Patent Publication Number: US-2010124959-A1

Title: Gambling games and method with best play evaluation indicator

Description:
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide a method for indicating that a player of a gambling game has executed the best possible play of the gambling game. 
     A second object of the invention is to provide a gambling game which indicates that a player of the gambling game has executed a best possible play of the gambling game. 
     A third object of the invention is to provide a method for indicating that a player of a gambling game has executed a best possible play of the gambling game after the play has been executed to educate and encourage the player to play without altering their instant choice of play. 
     A fourth object of the invention is to provide a gambling game which indicates that a player of a gambling game has executed a best possible play of the gambling game after the play has been executed to educate and encourage the player to play without altering their instant choice of play. 
     A fifth object of the invention is to provide a gambling game which indicates that a player of the gambling game has not executed a best possible play of the gambling game. 
     A sixth object of the invention is to provide a gambling game which indicates that a player of the gambling game has not executed a best possible play of the gambling game after the play has been executed to educate and encourage the player to continue to play without altering their instant choice of play. 
     Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following disclosure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to gambling games which allow the player to make decisions which could potentially influence the outcome of a gambling game based on an initial configuration, which the player acts on, and which then is part of a final configuration. The initial combination is typically random, although it could also be a standard configuration or a member of a known and limited set of initial configurations. The gambling game is played on an electronic device which knows, either through storage of potential game outcomes or by real-time computation, what the best possible choice the player could make in relation to the initial configuration of the gambling game. When the player makes the best possible decision (the “best play”) to produce a favorable final configuration, the gambling game so indicates to educate and entertain the player. Depending on the configuration of the gambling game and the desire of the operator, the indication may be delayed until the player has committed to their action so as to avoid assisting the player in making their choices. The invention also allows the opposite information—that their play was not the best possible play—to be communicated to the player so as to educate and encourage without directly revealing the best possible play in any given configuration. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The characteristic features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims. The descriptions of the preferred embodiment refer to the preceding drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is an abstract representational view of the entire apparatus in an initial configuration. 
         FIG. 2  is an abstract representational view of the entire apparatus in a final configuration showing a best play indicator. 
         FIG. 3  is an abstract representational view of the entire apparatus in a final configuration showing a non-best play indicator. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The description of the preferred embodiment uses the invention in a gaming apparatus of the type usually referred to as a “slot machine.” It could be used in any desired gaming or entertainment device, including but not limited to such things as a video poker game, a video keno game, a combination gaming machine, or even a coin-operated or bartop amusement device. In this description, the term “pull” should be understood to be one event during which the player places a bet of some fixed size and a random outcome determines whether the player loses their bet or receives it or some multiple of it back in the form of a payout. Typically a pull is based upon a bet fixed in some relevant currency, but may also be set in abstract “credits,” which simply represent some fixed unit for placing bets in, and whose value may be fixed or variable in terms of eventual prize payouts in currency. The description assumes that each pull is related to a bet of some number of credits, but any equivalences (currency units instead of credits, “hands” of poker instead of pulls) may be substituted into the invention. 
     By referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the basic concept of the invention may easily be understood.  FIG. 1  shows a game in an initial configuration, and  FIG. 2  shows the game in a final configuration. Here, the configuration is that of the well-known game known as “tic-tac-toe,” or “naughts and crosses,” in which the objective is to form a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row of three of a given symbol while preventing an opponent from doing the same with a second symbol. 
       FIG. 1  shows a slot machine  10 , with a display  14  displaying a gambling game  16  in which the object is to get three identical symbols in a row as a winning outcome. (The nature and rules of any individual gambling game, so long as it has at least one initial configuration, an opportunity for a player to act upon that configuration, and a final configuration which is influenced by the player&#39;s action or actions, are not relevant to the invention and are provided for illustration only.) In the particular configuration shown, the player is the side using the “X,” or “cross” symbol, and must place an “X” in a blank square such as upper right corner  18  or lower right corner  19 . It is required that, whether the player&#39;s outcome depends upon chance or upon skill, or both, that there be a decision for a player to make which has some impact upon the final configuration and thus the ultimate outcome of the gambling game. Here, the machine has randomly produced a configuration with three “O”&#39;s and two “X”&#39; s. The player must chose a square upon which to place an “X.” 
       FIG. 2  shows slot machine  10  with the outcome of gambling game  16  visible on display  14 , as well as best-play indicator  20 , here a pictographic representation of an abstract smiling face. The player chose to insert an “X” in the upper right corner  18 , which produced a configuration in which O cannot win on its next turn and in which “X” cannot fail to win on its next turn. (O cannot complete a row on its next turn, and no matter where O places its next symbol, X will be able to complete a row on its next turn.) This was the best possible play the player could make, and thus the best-play indicator  20  appears on display  14 . 
     It should be noted that the embodiment described herein is extremely simple for purposes of ease of understanding. Another, more complex example of such a gambling game (not shown) would be the well known game of “draw poker,” in which players are dealt an initial hand of randomly selected cards and must chose to discard some, all, or no cards which are then replaced with additionally randomly selected cards, all with the goal of compiling the best possible hand according to predetermined rankings. The outcome of the game is largely determined by the randomly selected cards, but the player may, through intent, mistake, or carelessness, chose to discard part or all of a winning hand, or not to discard cards which are not helpful in obtaining a winning hand. Because the number of cards available is finite and the laws of poker are known and are susceptible to an analysis of all possible winning combinations, the “best play” for any given initial hand can also be known. Such solutions are well-known in the art and can be stored in the gambling game&#39;s memory by any convenient means for the purpose of comparing the best play for a given hand to the player&#39;s choice when given that hand and the chance to select some, all, or no cards for discarding. If the player&#39;s choice matches the best play, the indicator is displayed: if it is not, it is not. It is optional to have a “non-best play” indicator which is displayed if the player makes any choices which do not correspond to the best play. In another embodiment of the invention, instead of displaying a best play indicator when the best play is made, the gambling game might only display a non-best play indicator when the best play is not made. (See  FIG. 3 .) 
       FIG. 3  shows an alternate or optional embodiment in which the player, faced with the initial configuration shown in  FIG. 1 , chose to put an “X” in lower left corner  19  (see  FIG. 1 .) This has produced a configuration in which, while X could complete a row if given a chance, will allow O to place an “O” in upper right corner  18  and complete a row, thus winning the game. This was not the best play available to X and thus non-best play indicator  30  is displayed on display  14 . 
     While the description above details the preferred and best mode(s) of practicing the invention, many other configurations and variations are possible. For example:
         1) The invention need not be practiced with a commercial gaming unit, but could used with a variety of coin-operated amusement devices, home gaming systems, or any other appropriate system.   2) The invention could be incorporated into games with a multiple number of human players and/or computer players and/or random elements.   3) The symbols used could be actual words or numbers describing with any given level of precision the percentage chance of winning with any given act or actions by the player.   4) The best play indicator need not be a symbol, but could be a sound, a flash of light, or some other indication perceptible to the player.   5) The player could be given, either randomly, by some predetermined method, or through success or failure in play, the chance to see the best play or whether their play is the best play, before they commit to their play choice even if normally the gambling game only shows the best play or the best play indicator after they have committed to their play choice.
 
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment(s) illustrated, but by the claims below and their equivalents.