Patent ID: 7988549

Claim:
An electronic gaming system for use by a player, the system comprising: at least one player interface configured to enable the player to interact with the electronic gaming system; a main video display screen; and a random number generator, wherein the electronic gaming system enables the player to simultaneously play a plurality of reel-type games and to select parameters of said plurality of reel-type games, said parameters including at least one game line with respect to which the player places bets and an amount of money which the player bets per line, and wherein the system is configured to have a plurality of display windows appear simultaneously on the main video display screen, each of said plurality of display windows associated with a respective one of the simultaneously played reel-type games and configured to display a plurality of reels pertaining to the respective reel-type game, each reel having a plurality of reel indicia arranged circumferentially thereon, and wherein the system is configured to have the random number generator determine a particular outcome for each play of each of said simultaneously played reel-type games, each particular outcome being one of a plurality of possible outcomes and constituted by a particular arrangement of indicia of the reels, and wherein the system is configured to display a particular reel-type game of said plurality of simultaneously played reel-type games in a particular display window, and to have the particular reel-type game enter a feature phase when the particular outcome of said particular reel-type game constitutes a predetermined feature-triggering event, the feature phase being displayed in the particular display window, and wherein, in response to the occurrence of the predetermined feature-triggering event, the system is configured to automatically perform a number of operations that include i) modifying all of the display windows on the main display screen until the feature phase is completed except the particular display window associated with the particular reel-type game which has entered the feature phase such that all of the display windows except the particular display window are reduced in size or disappear from the main display screen, and additionally modifying the size of said particular display window such that the particular display window increases in size on the main display screen, at least until the feature phase is completed, and ii) suspending play of all of the reel-type games other than said particular reel-type game until the feature phase is completed.