Multiplayer gaming system and method of operation thereof

• US 7,867,091 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cork Group Trading Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Waterleaf Limited
• Inventors: Moshal, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahmed; Masud
• Application Number:
  US10/545,213
• Publication Number:
  US 20060084499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,294 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/20, 463/25, 463/31, 463 40- 42, 463/37, 273/292
• US Class Current: 463/40
• 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 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

A multiplayer gaming system that is usable by a number of participating players to play a multiplayer game, comprises a plurality of player stations, each player station enabling a respective participating player to place a wager on an outcome of the multiplayer game and to play a separate instance of a same single-player game having a plurality of possible results, and an application web server communicable with each one of the plurality of player stations.

The application web server is operable to determine an outcome of the multiplayer game as a function of the combined results of the separate instances of the single-player game played at the plurality of player stations. The outcome of the multiplayer game is either a favourable outcome if one or more participating players are determined by the application web server as being a winner of the multiplayer game, or an unfavourable outcome in which none of the participating players is determined as being a winner.

A single turn of the multiplayer game includes at least one turn of an instance of the single-player game at each one of the plurality of player stations in use by a participating player. The application web server determines an outcome of a turn of the multiplayer game only after completion of at least one turn of an instance of the single-player game for each participating player, respectively, and awards a prize to the winning player when the outcome of the turn of the multiplayer game is a favourable outcome.

Claims

1. A multiplayer gaming system facilitating a number of participating players to play a multiplayer wager game, each participating player associated with a player station, each player station being usable by a respective participating player to play a separate instance of a same single-player game having a plurality of possible results, the player station enabling the participating player to place a wager on an outcome of the multiplayer wager game;

comprising;

a gaming server and an administration facility communicable with each one of the plurality of player stations, wherein the gaming server is operable to group the plurality of player stations into a single instance of the multiplayer wager game in which each player plays an instance of the single player game, and wherein the administration facility is operable to determine an outcome of the multiplayer wager game as a function of the combined results of the separate instances of the single-player game played at the plurality of player stations, the outcome of the multiplayer wager game being either a favourable outcome if at least one participating player is determined by the administration facility as being a winner of the multiplayer wager game, or an unfavourable outcome in which none of the participating players is determined as being a winner; and

wherein a single turn of the multiplayer wager game comprises at least one turn of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player game played at a player station in use by a participating player.

2. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the administration facility determines an outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game only after completion of the at least one turn of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player game for each participating player.

3. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the administration facility awards a prize to the at least one winning player when the outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game is a favourable outcome.

4. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the administration facility accumulates, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account.

5. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the administration facility establishes a prize pool whose contents are a function of the outcomes of the separate instances of the single-player game played at the plurality of player stations.

6. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the prize awarded to the at least one winning player is one of the contents of the accumulation account, the contents of the accumulation account less a service fee retained by an operator of the multiplayer gaming system, and the contents of the prize pool, the contents of the accumulation account being retained by the operator of the gaming system to fund the prize pool.

7. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the contents of either one of the accumulation account and the prize pool are shared when the accumulation facility determines a plurality of winners in the turn of the multiplayer wager game.

8. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein any instance of the single-player game has a plurality of potential successful results, the plurality of successful results capable of being in ranked order, from least successful to most successful.

9. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the administration facility determines the at least one winner of a turn of the multiplayer wager game to be a participating player who obtains a highest-ranking successful result in a corresponding turn of a respective instance of the single-player game.

10. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the administration facility determines the outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game to be a tie when two or more participating players obtain a same highest-ranking successful result of the corresponding turn of their respective instances of the single-player game or when none of the participating players obtain a successful result of the corresponding turn of their respective instances of the single-player game.

11. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the administration facility accumulates, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account, and wherein the administration facility determines the tie as an unfavourable outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game and carries over the contents of the accumulation account to a next turn of the multiplayer wager game.

12. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the administration facility accumulates, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account, and wherein the administration facility determines the tie as a favourable outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game and causes the contents of the accumulation account to be shared between the tied players.

13. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the administration facility augments the contents of the accumulation account with player wagers from the next turn of the multiplayer wager game in the event of a carry over.

14. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the administration facility carries over the contents of the accumulation account to a next turn of the multiplayer wager game for a maximum of five consecutive ties.

15. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the administration facility automatically determines the outcome of a turn of the multiplayer wager game to be a favourable outcome upon the occurrence of a sixth consecutive tie.

16. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each player station displays the progress of each instance of the single-player game played by a participating player.

17. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one turn of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player game comprising a single turn of the multiplayer wager game are played either sequentially or simultaneously.

18. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 4, wherein each successful result of an instance of the single-player game is associated with a corresponding prize that is independent of the contents of the accumulation account.

19. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein any instance of the single-player game has a plurality of potential successful results, the plurality of successful results capable of being in ranked order, from least successful to most successful, and wherein the administration facility awards a prize to each participating player in the multiplayer wager game when a highest-ranking successful result occurs in a turn of an instance of the single-player game of any participating player.

20. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein any instance of the single-player game has a plurality of potential successful results, the plurality of successful results capable of being in ranked order, from least successful to most successful, and wherein the administration facility awards a prize to each participating player in the multiplayer wager game when any one of three highest-ranking successful results occurs in a turn of an instance of the single-player game of any participating player.

21. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 20 wherein the administration facility accumulates, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account, and wherein the prizes awarded by the administration facility are independent of the contents of the accumulation account.

22. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the single-player game has a bonus result, the occurrence of the bonus result in any instance of the single-player game enabling any one of:

(i) participation by the participating player in whose instance of the single-player game the bonus result occurred, in the next turn of the multiplayer wager game without requiring a wager,

(ii) payment, by the operator of the multiplayer gaming system, of a wager on the next turn of the multiplayer wager game on behalf of the participating player in whose instance of the single-player game the bonus result occurred, and

(iii) an award of a monetary prize by the operator of the multiplayer gaming system to the participating player in whose instance of the single-player game the bonus result occurred.

23. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a single turn of the multiplayer wager game comprises a plurality of turns of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player game played at a player station in use by a participating player.

24. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 23, wherein each successful result of the single-player game has an associated points value.

25. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 24, wherein the administration facility accumulates, for each participating player, points associated with any successful result occurring in that player'"'"'s plurality of turns in that player'"'"'s instance of the single-player game.

26. A multiplayer gaining system as claimed in claim 25, wherein the administration facility determines the winner of the turn of the multiplayer game to be the participating player or participating players with the greatest accumulated point value.

27. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 26, wherein the administration facility accumulates, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account, and wherein the administration facility awards the winner of the turn of the multiplayer wager game the contents of the accumulation account or the contents of the accumulation account less a service fee retained by the operator of the multiplayer gaming system.

28. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the administration facility requires each participating player to decide, prior to commencement of each of the plurality of turns in the single-player game, except the first, whether to continue with the multiplayer wager game by increasing that player'"'"'s wager, or to withdraw from the turn of the multiplayer wager game.

29. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 28, wherein the administration facility accumulates in an accumulation account the cumulative wagers of all participating players.

30. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 29, wherein the administration facility retains in the accumulation account the cumulative wagers of any player who withdraws from the turn of the multiplayer wager game.

31. A multiplayer gaming system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the single-player game is any one of video slots, video poker, or roulette.

32. A method of operation of a multiplayer gaming system, comprising the steps of:

providing computer instructions to a plurality of gaming workstations enabling each one of a plurality of players using such workstations to participate in a multiplayer wager game by playing a separate instance of a same single-player game having a plurality of possible results;

the instructions further enabling each participating player to place a wager on an outcome of the multiplayer wager game and transmit such wager to a gaming server;

and using an administration facility associated with the gaming server to determine an outcome of the multiplayer wager game as a function of the combined results of the separate instances of the single-player game, the outcome of the multiplayer wager game being either a favorable outcome if at least one participating player is determined as being a winner of the multiplayer wager game, or an unfavorable outcome in which none of the participating players is determined as being a winner;

wherein a single turn of the multiplayer wager game comprises at least one turn of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player wager game played at a player station in use by a participating player.

33. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein an outcome of a turn of the multiplayer wager game is determined only after completion of the at least one turn of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player game for each participating player, respectively.

34. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein a prize is awarded to the at least one winning player when the outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game is a favourable outcome.

35. A method as claimed in claim 32, further comprising the step of accumulating, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account.

36. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein a prize pool is established in which the contents are a function of the outcomes of the separate instances of the single-player game.

37. A method as claimed in claim 36, wherein the prize awarded to the at least one winning player is one of (a) the contents of the accumulation account, (b) the contents of the accumulation account less a service fee retained by an operator of the multiplayer gaming system, or (c) the contents of a prize pool, the contents of the accumulation account being retained by the operator of the gaming system to fund the prize pool.

38. A method as claimed in claim 36, wherein the contents of either one of the accumulation account and the prize pool are shared between a plurality of winners when the accumulation facility determines a plurality of winners in the turn of the multiplayer wager game.

39. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein any instance of the single-player game has a plurality of potential successful results, the plurality of successful results capable of being ranked in order, from least successful to most successful.

40. A method as claimed in claim 39, wherein the at least one winner of a turn of the multiplayer wager game is determined to be a participating player who obtains a highest-ranking successful result in a corresponding turn of a respective instance of the single-player game.

41. A method as claimed in claim 39, wherein the outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game is determined to be a tie when two or more participating players obtain a same highest-ranking successful result of the corresponding turn of their respective instances of the single-player game, or when none of the participating players obtains a successful result of the corresponding turn of their respective instances of the single-player game.

42. A method as claimed in claim 41, further comprising the step of accumulating, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account and wherein the tie is determined as an unfavourable outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game and the contents of the accumulation account are carried over to a next turn of the multiplayer wager game.

43. A method as claimed in claim 41 further comprising the step of accumulating, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account and wherein the tie is determined as a favourable outcome of the turn of the multiplayer wager game and the contents of the accumulation account are shared between the tied players.

44. A method as claimed in claim 42, wherein the contents of the accumulation account are augmented with player wagers from the next turn of the multiplayer wager game in the event of a carry over.

45. A method as claimed in claim 44, wherein the contents of the accumulation account are carried over to a next turn of the multiplayer wager game for a maximum of five consecutive ties.

46. A method as claimed in claim 45, wherein the outcome of a turn of the multiplayer wager game is automatically determined as a favourable outcome upon the occurrence of a sixth consecutive tie.

47. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein the progress of each instance of the single-player game played by all the participating players is displayed to each participating player.

48. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein the at least one turn of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player game comprising a single turn of the multiplayer wager game are played either sequentially or simultaneously.

49. A method as claimed in claim 35, further comprising the step of accumulating, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account and wherein each successful result of an instance of the single-player game is associated with a corresponding prize that is independent of the contents of the accumulation account.

50. A method as claimed in claim 49, wherein a prize is awarded to each participating player in the multiplayer wager game when a highest ranking successful result occurs in a turn of an instance of the single-player game of any participating player.

51. A method as claimed in claim 49, wherein any instance of the single-player game has a plurality of potential successful results, the plurality of successful results capable of being in ranked order, from least successful to most successful, and wherein a prize is awarded to each participating player in the multiplayer wager game when any one of three highest-ranking successful results occurs in a turn of an instance of the single-player game of any participating player.

52. A method as claimed in claim 51, wherein the prizes are awarded independently of the contents of the accumulation account.

53. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein a single turn of the multiplayer wager game comprises a plurality of turns of the single-player game in each separate instance of the single-player game played by each participating player.

54. A method as claimed in claim 53, wherein a point value is associated with each successful result of the single-player game.

55. A method as claimed in claim 54, wherein points associated with any successful result occurring in that player'"'"'s plurality of turns in that player'"'"'s instance of the single-player game are accumulated, for each participating player.

56. A method as claimed in claim 55, wherein the winner of the turn of the multiplayer wager game is determined to be the participating player, or participating players, with the greatest accumulated point value.

57. A method as claimed in claim 56, further comprising the step of accumulating, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account and wherein the winner of the turn of the multiplayer game is awarded the contents of the accumulation account or the contents of the accumulation account less the service fee retained by the operator of the multiplayer gaming system.

58. A method as claimed in claim 53, wherein each participating player is required to decide, prior to commencement of each of the plurality of turns in the single-player game, except the first, whether to continue with the multiplayer wager game by increasing that player'"'"'s wager, or to withdraw from the turn of the multiplayer game.

59. A method as claimed in claim 58 further comprising the step of accumulating, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account and wherein the cumulative wagers of all participating players and the cumulative wagers of any player who withdraws from the turn of the multiplayer game are accumulated in the accumulation account.

60. A method of operation of a multiplayer gaming system, comprising the steps of:

providing computer instructions to a plurality of gaming workstations enabling each one of a plurality of players using such workstations to participate in a multiplayer wager game by playing a separate instance of a same single-player game having a plurality of possible results;

the instructions further enabling each participating player to place a wager on an outcome of the multiplayer wager game and transmit such wager to a gaming server; and

using an administration facility associated with the gaming server to determine an outcome of the multiplayer wager game as a function of the combined results of the separate instances of the single-player game, the outcome of the multiplayer wager game being either a favourable outcome if at least one participating player is determined as being a winner of the multiplayer wager game, or an unfavourable outcome in which none of the participating players is determined as being a winner;

accumulating, in each separate turn of the multiplayer wager game, all wagers by the participating players in an accumulation account and wherein each successful result of an instance of the single-player game is associated with a corresponding prize that is independent of the contents of the accumulation account;

wherein any instance of the single-player game has a plurality of potential successful results, the plurality of successful results capable of being in ranked order, from least successful to most successful, and wherein a prize is awarded to each participating player in the multiplayer wager game when any one of three highest-ranking successful results occurs in a turn of an instance of the single player game of any participating player; and

wherein the single-player game has a bonus result, the occurrence of the bonus result in any instance of the single-player game enabling any one of;

(i) participation by the participating player in whose instance of the single-player game the bonus result occurred, in the next turn of the multiplayer wager game without requiring a wager,

(ii) payment, by the operator of the multiplayer gaming system, of a wager on the next turn of the multiplayer wager game, on behalf of the participating player in whose instance of the single player game the bonus result occurred, and

(iii) an award of a monetary prize by the operator of the multiplayer gaming system to the participating player in whose instance of the single-player game the bonus result occurred.