Gaming system and method for providing an offer and acceptance game

• US 8,840,456 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2012
• Issued: 09/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Basallo, Leandro, Caputo, Scott A., Saunders, Brian F.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEODHAR, OMKAR A
• Application Number:
  US13/626,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20140087861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/20, 463/25, 463/29
• US Class Current: 463/20
• 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 system including an offer and acceptance game including a series of offer component accumulations. One or more accumulated offer components are associated with one or more award values which form different offers for acceptance or rejection. One or more of such offer component accumulations are also associated with an elimination of one or more of any previously accumulated offer components. Such a configuration provides that when deciding whether to accept an offer (including the currently accumulated, non-eliminated offer components) or reject the offer and accumulate additional offer components, a player weighs the risks of eliminating one or more previously accumulated offer components.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device to;

(a) display an offer component position set in association with a persistent offer and acceptance game, said offer component position set including a plurality of offer component positions,

(b) for a play of a primary game in association with a placement of a wager;

(i) randomly generate a plurality of symbols,

(ii) display the generated symbols,

(iii) determine any award associated with the generated symbols, and

(iv) display any determined award,

(c) if none of a plurality of different designated symbols occupy any of the offer component positions of the offer component position set or at least one of the generated symbols is one of the plurality of different designated symbols and said designated symbol is associated with each of the symbols which occupy each of the offer component positions of the offer component position set;

(i) assign said designated symbol to at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set, and

(ii) display said assigned designated symbol at the at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(d) if at least one of the generated symbols is one of the plurality of different designated symbols and said designated symbol is not associated with any of at least one symbol which occupies at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set;

(i) eliminate a display of the designated symbols which occupy the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(ii) assign said designated symbol to at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set, and

(iii) display said assigned designated symbol at the at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(e) form an award offer based on the symbols assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(f) display the formed award offer,

(g) enable a player to accept or reject the formed award offer,

(h) if the player accepts the formed award offer, provide the player the accepted award offer, and

(i) if the player rejects the formed award offer and the formed award offer is not a final award offer, repeat (b) to (i) for another play of the primary game upon another placement of another wager.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to display a plurality of offer component position sets in association with the persistent offer and acceptance game, each offer component position set including a plurality of offer component positions.

3. The gaming system of claim 2, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to select one of the offer component position sets if at least one of the generated symbols is one of the plurality of designated symbols.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein said designated symbol is not associated with any of the symbols which occupy any of the offer component positions of the offer component position set if said designated symbol is a different symbol than any of the symbols which occupy any of the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to form a first award offer of a first award value if a first quantity of a first one of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set and form a second award offer of a second, different award value if a second, different quantity of the first one of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to form a first award offer of a first award value if a first quantity of a first of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set and form a second award offer of a second, different award value if the first quantity of a second of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to form the award offer based on an amount of the wager placed in association with each of the symbols associated to the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the designated symbols is associated with an offer component set modifier.

9. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein when executed by the at least one processor if the at least one designated symbol associated with the offer component set modifier is assigned to the offer component position set, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to modify a quantity of the plurality of offer component positions of said offer component position set.

10. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the formed award offer is selected from the group consisting of:

a quantity of monetary credits, a quantity of non-monetary credits, a quantity of promotional credits, a quantity of player tracking points, a progressive award, a modifier, a quantity of free plays of the primary game, a quantity of plays of at least one non-wagering game, a multiplier of a quantity of free plays of the primary game, at least one lottery based award, a wager match for at least one play of at least one game, an increase in an average expected payback percentage of the primary game, at least one comp, a quantity of credits usable for an online play of an online game, a quantity of virtual goods and an access code usable to unlock content on an internet.

11. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

(a) causing at least one display device to display an offer component position set in association with a persistent offer and acceptance game, said offer component position set including a plurality of offer component positions,

(b) for a play of a primary game in association with a placement of a wager;

(i) causing at least one processor to execute a plurality of instructions to randomly generate a plurality of symbols,

(ii) causing the at least one display device to display the generated symbols,

(iii) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine any award associated with the generated symbols, and

(iv) causing the at least one display device to display any determined award,

(c) if none of a plurality of different designated symbols occupy any of the offer component positions of the offer component position set or at least one of the generated symbols is one of the plurality of different designated symbols and said designated symbol is associated with each of the symbols which occupy each of the offer component positions of the offer component position set;

(i) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to assign said designated symbol to at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set, and

(ii) causing the at least one display device to display said assigned designated symbol at the at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(d) if at least one of the generated symbols is one of the plurality of different designated symbols and said designated symbol is not associated with any of at least one symbol which occupies at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set;

(i) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to eliminate a display of the designated symbols which occupy the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(ii) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to assign said designated symbol to at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set, and

(iii) causing the at least one display device to display said assigned designated symbol at the at least one of the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(e) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to form an award offer based on the symbols assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set,

(f) causing the at least one display device to display the formed award offer,

(g) enabling a player to accept or reject the formed award offer,

(h) if the player accepts the formed award offer, providing the player the accepted award offer, and

(i) if the player rejects the formed award offer and the formed award offer is not a final award offer, repeating (b) to (i) for another play of the primary game upon another placement of another wager.

12. The method of claim 11, which includes causing the at least one display device to display a plurality of offer component position sets in association with the persistent offer and acceptance game, each offer component position set including a plurality of offer component positions.

13. The method of claim 12, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to select one of the offer component position sets if at least one of the generated symbols is one of the plurality of designated symbols.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said designated symbol is not associated with any of the symbols which occupy any of the offer component positions of the offer component position set if said designated symbol is a different symbol than any of the symbols which occupy any of the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

15. The method of claim 11, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to form a first award offer of a first award value if a first quantity of a first one of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set and form a second award offer of a second, different award value if a second, different quantity of the first one of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

16. The method of claim 11, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to form a first award offer of a first award value if a first quantity of a first of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set and form a second award offer of a second, different award value if the first quantity of a second of the plurality of designated symbols are assigned to the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

17. The method of claim 11, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to form the award offer based on an amount of the wager placed in association with each of the symbols associated to the offer component positions of the offer component position set.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the designated symbols is associated with an offer component set modifier.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein when executed by the at least one processor if the at least one designated symbol associated with the offer component set modifier is assigned to the offer component position set, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to modify a quantity of the plurality of offer component positions of said offer component position set.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the formed award offer is selected from the group consisting of:

a quantity of monetary credits, a quantity of non-monetary credits, a quantity of promotional credits, a quantity of player tracking points, a progressive award, a modifier, a quantity of free plays of the primary game, a quantity of plays of at least one non-wagering game, a multiplier of a quantity of free plays of the primary game, at least one lottery based award, a wager match for at least one play of at least one game, an increase in an average expected payback percentage of the primary game, at least one comp, a quantity of credits usable for an online play of an online game, a quantity of virtual goods and an access code usable to unlock content on an internet.

21. The method of claim 11, which is provided through a data network.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the data network is the internet.