Wagering games with unlockable bonus rounds

• US 9,818,261 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2014
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Pacey, Larry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Milap
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, JEFFREY KEITH
• Application Number:
  US14/573,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20150105141A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• Field of Search: 463 7, 463 9, 463 10, 463 12, 463 13, 463 16, 463 17, 463 22, 463 23, 463 25, 463 30, 463 34
• 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 primarily dedicated to conducting a casino wagering game, the gaming system comprising:

an electronic gaming machine including a gaming cabinet with one or more electronic input devices and one or more electronic display devices coupled to the gaming cabinet, at least one of the one or more electronic input devices configured to receive a physical input from a player and transform the physical input into an electronic data signal and at least one of the one or more electronic display devices operable to display aspects of the casino wagering game;

game-logic circuitry comprising one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming system to;

detect, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance;

initiate a base game of the casino wagering game in response to an electronic data signal generated by at least one of the one or more electronic input devices responsive to a wager input from the player indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance;

determine an outcome of the base game of the casino wagering game based, at least in part, on one or more random elements generated by at least one of one or more electronic random element generators;

display, via at least one of the one or more electronic display devices, the outcome of the base game of the casino wagering game;

transmit an indication of an award in response to the outcome of the base game meeting at least one predetermined award criterion;

in response to a triggering event during play of the base game of the casino wagering game, concurrently display a plurality of player-selectable bonus games via at least one of the one or more electronic display devices, the plurality of bonus games including one or more bonus games available for play and one or more bonus games initially unavailable for play;

in response to receiving a selection from a player for at least one of the available bonus games, initiate the selected available bonus game, the selected available bonus game including bonus-game symbols displayed via the at least one of the one or more electronic display devices while the bonus game is being played by the player, the bonus-game symbols being used for indicating a randomly selected bonus-game outcome;

after completing the selected available bonus game, resume the base game;

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 initially 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,

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;

in response to receiving another selection from the player for another of the available bonus games, initiate the another selected available bonus game; and

receive, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input from the player that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

2. 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.

3. The gaming system of claim 2, 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.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more memory devices is further 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.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more memory devices stores additional instructions that cause the gaming system to:

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

store the downloaded unlocked bonus game on at least one of the one or more memory devices.

6. The gaming system of claim 5, wherein the one or more memory devices are stored inside the at least one gaming cabinet, and wherein the network database is external to and remote from the gaming cabinet.

7. The gaming system of claim 5, wherein the downloading the unlocked bonus game is in real time.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the downloading the unlocked bonus game is according to a predetermined time or a predetermined schedule, or both.

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

10. The gaming system of claim 9, 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 one or more game play criteria.

11. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the selected available bonus game is a player-selection game and the bonus-game symbols include player-selectable elements.

12. A method of operating a gaming system primarily dedicated to conducting a casino wagering game, the gaming system including game-logic circuitry and an electronic gaming machine, the electronic gaming machine including a gaming cabinet with at least one electronic input device and at least one electronic display device coupled to the gaming cabinet;

the at least one electronic input device configured to receive physical inputs from players and transform the physical inputs into electronic data signals, the at least one electronic display device configured to display outcomes of the wagering game, the game-logic circuitry including at least one processor, the method comprising;

detecting, via the at least one electronic input device, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance;

receiving, via the at least one electronic input device, a wager input from a player as an indication of a wager to play the casino wagering game, the wager being covered by the credit balance;

initiating, via the at least one processor, a base game of the casino wagering game in response to an electronic data signal generated by the at least one electronic input device responsive to the wager input from the player;

randomly determining, via the at least one processor, an outcome of the base game of the casino wagering game based, at least in part, on one or more random elements generated by at least one electronic random element generator;

displaying, via the at least one electronic display device, the randomly determined outcome of the base game of the wagering game;

transmitting, via the at least one processor, an indication of an award in response to the outcome of the base game meeting at least one predetermined award criterion;

in response to a triggering event during the base game, concurrently displaying a plurality of bonus games via the at least one electronic 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 electronic input device, a third physical input indicating a selection from the player for at least one of the unlocked bonus games;

initiating play of the selected at least one unlocked bonus game, the selected at least one unlocked bonus game including bonus-game symbols displayed via the at least one electronic display device while the bonus game is being played by the player, the bonus-game symbols being used for indicating a randomly selected bonus-game outcome;

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

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;

in response to the subsequent triggering event during play of the resumed base game, displaying 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; and

receiving, via the at least one electronic input device, a cashout input from the player to initiate a payout from the credit balance.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising, in response to receiving another selection from the player for the now unlocked bonus game, executing play of the now unlocked bonus game.

14. The 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.

15. The method of claim 14, 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.

16. The 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.

17. The 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.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the downloading the unlocked bonus game is according to a predetermined time or schedule, or both.

19. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the selected at least one unlocked bonus game is a player-selection game and the bonus-game symbols include player-selectable elements.

20. An electronic gaming machine for conducting a wagering game, the electronic gaming machine comprising:

a gaming cabinet;

one or more electronic input devices coupled to the gaming cabinet;

one or more electronic video display devices coupled to the gaming cabinet; and

one or more controllers coupled to the gaming cabinet and including one or more random element generators configured to generate one or more random elements associated with play of the wagering game, at least one of the one or more controllers being configured to;

detect, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance;

receive, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a wager input from a player indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance;

initiate a base game of the wagering game in response to the received wager input;

determine an outcome of the base game of the wagering game based, at least in part, on one or more random elements generated by at least one of the one or more random element generators;

direct at least one of the one or more electronic video display devices to display the outcome of the base game of the wagering game;

transmit an electronic indication of an award in response to the outcome of the base game meeting at least one predetermined award criterion;

in response to a triggering event during play of the base game of the wagering game, direct at least one of the one or more electronic video display devices to concurrently display a plurality of player-selectable bonus games, the plurality of bonus games including one or more bonus games available for play and one or more bonus games initially unavailable for play;

in response to receiving an indication of a selection from the player for at least one of the available bonus games via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, initiate the selected available bonus game, the selected available bonus game including bonus-game symbols displayed via the at least one of the one or more electronic video display devices while the bonus game is being played by the player, the bonus-game symbols being used for indicating a randomly selected bonus-game outcome;

after completing the selected available bonus game, resume the base game;

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 concurrently displayed among the one or more bonus games available for player selection and play in response to a subsequent triggering event during play of the resumed base game; and

receive, by at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input to initiate a payout from the credit balance.

21. The gaming system of claim 20, wherein the selected available bonus game is a player-selection game and the bonus-game symbols include player-selectable elements.