including;
providing a bank of gaming machines, each said gaming machine including an indicator identifying each said gaming machine and having means for individual play and communal play; initializing the system by turning off all indicators identifying the gaming machine; selecting at least one bonus combination which constitutes a bonus event; turning on the indicator of each gaming machine having received a communal wager for identifying each player participating in the communal jackpot; providing at least one display means operatively coupled to the bank of gaming machines for displaying a communal jackpot and at least the one bonus combination; distributing a plurality of awards to communal players when at least one player in the community achieves a recognized winning outcome by giving an award to the one player achieving the winning outcome and another award to remaining players. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
- the steps including;
Specification