Grid-based lottery game and associated method

• US 8,808,080 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2011
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Scientific Games Corporation
• Original Assignee: Scientific Games International Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Meyer, Mark G.
• Primary Examiner(s): GALKA, LAWRENCE STEFAN
• Application Number:
  US13/105,099
• Publication Number:
  US 20110281637A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 463/17
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 15/005 with dispensing of lottery tickets
• 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 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

A game method and related system provide a plurality of lottery tickets for players in the lottery game, with each lottery ticket having a grid of uniquely identifiable positions displayed thereon. The grid on each ticket is randomly populated with indicia from a field of indicia such that the grid positions contain at least one indicia and the entire field of indicia is randomly populated into each grid. A set of player indicia is indicted on each lottery ticket, which may be randomly generated or selected by the player. The positions in the grid are randomly and sequentially drawn, and the sequential order in which the positions were drawn is provided to the players. Prizes are determined for winning lottery tickets as a function of the number of the grid positions sequentially and randomly drawn prior to matching all of the player indicia on the respective lottery tickets.

Claims

1. A lottery game method implemented by one or more game terminals in communication with a server via a communications network, comprising:

by the game terminal, providing a plurality of lottery tickets to players in the lottery game, each lottery ticket having a grid of positions, each grid position having a unique identifier assigned thereto on the ticket;

randomly populating the grid on each ticket with indicia from a field of indicia such that each grid position contains at least one indicia and all indicia in the field of indicia are randomly populated into the grid, with each indicia in the field of indicia used on the ticket only once, the randomly populated grid varying between different lottery tickets;

the indicia populated into each grid position being in addition to the unique identifier assigned to each grid position;

indicating a set of player indicia on each lottery ticket, the set of player indicia comprising a randomly generated or player-selected subset of the field of indicia;

by the server, randomly and sequentially drawing the unique identifiers on the grid subsequent to issuance of the plurality of lottery tickets to the players, and providing to the players a sequential order in which the unique identifiers were drawn via a post-drawing means separate from the lottery tickets; and

wherein prizes are determined for winning lottery tickets as a function of the number of grid positions sequentially and randomly drawn needed to match the set of player indicia on the respective lottery tickets.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the grid positions are numbered on the lottery tickets, and the numbers are randomly and sequentially drawn and presented to the players in the order drawn.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein each of the lottery tickets further comprises a puzzle that is solved by the set of player indicia.

4. The method as in claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of the lottery tickets have a same puzzle solved by the same set of player indicia, with the set of player indicia being randomly populated into different grid positions between the respective lottery tickets.

5. The method as in claim 4, wherein a solution to the puzzle is provided on the lottery tickets.

6. The method as in claim 1, wherein the field of indicia comprises letters of an alphabet, and the set of player indicia comprises letters needed to solve a word puzzle.

7. The method as in claim 6, wherein a plurality of the lottery tickets have a same word puzzle solved by a same set of player indicia, with the set of player indicia being randomly populated into different grid positions between the respective lottery tickets.

8. The method as in claim 1, wherein at least one of the randomly generated grid positions is a wild position that may be used by a player to select any position on their respective lottery ticket grid.

9. The method as in claim 1, wherein the lottery tickets have an instant win component that is determined upon removing a scratch-off material from at least one of the grid or player indicia on the ticket.

10. The method as in claim 9, wherein the instant win component includes matching one of the player indicia with a particular grid position designated on the lottery ticket for an instant-prize win.

11. The method as in claim 1, wherein the grids contain only as many grid positions as there are indicia in the field of indicia such that each grid position contains one indicia from the field of indicia and all of the grid positions are randomly and sequentially drawn.

12. A system for hosting a lottery game, comprising:

a communication network;

a plurality of game terminals;

a server in communication with said game terminals via said communication network;

a plurality of lottery tickets;

said game terminals configured to issue said lottery tickets to players, with each lottery ticket having a grid of positions, each grid position having a unique identifier assigned thereto on the ticket;

said game terminals configured to randomly populate the grid on each ticket with indicia from a field of indicia such that each grid position contains at least one indicia and all indicia in the field of indicia are randomly populated into the grid, with each indicia in the field of indicia used on the ticket only once, the randomly populated grid varying between different lottery tickets;

the indicia populated into each grid position being in addition to the unique identifier assigned to each grid position;

said game terminals further configured to indicate a set of player indicia on each lottery ticket, the set of player indicia comprising a randomly generated or player-selected subset of the field of indicia;

said game terminals further configured to transmit information on each ticket issued to said server, said server storing a record of each ticket issued that includes the transmitted information;

wherein in a subsequent drawing event, the unique identifiers on the grid are randomly and sequentially drawn and presented to the players via a post-drawing means separate from the lottery tickets in a sequential order in which they were drawn; and

said server further configured to determine winning tickets from the stored records and determine prizes for winning lottery tickets as a function of the number of grid positions sequentially and randomly drawn needed to match the set of player indicia on the respective lottery tickets.

13. The system as in claim 12, wherein said game terminals are configured to number the grid positions on said lottery tickets, with the numbers being randomly and sequentially drawn and presented to the players in the order drawn in the subsequent drawing event.

14. The system as in claim 12, wherein said lottery tickets further comprise a puzzle that is solved by the set of player indicia.

15. The system as in claim 14, wherein a solution to the puzzle is provided on said lottery tickets.

16. The system as in claim 12, wherein the field of indicia comprises letters of an alphabet, and the set of player indicia comprises letters needed to solve a word puzzle.

17. The system as in claim 16, wherein said game terminals are further configured to generate at least a portion of the plurality of said lottery tickets having a same word puzzle solved by a same set of player indicia, with the set of player indicia being randomly populated into different grid positions between the respective lottery tickets.

18. The system as in claim 12, wherein said at least one of the grid positions is designated as a wild position that may be used by a player to select any position on their respective lottery ticket grid.

19. The system as in claim 12, wherein the grids contain only as many grid positions as there are indicia in the field of indicia such that each grid position contains one indicia from the field of indicia and all of the grid positions are randomly and sequentially drawn.

20. The system as in claim 12, wherein said lottery tickets include an instant-win component and comprise a scratch-off material over at least one of the grid or player indicia on the ticket.