Casino games

• US 8,167,695 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2009
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alphard SPRL
• Original Assignee: Think Tek Incorporated
• Inventors: Rowe, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Elisca, Pierre E
• Application Number:
  US12/612,976
• Publication Number:
  US 20110105206A1
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 463/9, 463/25, 463/37
• US Class Current: 463/9
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

Apparatus and methods related to multi-player casino games are described. An electronic gaming device is provided that allows a live player to compete against a virtual player in a multi-player wager-based game. The electronic gaming device can comprise a multi-player game engine that does not distinguish between virtual players and live players. The electronic gaming device can be configured to simulate the decision making of a virtual player and associated behaviors of the virtual player during game play. In some instances, the simulated behaviors of the virtual player output at the electronic gaming device can be learned by a live player so that the live player can make better or more advantageous game play decisions. The simulated behaviors of the virtual player can be conveyed to the live player via visual images, such as simulated facial expressions of the virtual player.

Claims

1. A gaming device comprising:

a game controller, including a processor and a memory, designed or configured to control a play of a wager-based game played by two or more players wherein the wager-based game is played by at least a live player and a virtual player and wherein the live player or the virtual player can win the game,

     2) receive information indicating a wager on an outcome of the play of the wager-based game from the live player,

     3) receive decision information from each of the live player and the virtual player wherein the decision information received by the virtual player affects an amount won or lost by the virtual player;

     4) determine the outcome of the wager-based game including determining whether the live player or the virtual player has won and

     5) generate a presentation including the play of wager-based game and the determined outcome to the wager-based game;

a multiplayer game engine configured to a) progress the wager-based game from an initial position to a final position for each of the live player and the virtual player;

b) request the decision information from each of the live player and the virtual player and receive the decision information relating to decisions made by each of the live player and the virtual player;

a virtual player, instantiated by the game controller, configured to make the decisions requested by the multiplayer game engine during the play of the wager-based game, said virtual player comprising,

a decision engine configured to make the decisions requested by the multi-player game engine based upon at least a current position of the virtual player in the wager-based game;

a behavioral engine configured to determine when to a trigger a behavior of the virtual player wherein the behavior when correctly interpreted by the live player increases the live player'"'"'s chance of winning the wager-based game played against the virtual player; and

a personality engine configured to receive, when the behavior is triggered, information regarding the behavior, determine an action of a virtual character associated with the virtual player that is generated in response to the behavior; and

generate a presentation of the virtual character performing the determined action;

a player interface coupled to gaming device configured to allow the live player to input their decisions during the play of the wager-based game; and

at least one display for outputting the presentation including the play and the determined outcome to the wager-based game and the presentation of the virtual character performing the determined action.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the behavior is triggered based upon a current game position of the virtual player.

3. The gaming device of claim 2, further comprising a probability less than one of the behavior being triggered each time the current game position of the virtual player occurs.

4. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the behavior when correctly interpreted by the live player increases the live player'"'"'s chance of winning a future wager-based game played against the virtual player.

5. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the behavior is triggered and presented prior to revealing a decision of the virtual player or the behavior is triggered and presented after the decision of the virtual player is revealed.

6. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the decision engine is configured to make optimal decisions for the virtual player winning the wager-based game.

7. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the decision engine is configured to make sub-optimal decisions for the virtual player winning the wager-based game.

8. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the decision engine and the live player are each required to respond to a common set of decisions requested by the multi-player game engine.

9. The gaming device of claim 1 wherein multiplayer game engine does not distinguish between live players and virtual players.

10. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the presentation including the play of wager-based game reveals the game position of the live player and hides at least a portion of the position of the virtual player.

11. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the personality engine is configured to render an animation of the virtual character including one or more of the virtual character'"'"'s face, the virtual character'"'"'s body or combination thereof.

12. The gaming device of claim 11, wherein the determined action is a change in an expression of the virtual character'"'"'s face.

13. The gaming device of claim 11, wherein the action determined by the personality engine is the virtual character speaking and wherein the gaming device further comprises a speaker for outputting the speech of the virtual character.

14. The gaming device of claim 11, wherein the action determined by the personality engine is a movement of the virtual character'"'"'s body.

15. The gaming device of claim 11, wherein the virtual player is generated as a human or a non-human character.

16. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the gaming controller is further configured to store the decision information from the virtual player and from the live player to a power-hit tolerant non-volatile memory.

17. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the gaming controller is further configured to recall from a non-volatile memory information relating to decisions made by the virtual player and the live player and game positions of the virtual player and the live player in previous wager-based games.

18. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein cash or indicia of credit for the virtual player'"'"'s wagers is provided by a gaming operator wherein the gaming operator receives cash or indicia of credit won by the virtual player.

19. A method of providing a wager-based game played by two or more players on an electronic gaming device including a processor and a memory, said method comprising:

receiving, by the processor, a request to play the wager-based game from a live player;

instantiating, by the processor, a virtual player;

generating, by the processor, a first game state in the multi-player wager-based game including initial positions of the live player and the virtual player wherein the live player and the virtual player compete against one another to win the multi-player wager-based game;

determining, by the processor, whether to display behavioral information indicative of a virtual player'"'"'s current game position, decision made, decision to be made, a game strategy or combinations thereof wherein the behavioral information is conveyed via a virtual character associated with the virtual player and wherein the behavioral information when correctly interpreted by the live player increases the live player'"'"'s chance of winning the wager-based game played against the virtual player;

receiving, by the processor, decision information indicative of decisions made each of by the live player and the virtual player;

displaying a presentation of one or more game states following the first game state wherein the presentation shows affects of the decisions made by each of the live player and the virtual player;

determining, by the processor, whether the live player or the virtual player has won the multiplayer wager-based game; and

displaying an outcome to multiplayer wager-based game including an indication of whether the live player or the virtual player has won the multiplayer wager-based game.

20. A gaming device comprising:

a game controller, including a processor and a memory, designed or configured to control a play of a game played by two or more players wherein the game is played by at least a live player and a virtual player and wherein the live player or the virtual player can win the game,

     2) receive information from the live player indicating a request to initialize the game,

     3) receive decision information from each of the live player and the virtual player wherein the decision information received by the virtual player affects whether the virtual player wins or loses the game;

     4) determine the outcome of the game including determining whether the live player or the virtual player has won and

     5) generate a presentation including the play of the game and the determined outcome to the game;

a multiplayer game engine configured to a) progress the game from an initial position to a final position for each of the live player and the virtual player;

b) request the decision information from each of the live player and the virtual player and receive the decision information relating to decisions made by each of the live player and the virtual player;

a virtual player, instantiated by the game controller, configured to make the decisions requested by the multiplayer game engine during the play of the game, said virtual player comprising, a decision engine configured to make the decisions requested by the multi-player game engine based upon at least a current position of the virtual player in the game, said decision engine based upon a game theory analysis of the game such that the decision engine implements an optimal strategy determined from the game theory analysis;

a behavioral engine configured to determine when to a trigger a behavior of the virtual player wherein the behavior when correctly interpreted by the live player increases the live player'"'"'s chance of winning the game played against the virtual player; and

a personality engine configured to receive, when the behavior is triggered, information regarding the behavior, determine an action of a virtual character that is generated in response to the behavior; and

generate a presentation of the virtual character performing the determined action;

a player interface coupled to gaming device configured to allow the live player to input their decisions during the play of the game; and

at least one display for outputting the presentation including the play and the determined outcome to the wager-based game and the presentation of the virtual character performing the determined action.

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored a computer program used by a computer, the computer program executed by the computer to generate a wager-based game, the computer readable medium comprising:

computer code for receiving a request from a live player to play a multi-player game including betting on an outcome of the game;

computer code for instantiating a virtual player;

computer code for generating a first game state in the multi-player game including initial positions of the live player and the virtual player wherein the live player and the virtual player compete against one another to win the multi-player game;

computer code for determining whether to display behavioral information indicative of a virtual player'"'"'s current game position, decision made, decision to be made, a game strategy or combinations thereof wherein the behavioral information is conveyed via a virtual character associated with the virtual player and wherein the behavioral information when correctly interpreted by the live player increases the live player'"'"'s chance of winning the multi-player game played against the virtual player;

computer code for receiving decision information indicative of decisions made each of by the live player and the virtual player;

computer code for displaying a presentation of one or more game states following the first game state wherein the presentation shows affects of the decisions made by each of the live player and the virtual player;

computer code for determining whether the live player or the virtual player has won the multi-player game; and

computer code for displaying the outcome to the multi-player game including an indication of whether the live player or the virtual player has won the multi-player game.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21, further comprising:

computer code for rendering an animation of the virtual character including one or more of the virtual character'"'"'s face, the virtual character'"'"'s body or combination thereof.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 22, further comprising:

computer code for rendering a change in the expression of the virtual character'"'"'s face to display the behavioral information.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 22, further comprising:

computer code for rendering the virtual character speaking and for generating audio output corresponding to the speaking to display the behavioral information.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 22, further comprising:

computer code for rendering a movement of the virtual player'"'"'s body to display the behavior information.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 22, further comprising:

computer code for rendering the virtual character as a human character or a non-human character.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 21, further comprising:

computer code for controlling an animatronic device to display the behavioral information.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the multi-player game includes multiple rounds.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the multi-player game includes one or more betting opportunities for each of the virtual player or the live player.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the betting includes the live player risking cash or an indicia credit redeemable for cash.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 21, further comprising:

computer code for receiving cash or an indicia of credit used for the betting.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein multi-player game is played for free and the betting does not involving risking money.

33. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the betting includes the live player risking points.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein the points are loyalty points in a loyalty program.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the multi-player game is part of a bonus game on a wager-based gaming machine configured to generate a primary game and a bonus.

36. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the multi-player game is a card game.