Abstract:
A display is provided on which symbols may be provided for use in a slot-type wagering game. Symbols are displayed on sectioned geometrical shapes such as ovals, squares, circles, polygons, etc. Specific symbol combinations, particularly comprised of one symbol appearing on one section of each sectioned geometric shape or all symbols appearing on all sections of one sectioned geometric shape, may constitute a winning combination according to a predetermined pay table. Preferably the invention incorporates three 3-section circular reels, providing 30 different pay lines and an additional pay line incorporating all nine sections of the reels.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of mechanical and/or video wagering games, including multiple pay line video slot-type machines that are capable of producing certain winning combinations including, preferably, one or more progressive jackpot amounts. 
     2. Background of the Art 
     Competition in the gaming industry to attract a player and then retain the player&#39;s interest for protracted periods of time is an increasingly greater challenge. The environment in a casino is typically rich in stimulation, both auditory and visual. Consequently, it is an ongoing effort to attract a player to a given machine and then to subsequently encourage the player to stay at the machine based on the machine&#39;s game format and entertainment value. 
     Slot machines formed from a plurality of independently rotating reels, whether mechanical or video depictions of the mechanical reels, are traditional types of wagering games. Each physical reel has a reel strip around its circumference, on which are designated indicia. The circular reel is presented to the player so that the indicia on the strip show through a window on the machine&#39;s front. The player receives awards when combinations of predetermined indicia, especially related indicia that are oriented on a pay line, appear as a result of the wagered spin of the reels. Some machines also provide for a large jackpot or progressive jackpot that can produce potentially life-changing awards. 
     Such slot machines have evolved from having a single horizontal pay line centrally disposed on the reel to having a plurality of pay lines. Some of these pay lines are located horizontally, some vertically, some diagonally, others in corners and/or non-linear patterns. The most common pay lines have been provided as a) three symbols in a linear pattern taken from sets of frames on reels having 3 columns and 3 rows, or b) subsets of 3 to 5 symbols in a row taken from a set of three rows and five columns. The 3 rows by 5 column main game configuration is most typically known as a multiline game. 
     Winning combinations on the traditional 3-reel machines are easily recognized, but the setup itself discourages multiple pay lines. Conversely, the 3-row×5-column configuration allows for multiple pay lines, but the winning combinations can be confusing and difficult to read. It is a challenge to provide new game play that would produce multiple wins, yet easily recognized wins. The frequency of “hits” on the traditional 3-reel machines can also be problematic. In most cases, the end result of a wagered 3-reel game is either a win worth at least the same as the wager, or a total loss of the wager, so the player may play many losing games in a row without experiencing a true winning event, increasing the total credits held by the player, or a smaller win event that reduces the rate of loss of credits. It would be desirable to have a simple-to-understand pay line system which can also provide more frequent “hits”, even if these are wins that are less than the amount of wager. Smaller wins can give the player more time on the machine, which translates to more revenue for the casino. In addition, new techniques are needed to provide the player with jackpot opportunities, including multiple, varied jackpot awards. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,694 titled GAMING DEVICE WITH ROTATING DISPLAY AND INDICATOR THEREFORE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,193 titled PROGRESSIVE GAMING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,877 titled SLOT MACHINE USING PERIPHERAL GEARS ENGAGED BY MULTIPLE DRIVE SYSTEMS; U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,523 titled BONUS AWARD FEATURE IN A GAMING MACHINE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,115 titled GAMING METHOD AND APPARATUS HAVING A PROPORTIONAL PAYOUT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,962 titled ROTATING DISKS SLOT MACHINE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,921 titled ELECTRONIC AMUSEMENT DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A GAME OFFERING CONTINUOUS REELS; and Published U.S. Patent Applications 20030045345 titled GAMING METHOD AND APPARATUS IMPLEMENTING A HIERARCHICAL DISPLAY GRID AND DYNAMICALLY GENERATED PAYLINES; 20030181231 titled PROGRESSIVE GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD HAVING FRACTIONAL AWARDS; 20030216166 titled METHOD OF OPERATING A PROGRESSIVE GAMING DEVICE; 20030220134 titled APPARATUS HAVING MOVABLE DISPLAY AND METHODS OF OPERATING SAME; 20030236116 titled SLOT MACHINE GAME HAVING A PLURALITY OF WAYS TO ISSUE A PERCENTAGE OF A PROGRESSIVE AWARD BASED UPON ANY WAGER LEVEL (“PERCENTAGE PROGRESSIVE”); 20040053687 titled GAMING DEVICE HAVING DISPLAY WITH MULTIPLE RADIALLY TRANSLATING INDICATORS; 20040157659 titled SLOT GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD; 20040171417 titled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING A SYMBOL ON A WHEEL ASSOCIATED WITH A GAMING APPARATUS; and 20040180716 titled GAMING DISPLAY WITH MOVEABLE INDICATOR AND METHODS OF USE describe various formats and games played on gaming apparatus, including slot-type gaming apparatus and video gaming apparatus. 
     Although there are many varieties of games available, there is room for new games and games that provide additional goals desired by players and casinos. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A screen is provided on which symbols may be provided for use in a slot-type wagering game. Symbols are displayed as distinct symbol elements, such as within frames, on sectioned geometrical shapes such as triangles, hexagons, rectangles, octagons, ovals and squares, but preferably on circles, etc. Specific symbol combinations, particularly comprised of one symbol appearing on one individual section of each sectioned geometric shape or all symbols appearing on all sections of one sectioned geometric shape, may constitute a winning combination according to a predetermined pay table. An additional payline comprised of all sections on all sectioned geometric shapes may provide for larger wins, including jackpot wins and progressive jackpot wins. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of a screen setup of a base game with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates one embodiment of a screen shot where 40 pay lines could be available in the play of a base game. 
         FIG. 3  shows a screen shot of one possible sample stage of a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 4  shows another screen shot of one possible sample stage of a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 5  shows another screen shot of one possible sample stage of a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 6  shows another screen shot of one possible sample stage of a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 7  shows another screen shot of one possible sample stage of a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 8  shows another screen shot of one possible sample stage of a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates nine physical reels for use in a mechanical version of a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to teachings herein. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a cutaway front view of a mechanical slot machine with a game played with segmented circles as geometric shapes according to the teachings herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Game play described herein may be implemented on existing and commercial mechanical, virtual/mechanical or video gaming apparatus on any of the many available formats and platforms merely by insertion of a game card or game software effecting the selections and rules and payouts according to the present game. The base game may also be implemented on a stepper mechanical reel format. The game may be operated on-line, in a banked set of gaming machines or independent machines with independent processors. The game can be programmed onto MAC, PC, LINUX, open or closed operating systems (as well as other or newer commercial systems) and can be displayed with standard CRT displays, plasma displays, LCD displays, LED displays, holographic displays and the like. The games may be operated with ticket-in/ticket-out crediting, coins, tokens, currency, credit cards, or gaming accounts as well understood by one skilled in the art. The following is intended to offer a general description and example of the technology of the game play and offer insight into distinctions from existing commercial or disclosed game play. 
     One general description of the method of playing a wagering game on a mechanical, virtual/mechanical or video gaming apparatus as described herein is as follows. The game format of 3-section circular reels and standard game symbols, i.e., cherries, bars and 7s, will be used in the description for consistency in the analogies of the play, but the game is of course not limited to that specific imagery. Before or upon initiation of the play of a single game (by placing a wager), the system provides a display screen having an area containing three or more sectioned shapes (called reels) within which symbols can be displayed. Preferably three 3-section virtual circular reels appear in a linear fashion from left to right. The three equal sections on each reel may be color-coded for more easy comprehension of the pay lines: the top section (at 12 O&#39;clock) may be red, the right section (at 4 O&#39;clock) may be blue and the left section (at 8 O&#39;clock) may be green. Also shown on the screen may be the pay lines bet by the player, in this example 1 to 40 available pay lines. The forty pay lines are described as follows: each pay line consists of three reel sections, one section on each of the reels, or three sections on any one reel. Pay lines  1 ,  2 , and  3  consist of three sections on each single reel from left to right, respectively. Pay lines  4 ,  5 , and  6  consist of like sections on all reels (all 3 red sections, all 3 green sections, and all 3 blue sections, respectively). Pay lines  7  through  30  consist of all other possible different combinations of one section on each of the three reels. Pay lines  31  through  36  repeat the wagers on Pay lines  1  through  6 , respectively (providing larger wins on the more obvious pay lines). Pay lines  37 ,  38 , and  39  each repeat an additional wager on Pay lines  1 ,  2 , and  3  respectively (providing the largest wins on the most obvious pay lines). If the player has bet all 39 pay lines, an additional wager would activate Pay line  40 , consisting of all 9 sections of the three reels, and paying varying bonus awards for (preferably) receiving 9 like symbols, from the lowest-paying symbol to the highest-paying symbol. Each of these bonus awards may be a Progressive Jackpot. An alternate pay line configuration may utilize the Pay lines  1  through  30  as previously described, with Pay line  31  being the bonus 9-section pay line, with no repeat pay lines as previously described. 
     After the wager, play is initiated by the spinning of each reel in a circular fashion with virtual symbols streaming clockwise or counter-clockwise on the reels. The spinning reels and symbols stop, preferably one reel at a time from left to right. The symbols and/or blanks displayed are evaluated for wins according to a predetermined paytable. Wins may also be highlighted in the wagered pay lines area shown on the screen. 
     Reference to the Figures will assist in further understanding of the practice of the present invention. 
       FIG. 1  shows a monitor screen  2  having a display of a base game  12  showing three separate circular reels ( 14 ,  16 ,  18 ), and each reel divided into three equal 120° sections ( 20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 ). Symbols  38  or “blanks”  40  are displayed on the colored-coded sections ( 20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 ). A pay line payout chart  42  is also shown on the screen  2 . The player control panel  10  incorporates buttons for various player wagering options, i.e., Pay lines Wagered  52 , Credits Wagered per Pay line  54 , Max Bet  56  and Spin  58 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a chart  60  explaining the 40 pay lines  62  available in the play of the invention. Each of the 40 pay lines  62  is displayed on a set of three separate circular reels ( 14 ,  16 ,  18 ) with each pay line consisting of three color-coded sections ( 20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 ) and labeled by three bullet symbols  64  to indicate that particular pay line. 
       FIG. 3  shows a monitor screen  2  with the player pressing the Max Bet  56  button (a wager of 40 pay lines and 10 credits bet per line) initiating the set of three separate reels ( 14 ,  16 ,  18 ) to spin  70  in a circular fashion. 
       FIG. 4  shows a possible result of the reel spin  70  in  FIG. 3 . One Red 7 symbol  72  is present on a section  20  of the first reel  14 , one Red 7 symbol  74  is present on a section  28  of the second reel  16 , and one Red 7 symbol  76  is present on a section  36  of the third reel  18 , indicating a Win on Payline  11   78  of the pay line explanation chart  60  in  FIG. 2  and highlighted in the pay line payout chart  42 . 
       FIG. 5  shows another possible result of the reel spin  70  in  FIG. 3 . Three matching Bar symbols ( 80 ,  82 ,  84 ) are present on the third circular reel  18 , indicating a Win on Pay lines  3   90 ,  33   92 , and  39   94  as shown in the pay line explanation chart  60  in  FIG. 2  and highlighted in the pay line payout chart  42 . 
       FIG. 6  shows another possible result of the reel spin  70  in  FIG. 3 . A Cherry symbol  100  is present on a section  28  of the second reel  16 , indicating Wins on Pay lines  2 ,  5 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 ,  18 ,  19 ,  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  32 ,  35 , and  38  ( 110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 ,  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126 ,  128 ,  130 ,  132 ,  134 , respectively) as shown in the pay line explanation chart  60  in  FIG. 2  and highlighted in the pay line payout chart  42 . 
       FIG. 7  shows another possible result of the reel spin  70  in  FIG. 3 . Five Double Bar symbols ( 136 ,  138 ,  140 ,  142 ,  144 ) are present on the three circular reels ( 14 ,  16 ,  18 ), indicating Wins on Pay lines  3 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14 ,  33 , and  39  ( 150 ,  152 ,  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 , respectively) as shown in the pay line explanation chart  60  in  FIG. 2  and highlighted in the pay line payout chart  42 . 
       FIG. 8  shows another possible result of the reel spin  70  in  FIG. 3 . Nine Double Red 7 symbols ( 170 ,  172 ,  174 ,  176 ,  178 ,  180 ,  182 ,  184 ,  186 ) are present on the three circular reels ( 14 ,  16 ,  18 ), indicating Wins on Pay lines  1 - 39   190  and a Win on Pay line  40   200  as shown in the pay line explanation chart  60  in  FIG. 2  and highlighted in the pay line payout chart  42 . Wins on the 40th Pay line constitute Jackpot Wins varying from 9 Cherries to the top Jackpot Win of Double Red 7s. Any or all of these Jackpot Wins may be a Progressive Award. 
       FIG. 9  shows an array of nine parallel physical circular reels ( 300 ,  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 ,  310 ,  312 ,  314 ,  316 ), each physical reel having a plurality of various indicia  318  on a reel strip  320 . Reels  1   300 ,  2   302  and  3   304  form a left-hand grouping, with Reel  1   300  and Reel  3   304  centrally positioned along the same plane and Reel  2   302  positioned on a higher plane. Reels  4   306 ,  5   308  and  6   310  form a center grouping, with Reel  4   306  and Reel  6   310  centrally positioned along the same plane and Reel  5   308  positioned on a higher plane. Reels  7   312 ,  8   314  and  9   316  form a right-hand grouping, with Reel  7   312  and Reel  9   316  centrally positioned along the same plane and Reel  8   314  positioned on a higher plane. All nine reels ( 300 ,  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 ,  310 ,  312 ,  314 ,  316 ) rotate  330  independently upon activation. 
       FIG. 10  shows a cutaway view of a slot machine front panel  340 , displaying nine cutout windows ( 350 ,  352 ,  354 ,  356 ,  358 ,  360 ,  362 ,  364 ,  366 ), exposing nine symbols ( 370 ,  372 ,  374 ,  376 ,  378 ,  380 ,  382 ,  384 ,  386 ) located on nine parallel physical circular reels ( 300 ,  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 ,  310 ,  312 ,  314 ,  316 ). A first circular wheel  392  is shown, its 3-sectioned design framing windows  350 ,  352 ,  354 . The first circular wheel  392  may spin  390  and stop before the main physical reels  300 ,  302 ,  304  stop. A second circular wheel  396  is shown, its 3-sectioned design framing windows  356 ,  358 ,  360 . The second circular wheel  396  may spin  394 , stopping after the first circular wheel  392  stops and before the main physical reels  306 ,  308 ,  310  stop. A third circular wheel  400  is shown, its 3-sectioned design framing windows  362 ,  364 ,  366 . The third circular wheel  400  may spin  398 , stopping after the second circular wheel  396  stops and before the main physical reels  312 ,  314 ,  316  stop. The outcome of the nine-symbol ( 370 ,  372 ,  374 ,  376 ,  378 ,  380 ,  382 ,  384 ,  386 ) display would be paid according to the wager and a predetermined pay table. 
     Another way of describing the method of play and the appearance of the games in a wagering device would be as a method of playing a wagering game on a gaming device or apparatus that displays symbols and provides awards on the appearance of predetermined symbols or predetermined arrangements of symbols. The method would comprise: a) a player placing a wager within the wagering game; b) the device or apparatus providing at least three defined areas that can display at least three active symbols within each defined area, each area being divided into distinct sub-areas where the symbols can be provided. These areas could abut each other, slightly overlap, or be completely separate, as long as distinct sub-areas remained available where the position and appearance of displayed symbols could be easily distinguished by visual observation. Symbols are randomly selected (e.g., by a random number generator, mapping, template provision, etc.) to appear within each distinct sub-area. The wager is resolved by determining whether the symbols selected causes a win, tie or loss in the appearance of predetermined symbols or predetermined arrangements of symbols under rules of the wagering game, as exemplified above. The three defined areas are preferably geometric shapes, and more preferably three identical geometric shapes (that is each of the three shapes are identical to the other two shapes). The three identical geometric shapes may be selected from the group consisting of circles, ovals and polygons, equilateral polygons or not. For example, the three identical geometric shapes may selected from the non-limiting group consisting of circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, hexagons and octagons. The paylines within the geometric shapes are predetermined orders or combinations of sub-areas within the geometric shapes. The sub-areas may be demarked by lines within the areas for enhanced visualization of the sub-areas, which may be equal or unequal in area within the at least three areas. The symbols may appear to move within the areas and between sub-areas. 
     Although specific examples and specific images have been provided in this discussion, these specifics are intended to be only support for the generic concepts of the invention and are not intended to be absolute limits in the scope of the technology discussed.