Patent ID: 8622814

Claim:
A method for conducting a communal game, a plurality of players at a plurality of gaming machines participating in the communal game, the plurality of players participating and sharing game play of at least one communal outcome, the plurality of gaming machines including a first gaming machine and a second gaming machine, the plurality of players including a first player and a second player, the method comprising: receiving, in response to inputs via a first input device of the first gaming machine, first wagers from the first player for respective plays of a first plurality of plays of a first wagering game, the first plurality of plays being played prior to conducting the communal game; determining, by at least one of one or more processors, a first value-enhancement parameter for the first player, the first value-enhancement parameter incrementally increasing based on the first player's game play activity over the first plurality of plays; receiving, in response to inputs via a second input device of the second gaming machine, second wagers from the second player for respective plays of a second plurality of plays of a second wagering game, the second plurality of plays being played prior to conducting the communal game; determining, by at least one of the one or more processors, a second value-enhancement parameter for the second player, the second value-enhancement parameter incrementally increasing based on the second player's game play activity over the second plurality of plays; enabling, by at least one of the one or more processors, the first gaming machine and the second gaming machine to participate in the communal game; determining, by at least one of the one or more processors, a communal outcome for at least one communal play of the communal game in which both the first gaming machine and the second gaming machine participate and share gameplay; displaying, by at least one of the one or more display devices, the outcome of the communal play; and awarding, by at least one of the one or more processors, a first award from the communal game to the first player, the first award being determined in part by the first value-enhancement parameter and the outcome.