U.S. patent application number 12/559236 was filed with the patent office on 2011-03-17 for gaming device having near-miss configuration.
This patent application is currently assigned to ACRES-FIORE PATENTS. Invention is credited to John F. Acres.
Application Number | 20110065492 12/559236 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43731099 |
Filed Date | 2011-03-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110065492 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Acres; John F. |
March 17, 2011 |
GAMING DEVICE HAVING NEAR-MISS CONFIGURATION
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to
implementing a near-miss outcome on a gaming device. The display
characteristics of the near-miss outcome including the
representative indicia that makes up the near-miss outcome and the
display positioning of this representative indicia is determined.
The near-miss outcome may be directly selected as a game outcome
from a plurality of possible game outcomes, or may be identified as
the result of a triggering game event and displayed instead of or
in conjunction with a determined game outcome.
Inventors: |
Acres; John F.; (Las Vegas,
NV) |
Assignee: |
ACRES-FIORE PATENTS
Las Vegas
NV
|
Family ID: |
43731099 |
Appl. No.: |
12/559236 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/20 ;
463/43 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3265 20130101;
G07F 17/3227 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/20 ;
463/43 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method of implementing a near-miss game outcome on a gaming
device, the method comprising: receiving an indication that a game
outcome is a near-miss outcome; determining display characteristics
of the near-miss outcome including representative outcome indicia
of the near-miss outcome and display locations of the
representative outcome indicia; and displaying the near-miss
outcome on the gaming device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining display
characteristics of the near-miss outcome further includes selecting
a near-miss outcome from a plurality of possible near-miss
outcomes.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting a near-miss outcome
from a plurality of possible near-miss outcomes includes obtaining
a random number that corresponds to a weighted range of numbers
associated with the plurality of possible near-miss outcomes.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein prior to obtaining the random
number, the weighted range of numbers associated with the plurality
of possible near-miss outcomes is updated in response to a
predetermined criterion.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined criterion is a
periodic time-based measurement.
6. The method of claim 3, further comprising: tracking prior gaming
events on the gaming device; and updating the weighted range of
numbers associated with the plurality of possible near-miss
outcomes based on the tracked gaming events.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the tracked gaming event includes
whether the player has been identified to the gaming device.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining representative
outcome indicia of the near-miss outcome includes determining reel
stops associated with the near-miss outcome.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining representative
outcome indicia of the near-miss outcome includes determining cards
associated with the near-miss outcome.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining display locations of
the representative outcome indicia includes determining reel
positions to display the near-miss outcome.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining display
characteristics of the near-miss outcome further includes:
determining if each possible payline of the gaming device is
played; and selecting a winning outcome to display on a non-played
payline when every possible payline on a gaming device is not
played.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising selecting a
near-miss outcome to display on one of the played paylines when
every possible payline on a gaming device is played.
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: selecting a winning
outcome to display on the gaming device; and selecting the reel
positions such that the winning outcome is not displayed on any
possible payline.
14. A method of implementing a near-miss game outcome on a gaming
device, the method comprising: identifying a triggering event to
display a near-miss outcome; determining display characteristics of
the near-miss outcome including representative outcome indicia of
the near-miss outcome and display locations of the representative
outcome indicia; and displaying the near-miss outcome on the gaming
device.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein identifying a triggering event
to display a near-miss outcome includes: tracking gaming events on
the gaming device; and monitoring when one or more tracked gaming
events satisfies a predetermined criterion for triggering a
near-miss outcome.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein tracking gaming events on the
gaming device includes tracking a number of games that have losing
outcomes.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein tracking gaming events on the
gaming device includes tracking a number of games remaining on a
time-limited banked item associated with a player.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein tracking a number of games
remaining on a time-limited banked item associated with a player
includes tracking a number of games remaining for which a player
can utilize a banked nudge item or a banked respin item.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein determining display
characteristics of the near-miss outcome includes: determining if a
next game outcome to display is a winning outcome; replacing the
next game outcome with the near-miss outcome when the next game
outcome is a losing outcome; and selecting display locations of the
representative near-miss outcome indicia to not interfere with the
next game outcome when the next game outcome is a winning
outcome.
20. A gaming device comprising: a player interface panel including
at least one game initiation device; a memory to store a plurality
of possible game outcomes including at least one near-miss outcome;
a processor configured to determine a game outcome from the
plurality of possible outcomes and configured to determine display
parameters of the game outcome; and a game display to show the game
outcome having the determined display parameters.
21. The gaming device of claim 20, wherein the processor is
configured to determine the display parameters of the near-miss
game outcome by selecting reel stops corresponding to the near-miss
outcome.
22. The gaming device of claim 20, wherein the plurality of
possible outcomes includes a single generic near-miss game
outcome.
23. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein the memory further
stores a plurality of possible near-miss outcomes associated with
the stored single generic near-miss game outcome.
24. The gaming device of claim 23, wherein each of the plurality of
possible near-miss outcomes has a corresponding table range with
which it is associated.
25. The gaming device of claim 24, wherein the table ranges of each
outcome is associated with the hit frequency of that game
outcome.
26. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein the memory is modifiable
by a casino operator to alter the table ranges of each outcome.
27. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein the table ranges stored
in the memory are modifiable based on game events occurring on the
gaming device.
28. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein the table ranges stored
in the memory are modifiable based on characteristics of a
player.
29. The gaming device of claim 20, further comprising a meter to
track a number of near-miss outcomes received by a player.
30. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein the processor is further
configured to award the player a prize when the tracked number of
near-miss outcomes received by a player meets a predetermined
criterion.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This disclosure relates generally to gaming devices, and
more particularly to gaming devices configured to include near-miss
game outcomes during game play of the gaming device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Game outcomes on gaming devices are typically determined at
random where winning outcomes award a player money, credits,
promotions, prizes, or other incentives, and losing outcomes
typically result only in a lost wager. Player excitement is
typically generated by providing the possibility of winning large
awards for a relatively meager wager. Business principles require
that most outcomes not be large winning outcomes for the player.
However, this often times must be balanced with giving the player
some incentive to keep playing. Therefore smaller valued winning
outcomes are typically included in the game to drive up the hit
frequency of winning outcomes while not awarding extremely large
prizes too often.
[0003] It was quickly observed that while these smaller prizes were
valued to a player, an outcome associated with a much larger prize
that just missed being awarded also strongly incentivized players
to keep playing because of the generated excitement of almost
walking away with a large prize. For example, on a three reel
spinning-reel slot machine, a game that had a jackpot symbol
landing on the payline on a first reel, followed by a jackpot
symbol landing on the payline of the second reel builds great
player excitement because of the possibility of the third reel
stopping with ajackpot symbol on the payline. As the reel slows
down, ajackpot symbol can be seen coming into view. However, it
stops just past the payline so that a blank symbol lines up on the
payline. While the player feels like she just missed winning the
jackpot, this outcome ultimately does not pay the player anything.
Gaming device designers noted the excitement caused by this
"near-miss" losing outcome and began developing games that tried to
encourage this phenomenon. This was largely accomplished by
stacking a large number of virtual reel stops on the symbols
directly adjacent to jackpot symbols associated with large awards.
This configuration causes several problems, however. First,
regulatory agencies became concerned that players were being
treated unfairly and in some cases imposed restrictions on the
ratio of the number of virtual stops that can be assigned to any
two given reel strip positions. Second, excessive use of the
near-miss outcomes makes the situation less exciting for the player
because they are used to seeing it often.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram that illustrates a
gaming device according to embodiments of the invention.
[0005] FIG. 1B is an isometric view of the gaming device
illustrated in FIG. 1A.
[0006] FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are detail diagrams of exemplary types
of gaming devices according to embodiments of the invention.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of networked gaming
devices according to embodiments of the invention.
[0008] FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are detail diagrams of exemplary
near-miss outcomes on a gaming device according to embodiments of
the invention.
[0009] FIGS. 5A and 5B are illustrated representations of exemplary
paytables for a gaming device according to embodiments of the
invention.
[0010] FIGS. 6A and 6B are illustrated representations of exemplary
near-miss tables for a gaming device according to embodiments of
the invention.
[0011] FIGS. 7A and 7B are illustrated representations of exemplary
paytables and near-miss tables for a gaming device according to
embodiments of the invention.
[0012] FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are detailed diagrams of an exemplary
gaming event resulting from a near-miss gaming outcome on a gaming
device according to embodiments of the invention.
[0013] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method of implementing a
near-miss gaming outcome on a gaming device according to
embodiments of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 10 is a detailed diagram of a gaming device according
to embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate example gaming devices according
to embodiments of the invention.
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a gaming device 10 is an
electronic gaming machine. Although an electronic gaming machine or
"slot" machine is illustrated, various other types of devices may
be used to wager monetarily based credits on a game of chance in
accordance with principles of the invention. The term "electronic
gaming device" is meant to include various devices such as
electromechanical spinning-reel type slot machines, video slot
machines, and video poker machines, for instance. Other gaming
devices may include computer-based gaming machines, wireless gaming
devices, multi-player gaming stations, modified personal electronic
gaming devices (such as cell phones), personal computers,
server-based gaming terminals, and other similar devices. Although
embodiments of the invention will work with all of the gaming types
mentioned, for ease of illustration the present embodiments will be
described in reference to the electronic gaming machine 10 shown in
FIGS. 1A and 1B.
[0017] The gaming device 10 includes a cabinet 15 housing
components to operate the gaming device 10. The cabinet 15 may
include a gaming display 20, a base portion 13, a top box 18, and a
player interface panel 30. The gaming display 20 may include
mechanical spinning reels (FIG. 2A), a video display (FIGS. 2B and
2C), or a combination of both spinning reels and a video display
(not shown). The gaming cabinet 15 may also include a credit meter
27 and a coin-in or bet meter 28. The credit meter 27 may indicate
the total number of credits remaining on the gaming device 10 that
are eligible to be wagered. In some embodiments, the credit meter
27 may reflect a monetary unit, such as dollars. However, it is
often preferable to have the credit meter 27 reflect a number of
`credits,` rather than a monetary unit. The bet meter 28 may
indicate the amount of credits to be wagered on a particular game.
Thus, for each game, the player transfers the amount that he or she
wants to wager from the credit meter 27 to the bet meter 28. In
some embodiments, various other meters may be present, such as
meters reflecting amounts won, amounts paid, or the like. In
embodiments where the gaming display 20 is a video monitor, the
information indicated on the credit meters may be shown on the
gaming display itself 20 (FIG. 2B).
[0018] The base portion 13 may include a lighted panel 14, a coin
return (not shown), and a gaming handle 12 operable on a partially
rotating pivot joint 11. The game handle 12 is traditionally
included on mechanical spinning-reel games, where the handle may be
pulled toward a player to initiate the spinning of reels 22 after
placement of a wager. The top box 18 may include a lighted panel
17, a video display (such as an LCD monitor), a mechanical bonus
device (not shown), and a candle light indicator 19. The player
interface panel 30 may include various devices so that a player can
interact with the gaming device 10.
[0019] The player interface panel 30 may include one or more game
buttons 32 that can be actuated by the player to cause the gaming
device 10 to perform a specific action. For example, some of the
game buttons 32 may cause the gaming device 10 to bet a credit to
be wagered during the next game, change the number of lines being
played on a multi-line game, cash out the credits remaining on the
gaming device (as indicated on the credit meter 27), or request
assistance from casino personnel, such as by lighting the candle
19. In addition, the player interface panel 30 may include one or
more game actuating buttons 33. The game actuating buttons 33 may
initiate a game with a pre-specified amount of credits. On some
gaming devices 10 a "Max Bet" game actuating button 33 may be
included that places the maximum credit wager on a game and
initiates the game. The player interface panel 30 may further
include a bill acceptor 37 and a ticket printer 38. The bill
acceptor 37 may accept and validate paper money or previously
printed tickets with a credit balance. The ticket printer 38 may
print out tickets reflecting the balance of the credits that remain
on the gaming device 10 when a player cashes out by pressing one of
the game buttons 32 programmed to cause a `cashout.` These tickets
may be inserted into other gaming machines or redeemed at a cashier
station or kiosk for cash.
[0020] The gaming device 10 may also include one or more speakers
26 to transmit auditory information or sounds to the player. The
auditory information may include specific sounds associated with
particular events that occur during game play on the gaming device
10. For example, a particularly festive sound may be played during
a large win or when a bonus is triggered. The speakers 26 may also
transmit "attract" sounds to entice nearby players when the game is
not currently being played.
[0021] The gaming device 10 may further include a secondary display
25. This secondary display 25 may be a vacuum fluorescent display
(VFD), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), a
plasma screen, or the like. The secondary display 25 may show any
combination of primary game information and ancillary information
to the player. For example, the secondary display 25 may show
player tracking information, secondary bonus information,
advertisements, or player selectable game options.
[0022] The gaming device 10 may include a separate information
window (not shown) dedicated to supplying any combination of
information related to primary game play, secondary bonus
information, player tracking information, secondary bonus
information, advertisements or player selectable game options. This
window may be fixed in size and location or may have its size and
location vary temporally as communication needs change. One example
of such a resizable window is International Game Technology's
"service window." Another example is Las Vegas Gaming
Incorporated's retrofit technology which allows information to be
placed over areas of the game or the secondary display screen at
various times and in various situations.
[0023] The gaming device 10 includes a microprocessor 40 that
controls operation of the gaming device 10. If the gaming device 10
is a standalone gaming device, the microprocessor 40 may control
virtually all of the operations of the gaming devices and attached
equipment, such as operating game logic stored in memory (not
shown) as firmware, controlling the display 20 to represent the
outcome of a game, communicating with the other peripheral devices
(such as the bill acceptor 37), and orchestrating the lighting and
sound emanating from the gaming device 10. In other embodiments
where the gaming device 10 is coupled to a network 50, as described
below, the microprocessor 40 may have different tasks depending on
the setup and function of the gaming device. For example, the
microprocessor 40 may be responsible for running the base game of
the gaming device and executing instructions received over the
network 50 from a bonus server or player tracking server. In a
server-based gaming setup, the microprocessor 40 may act as a
terminal to execute instructions from a remote server that is
running game play on the gaming device.
[0024] The microprocessor 40 may be coupled to a machine
communication interface (MCI) 42 that connects the gaming device 10
to a gaming network 50. The MCI 42 may be coupled to the
microprocessor 40 through a serial connection, a parallel
connection, an optical connection, or in some cases a wireless
connection. The gaming device 10 may include memory 41 (MEM), such
as a random access memory (RAM), coupled to the microprocessor 40
and which can be used to store gaming information, such as storing
total coin-in statistics about a present or past gaming session,
which can be communicated to a remote server or database through
the MCI 42. The MCI 42 may also facilitate communication between
the network 50 and the secondary display 25 or a player tracking
unit 45 housed in the gaming cabinet 15.
[0025] The player tracking unit 45 may include an identification
device 46 and one or more buttons 47 associated with the player
tracking unit 45. The identification device 46 serves to identify a
player, by, for example, reading a player-tracking device, such as
a player tracking card that is issued by the casino to individual
players who choose to have such a card. The identification device
46 may instead, or additionally, identify players through other
methods. Player tracking systems using player tracking cards and
card readers 46 are known in the art. Briefly summarizing such a
system, a player registers with the casino prior to commencing
gaming. The casino issues a unique player-tracking card to the
player and opens a corresponding player account that is stored on a
server or host computer, described below with reference to FIG. 3.
The player account may include the player's name and mailing
address and other information of interest to the casino in
connection with marketing efforts. Prior to playing one of the
gaming devices in the casino, the player inserts the player
tracking card into the identification device 46 thus permitting the
casino to track player activity, such as amounts wagered, credits
won, and rate of play.
[0026] To induce the player to use the card and be an identified
player, the casino may award each player points proportional to the
money or credits wagered by the player. Players typically accrue
points at a rate related to the amount wagered, although other
factors may cause the casino to award the player various amounts.
The points may be displayed on the secondary display 25 or using
other methods. In conventional player tracking systems, the player
may take his or her card to a special desk in the casino where a
casino employee scans the card to determine how many accrued points
are in the player's account. The player may redeem points for
selected merchandise, meals in casino restaurants, or the like,
which each have assigned point values. In some player tracking
systems, the player may use the secondary display 25 to access
their player tracking account, such as to check a total number of
points, redeem points for various services, make changes to their
account, or download promotional credits to the gaming device 10.
In other embodiments, the identification device 46 may read other
identifying cards (such as driver licenses, credit cards, etc.) to
identify a player and match them to a corresponding player tracking
account. Although FIG. 1A shows the player tracking unit 45 with a
card reader as the identification device 46, other embodiments may
include a player tracking unit 45 with a biometric scanner, PIN
code acceptor, or other methods of identifying a player to pair the
player with their player tracking account.
[0027] During typical play on a gaming device 10, a player plays a
game by placing a wager and then initiating a gaming session. The
player may initially insert monetary bills or previously printed
tickets with a credit value into the bill acceptor 37. The player
may also put coins into a coin acceptor (not shown) or a credit,
debit or casino account card into a card reader/authorizer (not
shown). In other embodiments, stored player points or special
`bonus points` awarded to the player or accumulated and/or stored
in a player account may be able to be substituted at or transferred
to the gaming device 10 for credits or other value. For example, a
player may convert stored loyalty points to credits or transfer
finds from his bank account, credit card, casino account or other
source of funding. The selected source of finding may be selected
by the player at time of transfer, determined by the casino at the
time of transfer or occur automatically according to a predefined
selection process. One of skill in the art will readily see that
this invention is useful with all gambling devices, regardless of
the manner in which wager value-input is accomplished.
[0028] The credit meter 27 displays the numeric credit value of the
money or other value inserted, transferred, or stored dependent on
the denomination of the gaming device 10. That is, if the gaming
device 10 is a nickel slot machine and a $20 bill inserted into the
bill acceptor 37, the credit meter will reflect 400 credits or one
credit for each nickel of the inserted twenty dollars. For gaming
devices 10 that support multiple denominations, the credit meter 27
will reflect the amount of credits relative to the denomination
selected. Thus, in the above example, if a penny denomination is
selected after the $20 is inserted the credit meter will change
from 400 credits to 2000 credits.
[0029] A wager may be placed by pushing one or more of the game
buttons 32, which may be reflected on the bet meter 28. That is,
the player can generally depress a "bet one" button (one of the
buttons on the player interface panel 30, such as 32), which
transfers one credit from the credit meter 27 to the bet meter 28.
Each time the button 32 is depressed an additional single credit
transfers to the bet meter 28 up to a maximum bet that can be
placed on a single play of the electronic gaming device 10. The
gaming session may be initiated by pulling the gaming handle 12 or
depressing the spin button 33. On some gaming devices 10, a "max
bet" button (another one of the buttons 32 on the player interface
panel 30) may be depressed to wager the maximum number of credits
supported by the gaming device 10 and initiate a gaming
session.
[0030] If the gaming session does not result in any winning
combination, the process of placing a wager may be repeated by the
player. Alternatively, the player may cash out any remaining
credits on the credit meter 27 by depressing the "cash-out" button
(another button 32 on the player interface panel 30), which causes
the credits on the credit meter 27 to be paid out in the form of a
ticket through the ticket printer 38, or may be paid out in the
form of returning coins from a coin hopper (not shown) to a coin
return tray.
[0031] If instead a winning combination (win) appears on the
display 20, the award corresponding to the winning combination is
immediately applied to the credit meter 27. For example, if the
gaming device 10 is a slot machine, a winning combination of
symbols 23 may land on a played payline on reels 22. If any bonus
games are initiated, the gaming device 10 may enter into a bonus
mode or simply award the player with a bonus amount of credits that
are applied to the credit meter 27.
[0032] FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate exemplary types of gaming devices
according to embodiments of the invention. FIG. 2A illustrates an
example spinning-reel gaming machine 10A, FIG. 2B illustrates an
example video slot machine 10B, and FIG. 2C illustrates an example
video poker machine 10C.
[0033] Referring to FIG. 2A, a spinning-reel gaming machine 10A
includes a gaming display 20A having a plurality of mechanical
spinning reels 22A. Typically, spinning-reel gaming machines 10A
have three to five spinning reels 22A. Each of the spinning reels
22A has multiple symbols 23A that may be separated by blank areas
on the spinning reels 22A, although the presence of blank areas
typically depends on the number of reels 22A present in the gaming
device 10A and the number of different symbols 23A that may appear
on the spinning reels 22A. Each of the symbols 22A or blank areas
makes up a "stop" on the spinning reel 22A where the reel 22A comes
to rest after a spin. Although the spinning reels 22A of various
games 10A may have various numbers of stops, many conventional
spinning-reel gaming devices 10A have reels 22A with twenty two
stops.
[0034] During game play, the spinning reels 22A may be controlled
by stepper motors (not shown) under the direction of the
microprocessor 40 (FIG. 1A). Thus, although the spinning-reel
gaming device 10A has mechanical based spinning reels 22A, the
movement of the reels themselves is electronically controlled to
spin and stop. This electronic control is advantageous because it
allows a virtual reel strip to be stored in the memory 41 of the
gaming device 10A, where various "virtual stops" are mapped to each
physical stop on the physical reel 22A. This mapping allows the
gaming device 10A to establish greater awards and bonuses available
to the player because of the increased number of possible
combinations afforded by the virtual reel strips.
[0035] A gaming session on a spinning reel slot machine 10A
typically includes the player pressing the "bet-one" button (one of
the game buttons 32A) to wager a desired number of credits followed
by pulling the gaming handle 12 (FIGS. 1A, 1B) or pressing the spin
button 33A to spin the reels 22A. Alternatively, the player may
simply press the "max-bet" button (another one of the game buttons
32A) to both wager the maximum number of credits permitted and
initiate the spinning of the reels 22A. The spinning reels 22A may
all stop at the same time or may individually stop one after
another (typically from left to right) to build player
anticipation. Because the display 20A usually cannot be physically
modified, some spinning reel slot machines 10A include an
electronic display screen in the top box 18 (FIG. 1B), a mechanical
bonus mechanism in the top box 18, or a secondary display 25 (FIG.
1A) to execute a bonus.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 2B, a video gaming machine 10B may include
a video display 20B to display virtual spinning reels 22B and
various other gaming information 21B. The video display 20B may be
a CRT, LCD, plasma screen, or the like. It is usually preferable
that the video display 20B be a touchscreen to accept player input.
A number of symbols 23A appear on each of the virtual spinning
reels 22B. Although FIG. 2B shows five virtual spinning reels 22B,
the flexibility of the video display 20B allows for various reel
22B and game configurations. For example, some video slot games 10B
spin reels for each individual symbol position (or stop) that
appears on the video display 20B. That is, each symbol position on
the screen is independent of every other position during the gaming
sessions. In these types of games, very large numbers of pay lines
or multiple super scatter pays can be utilized since similar
symbols could appear at every symbol position on the video display
20B. On the other hand, other video slot games 10B more closely
resemble the mechanical spinning reel games where symbols that are
vertically adjacent to each other are part of the same continuous
virtual spinning reel 22B.
[0037] Because the virtual spinning reels 22B, by virtue of being
computer implemented, can have almost any number of stops on a reel
strip, it is much easier to have a greater variety of displayed
outcomes as compared to spinning-reel slot machines 10A (FIG. 2A)
that have a fixed number of physical stops on each spinning reel
22A.
[0038] With the possible increases in reel 22B numbers and
configurations over the mechanical gaming device 10A, video gaming
devices 10B often have multiple paylines 24 that may be played. By
having more paylines 24 available to play, the player may be more
likely to have a winning combination when the reels 22B stop and
the gaming session ends. However, since the player typically must
wager at least a minimum number of credits to enable each payline
24 to be eligible for winning, the overall odds of winning are not
much different, if at all, than if the player is wagering only on a
single payline. For example, in a five line game, the player may
bet one credit per payline 24 and be eligible for winning symbol
combinations that appear on any of the five played paylines 24.
This gives a total of five credits wagered and five possible
winning paylines 24. If, on the other hand, the player only wagers
one credit on one payline 24, but plays five gaming sessions, the
odds of winning would be identical as above: five credits wagered
and five possible winning paylines 24.
[0039] Because the video display 20B can easily modify the image
output by the video display 20B, bonuses, such as second screen
bonuses are relatively easy to award on the video slot game 10B.
That is, if a bonus is triggered during game play, the video
display 20B may simply store the resulting screen shot in memory
and display a bonus sequence on the video display 20B. After the
bonus sequence is completed, the video display 20B may then
retrieve the previous screen shot and information from memory, and
re-display that image.
[0040] Also, as mentioned above, the video display 20B may allow
various other game information 21B to be displayed. For example, as
shown in FIG. 2B, banner information may be displayed above the
spinning reels 22B to inform the player, perhaps, which symbol
combination is needed to trigger a bonus. Also, instead of
providing a separate credit meter 27 (FIG. 1A) and bet meter 28,
the same information can instead be displayed on the video display
20B. In addition, "soft buttons" 29B such as a "spin" button or
"help/see pays" button may be built using the touch screen video
display 20B. Such customization and ease of changing the image
shown on the display 20B adds to the flexibility of the game
10B.
[0041] Even with the improved flexibility afforded by the video
display 20B, several physical buttons 32B and 33B are usually
provided on video slot machines 10B. These buttons may include game
buttons 32B that allow a player to choose the number of paylines 24
he or she would like to play and the number of credits wagered on
each payline 24. In addition, a max bet button (one of the game
buttons 32B) allows a player to place a maximum credit wager on the
maximum number of available paylines 24 and initiate a gaming
session. A repeat bet or spin button 33B may also be used to
initiate each gaming session when the max bet button is not
used.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 2C, a video poker gaming device 10C may
include a video display 20C that is physically similar to the video
display 20B shown in FIG. 2B. The video display 20C may show a
poker hand of five cards 23C and various other player information
21C including a paytable for various winning hands, as well as a
plurality of player selectable soft buttons 29C. The video display
20C may present a poker hand of five cards 23C and various other
player information 21C including a number of player selectable soft
(touch-screen) buttons 29C and a paytable for various winning
hands. Although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3C shows only
one hand of poker on the video display 20C, various other video
poker machines 10C may show several poker hands (multi-hand poker).
Typically, video poker machines 10C play "draw" poker in which a
player is dealt a hand of five cards, has the opportunity to hold
any combination of those five cards, and then draws new cards to
replace the discarded ones. All pays are usually given for winning
combinations resulting from the final hand, although some video
poker games 10C may give bonus credits for certain combinations
received on the first hand before the draw. In the example shown in
FIG. 2C a player has been dealt two aces, a three, a six, and a
nine. The video poker game 10C may provide a bonus or payout for
the player having been dealt the pair of aces, even before the
player decides what to discard in the draw. Since pairs, three of a
kind, etc. are typically needed for wins, a player would likely
hold the two aces that have been dealt and draw three cards to
replace the three, six, and nine in the hope of receiving
additional aces or other cards leading to a winning combination
with a higher award amount. After the draw and revealing of the
final hand, the video poker game 10C typically awards any credits
won to the credit meter.
[0043] The player selectable soft buttons 29C appearing on the
screen respectively correspond to each card on the video display
20C. These soft buttons 29C allow players to select specific cards
on the video display 20C such that the card corresponding to the
selected soft button is "held" before the draw. Typically, video
poker machines 10C also include physical game buttons 32C that
correspond to the cards in the hand and may be selected to hold a
corresponding card. A deal/draw button 33C may also be included to
initiate a gaming session after credits have been wagered (with a
bet button 32C, for example) and to draw any cards not held after
the first hand is displayed.
[0044] Although examples of a spinning reel slot machine 10A, a
video slot machine 10B, and a video poker machine 10C have been
illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C, gaming machines and various other types
of gaming devices known in the art are contemplated and are within
the scope of the invention.
[0045] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating networked gaming
devices according to embodiments of the invention. Referring to
FIG. 3, multiple electronic gaming devices (EGMs) 70, 71, 72, 73,
74, and 75 may be coupled to one another and coupled to a remote
server 80 through a network 50. For ease of understanding, gaming
devices or EGMs 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75 are generically referred
to as EGMs 70-75. The term EGMs 70-75, however, may refer to any
combination of one or more of EGMs 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75.
Additionally, the gaming server 80 may be coupled to one or more
gaming databases 90. These gaming network 50 connections may allow
multiple gaming devices 70-75 to remain in communication with one
another during particular gaming modes such as tournament play or
remote head-to-head play. Although some of the gaming devices 70-75
coupled on the gaming network 50 may resemble the gaming devices
10, 10A, 10B, and 10C shown in FIGS. 1A-1B and 2A-2C, other coupled
gaming devices 70-75 may include differently configured gaming
devices. For example, the gaming devices 70-75 may include
traditional slot machines 75 directly coupled to the network 50,
banks of gaming devices 70 coupled to the network 50, banks of
gaming devices 70 coupled to the network through a bank controller
60, wireless handheld gaming machines 72 and cell phones 73 coupled
to the gaming network 50 through one or more wireless routers or
antennas 61, personal computers 74 coupled to the network 50
through the internet 62, and banks of gaming devices 71 coupled to
the network through one or more optical connection lines 64.
Additionally, some of the traditional gaming devices 70, 71, and 75
may include electronic gaming tables, multi-station gaming devices,
or electronic components operating in conjunction with non-gaming
components, such as automatic card readers, chip readers, and chip
counters, for example.
[0046] Gaming devices 71 coupled over an optical line 64 may be
remote gaming devices in a different location or casino. The
optical line 64 may be coupled to the gaming network 50 through an
electronic to optical signal converter 63 and may be coupled to the
gaming devices 71 through an optical to electronic signal converter
65. The banks of gaming devices 70 coupled to the network 50 may be
coupled through a bank controller 60 for compatibility purposes,
for local organization and control, or for signal buffering
purposes. The network 50 may include serial or parallel signal
transmission lines and carry data in accordance with data transfer
protocols such as Ethernet transmission lines, Rs-232 lines,
firewire lines, USB lines, or other communication protocols.
Although not shown in FIG. 3, substantially the entire network 50
may be made of fiber optic lines or may be a wireless network
utilizing a wireless protocol such as IEEE 802.11 a, b, g, or n,
Zigbee, RF protocols, optical transmission, near-field
transmission, or the like.
[0047] As mentioned above, each gaming device 70-75 may have an
individual processor 40 (FIG. 1A) and memory 41 to run and control
game play on the gaming device 70-75, or some of the gaming devices
70-75 may be terminals that are run by a remote server 80 in a
server based gaming environment. Server based gaming environments
may be advantageous to casinos by allowing fast downloading of
particular game types or themes based on casino preference or
player selection. Additionally, tournament based games, linked
games, and certain game types, such as BINGO or keno may benefit
from at least some server 80 based control.
[0048] Thus, in some embodiments, the network 50, server 80, and
database 90 may be dedicated to communications regarding specific
game or tournament play. In other embodiments, however, the network
50, server 80, and database 90 may be part of a player tracking
network. For player tracking capabilities, when a player inserts a
player tracking card in the card reader 46 (FIG. 1A), the player
tracking unit 45 sends player identification information obtained
on the card reader 46 through the MCI 42 over the network 50 to the
player tracking server 80, where the player identification
information is compared to player information records in the player
database 90 to provide the player with information regarding their
player account or other features at the gaming device 10 where the
player is wagering. Additionally, multiple databases 90 and/or
servers 80 may be present and coupled to one or more networks 50 to
provide a variety of gaming services, such as both game/tournament
data and player tracking data.
[0049] The various systems described with reference to FIGS. 1-3
can be used in a number of ways. For instance, the systems can be
used to track data about various players. The tracked data can be
used by the casino to provide additional benefits to players, such
as extra bonuses or extra benefits such as bonus games and other
benefits as described above. These added benefits further entice
the players to play at the casino that provides the benefits.
[0050] As noted above, gaming outcomes that nearly miss providing
the player with a result associated with a large prize can be very
exciting for a player. However, conventional methods of encouraging
this type of "near-miss" or "near-win" game result are fraught with
issues. Many of these issues are caused by the brute-force methods
used to generate conventional paytables and reel strips that
encourage near-miss game outcomes. As opposed to these brute-force
methods, embodiments of this concept provide a gaming device that
strategically employs near-miss outcomes to promote player
excitement while avoiding over-use or under-use issues associated
with conventional techniques.
[0051] FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are detail diagrams of exemplary
near-miss outcomes on a gaming device according to embodiments of
the invention.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 4A, three reel gaming device 100A includes
a gaming display 120 with a single payline 124 on which a
combination of symbols 123 must line up to provide a winning
outcome. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the player of this game
received a "7" symbol on reels one and two, but as reel three
slowed down and stopped, the third "7" necessary for an award just
missed landing on the payline 124. This is a classic near-miss
outcome where a fairly large-valued outcome just misses filling out
a payline. Typically, the symbol that misses the payline, and hence
ruins the potential win, is the last symbol or one of the last
symbols so that anticipation is built during the game play. That
is, after all reels are set in spinning motion, reel one typically
comes to a stop first, followed by reel two a short time later, and
finally followed by reel three stopping to show the complete game
outcome. Here, the player sees a symbol 123 stop on the payline 124
for the first reel, and then sees the same symbol 123 stop on the
payline 124 for the second reel. At this point, reel three is still
spinning, and the player feels that they might be very close to
winning a large award. When the third reel stops and the desired
symbol is close to, but not on the payline 124, the player may feel
that they just missed the large award. Some gaming devices provide
additional emphasis on the third reel if the first and second reels
stop with symbols landing on the payline 124. This may include
providing special sounds and lights to alert the player of the
possibility of a large award, and may also include an increase in
the delay time between the second reel stopping and the third, and
deciding, reel stopping. However, although this is a classic
near-miss scenario, several other near-miss outcomes are
possible.
[0053] Referring to FIG. 4B, a gaming device 100B includes a game
display 120 having five reels 122 with five paylines 124 on which
game symbols 123 may land. The player may generally select if they
want to play one payline, two paylines, up to all five paylines.
Some gaming devices have twenty or more paylines on a five reel
game and some super spin games, where each symbol position has its
own reel or outcome determination, have many more paylines that
that. The gaming device 100B shown in FIG. 4B illustrates another
type of near miss-outcome. Here, the near-miss occurs because the
bonus symbol on the fourth reel 122 fell one spot away from
completing a five symbol bonus pay on the third payline (the
uppermost horizontal payline). In addition, the player may
initially think and/or hope that there is a payline that tracks the
landing position of the five bonus symbol combination. Although
this may be a little difficult to see when there is only five
paylines, when there are nine paylines, twenty paylines, or more,
players seeing five similar symbols across the reels may think they
have won something only to realize that the positioning of the
symbols does not correspond to a payline.
[0054] Here, because the five bonus symbols do not correspond to a
payline, the player does not win the five symbol pay. A similar
near-miss embodiment may have four or another number of bonus
symbols landing on the reels near a pay-line without displaying the
full five symbol combination. With five (or more) reel multi-line
games, two, three, or four symbols on a payline (or even a single
symbol) sometimes pay something, although this award value is
typically much less than the award value for a five symbol pay.
This illustrates another type of near-miss outcome. As shown in
FIG. 4B, 3 or more bonus symbols trigger the Lucky Bonus. However,
the Lucky Bonus for three bonus symbols may be the paying of an
award with a relatively low value, while a five symbol Lucky Bonus
may pay much more. As such, while the player may still win
something (here a 3 symbol pay), they nearly hit a much richer
award (here a 5 symbol pay). Thus, a near-miss outcome may be
associated with a prize, but it nearly misses a much larger prize.
This concept will be explained in further detail below with
reference to FIGS. 5B and 7B.
[0055] Referring to FIG. 4C, a gaming device 100C again includes a
game display 120 having five reels 122 with five paylines 124 on
which game symbols 123 may land. In this example, the player has
selected to only play the first three paylines 124, which are the
three horizontal paylines. During game play, a five symbol bonus
combination appears and falls on a payline, which is highlighted in
the drawings for clarity purposes. However, since the player is
only playing the first three paylines, they do not receive the
award associated with this symbol combination. Hence, this type of
near-miss outcome is an outcome that would normal pay a large
award, but the player has made a choice to not play a certain
element of the game which is then associated with the outcome. In
similar embodiments, a four or fewer symbol near-miss outcome may
be displayed on a non-played payline.
[0056] A winning symbol combination appearing on a non-played line
is one example of this type of near-miss outcome. In another
example, a certain game feature may only be available with a max
bet placed or certain threshold bet placed. For example, a bonus
may only be available if three coins/credits are wagered during a
game. If the player wagers only one or two credits, the bonus
symbol or combination of symbols may appear, but is not awarded to
the player because they have not made the necessary wager. In
another example, a certain feature may only be available to an
identified player with a player account. If the player does not
have such an account, they would not be eligible for the prize when
it appears as part of the game. Near-misses of this type often
encourage a player to modify their wagering or gaming habits. For
example, a player may always play five lines after receiving the
five symbol bonus combination on a non-played payline.
[0057] Referring to FIG. 4D, a video poker gaming device 100D
includes a plurality of displayed cards 130 forming a hand, and a
plurality of game buttons 132 to interact with the gaming device
100D. A near-miss in video poker typically includes falling just
short of a high paying hand. As shown in FIG. 4D, the player has
received a final hand that is a near miss of a royal flush. That
is, the player received four out of the five cards needed to
complete a royal flush. The near-miss may also result in a lower
paying hand. For example a player may end with a three of a kind
instead of a four of a kind, or two pair instead of a full house.
However, it is sometimes preferable to have a near-miss be the
difference between a large pay and no pay in video poker because
small paying hands are relatively common. Thus, four cards of a
straight, a flush, a straight flush, and a royal flush may be the
most effective near-miss outcomes. Additionally, because video
poker involves a player decision in choosing which, if any, cards
to hold, a near-miss outcome may be more effective if the near-miss
is present during the dealt hand. For example, in the example
illustrated in FIG. 4D, it may be the most effective to have the
four cards associated with the royal flush be present when the
cards are initially dealt. The player would likely hold each of
those cards, the ace, king, queen, and ten of diamonds and draw the
fifth card hoping for the jack of diamonds. This builds more player
excitement than if the player held only the ace of diamonds from an
initial dealt hand and received the king, queen, and 10 on the draw
because there is no build up of anticipation. Rather, the player
may be hoping for a pair of aces at most when holding a single
ace.
[0058] The appeal of the near-miss outcome is in the anticipation
it builds and feeling by the player that they almost won a large
award. A near-miss of a large award is often more exciting to a
player than the winning of a relatively small award. This is
because most players play gaming devices, and in particular slot
machines, for the possibility of winning a large award with
relatively little wagered. As discussed above, this concept is not
limited only to slot machine gaming devices. Rather, the
determination and use of near-miss outcomes can be used with a
variety of different gaming device types or themes. For example,
this concept may be used with keno, video blackjack, video poker,
etc. The above figures have set out various embodiments of gaming
devices and near-miss outcomes. Selection processes for these
near-miss outcomes for use on these gaming devices will now be
discussed. Some of these selection processes utilize an outcome
selection process described in detail in patent application Ser.
No. 12/542,587, filed on Aug. 17, 2009, entitled DETERMINATION OF
GAME RESULT USING RANDOM OVERALL OUTCOME SUMMARY (hereinafter
referred to as "the Ser. No. 12/542,587 application"), the
teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0059] The selection of a near-miss outcome may be associated with
a determination of a game outcome or may be the result of a
triggering event. In some embodiments, a particular near-miss
outcome may be directly selected as the game outcome, while in
other embodiments a generic near-miss outcome may be selected or
associated with a selected game outcome. Additional details
regarding these selection methods are discussed below. In
embodiments where the near-miss outcome is the result of a
triggering event, the near-miss outcome may replace a determined
game outcome or may be presented in addition to a determined game
outcome. Where the game outcome is determined by conventional
methods, the specified near-miss outcome may either replace the
determined game outcome or be held and displayed during a
subsequent game. For example, if the near-miss outcome can only
replace a game outcome that is determined to be a losing outcome,
the near-miss outcome may be held for two or more games that have
winning outcomes before replacing a losing outcome in a later game.
Where the game outcome is determined by a direct selection of a
game outcome, as detailed in the Ser. No. 12/542,587 application,
the near-miss outcome may be displayed with a selected game
outcome, may replace the selected game outcome, or may be stored
for a period before being implemented and displayed. Triggering
events that may dictate the selection and display of a near-miss
outcome include receiving one or more predetermined game outcomes
(e.g., losing ten games in a row), reaching a wagering or play
threshold (e.g., triggered by the 500.sup.th credit wagered in a
gaming session), based on game play characteristics of the player
(e.g., the player has played less than all possible paylines for 20
consecutive games), based on other gaming events (e.g., the player
has a banked nudge that has to be used in the next 10 games), or
based on another type of event associated with a player or gaming
session.
[0060] FIGS. 5A and 5B are illustrated representations of exemplary
paytables for a gaming device according to embodiments of the
invention. These paytables and the paytables shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B,
7A, and 7B are similar to the example paytable shown in FIG. 4 of
the Ser. No. 12/542,587 application. As a quick reminder, these
paytables list possible game outcomes in the left column of the
paytable under the heading "Outcome." As defined in the Ser. No.
12/542,587 application as well as this application, a winning
outcome is any outcome that is associated with an award, prize, or
other incentive given to the player as a result of the outcome. On
the other hand, a losing outcome is an outcome that is not
associated with an award, prize, or other incentive. For the listed
outcomes, "X" represents a blank or any symbol. Hence, the outcome
"X X X" is a generic losing outcome that encompasses any outcome
other than the other listed game outcomes. The pay for each outcome
is located in the adjacent column labeled "Pay."
[0061] The "Paytable Weight" column provides a number range for
each of the outcomes that determines how often that outcome occurs.
The "Hit Frequency" column reflects what percentage of spins will
result in a corresponding wager. The hit frequency is simply
determined by dividing the associated paytable weight by the total
of all of the paytable weights, which is "2246" in all of the
examples. The "Contribution" column is achieved by multiplying the
value in the "Pay" column with the value in the "Hit Freq" column.
This contribution relates to the relative or normalized weight each
outcome has on the payback percentage of the game. The sum of these
contributions results in the overall payback percentage of the
game. The hold percentage of a gaming device is simply 100% minus
the payback percentage.
[0062] Referring to FIG. 5A, the paytable is similar to the
paytable shown in FIG. 4A of the Ser. No. 12/542,587 application
except that three near-miss outcomes have been included in the
paytable. These near-miss outcomes include "X X XB," which is a
near miss of the bonus symbol on the third reel. Here, the "X"
refers to any symbol while the "XB" refers to a symbol adjacent or
close enough to the bonus symbol "BN" to make the bonus symbol
visible on the third reel. The "7 7 X7" near-miss outcome includes
sevens on the payline of the first two reels and a symbol adjacent
or near a "7" on the payline of the third reel. This near-miss
outcome may resemble the near-miss shown in FIG. 4A of this
application. The "JP JP XJ" near-miss outcome includes jackpot
symbols shown on the payline of the first two reels and a symbol
adjacent or near a jackpot symbol on the payline of the third
reel.
[0063] Note that each of these near-miss outcomes is not associated
with any award. As such, the paytable weights used for these
near-miss outcomes were taken from the generic losing outcome "X X
X" without affecting the overall hit frequency or payback
percentage of the game. The only difference in the play of the game
would be that one of the three specified near-miss outcomes would
appear about 4.45% of the time. During selection of a game outcome
using this paytable, one of the near-miss outcomes may be directly
selected as the game outcome. For example, the "JP JP XJ" near-miss
outcome may be directly selected as the game outcome and displayed
on the payline using the outcome display techniques discussed in
the Ser. No. 12/542,587 application.
[0064] Referring to FIG. 5B, the illustrated paytable is similar to
the paytable shown in FIG. 5A, except that four additional
near-miss outcomes are included in the paytable. These near-miss
outcomes differ from the previous three near-miss outcomes in that
they have an award associated with them. However, they result in a
game outcome that is lower than another outcome that they may have
been hoping for after the first two reels had stopped. For example,
the outcome of "BAR BAR AB" may look like it is heading for a
outcome of three single bars and a pay of 5 credits, but a double
or triple bar is received on the payline of the third reel
rendering this any "any bar" outcome with a 3 credit award. The "DB
DB AB" and "TB TB AB" outcomes similarly appear to be heading for a
double or triple bar outcome with a 10 or 20 credit award, only to
have a different bar symbol land on the third payline to make an
"any bar" win of 3 credits. These near-miss outcomes allocate some
of the paytable weight previously associated with the "AB AB AB"
outcome. The other near-miss outcome included in this paytable, "JP
JP BN," looks like a possible jackpot award only to have it be a
bonus award when the third reel finally stops. Again the paytable
weight assigned to this near-miss outcome is taken out of the bonus
win outcome paytable weight so the game retains the same overall
hit frequency and payback percentage. Note though that the
near-miss hit frequency jumps up slightly to 8.99%.
[0065] FIGS. 6A and 6B are illustrated representations of exemplary
near-miss tables for a gaming device according to embodiments of
the invention.
[0066] Referring to FIG. 6A, is similar to the paytable illustrated
in FIG. 4A of the Ser. No. 12/542,587 application and the paytable
illustrated in FIG. 5A of the present application except that it
has a generic near-miss outcome ("NM NM NM") specified in the
paytable and separate table of near-miss outcomes. Here if the
generic near-miss outcome is selected as the game outcome from the
game paytable, another selection process, random or otherwise, may
be used to determine which of the near-miss outcomes is to be
displayed as the game outcome. The advantage of this system is that
the near-miss paytable may be dynamically altered during game play
without having to modify the a game paytable of the gaming device.
This can be seen when referring to FIG. 6B, where the near-miss
paytable has been altered following a game event. Here, for
example, a bonus award may have been hit in a previous game, making
a near-miss of another bonus award not as appealing for the next 50
games. In response to this game event, paytable weight of the
near-miss outcome of "X X XB" in the near-miss paytable is reduced
to make the likelihood of this near-miss outcome coming up in the
next 50 games about seven times less likely. After the 50 games has
been played, or if the player leaves the gaming device, the
paytable weights in the near-miss paytable may return to their
default values shown in FIG. 6A.
[0067] FIGS. 7A and 7B are illustrated representations of exemplary
paytables and near-miss tables for a gaming device according to
embodiments of the invention.
[0068] Referring to FIG. 7A, a game paytable and near-miss paytable
are shown with default paytable weights. These paytables are
similar to the paytables in FIG. 6A. Referring to FIG. 7B, an event
has occurred that has changed the dynamic of the paytables. For
example, a player may have identified themselves to the game device
and is about to begin a gaming session on the gaming device. The
player may have specific near-miss preferences that have been
determined from analyzing the player's past game play, from a
setting preference in the player's account, or from a poll at the
game device that asks the player what symbol combinations they feel
lucky about today. Here, for example, it has been determined that
the player prefers near-miss outcomes that still have some award
associated with the near miss. As such, the near-miss paytable has
been dynamically modified upon identification of the player to
include three near-miss outcomes that have corresponding pays.
Since the addition of these near-miss outcomes to the near-miss
paytable have pays that exceed the previously indicated pay of zero
("0"), the game paytable itself also has to be modified to maintain
the same overall hit frequency and payback percentage. Here, the
paytable weight of the any bar ("AB AB AB") outcome and the
paytable weight of the generic near-miss outcome ("NM NM NM") in
the game paytable has to be modified to account for the additional
any bar pays in the near-miss paytable. Note that unlike the
paytable illustrated in FIG. 5B, the modification of the game
paytable and near-miss paytable is not a direct paytable
substitution because of the frequency of the paying near-miss
outcomes within the near-miss paytable must be taken into
account.
[0069] FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are detailed diagrams of an exemplary
gaming event resulting from a near-miss gaming outcome on a gaming
device according to embodiments of the invention.
[0070] Referring to FIG. 8A, a gaming device 200A includes a gaming
display 220 having a five reel 222 slot game with five paylines 224
on which gaming symbols 223 may land. In this example, a player is
able to win or earn advantageous items that can be banked or stored
for later use. In the illustrated example, the advantageous item is
a reel nudge or nudge item. These nudges may be won or earned in a
variety of manners as determined by the casino and/or game
manufacturer. Nudges or other advantageous items may be tied to an
identified player and stored in a player account on a player
database. Nudges may also be linked to a single gaming device or
type of gaming device. They may have time restrictions in which
they must be used or they may be banked indefinitely.
[0071] Near-miss outcomes may provide ideal opportunities for using
nudges or other advantageous items. As such, in some embodiments,
they may be tied to an award of a nudge or other item so that a
near-miss outcome is triggered a particular number of games after a
nudge has been awarded to the player. In this situation, the
paytable may fairly value the award of the nudge at the value of
the award resulting from its use on a later triggered near-miss
outcome. For example, suppose a player is awarded a nudge that must
be used in the next 25 games. Nineteen games later, the player is
presented with a near-miss outcome, triggered by the earlier nudge
award in which the nudge may be used to complete a mid-level symbol
combination. The player may choose to use the nudge at this point
or may choose to wait and use it in one of the next six games.
Essentially, the player is risking losing a sure use of the nudge
for the possibility of being able to use it the next six games to
achieve a larger award. When a nudge is awarded, a subsequent
near-miss outcome may be chosen to be presented during the active
period of the nudge. Additionally, a game in the active period of
the nudge may be selected for displaying the near-miss outcome.
These selections may be made at random from a weighted table, or
other selections means, to emphasize certain near-miss outcomes and
the most opportune times to present the near-miss outcome.
[0072] In other embodiments, near-miss outcomes of mid-level symbol
combinations may be presented when a player has one or more banked
nudges or items to induce the player to use the items rather than
holding on to them for use in completing a much larger valued
symbol combination. Additionally, near-miss outcomes may simply be
part of a gaming device that utilizes banked items. The gaming
device, however, may recognize when a near-miss outcome has
occurred and encourage the player to use a banked nudge or other
item in this situation. Referring again to FIG. 8A, a player is
presented with a near-miss outcome shown on the gaming display 220.
Here, five bonus symbols have almost appeared on a payline.
However, the bonus symbol on the four reel 222 has not landed on
the payline 224 needed to complete this five-symbol combination.
Gaming device 200A has recognized that the identified player has a
banked nudge they may be useful here and presents a player message
221 stating that the player has a banked nudge that may be used by
pressing a "Use Nudge" button 227. The nudge button 227 may only
appear when a situation is presented in which a nudge would be
useful or may be present during every game when a banked nudge is
available for use. A physical game button 232 may also be
associated with the nudge button.
[0073] Referring to FIG. 8B, the player has realized that this is a
great time to use the banked nudge and has pressed the nudge button
227. As illustrated, when the player pressed the nudge button 227,
the soft buttons on the bottom of the game display 220 have become
inactive and a pair of arrow buttons 229 above each reel 222 has
appeared. The nudge button 227 may also indicate that a nudge item
has been activated. In addition, the game buttons 232 may be
deactivated so that the player must choose one of the arrow buttons
229. Each arrow button 229 may be associated with a directional
nudge of each reel by one symbol space.
[0074] Referring to FIG. 8C, the player has pressed the up-arrow
button 229B associated with the fourth reel 222 so that the fourth
reel is nudged up by one position. Here, the bonus symbol that was
previously occupying the middle position of the fourth reel is
nudged up to the top position, the seven symbol is nudged up from a
bottom position to the middle position, and a partial moon symbol
is nudged from off screen to the bottom position. After the
up-arrow button 229B has been pressed by the player, the other
arrow buttons 229A may be deactivated and the selected arrow button
229B may be highlighted. After the reel is nudged as requested by
the player, the soft buttons on the game display 220 and physical
game buttons 232 may be reactivated. Here, the player has been
awarded 500 credits for the five symbol bonus combination game
outcome.
[0075] Although nudges are discussed above with respect to FIGS.
8A-8C, many other types of items may be available in other
embodiments, such as respins, reel holds/freezes, etc. Another
bonus that may be used particularly with near-miss outcomes is a
"player-formed payline" bonus. In this bonus, a player may choose
one symbol position from each reel to form their own payline. The
payline may be formed prior to a game being played and may be
active for a certain number of games thereafter. In other
embodiments, however, the player may use the bonus to choose a
payline after a game outcome has been displayed. Here, when a
near-miss outcome is displayed in which a high-paying symbol
combination appears on the game display, but does not fall on any
payline, this bonus may be used to choose a payline that goes
through each of the symbol positions having symbols related to the
high-paying symbol combinations.
[0076] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method of implementing a
near-miss gaming outcome on a gaming device according to
embodiments of the invention.
[0077] Referring to FIG. 9, an example flow 300 begins by receiving
an indication of a game outcome in process (310). The game outcome
may be determined by an outcome selection process from a list or
table of outcomes as described above, or may be determined using
conventional game outcome processing techniques. The gaming device
determines whether the indicated game outcome is a near-miss
outcome in process (312). If it is determined that the indicated
game outcome is a near-miss outcome, the gaming device implements
process (314) to determine if a particular near-miss outcome has
been selected with the indication of the game outcome. As described
above, near-miss outcomes may be built directly into a table of
possible game outcomes (e.g., FIGS. 5A and 5B). Here, when a game
outcome is selected by random or otherwise, the selection may
directly indicate a particular near-miss outcome. In this instance,
the gaming device would follow the "YES" branch from process (314)
to process (340), where the indicia, such as corresponding symbols
or reel stops, and location of the near-miss outcome is selected.
The location of the near-miss outcome may include determining
symbol positions on a gaming display associated with the near-miss
outcome. For example, if the near-miss outcome is a gaming outcome
that narrowly misses a large prize, the location of the near-miss
outcome may be specified as being on at least one of the played
paylines. In another example, if the near-miss outcome includes a
large-valued game outcome to be displayed in a non-paying position,
the location of the near-miss outcome may be restricted to a
non-played payline or symbol positions not associated with any
payline. In embodiments associated with multi-line gaming devices
or flexible reels process (340) may also include the step of
confirming that the selected location does not fall on another
played payline in the instances when a large-valued symbol
combination is selected as the near-miss outcome.
[0078] If process (314) determines that the selection of a
particular near-miss outcome has not yet been selected, such as
where the game outcome indicates a generic near-miss outcome, a
near-miss outcome is selected in process (330). The selection of a
near-miss outcome in process (330) may include selecting a
near-miss outcome from a table of possible near-miss outcomes, as
is illustrated in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B. As described above, the
plurality of possible near-miss outcomes may be arranged in a table
with associated paytable weights that influence the hit frequency
or occurrence of each near-miss outcome. In other embodiments, only
a single specified near-miss outcome may be available to be used as
the near-miss outcome or the near-miss outcome may be chosen at
random. After a near-miss outcome has been selected, the flow 300
proceeds to the selection of the indicia and location of the
near-miss outcome for display purposes in process (340). After the
indicia and location for the near-miss outcome has been chosen,
process (360) is followed whereby the gaming device displays the
selected near-miss outcome using the specified indicia and location
process.
[0079] If it is determined that the indicated game outcome is not a
near-miss outcome, the gaming device then determines if a near-miss
triggering event has been received in process (320). If a near-miss
triggering event has not been received, the gaming device displays
the indicated game outcome according to the outcome determination
methods discussed in the Ser. No. 12/542,587 application or
according to conventional techniques in process (350).
[0080] If a near-miss triggering event has been received, on the
other hand, the gaming device then determines if the triggering
event specifies a particular near-miss outcome in process (325). As
discussed above, a near-miss outcome may be triggering even when
such an outcome is not originally indicated as a game outcome based
on a variety of criteria and/or triggering events. In some
embodiments, a near-miss outcome will not be triggered if the
indicated game outcome is a winning or preferred game outcome. In
other words, only a losing outcome would be modified into a
near-miss outcome by a triggering event. In other embodiments, even
if a game outcome is indicated as a winning outcome, a near-miss
triggering event may cause a near-miss outcome to appear on a
different payline, near a payline, or even as part of the indicated
winning outcome.
[0081] If a near-miss outcome is not specified by the triggering
event, the gaming device then selects the near-miss outcome in
process (330). After selection of the near-miss outcome, flow 300
proceeds to again to process (340) to select the indicia and
location of near-miss outcome. If the near-miss outcome is
specified by the triggering event, flow 300 proceeds directly to
process (340) to select the indicia and location of near-miss
outcome. After the indicia and location of the near-miss outcome
has been selected, the near-miss outcome is displayed to the player
on the gaming device in process (360).
[0082] FIG. 10 is a detailed diagram of a gaming device according
to embodiments of the invention.
[0083] Referring to FIG. 10, a gaming device 400 includes a gaming
display 420 that includes near-miss meter 427. Although the gaming
device 400 illustrated in this embodiment includes the near-miss
meter 427 as part of the gaming display, the near-miss meter may be
included on a different display on the gaming device or on a
display near the gaming device in other embodiments. The near-miss
meter 427 may be used to track a number of near-miss outcomes that
a player or gaming device receives in a defined period. In some
embodiments, a gaming device 400 may be configured to award a prize
or promotion when a player receives one or more near-miss outcomes.
For example, five near-miss outcomes in fifty games may result in
the player being awarded with extra player points, a free buffet
dinner, a 50 credit win, or even a separate near-miss progressive
jackpot. The criteria and award schedule associated with the
near-miss outcomes is limitless. That is, a gaming device may be
configured to provide a player a variety of benefits for receiving
one or more near-miss outcomes.
[0084] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, the gaming display
420 of the gaming device 400 includes a message display 421
indicating that the collection of ten near-miss outcomes results in
a bonus award of 20 extra credits. The near-miss meter 427
indicates that eight near-miss outcomes have been accumulated. A
player at this gaming device may be inspired to continue playing
this gaming device knowing that they will receive a 20 credit bonus
prize if they receive two more near-miss outcomes. Although this
relationship between near-miss outcomes and a bonus is expressly
explained to a player in this illustrated embodiment, other
embodiments may treat the bonus award as a mystery bonus, even if
it uses similar rules. In such a situation, when a player receives
a tenth near-miss outcome, the gaming device may state, "So close
again! Here are 20 extra credits for your effort."
[0085] The count of near-miss outcomes may be player specific, game
specific, game-type specific, casino specific, etc. In embodiments,
where it is player specific, an identified player may be able to
store the count of near-miss outcomes in a player account database
90 (FIG. 3) so that the player can access and add to the near-miss
count if they change gaming devices or visit the casino at a later
date. The near-miss count may be reduced or be eliminated after a
specified time period, which may encourage the player to return to
the casino at an earlier date. If the near-miss outcome count is
game specific, the count may be reset when the credit meter reaches
zero, when the player cashes-out, or after a predetermined time
period of no play on the gaming device to discourage game-shoppers.
If the near-miss count is game-type, bank, or casino specific, a
local or remote server may track an overall near-miss count for a
plurality of games having a related near-miss count. For example,
if a near-miss royal flush count was implemented on all single-play
video poker machines, a remote server may keep track of each time a
player received 4 out 5 cards needed for a royal flush and provide
an award to a player that receives the twentieth near-miss royal
flush on a single-play video poker machine. In this case, each
single-play video poker machine may have a near-miss meter showing
the same near-miss count.
[0086] In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 10, a player has
just missed receiving five bonus symbols 423 on a payline 424 in a
five reel 422 game. The result of this near-miss outcome may result
in the incrementing of the near-miss meter 427. When a near-miss
meter is utilized in an embodiment, it may also be preferable to
specify which near miss outcomes are eligible to increment the
near-miss meter. In the above example, only near-misses of a royal
flush were counted on the near miss meter 427. However, other
embodiments may increment a near-miss meter for a variety of
near-miss outcomes. In these cases, the qualifying near-miss
outcomes may be specified on the gaming glass or in a help screen
page to provide clarification to the player. For example, a
near-miss of a three cherry symbol pay may not qualify as a
near-miss that increments the near-miss meter while a near-miss of
a five symbol jackpot combination may qualify as a near-miss that
increments the near-miss meter.
[0087] In other embodiments, near-miss outcomes that increment the
meter may increment the meter by different amounts relating to the
quality of the miss. For example, a four symbol cherry combination
near-miss may increment the near-miss meter 427 by one while a
near-miss of a five symbol bonus may increment the meter by five.
An incrementation schedule along with the qualifying near-miss
outcomes may be included on the gaming glass or help screen to
clarify this difference in incrementation to the player.
[0088] The near-miss meter 427 may become visible or more prominent
as the near-miss count approaches an award threshold. A gaming
button 432 or soft button may be used to access the near-miss meter
427 if it is not visible at certain times to the player. The
near-miss meter 427 and associated prizes may only be available to
certain players, such as identified players or players playing
above a certain coin-in threshold. The prizes or promotions awarded
for the near-miss outcome meter 427 reaching a certain threshold
level may be built into the game paytable, or may be taken out of a
marketing or promotional budget.
[0089] Some embodiments of the invention have been described above,
and in addition, some specific details are shown for purposes of
illustrating the inventive principles. However, numerous other
arrangements may be devised in accordance with the inventive
principles of this patent disclosure. Further, well known processes
have not been described in detail in order not to obscure the
invention. Thus, while the invention is described in conjunction
with the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings, it is
not limited to these embodiments or drawings. Rather, the invention
is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents
that come within the scope and spirit of the inventive principles
set out in the appended claims.
* * * * *