Patent ID: 7938401

Claim:
A gaming machine that displays a primary wagering game and a secondary game, the gaming machine comprising: a microprocessor that controls at least a portion of the game play; a display area that displays a plurality of indicia-bearing game pieces in a gaming grid associated with the secondary game; a set of one or more player controls operatively coupled to the processor; and a memory including instructions for play of the secondary game wherein the instructions comprise: receiving input from a player by way of the player controls, the input comprising selection of game pieces that are adjacent to one another and that have matching indicia; removing from the grid the matching adjacent game pieces that are selected; after all the matching adjacent game pieces selected by the player are selected and removed, shuffling any remaining game pieces and presenting a new grouping of the remaining game pieces, the shuffling causing the remaining game pieces to be in a new random order, and the new grouping of the remaining pieces being in the new random order; and repeating the selection and removal of any matching adjacent game pieces.