Gaming machine

• US 6,921,334 B1
• Filed: 11/10/1997
• Issued: 07/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Limited (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Original Assignee: Aristocrat Leisure Industries Pty Ltd (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Inventors: Bennett, Nicholas Luke
• Primary Examiner(s): TRINH, MINH N
• Application Number:
  US09/308,005
• Time in Patent Office: 2,815 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/13, 463/18, 463/19, 463/20, 463/17, 273/143.R, 273/138.2
• US Class Current: 463/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A gaming machine for playing a lotto or bingo type game has display means, and game control means arranged to control images displayed on the display means. The game control means are arranged to play a game in which a player makes a selection, on the machine, of a series of indicia chosen from a larger group of indicia, and the game control means are arranged to generate a series of indicia drawn at random from the larger group of indicia. The display means show, in a predetermined location, those indicia which have been selected for comparison with the players selected indicia. A prize being awarded if more than a predetermined number of matches occur. It is a characteristic of the game that a plurality of games are played in parallel, with the indicia drawn at random for each game being drawn from separate groups initially corresponding to the indicia contained in the larger group of indicia, but with each game utilizing the same player selection of indicia, and in that each game has a predetermined display area on the screen area distinct from the other games. This makes the game faster and more interesting for players.

Claims

1. A gaming machine comprising a display means and a game control means arranged to control images displayed on the display means, the game control means further being arranged to play a game in which a player makes a selection of a series of indicia chosen from a larger group of indicia, that selection defining the player'"'"'s selected indicia, the game control means being arranged to generate a series of indicia drawn at random from the larger group of indicia, the display means being adapted to display, in a predetermined location, the series of indicia which have been generated by the game control means for comparison with the player'"'"'s selected indicia, with a prize being awarded if more than a predetermined number of matches occur between the player'"'"'s selected indicia and the generated indicia, wherein a plurality of games are played simultaneously, with the indicia drawn at random for each game from separate groups initially corresponding to the indicia contained in the larger group of indicia, but wherein each game utilizes the same player'"'"'s selected indicia, and wherein each game has a predetermined display area on the screen area distinct from the other games.

2. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indicia are numbers and the predetermined display areas on the display means which are arranged to display the indicia generated by the game control means, are a series of columns, arranged side by side and wherein, as each separate game proceeds, the display is arranged to show the series of generated numbers for each game which are potentially matching with the player'"'"'s selected numbers, drop into the column associated with that particular game to be retained for display purposes in that column if that number corresponds to one of numbers chosen by the player and wherein if the number does not match the chosen numbers, the number is caused to disappear from the column.

3. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein one of the two columns either side of the series of columns displays the numbers chosen by the player.

4. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the other of the two columns displays prizes awarded for each number of matching indicia.

5. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the selected numbers are displayed as representations of numbered balls.

6. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the game includes a free ball feature in which a number of extra balls are generated on the occurrence of a predetermined number of balls in a column matching the player'"'"'s selected numbers.

7. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein a prize is awarded if all the numbers selected by the player appear distributed anywhere in the game columns being played.

8. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the game includes a wild indicia in which the wild indicia drops into a first predetermined display area matches one of the indicia chosen by the player, registers in the first predetermined display area, and then transfers to a second predetermined display area, adjacent to the first predetermined area, leaving a duplicate of itself in the first predetermined display area, and then transfers from the second predetermined display area to a next adjacent third predetermined display area and continues in the same manner from area to adjacent area in sequence until the wild indicia has transferred to all the predetermined display areas, wherein if the wild indicia lands in a predetermined display area which has already received and retained an indicia which is identical to the wild indicia, the wild indicia changes to a different one of the players selected indicia which is not already present in that predetermined display area, before transferring to the next adjacent predetermined display area.

9. A gaming machine comprising a display means and a game control means arranged to control images displayed on the display means, the game control means being arranged to play a game in which a player enters a selection of a series of numbers chosen from a larger group of numbers on the machine, the selection comprising the player'"'"'s selected numbers, the game control means further being arranged to generate a series of numbers drawn at random from the larger group of numbers, the display means being adapted to display in a predetermined location the series of numbers which have been generated at random by the game control means, for comparison with the player'"'"'s selected numbers, with a prize being awarded if more than a predetermined number of matches occur between the generated numbers and the player'"'"'s selected numbers, wherein a plurality of games are played in parallel with the numbers drawn at random for each game from separate groups initially corresponding to the numbers contained in the larger group of numbers, but wherein each game of the plurality of games utilizes the same player selection of numbers, and wherein each game has a predetermined display area on the screen area distinct from the predetermined display areas of the other games on the screen which are arranged to display the numbers generated by the game control means, the predetermined display areas comprising a series of columns arranged side by side, and wherein as each separate game proceeds, the display shows the series of generated numbers for each game drop into the column associated with that game to be retained for display purposes in that column if that number corresponds to one of the player'"'"'s selected numbers and wherein if the number does not match any of the player'"'"'s selected numbers, the number is caused to disappear from the column.

10. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the numbers are displayed as representations of numbered balls and the game includes a wild ball feature in which a ball drops into the first game column adopts a value which equates with one of the numbers chosen by the player, registers in the first column, and then transfers to a second column, leaving a duplicate of itself in the first column, transfers from the second column to a third column, leaving a duplicate of itself in the second column and continues moving from column to column until all the columns have been visited by the wild ball.

11. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein if the wild ball lands in a column and column has already received and retained a ball having the number adopted by the wild ball, the wild ball changes to a different one of the players selected numbers which is not already present in that column, before transferring to the next column.

12. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein a prize is awarded if all the numbers by the player appear distributed anywhere in the columns being played.

13. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein the gaming machine includes a free feature in which a number of extra balls are generated on the occurrence of a predetermined number of balls in a column matching the player'"'"'s selected numbers.

14. A gaming apparatus comprising a display means and a game control means arranged to images displayed on the display means, the game control means being arranged to play a game in which a player makes a selection of a series of indicia chosen from a larger group of indicia on the machine, the selection defining the player'"'"'s selected indicia, the game control means further being arranged to generate a series of indicia drawn at random from the larger group of indicia, the display means being adapted to display, in a predetermined location, those indicia which have been generated by the game control means for comparison with the player'"'"'s selected indicia, with a prize being awarded if more than a predetermined number of matches of the player'"'"'s selected indicia with the indicia generated by the game control means occur, wherein a plurality of parallel games are played simultaneously, with the indicia drawn at random for each game from separate groups initially corresponding to the indicia contained in the larger group of indicia, but wherein each game utilizes the same player'"'"'s selected indicia and wherein each game has a predetermined display area on the screen area distinct from the other games.

15. The gaming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the indicia comprises representations numbered balls and the game includes a free ball feature in which a number of extra balls are generated on the occurrence of a predetermined number of balls in a column matching the player'"'"'s selected numbers.

16. The gaming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein a prize is awarded if all the indicia by the player appear distributed anywhere in the game columns being played.

17. The gaming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the predetermined display areas on screen which are arranged to display the numbers generated by the game control means, are a series of columns, arranged side by side and wherein as each separate game proceeds, the display is arranged to show the series of potentially matching numbers for each game drop into the column associated with that particular game to be retained for display purposes in that column if that number corresponds to one of the numbers chosen by the player and wherein if the number does not match the chosen numbers, the number is caused to disappear from the column.

18. The gaming apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the columns define the number of games which may be played simultaneously and the player may make a selection on the machine to choose the number of columns which are to be played in parallel.

19. The gaming machine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the predetermined area define the number of games which may be played simultaneously and the player may make a selection on the machine to choose the number of areas and thus games which are to be played simultaneously.