Patent Publication Number: US-2009221362-A1

Title: Gaming system and a method of gaming

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefit of priority to Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2008900657, filed on Feb. 12, 2008, entitled “A GAMING SYSTEM AND A METHOD OF GAMING”, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a gaming system and to a method of gaming. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is known to provide a gaming system which comprises at least one wheel provided with a plurality of identifiers equidistantly disposed around the wheel. The wheel is rotatable and game outcomes are determined using a pointer disposed adjacent the periphery of the wheel. 
     However, while such gaming systems provide users with enjoyment, a need exists for alternative gaming systems in order to maintain or increase player enjoyment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaming system including: 
     at least one game section having a plurality of game portions; and 
     a selector arranged to select at least one game portion, the at least one selected game portion being used to determine a game outcome; 
     the gaming system being arranged to move at least one game portion such that selected game portions are raised relative to adjacent game portions which have not been selected. 
     In one embodiment each game portion has an associated identifier and the gaming system is arranged to use the identifiers to determine game outcomes. 
     In one embodiment, the or each game section is a physical game section. With this embodiment, the gaming system may further include an actuator arranged to move at least one game portion such that selected game portions are raised relative to adjacent game portions which have not been selected. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the gaming system is implemented electronically such that the or each game section is represented graphically on a video display. 
     The gaming system may include a plurality of game sections disposed in a tower configuration, for example such that the game sections reduce in diameter in an upwardly direction. 
     The game sections may be purchasable by a player such that the purchase amount increases with increasing game sections to be included in the game. 
     In one embodiment, the game sections are of disk-like configuration, and the game portions are segments of the disk. 
     In one embodiment, the identifiers include a symbol, number, icon or picture, or are in the form of a particular colour. 
     In one embodiment, the gaming system includes an outcome evaluator arranged to determine whether a winning outcome exists on the basis of the portions selected by the selector. 
     The gaming system may be arranged such that a winning outcome is determined on the basis of the positions of the selected game portions, and/or based on the identifiers associated with the selected game portions. 
     The gaming system may be arranged such that a winning outcome is determined by comparing the selected game portions with a pay table. 
     In one embodiment, one or more of the selector and the outcome evaluator is constituted, at least in part, by a processor executing program code stored in a memory. 
     In one embodiment, the gaming system includes a game play mechanism operable to place a wager and the outcome evaluator evaluates the outcome based on the wager and based on the game portions selected by the selector. 
     In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of gaming, the method including: 
     providing at least one game section having a plurality of game portions; and 
     selecting at least one game portion; 
     moving at least one game portion such that selected game portions are raised relative to adjacent game portions which have not been selected; and 
     using the at least one selected game portion to determine a game outcome. 
     In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program arranged when loaded into a computer to instruct the computer to operate in accordance with a gaming system including: 
     at least one game section having a plurality of game portions; and 
     a selector arranged to select at least one game portion, the at least one selected game portion being used to determine a game outcome; 
     the gaming system being arranged to move at least one game portion such that selected game portions are raised relative to game portions which have not been selected. 
     In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code being arranged when loaded into a computer to cause the computer to operate in accordance with a gaming system including: 
     at least one game section having a plurality of game portions; and 
     a selector arranged to select at least one game portion, the at least one selected game portion being used to determine a game outcome; 
     the gaming system being arranged to move at least one game portion such that selected game portions are raised relative to game portions which have not been selected. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Certain embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic perspective representation of a gaming system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic plan view of the gaming system shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic perspective representation of the gaming system shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2   
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a game controller of the gaming system shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic block diagram of a gaming system in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic block diagram illustrating operative components of the gaming system shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagrammatic representation of a gaming machine of the gaming system shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic block diagram of operative components of the gaming machine shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic block diagram of components of a memory of the gaming machine shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram of a gaming system in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 11  is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a gaming system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention during use. 
     
    
    
     The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, certain embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings. 
     DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings, there is shown a gaming system  10  arranged to implement a probabilistic game. 
     The gaming system  10  includes several game sections, in this example 5 game sections  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d ,  12   e , each game section including a respective plurality of portions  14   a ,  14   b ,  14   c ,  14   d ,  14   e . The game sections  12  are of differing diameters and are disposed in a tower configuration such that the game sections  12  reduce in diameter in an upwardly direction. 
     Each portion  14  has an associated identifier  16  which may be in the form of a symbol such as a number, icon, picture and so on, or may be in the form of a particular colour. 
     Operation of the gaming system  10  is such that portions  14  are selected randomly or pseudorandomly and a game outcome is determined on the basis of the selected portions. In order for a player to clearly see which portions have been selected, the selected portions  20  are raised relative to the portions  14  which have not been selected, as shown in  FIG. 3 . For this purpose, adjacent game sections  12  are spaced relative to each other so as to allow for movement of the portions  14 . 
     A winning outcome may be defined on the basis of any pattern or sequence of selected portions, for example based on identifiers  16  associated with selected portions  14  in multiple adjacent game sections  12 , based on identifiers  16  associated with selected portions  14  at any location on the gaming device, based on the positions of selected portions  14  alone or in addition to the identifiers  16  associated with selected portions  14 , or on any other basis. 
     In the present example, the game sections  12  are generally disk-like and the portions  14  are segments of the disk-like game sections  12 . In this way, the game sections  12  resemble pies with selection of one or more of the portions being indicated by raising one or more pieces of the pies relative to the other pieces. 
     While the present embodiment includes 5 game sections  12 , it will be understood that any number of game sections  12  may be provided. 
     A game controller  30  for controlling operation of the gaming system  10  is shown diagrammatically in  FIG. 4 . 
     The game controller  30  includes a memory  32  arranged to store game instructions and any other data to enable the gaming system to implement a game, a selector  34  arranged to select several portions  14  of the game sections  12  using a random number generator  36 , and an actuator  38  arranged to cause the selected portions  20  to raise relative to portions  14  which have not been selected. The selected portions may be caused to raise relative to portions which have not been selected in any suitable way. For example, the portions  14  may be biased towards a lowered position and the actuator caused to act against the biasing force for the selected portions. 
     It will be appreciated that the random number generator  36  may be of a type which is arranged to generate pseudo random numbers based on a seed number, and that in this specification the term “random” will be understood accordingly to mean truly random or pseudo random. 
     The game controller  30  also includes an outcome evaluator  40  which in accordance with the game instructions  32  determines game outcomes based on the selected portions  14 . 
     An alternative gaming system  50  implemented using an electronic gaming machine is shown schematically in  FIG. 5 . 
     Operation is similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4  with the difference being that a video representation of the game sections  12  and game portions  14  is shown on an electronic gaming machine. For the purpose of describing this embodiment, like and similar features to features described in relation to  FIGS. 1 to 4  are indicated with like reference numerals. 
     Operation of the present embodiment is such that several portions  14  of at least one game section  12  are selected, and the selected portions  14  are represented on a video display as raised relative to portions  14  which have not been selected, and game outcomes are determined based on the selected raised portions. 
     The gamins system  50  includes a player interface  52  and a game controller  54 . The player interface  52  is arranged to enable interaction between a player and the gaming system and for this purpose includes input/output components for the player to enter instructions and play the game. 
     Components of the player interface  52  may vary but will typically include a credit mechanism  56  to enable a player to input credits and receive payouts, one or more displays  58  which may include a touch screen, and a game play mechanism  60  arranged to enable a player to input game play instructions. 
     The game controller  54  is in data communication with the player interface  52  and typically includes a processor  62  arranged to process game play instructions and output game player outcomes to the display  58 . Typically, the game play instructions are stored as program code in a memory  64  that can also be hardwired. It will be understood that in this specification the term “processor” is used to refer generically to any device that can process game play instructions and may include a microprocessor, microcontroller, programmable logic device or other computational device such as a personal computer or a server. 
     A functional diagram illustrating operative components of the game controller  54  is shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     The memory  64  is arranged to store identifier data  65  indicative of identifiers associated with the portions  14  such as symbols associated with the portions and/or colours associated with the portions  14 , function data  66  indicative of one or more functions allocatable to the identifiers, and game instruction data  67  indicative of game instructions usable by the gaming machine  50  to control operation of the game. 
     The game controller  54  includes a selector  68  which is arranged to select several portions  14  for display to a player as raised portions  14 . In this example, the selection carried out by the selector  68  is made using a random number generator  70 . 
     It will be appreciated that the random number generator  70  may be of a type which is arranged to generate pseudo random numbers based on a seed number, and that in this specification the term “random” will be understood accordingly to mean truly random or pseudo random. 
     The game controller  54  also includes a display modifier  72  arranged to modify the display so as to provide the appearance on a graphical display of the gaming machine  50  that selected portions  14  of the game sections  12  are raised relative to portions which have not been selected. 
     In this example, the game controller  54  also includes a function allocator  74  arranged to select and allocate one or more functions to one or more portion  14 . Such functions include a wild function, a scatter function, or any other function which may be applied to a portion or to the game. 
     The game controller  54  also includes an outcome evaluator  76  which in accordance with the game instructions  67  determines game outcomes based on the portions  14  selected for display to the player as raised portions by the selector  68 . 
     In the embodiments described below, the selector  68 , the function allocator  74 , and the outcome evaluator  76  are at least partly implemented using the processor  62  and associated software, although it will be understood that other implementations are envisaged. 
     The gaming system  10  can take a number of different forms. 
     In a first form, a stand alone gaming machine is provided wherein all or most components implementing the game are present in a player operable gaming machine. 
     In a second form, a distributed architecture is provided wherein some of the components implementing the game are present in a player operable gaming machine and some of the components implementing the game are located remotely relative to the gaming machine. For example, a “thick client” architecture may be used wherein part of the game is executed on a player operable gaming machine and part of the game is executed remotely, such as by a gaming server; or a “thin client” architecture may be used wherein most of the game is executed remotely such as by a gaming server and a player operable gaming machine is used only to display audible and/or visible gaming information to the player and receive gaming inputs from the player. 
     However, it will be understood that other arrangements are envisaged. For example, an architecture may be provided wherein a gaming machine is networked to a gaming server and the respective functions of the gaming machine and the gaming server are selectively modifiable. For example, the gaming system may operate in stand alone gaming machine mode, “thick client” mode or “thin client” mode depending on the game being played, operating conditions, and so on. Other variations will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. 
     A gaming system in the form of a stand alone gaming machine  80  is illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The gaming machine  80  includes a console  82  having a display  84  on which is displayed representations of a game  86  that can be played by a player. A mid-trim  90  of the gaming machine  80  houses a bank of buttons  92  for enabling a player to interact with the gaming machine, in particular during gameplay. The mid-trim  90  also houses a credit input mechanism  94  which in this example includes a coin input chute  94 A and a bill collector  94 B. Other credit input mechanisms may also be employed, for example, a card reader for reading a smart card, debit card or credit card. A reading device may also be provided for the purpose of reading a player tracking device, for example as part of a loyalty program. The player tracking device may be in the form of a card, flash drive or any other portable storage medium capable of being read by the reading device. 
     A top box  96  may carry artwork  98 , 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 a front panel  100  of the console  82 . A coin tray  102  is mounted beneath the front panel  100  for dispensing cash payouts from the gaming machine  80 . 
     The display  84  is in the form of a video display unit, particularly a cathode ray tube screen device. Alternatively, the display  84  may be a liquid crystal display, plasma screen, or any other suitable video display unit. The top box  96  may also include a display, for example a video display unit, which may be of the same type as the display  84 , or of a different type. The display  84  may include a touch screen usable by a player to interact with the gaming machine, in particular during game play. 
     The display  84  in this example is arranged to display representations of several reels, each reel of which has several associated symbols. Typically  3 ,  4  or  5  reels are provided. During operation of the game, the reels first appear to rotate then stop with typically three symbols visible on each reel. Game outcomes are determined on the basis of the visible symbols together with any special functions associated with the symbols. 
     A player marketing module (PMM)  104  having a display  106  is connected to the gaming machine  10 . The main purpose of the PMM  104  is to allow the player to interact with a player loyalty system. The PMM has a magnetic card reader for the purpose of reading a player tracking device, for example as part of a loyalty program. However other reading devices may be employed and the player tracking device may be in the form of a card, flash drive or any other portable storage medium capable of being read by the reading device. In this example, the PMM  62  is a Sentinel III device produced by Aristocrat Technologies Pty Ltd. 
       FIG. 8  shows a block diagram of operative components of a gaming machine  110  which may be the same as or different to the gaming machine shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     The gaming machine  110  includes a game controller  112  having a processor  114 . Instructions and data to control operation of the processor  114  in accordance with the present invention are stored in a memory  115  which is in data communication with the processor  114 . 
     Typically, the gaming machine  110  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  115 . 
       FIG. 9  shows a block diagram of the main components of an exemplary memory  115 . The memory  115  includes RAM  115 A, EPROM  115 B and a mass storage device  115 C. The RAM  115 A typically temporarily holds program files for execution by the processor  114  and related data. The EPROM  115 B may 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 processor  114  using protected code from the EPROM  115 B or elsewhere. 
     The gaming machine has hardware meters  116  for purposes including ensuring regulatory compliance and monitoring player credit, an input/output (I/O) interface  117  for communicating with a player interface  140  of the gaming machine  110 , the player interface  140  having several peripheral devices. The input/output interface  117  and/or the peripheral devices may be intelligent devices with their own memory for storing associated instructions and data for use with the input/output interface or the peripheral devices. A random number generator module  132  generates random numbers for use by the processor  114 . 
     In the example shown in  FIG. 8 , the peripheral devices that communicate with the game controller  112  include one or more displays  118 , a touch screen and/or bank of buttons  120 , a card and/or ticket reader  122 , a printer  124 , a bill acceptor and/or coin input mechanism  126  and a coin output mechanism  128 . Additional hardware may be included as part of the gaming machine  110 , or hardware may be omitted based on the specific implementation. 
     In addition, the gaming machine  110  may include a communications interface, for example a network card  130 . 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 the central controller, server or database. 
     It is also possible for the operative components of the gaming machine  110  to be distributed, for example input/output devices  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126 ,  128  may be provided remotely from the game controller  112 . 
       FIG. 10  shows a gaming system  200  in accordance with an alternative embodiment. The gaming system  200  includes a network  201 , which for example may be an Ethernet network, a LAN or a WAN. In this example, three banks  203  of two gaming machines  202  are connected to the network  201 . The gaming machines  202  provide a player operable interface and may be the same as the gaming machines  40 , 100  shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , or may have simplified functionality depending on the rules and/or guidelines for implementing game play. While banks  203  of two gaming machines are illustrated in  FIG. 10 , banks of one, three or more gaming machines are also envisaged. 
     One or more displays  204  may also be connected to the network  201 . The displays  204  may, for example, be associated with one or more banks  203  of gaming machines. The displays  204  may be used to display representations associated with game play on the gaming machines  202 , and/or used to display other representations, for example promotional or informational material. 
     In a thick client embodiment, a game server  205  implements part of the game played by a player using a gaming machine  202  and the gaming machine  202  implements part of the game. With this embodiment, as both the game server  205  and the gaming machine  202  implement part of the game, they collectively provide a game controller. A database management server  206  may manage storage of game programs and associated data for downloading or access by the gaming devices  202  in a database  206 A. Typically, if the gaming system enables players to participate in a Jackpot game, a Jackpot server  207  will be provided to monitor and carry out the Jackpot game. 
     In a variation of the above thick client embodiment, the gaming machine  202  may implement the game, with the game server  205  functioning merely to serve data indicative of a game to the gaming machine  202  for implementation. 
     With this implementation, a data signal containing a computer program usable by the client terminal to implement the gaming system may be transferred from the game server to the client terminal, for example in response to a request by the client terminal. 
     In a thin client embodiment, the game server  205  implements most or all of the game played by a player using a gaming machine  202  and the gaming machine  202  essentially provides only the player interface. With this embodiment, the game server  205  provides the game controller. The gaming machine will receive player instructions, and pass the instructions to the game server which will process them and return game play outcomes to the gaming machine for display. In a thin client embodiment, the gaming machines could be computer terminals, e.g. PCs running software that provides a player interface operable using standard computer input and output components. 
     Servers are also typically 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 relating to particular games. An administrator terminal  210  is provided to allow an administrator to monitor the network  201  and the devices connected to the network. 
     The gaming system  200  may communicate with other gaming systems, other local networks such as a corporate network, and/or a wide area network such as the Internet, for example through a firewall  211 . 
     A loyalty program server  212  may also be provided. 
     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that in accordance with known techniques, functionality at the server side of the network may be distributed over a plurality of different computers. For example, elements may be run as a single “engine” on one server or a separate server may be provided. For example, the game server  205  could run a random number generator engine. Alternatively, a separate random number generator server could be provided. 
     During operation, the game controller, whether implemented in a stand alone gaming machine or over a network, implements a probabilistic game wherein at least during part of the game the gaming system selects one or more portions of one or more game sections, raises the selected portions relative to portions which have not been selected, and determines game outcomes based on the selected raised game portions. 
     Examples of specific implementations of the gaming system will now be described in relation to flow diagram  250  shown in  FIG. 11  which illustrates steps  252  to  258  of a method of gaming implemented by the gaming system according to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 . 
     However, it will be understood that implementation may also be carried out using other gaming system architectures such a stand alone electronic gaming machine  50 , or as a network architecture of the type shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     In order to take part in the game implemented by the gaming system  10 , a player first places a bet which may be of a form not specific to a particular outcome, or may be a bet in relation to a particular outcome such as “at least 3 ‘pic  1 ’ identifiers  16 ”, “4 of a kind of any identifier”, “4 of a kind of any identifier adjacently disposed to each other”, or any other bet in respect of a particular outcome. The gaming system in addition or alternatively may be arranged so that the number of game sections to be included in the game can be purchased with the purchase amount increasing as the number of game sections to be included in the game increases. 
     For a bet which is of a form not specific to a particular outcome, winning outcomes may be determined by comparing the selected portions  14  with a pay table. The pay table may also be used to determine prize amounts in the event that a bet is placed in respect of a particular outcome and the selected portions corresponds to the outcome. 
     The game implemented by the gaming system  10  may be played by one player or by multiple players simultaneously. 
     After placement of all bets, the symbol selector  34  randomly selects a plurality of portions  14  and instructs the actuator  38  to cause the selected portions  14  to raise the selected portions  14  relative to the portions which have not been selected. 
     The outcome evaluator  40  then evaluates the identifiers  16  associated with the selected portions  14  and/or the positions of the selected portions and determines whether a winning outcome exists. If a winning outcome exists, the or each player associated with the winning outcome is awarded a prize. 
     Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. 
     It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments and/or aspects without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments and aspects are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Several embodiments are described above with reference to the drawings. These drawings illustrate certain details of specific embodiments that implement the systems and methods and programs of the present invention. However, describing the invention with drawings should not be construed as imposing on the invention any limitations associated with features shown in the drawings. The present invention contemplates methods, systems and program products on any electronic device and/or machine-readable media suitable for accomplishing its operations. Certain embodiments of the present invention may be implemented using an existing computer processor and/or by a special purpose computer processor incorporated for this or another purpose or by a hardwired system, for example. 
     Embodiments within the scope of the present invention include program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a machine, the machine properly views the connection as a machine-readable medium. Thus, any such a connection is properly termed a machine-readable medium. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.