Wagering game with persistent state of game assets affecting other players

• US 8,622,812 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2008
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Englman, Allon G., Pacey, Larry J., Gagner, Mark B., Hornik, Jeremy M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hall, Arthur O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan, Allen
• Application Number:
  US12/210,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20090011822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,940 Days
• Field of Search: 463/25, 463/20, 463/21, 463/23
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3265 Influencing the position of stopped moving members to achieve a winning arrangement, e.g. nudging, shuffling, holding
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3281 wherein game attributes are transferred between players, e.g. points, weapons, avatars

Abstract

A gaming system includes a plurality of linked gaming machines, each gaming machine including a display for displaying a plurality of symbols that indicates a randomly selected outcome of a wagering game. The randomly selected outcome is selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to a wager input. Each gaming machine allows a player to achieve a player level from a plurality of player levels. The gaming system further includes a controller linked to the gaming machines. The controller is adapted to permit a certain community-event game from a plurality of community-game events to be played at two or more of gaming machines in response to a conditional state at the gaming machines. The conditional state is a function of the player levels at the gaming machines.

Claims

1. A method of playing a wagering game, comprising:

conducting, by at least one of one or more processors, said wagering game at a gaming machine, said wagering game having a plurality of symbols that indicate a randomly selected outcome selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to a wager input received via an input device from a first player, at least one of said outcomes providing an asset that can be saved by said first player for use during a subsequent gaming session;

providing, by at least one of one or more processors, said first player with an opportunity to transfer said asset to a second player to encourage said second player to play said wagering game;

in response to said first player transferring said asset, awarding, by at least one of one or more processors, said first player with a game-enhancement parameter to be applied to said wagering game;

presenting an indication, at the gaming machine or at a different gaming machine, of said game-enhancement parameter awarded to said first player; and

conducting, by at least one of one or more processors, said wagering game with said game-enhancement parameter applied thereto.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said game-enhancement

parameter is selected, by at least one of the one or more processors, from a group consisting of changing line pays into scatter pays, varying the number of wild symbols, varying symbol upgrades, using nudges, using lifelines, asking-a-friend, randomly selecting a multiplier, changing a pay table, increasing a wager, holding a symbol, moving a symbol, re-spinning, and changing between left-to-right and right-to-left payline configurations.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing, by at least one of the one or more processors, said game-enhancement parameter if said game-enhancement parameter is not used within a period of time.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said period of time is selected, by at least one of the one or more processors, from a group consisting of a randomly selected period of time and a fixed period of time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing, by at least one of the one or more processors, said asset if said asset is not used within a period of time.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said period of time is selected, by at least one of the one or more processors, from a group consisting of a randomly selected period of time and a fixed period of time.

7. A gaming system comprising:

a plurality of linked gaming machines, each of said plurality of linked gaming machines including a display for displaying a plurality of symbols that indicates a randomly selected outcome of a wagering game that has been selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to a wager input, at least one of said outcomes providing an asset that can be saved by a first player for use during a subsequent gaming session; and

at least one controller linked to said plurality of linked gaming machines and adapted to

provide said first player with an opportunity to transfer said asset to a second player to encourage said second player to play said wagering game,

in response to said first player transferring said asset, award said first player with a game-enhancement parameter to be applied to said wagering game,

present an indication, on the display of at least one of the linked gaming machines, of said game-enhancement parameter awarded to said first player, and

conducting said wagering game with said game-enhancement parameter applied thereto.

8. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein the controller is further adapted to allow said first player to collect said assets over a period of time.

9. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein the controller is further adapted to provide said first player with said opportunity to transfer said asset to said second player in response to certain events.

10. The gaming system of claim 9, wherein said certain events are selected from a group consisting of a symbol combination event, a random mystery event, and a certain person being a second player at an adjacent machine event.

11. One or more physical machine-readable non-transitory storage media including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

conducting a wagering game at a gaming machine, said wagering game having a plurality of symbols that indicate a randomly selected outcome selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to a wager input by a first player, at least one of said outcomes providing an asset that can be saved by said first player for use during a subsequent gaming session;

providing said first player with an opportunity to transfer said asset to a second player to encourage said second player to play said wagering game;

in response to said first player transferring said asset, awarding said first player with a game-enhancement parameter to be applied to said wagering game;

presenting an indication, at the gaming machine or at a different gaming machine, of said game-enhancement parameter awarded to said first player; and

conducting said wagering game with said game-enhancement parameter applied thereto.

12. The physical machine-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 11, wherein said game-enhancement parameter is selected from a group consisting of changing line pays into scatter pays, varying the number of wild symbols, varying symbol upgrades, using nudges, using lifelines, asking-a-friend, randomly selecting a multiplier, changing a pay table, increasing a wager, holding a symbol, moving a symbol, re-spinning, and changing between left-to-right and right-to-left payline configurations.

13. The physical machine-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 11, further comprising removing said game-enhancement parameter if said game-enhancement parameter is not used within a period of time.

14. The physical machine-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 13, wherein said period of time is selected from a group consisting of a randomly selected period of time and a fixed period of time.

15. The physical machine-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 11, further comprising removing said asset if said asset is not used within a period of time.

16. The physical machine-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 15, wherein said period of time is selected from a group consisting of a randomly selected period of time and a fixed period of time.