Gaming machine with block wagering

• US 8,747,205 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2002
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Englman, Allon G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brewster, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hsu, Ryan
• Application Number:
  US10/077,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20030157978A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,498 Days
• Field of Search: 463 1- 9, 463 12- 25, 463 40- 42, 463/26, 463/29, 273/48.B, 273/138.2, 273/143.R, 273/292, 2731381- 2, 273/148.R
• US Class Current: 463/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A gaming machine and a method of conducting a game of chance on the gaming machine are disclosed. The machine receives a wager from a player to purchase a series of plays of the game. In response to the wager, the machine provides the player with the series of plays and randomly generating at least one outcome for each play. The machine provides an accumulation feature that accumulates an element of the game over a plurality of the plays in the series and redeems the accumulated element for a bonus in response to a predetermined event in the game. The predetermined event may, for example, correspond to collection of a predetermined number of the element or a certain position of the element on a trail, feature ladder, or meter.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a wagering game on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

receiving, via an input device, a single wager from a player to purchase a series of plays of a basic portion of the game, the series of plays comprising a fixed number of plays of the wagering game, the single wager being allocated to the entire series of plays and not being associated with any specific one of the series of plays, the single wager being an amount made by any player such that different players pay the same amount;

in response to the single wager, providing, on at least one display device, the player with the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the wagering game including a plurality of outcomes, the plurality of outcomes including a plurality of winning outcomes corresponding to first awards to be awarded to the player, the plurality of winning outcomes including different winning outcomes having corresponding different ones of the first awards;

randomly selecting, by use of at least one processor, at least one outcome from the plurality of outcomes for each play in the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game;

in response to the randomly selected outcome being one of the plurality of different winning outcomes in any one of the plays, providing the player with the first award corresponding to the randomly selected outcome; and

providing an accumulation feature that accumulates a game-play element of the game over a plurality of the plays in the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the accumulated game-play element providing a second award to the player in response to a predetermined criterion being met, the accumulation feature is reset to include no accumulated game-play elements prior to each purchased series of plays.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the basic portion is selected from a group consisting of slots, poker, keno, bingo, blackjack, and roulette.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the accumulation feature is triggered by a special outcome in the basic portion.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated element is represented on the at least one display device by a position on a trail, ladder, or meter.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the position identifies a credit amount, a multiplier, a number of free plays of the basic portion, a bonus round, or movement to another position on the trail, the ladder, or the meter.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated game-play element is a collected object.

7. The method of claim 6, further including triggering a bonus in response to collection of a predetermined number of the object during the series of plays.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each play includes at least one respective random event that is independent of other plays in the series.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the game includes the basic portion and a bonus feature triggered by a special outcome in the basic portion, the at least one random event being associated with the basic portion.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each play includes at least one random event that is interdependent of one or more other plays in the series.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the wagering game includes the basic portion and a bonus feature triggered by a special outcome in the basic portion, the at least one random event being associated with the bonus feature.

12. The method of claim 1, further including redeeming, prior to the completion of the series of plays, the accumulated game-play element for the second award in response to the predetermined criterion in the series of plays being met, and after the bonus is complete, returning to the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game until completion.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined criterion corresponds to collection of a predetermined number of the accumulated game-play element.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined criterion corresponds to a certain position of the element on a trail, ladder, or meter on the at least one display device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the basic portion includes a slot game having a plurality of symbol-bearing reels that, during each play in the series, are spun and stopped to place symbols on the reels in visual association with a display area on the at least one display device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the basic portion includes a draw poker game having a plurality of playing cards that, during each play in the series, are dealt from a deck and selectively replaced with substitute cards from the deck.

17. The method of claim 1, further including

redeeming the accumulated game-play element for a bonus event in response to a predetermined criterion before completing the series of plays;

playing the bonus event; and

continuing the series of plays.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the predetermined criterion corresponds to collection of a predetermined number of the accumulated element.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated game-play element is a number of consecutive winning symbol combinations achieved in the basic game, the second award being a credit amount corresponding to the number of consecutive winning symbol combinations.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated game-play element is a total value of credits being awarded as the first awards to the player for outcomes achieved in the basic game when a randomly appearing hold-bonus symbol is present during the outcomes that resulted in the first awards in the basic game, the second award being a credit amount related to the total value of credits achieved when the randomly appearing hold-bonus symbol is present during the series of plays.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated game-play element is a number of occurrences of a certain winning symbol combination achieved in the basic game, the second award being an enhancement of a credit amount corresponding to the certain winning symbol combination, the enhancement corresponding to the number of the certain winning symbol combination that has previously occurred during the series of plays.

22. A method of conducting a wagering game on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

receiving, via an input device, a single wager from a player to purchase a series of plays of a basic portion of the game, the series of plays comprising a fixed number of plays of the wagering game, the single wager being allocated to the entire series of plays and not being associated with any specific one of the series of plays;

in response to the single wager, providing, on at least one display device, the player with the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game;

randomly generating, by use of at least one processor, at least one outcome of each play in the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the outcomes being indicated by symbol combinations developed from a plurality of individual symbols on the at least one display device;

awarding a first basic-game award to the player for a first winning outcome indicated by a winning symbol combination in any one of the series of plays;

awarding a second basic-game award to the player for a second winning outcome indicated by a winning symbol combination in another one of the series of plays, the second basic-game award being different from the first basic-game award;

accumulating a game-play element in an accumulation feature during the plurality of the plays in the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the accumulated game-play element being associated with the symbol combinations that are displayed on the at least one display device during the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the accumulated game-play element not being associated with a credit value corresponding to winning symbol combinations achieved by the player;

awarding an accumulation-feature award to the player for the accumulation feature in response to a predetermined criterion being met for the accumulated game-play element; and

resetting the accumulation feature to include no accumulated game-play elements prior to the next purchased series of plays.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the awarding of the accumulation-feature award occurs in a separate bonus game that is displayed on the at least one display device to the player.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the accumulation feature includes a second game-play element that can be accumulated and further including,

accumulating the second game-play element during the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, and

awarding another award to the player in response to another predetermined criterion being met for the second accumulated game-play element.

25. A method of conducting a wagering game on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

receiving, via an input device, a single wager from a player to purchase a series of plays of a basic portion of the game, the series of plays comprising a fixed number of plays of the wagering game, the single wager being allocated to the entire series of plays and not being associated with any specific one of the series of plays, the single wager being an amount made by any player such that different players pay the same amount;

in response to the single wager, providing, on at least one display device, the player with the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the wagering game including a plurality of outcomes, the plurality of outcomes including a plurality of winning outcomes corresponding to first awards to be awarded to the player, the plurality of winning outcomes including different winning outcomes having corresponding different ones of the first awards;

randomly generating, by use of at least one processor, at least one outcome of each play in the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the outcomes being indicated by symbol combinations developed from a plurality of individual symbols on the at least one display device;

accumulating an element in an accumulation feature during the plurality of the plays in the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the accumulated game-play element involving the symbol combinations that are displayed on the at least one display device during the series of plays of the basic portion of the wagering game, the accumulated game-play element not being related to the credit amount associated with the winning symbol combinations achieved by the player;

before completing the series of plays of the basic portion of wagering game, permitting the player to play a bonus game in response to a predetermined criterion being met for the accumulated element;

after completion of the bonus game, returning to the basic portion of the game to continue playing the series of plays associated with the single wager until the fixed number of plays have been completed; and

resetting the accumulation feature to include no accumulated game-play elements prior to the next purchased series of plays.

26. The method of claim 25, further including awarding first awards for winning outcomes in the basic portion of the game and awarding an additional bonus award associated with the bonus game.