Patent ID: 7427235

Claim:
A gaming machine, comprising: a display configured to display a plurality of groups of objects and a plurality of player-selectable elements separate from said plurality of groups of objects, said plurality of player-selectable elements initially concealing indicia indicative of all of said objects within said plurality of groups of objects and at least one award modifier associated with at least one of said groups of objects, said indicia or said at least one award modifier being revealed upon selection of a corresponding player-selectable element, each of said groups of objects having a predetermined base payout associated therewith corresponding to a state wherein all indicia corresponding to a respective group have been revealed, said predetermined base payout being modifiable by any revealed award modifier associated with a respective one of said groups of objects; an input device for receiving from a player selections of said player-selectable elements; and a processor communicatively coupled to said display and said input device, said processor being configured, responsive to a selection of a player-selectable element associated with a player input using said input device, to reveal an object associated with said selected player-selectable element and to render said selected player-selectable element subsequently un-selectable, and said processor being further configured to permit successive selections of said player-selectable elements until all indicia for one of said groups of objects are revealed and to award said predetermined base payout associated with said one of said plurality of groups whose objects have all been revealed, said predetermined base payout being modified by any revealed award modifier associated with said one of said plurality of groups.