Wagering games with unlockable bonus rounds

• US 9,076,298 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2012
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Pacey, Larry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pierce, Damon
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, JEFFREY KEITH
• Application Number:
  US13/462,050
• Publication Number:
  US 20120214581A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/7, 463 9- 13, 463/16, 463 19- 22, 463/25, 463 30- 31, 463/34, 463 39- 43
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3258 Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games

Abstract

Method and system are disclosed for allowing players at wagering game terminals to select entire sets of bonus games instead of a single bonus game upon occurrence of a certain randomly selected basic game outcome. One or more of the bonus games or sets of bonus games may be temporarily unavailable or “locked” to the player. The player may unlock the bonus games or sets of bonus games by acquiring certain game assets, reaching certain game milestones, and/or exceeding certain wagering levels. The unlocked games may reveal credits, prizes, progressives, basic and/or bonus game updates, or additional bonus games, some of which may also be locked. The updates and additions may already be present in the wagering game terminals or they may be downloaded from a central location. The player may retain the locked and unlocked statuses of the bonus games across multiple wagering game sessions and/or wagering game terminals.

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 storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the gaming system to;

operate a base game of a wagering game;

in response to a triggering event during play of the base game, display a plurality of bonus games via the at least one display device, the plurality of bonus games including one or more bonus games available for play and one or more bonus games unavailable for play;

in response to receiving a selection from a player for any one of the available bonus games, operate the selected available bonus game;

after operating the selected available bonus game, resume the base game; and

in response to the player achieving a certain eligibility ranking based on one or more game play criteria, unlock at least one of the one or more unavailable bonus games such that the unlocked bonus game is now among the one or more bonus games available for play in response to a subsequent triggering event during play of the resumed base game.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory device stores additional instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the gaming system to:

in response to the subsequent triggering event during play of the resumed base game, display the plurality of bonus games with the unlocked bonus game displayed among the one or more bonus games available for player selection and play; and

in response to receiving another selection from the player for any one of the available bonus games, operate the selected available bonus game.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the achieving the certain eligibility ranking is based on factors including acquiring certain game assets, reaching certain game milestones, or exceeding a certain level of wagering activity, or any combination thereof.

4. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein at least one of the factors is interchangeable with another of the factors such that the at least one factor or the another factor will suffice for achieving the certain eligibility ranking.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory device is operable to store an unlocked status of the unlocked bonus game from a current gaming session such that the unlocked bonus game is available for play in response to a future triggering event during a subsequent gaming session.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory device stores additional instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the gaming system to:

in response to the unlocking of the at least one unavailable bonus game, download the unlocked bonus game from a network database; and

store the downloaded unlocked bonus game on the at least one memory device.

7. The gaming system of claim 6, wherein the downloading the unlocked bonus game is according to a predetermined time or schedule, or both.

8. The gaming system of claim 6, wherein the at least one memory device resides in a gaming terminal, and wherein the network database is external to and remote from the gaming terminal.

9. The gaming system of claim 6, wherein the downloading the unlocked bonus game is in real time.

10. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of bonus games is associated with a respective plurality of additional bonus games.

11. The gaming system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the additional bonus games is initially unavailable for play and unlockable in response to the player achieving a second eligibility ranking based on the one or more game play criteria.

12. A computer-implemented method for implementing a wagering game on a gaming system with at least one input device, at least one display device, and one or more processors, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a wager via the at least one input device;

executing play of a base game of the wagering game via the one or more processors;

in response to a triggering event during play of the base game, displaying a plurality of bonus games associated with the wagering game via the at least one display device, the plurality of bonus games including one or more unlocked bonus games available for play and one or more locked bonus games initially unavailable for play;

receiving, via the at least one input device, an indication of a selection from a player for at least one of the unlocked bonus games;

executing play of the selected at least one unlocked bonus game;

after play of the selected at least one unlocked bonus game, resuming the base game; and

in response to the player achieving a certain eligibility ranking based on one or more game play criteria, unlocking at least one of the one or more locked bonus games such that the now unlocked bonus game is among the one or more unlocked bonus games available for play in response to a subsequent triggering event during play of the resumed base game.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising, in response to the subsequent triggering event during play of the resumed base game, display the plurality of bonus games with the now unlocked bonus game displayed among the one or more unlocked bonus games available for player selection and play.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising, in response to receiving another selection from the player for the now unlocked bonus game, execute play of the now unlocked bonus game.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the achieving the certain eligibility ranking is based on factors including acquiring certain game assets, reaching certain game milestones, or exceeding a certain level of wagering activity, or any combination thereof.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein at least one of the factors is interchangeable with another of the factors such that the at least one factor or the another factor will suffice for achieving the certain eligibility ranking.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising storing an unlocked status of the now unlocked bonus game from a current gaming session such that the now unlocked bonus game is available for play in response to a future triggering event during a subsequent gaming session.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising, in response to the unlocking of the at least one locked bonus game, downloading the now unlocked bonus game from a network database, and storing the downloaded unlocked bonus game on a local memory device.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein the downloading the unlocked bonus game is according to a predetermined time or schedule, or both.

20. A computer program product with one or more non-transient computer-readable media including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to operate with one or more input devices and one or more display devices to:

in response to an indication of a wager, execute play of a base game of a wagering game;

in response to a triggering event during play of the base game, display a plurality of bonus games associated with the wagering game, the plurality of bonus games including one or more unlocked bonus games available for play and one or more locked bonus games initially unavailable for play;

in response to an indication of a selection from a player for at least one of the unlocked bonus games, execute play of the selected unlocked bonus game;

after play of the selected unlocked bonus game, resume the base game; and

in response to the player achieving a certain eligibility ranking based on one or more game play criteria, unlock at least one of the one or more locked bonus games such that the now unlocked bonus game is among the one or more unlocked bonus games available for play in response to a subsequent triggering event during play of the resumed base game.