Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a chance application
Patent
1998-08-27
2000-07-18
Layno, Benjamin H.
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a chance application
463 13, 273143R, G07F 1734
Patent
active
060899778
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
The present invention relates to gaming machines of the type arranged to play a game of poker and in particular the invention provides an improvement to a game played on such a machine.
Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particular games and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machines to come up with innovative game features that add interest to the games provided on such machines in order to keep the players amused and therefore willing to continue playing the game.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Gaming or poker machines have been well known in the state of New South Wales for many years and have more recently gained considerable popularity throughout Australia, with quite substantial amounts of money wagered on these machines. There is a growing tendency for State Governments to legalise the use of gaming machines by licensing operators, with resulting revenue gains through licence fees and taxation of monies invested. The licensed operation of gaming machines is the subject of State legislation and regulation. This regulation most always dictates a maximum percentage payout for a gaming machine. For example, a maximum of 85% of monies invested must be returned as winnings, and manufacturers of gaming machines therefore must design their machines around these regulatory controls.
With the growth that has occurred in the gaming machine market there is intense competition between manufacturers to supply the various existing and new venues. When selecting a supplier of gaming machines, the operator of a venue will often pay close attention to the popularity of various games with their patrons. Therefore, gaming machine manufacturers are keen to devise games which are popular with players, as a mechanism for improving sales.
Many various strategies have been tried in the past to make games more enticing to players, including the commonly known double-up feature, whereby, if a player wins a particular game, they can then risk the winnings of that game in a double-or-nothing mode in which they gamble on a subsequent, and often different, game such as whether a red or black card will be the next card drawn.
Other techniques adopted in the past have been to provide complexity in the numbering and combinations of indicia which would result in a win, thereby hoping to convince the player that there is a greater chance of winning and to keep their interest in a particular game.
The present invention provides a game feature in which in response to a trigger condition a wild card symbol roams around the display and a prize is awarded for winning combinations created while the wild card is positioned at each location.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists in a gaming machine having display means, and game control means arranged to control images displayed on the display means, the game control means being arranged to play a game wherein a plurality of symbols are randomly selected and displayed on the display means and, if a winning combination results, the machine pays a prize, the game being characterised in that upon the occurrence of a predetermined triggering event, a wild card symbol is displayed in a first display location and then progressively moved to each of a predetermined number of other display locations, a prize being awarded for winning combinations formed with the wild card symbol for each location in which the wild card symbol is displayed.
The present invention is applicable to video gaming machines of the traditional poker machine style (also known as slot machines or fruit machines) in which the display means comprises a video simulation of a set of rotatable reels, each carrying a plurality of symbols. The invention is equally applicable to video draw poker machines in which a poker hand is displayed on the screen, the cards of the hand being selected from a standard 52 or 53 card deck.
Preferably, the feature of the present invention will be triggered by the occurrence of a special symbol or a combination of special sy
REFERENCES:
patent: 5332228 (1994-07-01), Schultz
patent: 5449173 (1995-09-01), Thomas et al.
patent: 5772506 (1998-06-01), Marks et al.
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