Abstract:
The present invention provides a gaming method and machine with bonus round that allow a player select the risk level of the bonus play. Thus the player has control over risk during their bonus round. As the player becomes more familiar with the game, they can select a higher risk for the bonus round and be rewarded accordingly. The bonus may include a fixed or variable number of additional turns. The gaming method and machine may include a progressive counter incremented in dependence upon at least one of regular play and bonus play. The gaming method and machine may allow a player to win an additional bonus play during the bonus play.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     The present application is related to and claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/498,577 filed Aug. 29, 2003, the disclosure of which is herein specifically incorporated in its entirety by this reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to gaming methods and machines and is particularly concerned with bonus rounds.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Video gaming machines are commonly used in traditional gambling establishments such as casinos and gambling centers and in other markets such as bars, restaurants, racinos, bingo halls, river boats, and cruise ships. While the regulations covering these different establishments are different, they also vary from one jurisdiction to another and the habits of players may also vary. Hence, a game that can attract and maintain the interest of a player provides higher value to the proprietor. Consequently, there is a need to continually improve game features, while maintaining a fairly high level of familiarity so that established players can also enjoy the new game features.  
         [0004]     Because the number of games allowed within an establishment are typically regulated and because the gaming machines have a relatively short payback cycle, the gaming machine business is highly competitive. Hence there is further pressure on the industry to make improvements in game features that enhance their play value.  
         [0005]     Gaming machines provide games that fall into general categories that emulate traditional games of chance such as keno, bingo, scratch tickets, fixed-odds betting, other types of wager games, slot-machine emulation and card game emulation. These typically reward a player having a predetermined outcome with a bonus round of play or other incentives. While numerous variations of bonus round, the bonus round still offers opportunities for further innovation that may provide an advantage with regard to playability, player loyalty or profitability.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     An object of the present invention is to provide improved gaming method and machine with bonus round.  
         [0007]     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided a gaming method with bonus round comprising the steps of during a regular play session, providing a bonus trigger; on hitting the bonus trigger during a regular play session rewarding a bonus play; allowing a player to select a risk level for the bonus play; and providing the bonus play with the selected risk level.  
         [0008]     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer-readable storage medium encoded with a program for enabling a gaming machine to implement the gaming method comprising the steps of during a regular play session, providing a bonus trigger; on hitting the bonus trigger during a regular play session rewarding a bonus play; allowing a player to select a risk level for the bonus play; and providing the bonus play with the selected risk level..  
         [0009]     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a gaming machine with bonus round comprising: a bonus trigger for triggering a bonus during a regular play session; means for rewarding a bonus play on hitting the bonus trigger during a regular play session; means for allowing a player to select a risk level for the bonus play; and means for providing the bonus play with the selected risk level.  
         [0010]     Conveniently, the gaming machine includes a progressive counter for incrementing in dependence upon at least one of regular play and bonus play.  
         [0011]     Conveniently, the gaming machine includes a module for allowing a player to win an additional bonus during the bonus play. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The present invention will be further understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates gaming machine with bonus round in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates in a block diagram, a computer system of the gaming machine of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates game elements of a game for a gaming machine in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  illustrates a sample game screen of a game for a gaming machine in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates on a sample game screen for the gaming machine game of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , how map elements acts trigger a mission bonus round;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates on the sample game screen of  FIG. 5  as the map element of reel three begins to zoom out to fill the screen;  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  illustrates a sample mission bonus round screen used to allow the player to select a risk level for the mission bonus round;  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  illustrates on the sample mission bonus screen of  FIG. 7  after the player has made a selection;  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  illustrates a sample mission bonus round screen for a selected risk level after a couple of selections have been made on the screen;  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  illustrates a sample mission bonus round screen for a successfully completed mission bonus round;  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  illustrates a sample mission bonus round screen for another selected risk level after a bomb has been selected;  
         [0024]      FIG. 12  illustrates a sample mission bonus round screen for an aborted mission bonus round; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 13  illustrates on a sample game screen for the gaming machine game of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , how power bonus elements act trigger a power bonus round. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated in a isometric view a gaming machine programmable to implement the present invention. The gaming machine  10  includes a touch screen  12  that incorporates a game banner  14 , a game screen  16  and soft keys  18 . The gaming machine  10  also typically includes game posters  20  and  22 , payment input and output devices  24 , a keyboard  26  and a cash tray  28  all housed in a cabinet  30 . The cabinet  30  includes a hinged front panel  32  and a hinged access door  34 .  
         [0027]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is illustrated in a block diagram a computer system of the gaming machine of  FIG. 1 . The computer system includes a central processing unit (CPU)  40 , a memory  42  and a display  44 . The computer system also includes a touch screen input  46 , a keyboard  48 , payment input devices  50 , payment output devices  52  and a communications interface  54 .  
         [0028]     In operation, the gaming machine  10  under the control of a gaming program operating the CPU  40  provides, in the game screen  16  of the display  44 , a representation of an m reel by n row slot machine emulation. A player on pressing a soft key  18  marked “Play” causes the gaming machine  10  to display a spin of the reels until a display of m×n game elements are shown in the display area. Typically a number of pay lines are provided for the player to pre-select prior to pressing the play button. Then, depending upon the particular game programmed into the CPU  40 , when a predetermined outcome occurs along one of the selected pay lines, the player is rewarded with an increment to a credits counter.  
         [0029]     As such gaming machines are a familiar sight in various establishments, the gaming industry has continuously sought ways to improve the game features to enhance qualities such as player loyalty, playability and hence profitability of the gaming machines. One such improvement over the slot machine, is the ability of the display-based gaming machine  10  to provide an additional round of play, in the form of a bonus round. Typically, the bonus round is a automatic spin that provides the player with an opportunity to win additional credits, beyond those won during regular play.  
         [0030]     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4  there are pictorially illustrated game elements and the game screen for a gaming machine game in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment is a five reel and nine payline game. Line pays are awarded when three, four or five identical elements appear on either the left or right side of the payline. The identical elements must appear on adjacent reels.  
         [0031]     There are six regular elements that appear on all five reels as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . They are as follows: 
        Agent Buck badge  60 —jackpot element.     Agent Buck  62 —2nd from top line pay element     Villain  64 —3rd from top line pay element     Agent Buck&#39;s building  66 —4th from lowest line pay element     Villain&#39;s castle  68 —3rd from lowest line pay element.     magnifier glass  70 —2nd from lowest line pay element.     donut  72 —lowest line pay element.     mission bonus  74 —does not form line wins, used strictly as a trigger element for the second screen mission bonus     power bonus  76 —does not form line wins, used strictly as a trigger element for the second screen power bonus. 
 
 The main game screen  16  includes the following: 
    Agent Buck logo  78      bet tags  80  and  82      credits window  84      lower prompt window  86      # of lines window  88      bet per lines window  90      total bet window  92      won window  94      help/pays button  96      menu/collect button  98      # of lines buttons (up/down)  100      max bet button  102      play/stop button  104      bet per lines buttons (up/down)  106         
 
         [0056]     Referring to  FIG. 5  there is illustrated on a sample game screen for the gaming machine game of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , how map elements acts trigger a mission bonus round. The Mission Bonus Trigger occurs whenever map elements  74  appear on reels one, two and three as shown in  FIG. 5  as emphasized by a line  108 , which does not appear on the actual game screen.  
         [0057]     Referring to  FIG. 6  there is illustrated on the sample game screen of  FIG. 5  as the map element of reel three begins to zoom out to fill the screen. Then a message “MISSION BONUS INITIATED” is displayed in the lower prompt window  86  as shown in  FIG. 6 . Also, the map element  74  on the center reel zooms 108  almost filling the screen and the background changes to a darkened image of the main game screen.  
         [0058]     Referring to  FIG. 7  there is illustrated a sample mission bonus round screen used to allow the player to select a risk level for the mission bonus round. All Line wins are awarded first, then the player is taken to a mission select screen as shown in  FIG. 7  via the following sequence. Once the map has zoomed and the background changed, five mission areas pop up onto the screen one at a time. Then the numbers one to five pop up in order on top of the mission areas, with the finished screen appearing as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0059]     Referring to  FIG. 8  there is illustrated on the sample mission bonus screen of  FIG. 7  after the player has made a selection. Once the player selects one of the missions an image of Buck&#39;s hideout appears and his head comes out of it and travels along the road to the selected location, with the resulting screen as shown in  FIG. 8 . Then the image for the selected area plays through its animation sequence. Once Buck reaches his destination we will start the bonus round transition sequence. There is a 25% Chance that Agent Buck stops for donuts at a donut shop that appears in the bottom left comer of the map. Once Buck has arrived at his destination, a black foreground is drawn with a transparent aperture, which slowly gets smaller around the selected mission area, until the entire screen is black. Once the screen is totally black, the background changes to the bonus screen background that corresponds to the selected mission area and the size of the transparent aperture increase, until the entire bonus screen is visible.  
         [0060]     There are five separate missions to choose from each with ten question marks and their own unique background. Some of these question marks have hidden bet multipliers and some have bombs. The sequence leading into the bonus round is the same for each area. Mission one has one bomb, mission two has two bombs, mission three has three bombs, mission four has four bombs, and mission five has five bombs. The hidden bet multipliers and maximum bonus prize increase on the missions with more bombs. The object of the bonus is to select the question marks without getting a bomb. Should the player select a bomb a smaller prize will be awarded along with prizes already collected. The bonus awarded is the sum of all prizes collected.  
         [0061]     Referring to  FIG. 9  there is illustrated a sample mission bonus round screen for a selected risk level after a couple of selections have been made on the screen. Once the bonus screen is visible instructions telling the player how much they can win, how many bombs and how many prizes there are appear on the bonus screen. A “Play” button also appears. If the player does not press play after approximately 5 seconds the bonus round continues automatically The credits and total bonus windows  84  and  94  are also displayed. After the player presses “Play” a scanner graphic animates down the screen from top to bottom. Fingerprints appear while this graphic is over the areas that they lay. Once the scanner has past each fingerprint it turns into an animating question mark, as shown in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0062]     Once the scanner is gone from the screen are the background image of the selected mission area and the animating question marks scattered on the screen, as shown in  FIG. 9 . When the player touches one of question marks, it changes to one of several icons representing a clue or a bomb, which are shown in  FIG. 9 . The icon scales to a larger size  120  and a prize amount is displayed. As long as a clue is selected and not a bomb, the icon then scaled down to a smaller size  122 . The player keeps picking prizes until a bomb icon is picked or all the prizes have been selected.  
         [0063]     Credits won are added to the total bonus. The bonus amount is incremented in a similar manner as the credits window in the main game.  
         [0064]     Referring to  FIG. 10  there is illustrated a sample mission bonus round screen for a successfully completed mission bonus round. If the player selects all the clues without getting a bomb, a mission complete image is displayed as shown in  FIG. 10 . This image contains the total credits won. The player is then returned to the main game screen of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0065]     Referring to  FIG. 11  there is illustrated a sample mission bonus round screen for another selected risk level after a bomb has been selected. If a bomb is picked, the bomb is scaled to a larger size, as shown in  FIG. 11  and an animation of the bomb exploding is played.  
         [0066]     Referring to  FIG. 12  there is illustrated a sample mission bonus round screen for an aborted mission bonus round. After the bomb animation is played a mission aborted image is displayed as shown in  FIG. 12 . This image contains the total credits won. The player is then returned to the main game of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0067]     Each of the mission bonus elements is hidden under a question mark and starts small and grows to a larger size when the question mark that it is under is selected. The mission bonus elements are: a suitcase, a camera, a report stamped TOP, SECRET, keys, gloves, film, sabotage plans, photos, a passport, an ID badge and a bomb.  
         [0068]     Referring to  FIG. 13  there is illustrated on a sample game screen for the gaming machine game of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , how power bonus elements act trigger a power bonus round. The game of  FIGS. 3 and 4  also include a power bonus round triggered as shown in  FIG. 13 .  
         [0069]     The above disclosure sets forth a number of embodiments of the present invention. Other arrangements or embodiments, not precisely set forth, could be practiced under the teachings of the present invention and as set forth in the following claims.