Patent ID: 8192271

Claim:
A machine configured to enable a player to play a reel-type wager game featuring a bonus game awarding scheme played over successive spins, comprising: a display configured to display two or more reels of a reel-type wager game; a memory storing software instructions for facilitating a user to play the reel-type wager game; and a processor for executing the software instructions; wherein the software instructions comprise displaying on the display a bonus indicator associated with each of the two or more reels, each of the two or more reels having its own corresponding bonus indicator, the bonus indicator changes from a first state to a second state to indicate the bonus indicator becoming active and remains in the second state when the respective reel displays a result from a spin of the respective reel comprising a symbol associated with an award of a bonus game; the bonus game being awarded when at least two of the reels' corresponding bonus indicators are in the second state, and wherein the active bonus indicators are accumulated progressively over the successive spins of the game to thereby allow the player to progress towards the award of the bonus game; and wherein, for a reel in which the bonus indicator for such reel has already become active, a subsequent result of a spin comprising the symbol associated with an award of a bonus game does not advance the player further towards the award of a bonus game.