Gaming device having multiple selection groups with randomly aligning advances

• US 7,585,218 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2003
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Ngan, Wing Yee, Mead, Randall D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol; Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): PIERCE, DAMON JOSEPH
• Application Number:
  US10/661,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20050059456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,188 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/17, 463/20, 463/25, 273/139
• US Class Current: 463/20
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• 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 gaming device include a game having a plurality of selection groups and a final jackpot award. The game provides the player with a number of picks with which the player uses to attempt to pick selections in the groups. The number of picks in one preferred embodiment is not enough to allow the player to pick once from every group. The game requires that one advance symbol must yield another advance symbol for the player to reach a jackpot award. That is, the player has to pick an advance symbol from a first group that yields automatically an advance symbol from a second group. The player then advances through the second group without consuming a second pick to a third group or to the jackpot award.

Claims

1. A gaming device comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device to;

(a) display a plurality of different selection groups;

(b) display a plurality of selections in each of said selection groups, wherein a first one of the selections in a first one of the selection groups is linked to a first one of the selections in a second one of the selection groups;

(c) associate a plurality of advances with the selections, wherein at least one selection of each of a plurality of the different selection groups is associated with one of said advances;

(d) associate at least one award with at least one of the selections of at least one of the selection groups;

(e) provide a player a number of picks of the selections from the selection groups;

(f) enable the player to pick one of the selections from the first selection group, said pick counting against the provided number of picks;

(g) if said picked selection is associated with one of the advances and said picked selection is linked to the first selection in the second selection group;

(i) automatically cause the pick of the first selection from the second selection group,

(ii) said automatically caused pick not counting against the provided number of picks, and

(iii) provide an advance award if another one of the advances is associated with said first selection automatically caused to be picked from the second selection group; and

(h) indicate the at least one award if either;

(i) the player picks one of said selections associated with the at least one award, or

(ii) one of the advances causes the pick of one of said selections associated with the at least one award.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein if the player picks one of the selections associated with one of the advances, said pick of said selection associated with said advance counts against the provided number of picks and said automatically caused pick does not count against the provided number of picks.

3. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a plurality of links between the plurality of selections of at least two of the selection groups.

4. The gaming device of claim 3, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the selection groups in alignment, each of the selection groups being aligned to show the links between the selections of at least two of the selection groups.

5. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to associate a plurality of the advances with a plurality of the selections in at least one of the selection groups.

6. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the selection groups are arranged in an order and a percentage of advances associated with the selections decreases for each subsequent selection group.

7. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a plurality of awards, at least one of the awards associated with one of the selections of each of the selection groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause said at least one processor to indicate the award to be provided to the player if the player picks said selection or one of the advances causes the pick of said selection.

8. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a plurality of awards associated with a plurality of the selections of one of the selection groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

9. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a plurality of awards, one of said awards associated with each of the selections of each of the selection groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

10. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a plurality of awards associated with a plurality of the selections of the selection groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

11. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a plurality of awards, wherein each selection is associated with at least one of:

(i) one of the advances, and (ii) one of said awards, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

12. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to reset the number of picks upon one of the selections having an associated advance being picked.

13. A gaming device comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device to;

(a) display a plurality of different selection groups;

(b) display a plurality of selections in each of said selection groups, wherein at least one in each of the selection groups is linked to at least one of the selections in another one of the selection groups;

(c) associate a plurality of advances with the selections, at least one selection of each of a plurality of the different selection groups being associated with one of said advances;

(d) provide a player a number of picks from the selection groups;

(e) enable the player to pick one of the selections from the selection groups, said pick counting against the provided number of picks;

(f) indicate an award to be provided to the player if;

(i) the player picks one of the selections associated with one of the advances from a first one of the selection groups,

(ii) said picked selection from the first selection group is linked to one of the selections from a second one of the selection groups,

(iii) said advance automatically causes the pick of the selection from the second selection group which is linked to said picked selection from the first selection group, the automatically caused pick not counting against the provided number of picks,

(iv) another one of the advances is associated with said picked selection automatically caused to be picked from the second selection group, and

(v) at least one pick of the provided number of picks is remaining.

14. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein if the player picks one of the selections associated with one of the advances, said pick of said selection associated with said advance counts against the provided number of picks and said automatically caused pick does not count against the provided number of picks.

15. The gaming device of claim 13, which includes a plurality of links between the plurality of selections of at least two of the selection groups.

16. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the selection groups in alignment to show the links between selections of at least two of the selection groups.

17. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to associate a plurality of the advances with a plurality of the selections in at least one of the selection groups.

18. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the selection groups arranged in an order and a percentage of advances associated with the selections decreases for each subsequent selection group.

19. The gaming device of claim 13, which includes at least one award associated with one of the selections of one of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate said award to be provided to the player if the player picks said selection or an advance causes the pick of said selection.

20. The gaming device of claim 13, which includes a plurality of awards associated with a plurality of the selections of one of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

21. The gaming device of claim 13, which includes a plurality of awards, one of said awards associated with one of the selections of each of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

22. The gaming device of claim 13, which includes a plurality of awards associated with a plurality of the selections of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

23. The gaming device of claim 13, which includes a plurality of awards, wherein each selection not having an associated advance has one of said awards associated with said selection, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

24. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to reset the provided number of picks upon one of the selections having an associated advance being picked.

25. A gaming device comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device to;

(a) display a plurality of selection groups;

(b) display a plurality of selections in each of said selection groups, wherein at least one of the selections in each of the selection groups is linked to one of the selections in a different one of the selection groups;

(c) associate a plurality of advances with the selections, wherein at least one selection of each of a plurality of the different selection groups is associated with one of said advances;

(d) provide a player a number of picks from the selection groups;

(e) enable the player to pick one of the selections from the selection groups;

(f) indicate an award to be provided to the player if for each of two picks by the player;

(i) the player picks one of the selections associated with one of the advances, said pick counting against the provided number of picks,

(ii) said picked selection is linked to one of the selections from another one of the selection groups,

(iii) said advance automatically causes the pick of the selection from the second selection group which is linked to said picked selection from the first selection group, the automatically caused pick not counting against the providing number of picks, and

(iv) said picked selection automatically caused to be picked by the advance is associated with another one of the advances.

26. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein if the player picks one of the selections associated with one of the advances, said pick caused by said advance does not count against the provided number of picks.

27. The gaming device of claim 25, which includes a plurality of links between a plurality of the selections of at least two of the selection groups.

28. The gaming device of claim 27, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the selection groups in alignment, each of the selection groups being aligned to show the links between the selections of at least two of the selection groups.

29. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to associate a plurality of the advances with a plurality of the selections in at least one of the selection groups.

30. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the selection groups arranged in an order such that a percentage of advances with the selections decreases for each subsequent selection group.

31. The gaming device of claim 25, which includes at least one award associated with one of the selections of one of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause said at least one processor to indicate the award to be provided to the player if the player picks said selection or an advance causes the pick of said selection.

32. The gaming device of claim 25, which includes a plurality of awards associated with a plurality of the selections of one of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

33. The gaming device of claim 25, which includes a plurality of awards, one of said awards associated with one of the selections of each of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate the each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

34. The gaming device of claim 25, which includes a plurality of awards associated with a plurality of the selections of the groups, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate the each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

35. The gaming device of claim 25, which includes a plurality of awards, wherein each selection not having an associated advance has one of said awards associated with said selection, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to indicate the each award associated with the selections picked by the player and the selections caused to be picked by the advance.

36. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to reset the provided number of picks upon a selection having an associated advance symbol being picked.

37. A gaming device comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device to;

(a) display a plurality of different selection groups;

(b) display a plurality of selections in each of said different selection groups;

(c) display a plurality of advances adapted to be associated with the selections, wherein at least one selection of each of a plurality of the different selection groups is associated with one of said advances;

(d) indicate a number of picks from the selection groups for a player, said indicated number of picks being usable to pick from the plurality of the different selection groups;

(e) indicate an advance award to be provided to the player if;

(i) the player picks one of the selections associated with a first one of the advances, said pick counting against the indicated number of picks,

(ii) said first advance automatically causes the pick of one of the selections from a first different one of the selection groups which is linked to the picked selection, said automatically caused pick by the first advance not counting against the indicated number of picks,

(iii) a second one of the advances is associated with said selection automatically caused to be picked by the first advance, and

(iv) said second advance automatically causes the pick of one of the selections from a second different one of the selection groups which is linked to said selection automatically caused to be picked by the first advance or the advance award, said automatically caused pick by the second advance not counting against the indicated number of picks.

38. A gaming device comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device to;

(a) display a plurality of first selections;

(b) associate a first advance with one of the first selections;

(c) display a plurality of second selections, wherein at least one of the first selections is individually associated with one of the second selections;

(d) indicate a number of picks of the first and second selections,

(e) enable a player to pick one of the first selections,

(f) if the picked first selection is associated with the first advance, generate the first advance,

(g) if the picked first selection is individually associated with one of the second selections, automatically cause the second selection to be picked, said automatically caused pick not counting against the indicated number of picks, and

(h) if the picked second selection is associated with a second advance,

cause an advance award to be provided to the player.

39. The gaming device of claims 38, which includes at least one award associated with one of the first selections.

40. The gaming device of claim 38, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the first and second selections aligned to indicate the associations between the first selections and second selections.

41. A method of operating a gaming device including a plurality of instructions, said method comprising:

(a) causing at least one display device to display a plurality of different selection groups;

(b) providing a number of picks to a player, the provided number of picks being usable to pick from a plurality of selection groups, each of the selection groups including a plurality of selections;

(c) enabling the player to pick at least one selection from a first one of the selection groups

(d) if the picked selection is not associated with a first advancement which advances the player through the first selection group

(i) causing at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to count the pick against the provided number of picks, and

(ii) enabling the player to pick from the first selection group until the picked selection is associated with the first advancement;

(e) if the picked selection is associated with the first advancement

(i) causing at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to automatically cause a pick one of the selections from a second one of the selection groups,

(ii) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to maintain the provided number of picks, such that the automatically caused pick does not count against the provided number of picks, and

(iii) enabling the player to pick at least one selection from the second selection group until the picked selection from the second selection group is associated with a second advancement which advances the player through the second selection group;

(f) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to track a quantity of picks used by the player to advance through the first and second selection groups; and

(g) causing an advance award to be provided to the player if the tracked quantity of picks for advancing through each of the first and second selection groups is less than or equal to the provided number of picks.

42. The method of claim 41, which includes providing a separate number of picks for the first and second selection groups.

43. The method of claim 41, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to require at least one pick to be used to receive the advance award.

44. The method of claim 41, which includes, upon the picking of the first advancement, causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to automatically reveal one of the selections in the second selection group, wherein the automatically revealed selection can yield the second advancement.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the automatically revealed selection in the second selection group is related to the picked selection in the first group that yielded the first advancement.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the automatically revealed selection in the second selection group is randomly chosen upon picking the first advancement.

47. The method of claim 41, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to not count a pick in the second selection group that yields the second advancement if the pick is a result of the picked selection corresponding to the first advancement in the first selection group.

48. The method of claim 41, which includes providing steps (a) to (g) via a data network or a computer storage device.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the data network includes an internet.

50. A method of operating a gaming device including a plurality of instructions, said method comprising:

(a) causing at least one display device to display a plurality of different selection groups, each one of the selection groups including a plurality of selections;

(b) providing a number of picks to a player, the provided number of picks being usable to pick from the plurality of different selection groups;

(c) enabling the player to pick from a first one of the selection groups;

(d) if the picked selection is not associated with a first advancement

(i) causing at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to count the pick against the provided number of picks, and

(ii) enabling the player to pick from the first selection group until the picked selection is associated with the first advancement;

(e) if the picked selection is associated with the first advancement, and the first advancement is not linked with a second advancement in a second one of the selection groups

(i) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to count the pick against the provided number of picks, and

(ii) enabling the player to pick from the second selection group until the player picks the second advancement

(f) if the picked selection is associated with the first advancement, and the first advancement is linked with the second advancement in the second selection group

(i) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to automatically cause the second advancement to be picked, and

(ii) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to maintain the provided number of picks, such that the automatically caused pick of the second advancement does not count against the provided number of picks; and

(g) providing an advance award to the player for advancing through the first and second selection groups within a designated number of the picks.

51. The method of claim 50, which includes, upon picking the first advancement, causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to auctomatically reveal one of the selections in the second selection group, wherein the automatically revealed selection can yield the second advancement.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the automatically revealed selection in the second selection group is related to the selection in the first selection group that yielded the first advancement.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the automatically revealed selection in the second selection group is randomly indicated by the first advancement.

54. The method of claim 50, which includes providing steps (a) to (g) via a data network or a computer storage device.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the data network includes an internet.