Abstract:
A gaming machine is disclosed that provides a game in which a player of the gaming machine stakes a wager on one or more outcomes of the game that are represented as symbols arranged in an array of symbol display positions. The player controls the number of outcomes on which a wager is staked by operating a user interface. During play of the game the gaming machine causes a display to display indicia representative of the total number of outcomes selected but not display indicia representative of every available outcome and not display indicia of every selected outcome. Indicia representative of an individual outcome is displayed when that outcome defines a winning combination. A method of providing a graphical user interface for a gaming machine is also disclosed.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to an Australian patent application filed on May 15, 2006, as serial number AU2006902576, entitled “Multiple Pay Combination Gaming Apparatus,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.  
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to gaming machines, gaming apparatus and to methods of gaming. In particular, the present invention relates to a multiple pay combination gaming apparatus and a method of providing a multiple pay combination gaming apparatus.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     With the increase of gambling at gaming venues has come increased competition between gaming venues to obtain a larger share of the total gambling spend. Gaming venue operators have therefore continuously looked for new variations and types of games in order to attract both new and return customers to their venues.  
         [0004]     In response to this need, suppliers of gaming devices and systems have attempted to provide the sought after variety, while still developing games that comply with the relevant regulations in the jurisdiction of the gaming venue operator. Suppliers of gaming devices therefore are faced with restrictions on the types of games and gaming apparatus that are allowable, both in terms of the prevailing regulations and in terms of providing a return on investment to the gaming venue operators.  
         [0005]     Originally, gaming machines had physical spinning reels, which were controlled by a stepper motor. These gaming machines paid a prize if an outcome was spun up on a single central pay line that was a winning combination. Some later machines displayed three positions on each reel and provided three horizontal pay lines, one for each row that could be defined through the spinning reels.  
         [0006]     It is now not uncommon for a player of an electronic gaming machine having a video display unit to be able to simultaneously play twenty-five or more pay lines in each activation of a game. It is usual and desirable to indicate to a player on screen the number of pay lines that can be purchased and how many pay lines have been purchased in a way that allows players to readily compare their purchase with what is available.  
         [0007]      FIG. 14  shows an exemplary screen shot S 8  of a game in which up to twenty-five lines can be played. The available twenty-five lines are indicated by pay line indicators  9 . The player has selected to play ten lines and therefore the ten lines that are being played are highlighted. Typically, if a win occurred on one of the pay lines being played, the pay line which displays the winning outcome is highlighted, for example by flashing both the symbols in the outcome that meant that it was a winning combination and flashing the corresponding pay line indicator  9 . Indication of the winning pay lines is required by the relevant gaming regulations in many jurisdictions.  
         [0008]     There is a need or want in the industry for gaming machines to have a high number of pay lines, for example machines with 50, 100 or more pay lines. However, the higher the number of pay lines that are available, the more difficult it becomes to clearly display the pay lines on screen. In addition to providing information that allows a player to play the game in an informed way, a game designer or gaming machining manufacturer must overcome the problem of presenting the game in an attractive way.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a gaming machine comprising a display and a user interface in communication with a game controller, the gaming machine providing a game in which:  
         [0010]     a player of the gaming machine stakes a wager on one or more outcomes of the game, which are represented on the display as a plurality of symbols arranged in an array of symbol display positions;  
         [0011]     the player controls the number of outcomes on which a wager is staked by operating the user interface;  
         [0012]     the number of outcomes on which the player stakes a wager is displayed on at least one gauge that is displayed adjacent to the array of symbol display positions;  
         [0013]     if a winning combination of symbols occurs in at least one of the outcomes on which the player has staked a wager, the gaming machine awards an award associated with that winning combination and displays on the display an outcome indicator that indicates the outcome in which the winning combination of symbols occurred.  
         [0014]     In one embodiment, an outcome indicator for a said outcome is only displayed during play of the game if a winning combination of symbols occurs in that outcome. In this embodiment, an outcome indicator may be displayed for an outcome in which a winning combination of symbols has occurred, whether or not the player has staked a wager on the outcome and wherein the outcome indicator is displayed differently depending on whether the player has staked a wager on that outcome.  
         [0015]     In one embodiment, the outcome indicator for a said outcome is only displayed during play of the game if the player has staked a wager on that outcome and a winning combination of symbols occurs in that outcome.  
         [0016]     In one embodiment, the player is constrained to select from a selection of groups of said outcomes on which to stake a wager, each group having a different number of outcomes in it and all including the outcomes of each group that has a lesser number of outcomes in it, and wherein during a play of the game the gauge displays indicia showing the number of outcomes in at least the group that has been selected for that game play. In this embodiment, the gauge may be displayed to the side of the array of symbol display positions and the gauge displays indicia representing the groups in order of size along the side of the array, and wherein the outcomes in a group are predominantly displayed so that the first symbol display position in the outcome is proximate the indicia on the gauge for that group.  
         [0017]     In one embodiment, the outcomes are numbered and wherein the outcomes are predominantly displayed so that the first symbol display position in the outcome is located towards the top of the array for lower numbered outcomes and towards the bottom of the array for higher numbered outcomes.  
         [0018]     In one embodiment, the outcomes are numbered and wherein the outcomes are predominantly displayed so that the first symbol display position in the outcome is located towards the bottom of the array for lower numbered outcomes and towards the top of the array for higher numbered outcomes.  
         [0019]     In one embodiment, the user interface comprises a touch screen over the display and wherein the player touches operates the portion of the touch screen located over the gauge to place wagers on different numbers of outcomes.  
         [0020]     In one embodiment, the gaming machine provides the game so that the player of the gaming machine can stake as part of the wager any of a plurality of different bets on the one or more outcomes, and wherein the bet that the player stakes is displayed on at least one further gauge that is also displayed on the display. In this embodiment, there may be one said gauge and one said further gauge that are displayed on opposite sides of the array of symbol display positions.  
         [0021]     In one embodiment, the maximum number of outcomes on which a player can select to stake a wager by operating the user interface is at least 50.  
         [0022]     In another embodiment, the maximum number of outcomes on which a player can select to stake a wager by operating the user interface is at least 100.  
         [0023]     In one embodiment, the outcomes are pay lines defined across a plurality of spinning reels.  
         [0024]     According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a gaming machine comprising a display and a user interface in communication with a game controller, the gaming machine providing a game in which a player of the gaming machine stakes a wager on one or more outcomes of the game, which are represented on the display as a plurality of symbols arranged in an array of symbol display positions, and the player controls the number of outcomes on which a wager is staked by operating the user interface, and if a winning combination of symbols occurs in at least one of the outcomes the gaming machine awards an award, wherein during play of the game the game controller causes the display to display indicia representative of the total number of outcomes selected but not display indicia individually indicating every available outcome and not display indicia individually indicating every selected outcome.  
         [0025]     In one embodiment, the indicia representative of the total number of outcomes selected comprises an integer displayed on the display, the integer indicating the number of outcomes selected.  
         [0026]     In one embodiment, the game controller causes the display to display indicia representative of a plurality of options of groups of outcomes available to be selected using the user interface. In this embodiment, the game controller may also cause the display to highlight or display indicia that indicates the total number of outcomes that are selected using the user interface. Also, the user interface may have a corresponding number of buttons to the plurality of options and the buttons are marked with corresponding indicia to the indicia displayed on the display.  
         [0027]     In one embodiment, the indicia comprises a graduated scale and the game controller causes the display to highlight a position on the scale depending on the number of outcomes selected using the user interface in comparison to the total number of outcomes available to be selected.  
         [0028]     In one embodiment, if one or more of the outcomes selected using the interface is a winning combination, the game controller further causes the display to display indicia representative of the winning outcome or outcomes.  
         [0029]     In one embodiment, if a plurality of winning outcomes occurs during play of the game, each winning outcome is displayed sequentially.  
         [0030]     According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a gaming machine comprising a display and a user interface in communication with a game controller, the gaming machine providing a game in which a player of the gaming machine stakes a wager on one or more outcomes of the game, which are represented on the display as a plurality of symbols arranged in an array of symbol display positions, and the player controls the number of outcomes on which a wager is staked by operating the user interface, and if a winning combination of symbols occurs in at least one of the outcomes the gaming machine awards an award, wherein the game controller causes the display to only display indicia of an individual outcome in the array during play of the game when that outcome defines a winning combination.  
         [0031]     In one embodiment, the game controller causes the display to display the total number of outcomes selected using the user interface. In this embodiment, the game controller may also cause the display to display a number showing the total number of outcomes that are available to be selected.  
         [0032]     In one embodiment, the game controller also causes the display to display a graphic representation of the proportion of the number of outcomes selected using the user interface in comparison to the maximum number of outcomes that can be selected.  
         [0033]     According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of providing a graphical user interface on a display of a gaming machine which provides a game in which a player has control over the number of outcomes purchased in the game, the method comprising displaying on the display a plurality of playing elements from which the outcomes are defined and only displaying indicia showing a particular outcome within the playing elements when that particular outcome defines a winning combination.  
         [0034]     In one embodiment, the method further comprises displaying indicia representative of the number of outcomes purchased.  
         [0035]     In one embodiment, the method further comprises displaying the total number of outcomes available to be purchased.  
         [0036]     In one embodiment, the method further comprises displaying a representation of the proportion of outcomes purchased relative to the total number of outcomes available to be purchased.  
         [0037]     According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a gaming machine comprising:  
         [0038]     credit input means to receive credit for wagering on game plays of a game playable on the gaming machine;  
         [0039]     display means comprising one or more displays;  
         [0040]     one or more input devices that allow the player to specify a wager to stake on a variable number of the outcomes before the outcomes are displayed on the display means;  
         [0041]     a game controller that receives inputs from the one or more input devices, determines from the inputs the number of outcomes on which a wager has been staked, reduces a balance of credit that has been received by the credit input means, and randomly selects outcomes for the game,  
         [0042]     wherein the game controller further controls the display means to display representations of the game and display an indicator of the determined number of outcomes on which a wager has been staked as a gauge and display an outcome indicator that indicates any outcomes that are associated with the wager that has been staked and the number of outcomes represented by the gauge that result in a winning combination; and 
        prize payment means controlled by the game controller to pay a prize for any said winning combination that occurs in at least one of the outcomes on which the player has staked a wager and which are represented by the gauge.        
 
         [0044]     Further aspects of the present invention and further embodiments of the aspects of the invention described in the preceding paragraphs will become apparent from the following description, given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0045]     Notwithstanding any other embodiments that may fall within the scope of the present invention, certain embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:  
         [0046]      FIG. 1 : shows diagrammatically, a view of a gaming machine suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0047]      FIG. 2 : shows a block diagram of gaming apparatus suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0048]      FIG. 3 : shows a block diagram of components of the memory of the gaming apparatus represented in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0049]      FIG. 4 : shows diagrammatically, a network gaming system suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0050]     FIGS.  5  to  10 : show exemplary screen shots from a gaming apparatus implementing a first game of certain embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0051]      FIG. 11 : shows an arrangement of pay line outcomes for the game shown in FIGS.  5  to  10 .  
         [0052]      FIG. 12 : shows numbered outcome indicators for the  100  pay lines shown in  FIG. 11 .  
         [0053]      FIG. 13 : shows an exemplary screen shot from a gaming apparatus implementing a second game of an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0054]      FIG. 14 : shows a screen shot showing the pay line structure of some prior art games.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0055]     In  FIG. 1  of the accompanying drawings, one example of a gaming machine suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present invention is generally referenced by arrow  10 .  
         [0056]     The gaming machine  10  includes a console  12  having a display  14  on which is displayed representations of a game  16 , that can be played by a player. A mid-trim  20  of the gaming machine  10  houses a bank of buttons  22  for enabling a player to play the game  16 . The mid-trim  20  also houses a credit input mechanism  24  including a coin input chute  24 A and a bill collector  24 B. A top box  26  may carry artwork  28 , including for example, pay tables and details of bonus awards and other information or images relating to the game. Further artwork and/or information may be provided on the front panel  29  of the console  12 . A coin tray  30  is mounted beneath the console  12  for cash payouts from the gaming machine  10 .  
         [0057]     The display  14  shown in  FIG. 1  is in the form of a video display unit, particularly a cathode ray tube screen device. Alternatively, the display  14  may be a liquid crystal display, plasma screen, any other suitable video display unit, or the visible portion of an electromechanical device. The top box  26  may also include a display, for example a video display unit, which may be of the same type as the display  14 , or a different type of display.  
         [0058]      FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of a gaming apparatus, generally referenced by arrow  100 , suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present invention. The gaming apparatus  100  may, for example, operate as a standalone gaming machine of the type shown in  FIG. 1 . However, the gaming apparatus  100  may alternatively operate as a networked gaming machine, communicating with other network devices, such as one or more servers or other gaming machines. The gaming apparatus  100  may also have distributed hardware and software components that communicate with each other directly or through a network. Accordingly, different reference numerals have been used in  FIG. 2  from  FIG. 1  for components that may be equivalent.  
         [0059]     The gaming apparatus  100  includes a game controller  101 , which in the illustrated example includes a microprocessor, microcontroller, programmable logic device or other computational device  102 . Instructions and data to control operation of the computational device  102  are stored in a memory  103 , which is in data communication with the computational device  102 . Typically, the gaming apparatus  100  will include both volatile and non-volatile memory and more than one of each type of memory, with such memories being collectively represented by the memory  103 . The instructions to cause the game controller  101  to implement an embodiment of the present invention will be stored in the memory  103 .  
         [0060]     The gaming apparatus may include hardware meters  104  for the purposes of regulatory compliance and also include an input/output (I/O) interface  105  for communicating with the peripheral devices of the gaming apparatus  100 . The input/output interface  105  and/or the peripheral devices may be intelligent devices with their own memory for instructions and data.  
         [0061]     In the example shown in  FIG. 2 , the peripheral devices that communicate with the controller are one or more displays  106 , a user interface  107  including a touch screen  106 A, a card and/or ticket reader  108 , a printer  109 , a bill acceptor and/or coin input mechanism  110  and a coin output mechanism  111 . Additional devices may be included as part of the gaming apparatus  100 , or devices omitted as required for the specific implementation.  
         [0062]     In addition, the gaming apparatus  100  may include a communications interface, for example a network card  112 . The network card, may for example, send status information, accounting information or other information to a central controller, server or database and receive data or commands from a the central controller, server or database. As explained in more detail in relation to  FIG. 4 , the computational device  102  may include two or more controllers or processors, which may be local or remote from each other and the displays  106 .  
         [0063]      FIG. 3  shows an exemplary block diagram of the main components of the memory  103 . The RAM  103 A typically temporarily holds program files for execution by the computational controller  102  and related data. The EPROM  103 B may hold be a boot ROM device and/or may contain some system or game related code. The mass storage device  103 C is typically used to store game programs, the integrity of which may be verified and/or authenticated by the computational controller  102  using protected code from the EPROM  103 B or elsewhere.  
         [0064]      FIG. 4  shows a gaming system  200 . The gaming system  200  includes a network  201 , which for example may be an Ethernet network. Gaming devices  202 , shown arranged in three banks  203  of two gaming devices  202  in  FIG. 4 , are connected to the network  201 . The gaming devices  202  may be gaming machines  10 , as shown in  FIG. 1  or form part or all of another gaming apparatus  100 . Single gaming devices  202  and banks  203  containing three or more gaming devices  202  may also be connected to the network  201 .  
         [0065]     One or more displays  204  may also be connected to the network  201 . The displays  204  may, for example, be associated with a bank  203  of gaming devices. The displays  204  may be used to display representations associated with game play on the gaming devices  202 , and/or used to display other representations, for example promotional or informational material.  
         [0066]     Servers may also be connected to the network  201 . For example, a game server  205  may generate game outcomes for games played on the gaming devices  202 , a database management server  206  with associated database  206 A may store game programs and associated data for downloading or access by the gaming devices  202  and a jackpot server  207  may control one or more jackpots associated with the gaming devices  202 .  
         [0067]     Further servers may be provided to assist in the administration of the gaming system  200 , including for example a gaming floor management server  208 , and a licensing server  209  to monitor the use of licenses to particular games. An administrator terminal  210  is provided to allow an administrator to run the network  201  and the devices connected to the network.  
         [0068]     The gaming system  200  may communicate with other gaming systems, other local networks, for example a corporate network and/or a wide area network such as the Internet through a firewall  211 .  
         [0069]     FIGS.  5  to  10  show exemplary screen shots S 1  to S 6  of a game  16  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The game may be implemented by the gaming machine  10 , gaming apparatus  100  and/or within the gaming system  200 , with a game controller  101  causing a display  106  to display the screen shots S 1  to S 6  during game play. Unless specifically stating otherwise, the following description refers to implementation of the game on a standalone gaming machine  10  (see  FIG. 1 ).  
         [0070]     The game  16  is a spinning reel type game. Five spinning reels  1 - 5  are provided, each of which displays four playing elements or symbols  6  (one only indicated by a reference numeral). The symbols therefore define a matrix of five columns and four rows. If the game  16  pays from left to right, as is typical of a spinning reel game, up to 1024 different outcomes can be defined in the matrix, representing every possible combination of visible symbols, with each combination having one symbol from each of the five reels  1  to  5 .  
         [0071]     In the exemplary game  16  shown in FIGS.  5  to  10 , a wager indicator  40  shows five combinations, indicated by combination indicators  41 - 45 . Each combination indicator  41 - 45  shows the number of outcomes or pay lines that are included in that combination. In the example shown, the available combinations allow two, twenty, fifty, eighty or one hundred lines to be purchased by a player.  FIG. 5  shows a screen shot S 1  when two lines have been purchased,  FIG. 6  shows a screen shot S 2  when twenty lines have been purchased and so forth for FIGS.  7  to  9 . As is usual in a gaming machine, during normal play and excluding from consideration any “scatter pays” or other special symbols or features that may be provided, only a winning combination that occurs on a purchased pay line results in the award of a prize in credits or another award.  
         [0072]     FIGS.  5  to  10  show an embodiment of the present invention in which all five combination indicators  41 - 45  are displayed on screen and the selected combination is highlighted. In less preferred embodiments, the display may only show the combination indicator  41 - 45  that corresponds to the combination selected by the player. For example, in  FIG. 5  only the combination  41  showing “2” lines may be displayed and in  FIG. 8  only the combination  44  showing “80” lines may be displayed.  
         [0073]     The wager indicator  40  can be viewed as a representation of a gauge, which gives a graphical representation of the proportion of outcomes purchased relative to the total number of outcomes available to be purchased. The gauge starts at the top of the screen ( FIG. 5 ) when the minimum number of outcomes has been purchased and progresses towards the bottom of the screen ( FIG. 9 ) when all possible outcomes have been purchased. Although the gauge shown in FIGS.  5  to  10  shows discrete tabs for each combination indicator  41 - 45 , this is not essential and the gauge may appear more like a temperature gauge, optionally changing colour dependent on the number of outcomes purchased and optionally only displaying an integer that indicates the number of outcomes purchased.  
         [0074]     Therefore, in accordance with the instructions of the game  16 , the game controller  101  causes the display  14  to show indicia of the number of outcomes purchased without the complexity and clutter of displaying every outcome that is available to be purchased. In addition, the screen preferably also graphically displays a representation of the proportion of outcomes purchased relative to the total number available to be purchased. This can be a general indication of proportion rather than an exact or close approximation of the actual proportion, as is the case with the example provided in FIGS.  5  to  10 .  
         [0075]     The bank of buttons  22  or other user interface  107 , which may include the touch screen  106 A, preferably has a button or other selector corresponding to each of the five combinations. Alternatively, a single button may be used to cycle through the five available options, or two buttons provided, one to move to the next highest option and the other to move to the next lowest option. In one embodiment, a player of the gaming machine  10  could touch the touch screen and drag his or her finger along the combination indicator  40  or other gauge, with the number of pay lines increasing or decreasing as the player moves along the combination indicator. The gaming machine  10  would display an increasing or decreasing wager amount in a bet indicator  48  (see  FIG. 10 ) as the number of pay lines selected for purchase increase or decrease respectively.  
         [0076]     In an alternative game, the player may be able to select many more combinations of outcomes. For example, for a game having five spinning reels and three symbols from each reels displayed for each game activation the player may be able to choose between 1 and 1024 lines. In this case, the bank of buttons  22  or other user interface  107  may have an “increase bet” button and a “decrease bet” button. The wager indicator  40  when displayed as a gauge may then also have a much higher resolution of steps and could show a moving marker as the player pressed the “increase bet” and “decrease bet” buttons.  
         [0077]      FIG. 10  shows a screen shot S 6  following the purchase of eighty pay lines and play of the game  16 . The result of the game is that one of the purchased outcomes, the thirty-eighth pay line is a winning combination. Having purchased eighty lines, as indicated by the highlighting of combination  44  in the wager indicator  40 , at a cost of 40 credits ($0.40 in a 1 cent game) as indicated on the screen under the “BET” heading, a win of 8 credits resulted, as indicated on the screen under the “WIN” heading. The win of 8 credits would typically be stored by the game controller  101  in a software implemented win meter, and then transferred to the credit meter of the gaming apparatus after any subsequent events that may be provided as part of the game.  
         [0078]     An outcome indicator  46  indicates the pay line that caused the win. No outcome indicator  46  is displayed for any pay line that did not contain a winning combination. Multiple outcome indicators  46  may be displayed sequentially or simultaneously if more than one pay line contained a winning combination that contributed to the win meter under the game rules. In the embodiment shown, the outcome indicator  46  includes a number identifying the pay line and also a representation of a pay line  46 A showing the symbols that made up the pay line. These symbols may also flash or otherwise be highlighted to the player.  
         [0079]     The arrangement of the outcomes, in this example pay lines may be varied to match the wager indicator  40 . Traditionally, the pay line allocated to pay line number one is a straight pay line that traverses through the centre row of the symbols defined by the displayed part of the spinning reels. In the currently contemplated preferred embodiment the pay line allocated to pay line number one is located towards the top of the screen to match the location of the combination indicator  41 . The first 50 pay lines may be predominantly defined by symbols in the upper two rows and the second 50 pay lines may be predominantly defined by symbols in the lower two rows. In one embodiment, the first symbol or leftmost symbol in a game that pays left to right across the spinning reels, is dominant, so that the first 50 pay lines are defined by patterns where the symbol on the first reel is predominantly on the upper two rows. Similarly, for the second 50 pay lines the symbol used on the first reel may be predominantly located on the lower two rows.  
         [0080]      FIG. 11  shows a possible arrangement of lines in accordance with this arrangement method. In this arrangement the first 50 pay lines, specifically pay line  1  to pay line  50  all have the first symbol position in one of the top two rows of the first column/reel. These lines also have the last symbol position in the same row of the last column/reel. Similarly, the last 50 pay lines have first and last symbol positions in the lower two rows of the first and last columns/reels respectively.  
         [0081]      FIG. 12  shows all  100  of the outcome indicators  46  for the game described herein in relation to FIGS.  5  to  11 . When an outcome displays a winning combination of symbols, the outcome indicator  46  for that outcome is displayed between the wager indicator  40  and the symbols in the position horizontally in line to the position of the outcome indicator  46  shown in  FIG. 12 . For example, the outcome indicator ‘3’ would be displayed between the wager indicator  40  and the symbols where the outcome indicator ‘1’ is currently shown. Similarly, the outcome indicator ‘42’ would be displayed where the outcome indicator ‘40’ is currently shown.  
         [0082]     In the example game shown in  FIG. 10 , the player wagered one credit per line-cost. The game may provide the option to wager two or more credits per line cost. For example, if the player played eighty lines at two credits per line cost and game outcomes of  FIG. 10  resulted, the bet would have been eighty credits and the win sixteen credits. The player could vary the credits per line cost using the bank of buttons  22 .  
         [0083]      FIG. 13  shows an example screen shot S 7  in which the credits per line-cost are also displayed as a gauge. In screen shot S 7  the wager indicator  40 A is similar to that previously described and a per line-cost indicator  47  shows the bets per line, the options being 1, 10, 24, 40 (currently selected) and 50 in the example shown.  
         [0084]     In one embodiment of the invention, where a player has purchased less than the maximum number of outcomes and one or more winning combinations occurred in outcomes that were not purchased, then the gaming apparatus may indicate this to the player. For example, if the player purchased 20 lines in a game supporting up to 100 lines, winning combinations in lines  21  to  100  may be indicated. Preferably the indication is in a less prominent way than for winning combinations that occur in outcomes that have been purchased.  
         [0085]     While the foregoing description has been provided by way of example of the preferred embodiments of the present invention as presently contemplated, which utilise gaming apparatus and machines, those skilled in the relevant arts will appreciate that the present invention also may have application to internet gaming and/or have application to gaming over a telecommunications network, where handsets are used to display game outcomes and receive player inputs.  
         [0086]     Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to integers having known equivalents, then those equivalents are hereby incorporated herein as if individually set forth.  
         [0087]     Those skilled in the relevant arts will appreciate that modifications and additions to the embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0088]     It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined in this specification extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.  
         [0089]     It will also be understood that the term “comprises” (or its grammatical variants) as used in this specification is equivalent to the term “includes” and should not be taken as excluding the presence of other elements or features.