GAMING SYSTEM, GAMING DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A CASCADING SYMBOL GAME INCLUDING SHIFTING SYMBOLS ACCORDING TO DIRECTIONAL INDICATORS

• US 20110111825A1
• Filed: 11/10/2009
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Caputo, Scott A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,165,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/20
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3216 Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects
• 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 17/3246 involving coins and/or banknotes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3265 Influencing the position of stopped moving members to achieve a winning arrangement, e.g. nudging, shuffling, holding
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3295 Games involving skill, e.g. dexterity, memory, thinking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

The disclosed gaming system displays an arrangement of symbols including a plurality of symbol positions. For a play of the game, the gaming system displays a randomly generated symbol in each symbol position. One or more of the symbols are displayed as associated with a directional indicator indicating a shift direction for that symbol. If any winning symbol combination is displayed, the gaming system shifts at least one symbol within the symbol matrix according to the directional indicator associated with that symbol, such as by shifting the symbol as designated distance in the shift direction indicated by the symbol'"'"'s directional indicator. In one embodiment, the gaming system removes one or more symbols in the shift path of a shifting symbol. In one embodiment, the gaming system generates and displays new symbols in the then-empty symbol positions of the symbol matrix and repeats the determination, shifting, and generation.

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 input device and the at least one display device, for a play of a game, to;

(a) display a plurality of symbol positions in a designated arrangement of symbol positions,

(b) for each of the symbol positions, display a randomly generated one of a plurality of symbols in said symbol position,

(c) determine if the displayed symbols form any winning symbol combinations, and

(d) if the displayed symbols form any winning symbol combinations;

(i) provide an award based on each winning symbol combination;

(ii) if at least one of the symbols of at least one of the winning symbol combinations is associated with a shift path;

(A) display at least one symbol of said winning symbol combination as shifting along said associated shift path, said shift path including at least one designated non-winning symbol determined not to be in said winning symbol combination, and

(B) remove any shifted symbols and any designated non-winning symbols from display,

(iii) display one of the plurality of symbols in each of any empty symbol positions, and

(iv) repeat (c) and (d).

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to remove the at least one shifted one symbol and the designated non-winning symbol from display in the plurality of symbol positions by removing each symbol along the shift path from display.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to remove at least one symbol of at least one winning symbol combination which is not associated with any directional indicator.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the award is based, at least in part, on any removed symbols for the play of the game.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of symbols is associated with a directional indicator and the shift path of said shifted symbol is based on any directional indicator associated with said shifted symbol.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to, after displaying a randomly generated one of the plurality of symbols in each symbol position, display at least one randomly generated directional indicator in association with at least one of the displayed symbols, the shift path of the at least one shifted symbol of the at least one winning symbol combination based on the displayed directional indicator associated with that at least one shifted symbol.

7. The gaming system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the at least one randomly generated directional indicator in association with at least one of the symbols of the plurality of symbol positions based, at least in part, on a location of that at least one symbol.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display at least one universal directional indicator and display at least two symbols as shifting along at least two shift paths for the play of the game, the shift paths of the at least two shifted symbols each based on the at least one universal directional indicator.

9. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to randomly determine a direction of the at least one universal directional indicator at least twice for the play of the game.

10. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of symbols is a designated symbol, and if the designated symbol is in the shift path, when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the designated symbol as remaining in the plurality of symbol positions regardless of any displayed shifting.

11. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at lease one display device to, for at least one of any empty symbol positions, display one of the plurality of symbols in said empty symbol position by displaying zero or more already-generated symbols as shifting into said empty symbol position and thereafter randomly generating one of the plurality of symbols in zero or more then-empty symbol positions.

12. 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 input device and the at least one display device, for a play of a game, to;

(a) for each of the plurality of symbol positions, display a randomly generated one of a plurality of symbols in said symbol position,

(b) display a directional indicator in association with at least one of the generated symbols, the directional indicator indicating a shift path for the at least one associated symbol,

(c) determine if the displayed symbols form any winning symbol combinations,

(d) for each of any winning symbol combinations;

(i) display an award based on said winning symbol combination, and

(ii) for each of any symbol of said winning symbol combination having an associated directional indicator;

(A) display said symbol as shifting along the shift path indicated by the associated directional indicator, and

(B) remove any symbol displayed in any symbol position along the shift path from display, and

(e) for each of any empty symbol positions;

(i) display one of the plurality of symbols in that empty symbol position,

(ii) determine if the displayed symbols form any winning symbol combinations, and

(iii) modify the award based on any displayed winning symbol combinations.

13. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the award is based, at least in part, on any removed symbols for the play of the game.

14. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of symbols is associated with a directional indicator and the shift path for each symbol is based on the directional indicator for that symbol.

15. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein each of a first type of symbol is associated with a directional indicator and each of a second type of symbol is not associated with a directional indicator.

16. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein each of the first type of symbol is associated with a same universal directional indicator.

17. The gaming system of claim 16, wherein the universal directional indicator is a first universal directional indicator and each of a third type of symbol is associated with a different second universal directional indicator.

18. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to, after displaying a randomly generated one of the plurality of symbols in each of the plurality of symbol positions, randomly generate and display at least one directional indicator in association with at least one of the displayed symbols.

19. The gaming system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to randomly generate and display the at least one directional indicator in association with at least one of the generated symbols based on a displayed location of that at least one symbol.

20. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at lease one display device to, for at least one of any empty symbol positions, display one of the plurality of symbols in said empty symbol position by displaying zero or more already-generated symbols as shifting into said empty symbol position and thereafter randomly generating one of the plurality of symbols in zero or more then-empty symbol positions.

21. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at lease one display device to, after (d)(iii), repeat (c) and (d) at least once.

22. 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 input device and the at least one display device, for a play of a game, to;

(a) for each of a plurality of symbol positions, display a randomly generated one of a plurality of symbols in said symbol position, the plurality of symbols including a shiftable symbol and a path-altering symbol, and

(b) if any winning symbol combinations are displayed;

(i) provide an award based, at least in part, on each winning symbol combination,

(ii) for each of any symbols of at least one of the winning symbol combinations which is the shiftable symbol;

(A) display said shiftable symbol as shifting along a first shift path, and

(B) for each symbol position in the shift path;

(1) if the symbol displayed in that symbol position is not the path-altering symbol, remove said symbol from display, and

(2) if the symbol displayed in that symbol position is the path-altering symbol, display said shiftable symbol as shifting along a second, different shift path, and

(iii) if any empty symbol positions are displayed;

(A) display one of the plurality of symbols in each of any empty symbol positions, and

(B) repeat (b)(i) and (b)(ii) at least once.

23. The gaming system of claim 22, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to generate at least one directional indicator in association with the shiftable symbol.

24. The gaming system of claim 23, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the shiftable symbol in association with a directional indicator each time the shiftable symbol is generated for the play of the game.

25. The gaming system of claim 23, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device to randomly determine the directional indicator of the shiftable symbol after generating the shiftable symbol in one of the plurality of symbol positions.

26. The gaming system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the directional indicators is generated based, at least in part, on a position of at least one shiftable symbol with which the at least one directional indicator is associated within the plurality of symbol positions.

27. The gaming system of claim 22, wherein the award is based, at least in part, on a quantity of path-altering symbols in the shift path of any shifted symbol for the play of the game.

28. The gaming system of claim 22, wherein the award is based, at least in part, on a quantity of symbols removed from the plurality of symbol positions during the play of the game.

29. The gaming system of claim 22, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device to, if any empty symbol positions are displayed, repeat (b)(i), (b)(ii), and (b)(iii).

30. 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 input device and the at least one display device, for a play of a game, to;

(a) display a plurality of symbol positions in a designated arrangement of symbol positions,

(b) for each of the symbol positions, display a randomly generated symbol in said symbol position,

(c) determine if the displayed symbols form any winning symbol combinations, and

(d) if the displayed symbols form any winning symbol combinations;

(i) provide an award based on each winning symbol combination;

(ii) for each of any symbols of each of any winning symbol combinations which is associated with a directional indicator;

(A) display said symbol as shifting according to said directional indicator, and

(B) remove said shifted symbol and at least one non-shifted symbol which is not included in any winning symbol combination,

(iii) remove at least one symbol of at least one winning symbol combination which is not associated with any directional indicator;

(iv) display one of the plurality of symbols in each of any empty symbol positions, and

(v) repeat (c) and (d).

31. The gaming system of claim 30, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to, after displaying a randomly generated one of the plurality of symbols in each symbol position, display at least one randomly generated directional indicator in association with at least one of the displayed symbols.

32. The gaming system of claim 31, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the at least one randomly generate directional indicator in association with at least one of the symbols of the plurality of symbol positions based, at least in part, on a location of that at least one symbol.

33. The gaming system of claim 30, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to associate at least two different symbols with a same universal directional indicator.

34. The gaming system of claim 33, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to randomly determine a direction of the at least one universal directional indicator at least twice for the play of the game.

35. The gaming system of claim 30, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the at lease one display device to, for at least one of any empty symbol positions, display one of the plurality of symbols in said empty symbol position by displaying zero or more already-generated symbols as shifting into said empty symbol position and thereafter randomly generating one of the plurality of symbols in zero or more then-empty symbol positions.