Patent ID: 8147322

Claim:
A method comprising: linking a first electronic gaming device and a second electronic gaming device to support multiplayer play; enabling a first maximum wager for single player game play on the first electronic gaming device; enabling a second maximum wager for multiplayer game play on the first electronic gaming device, wherein the second maximum wager is greater than the first maximum wager; receiving a multiplayer gaming feature activation request from a first player at the first electronic gaming device, wherein the request is received in conjunction with the placement of the second maximum wager; executing a first game instance at the first electronic gaming device and a second game instance at the second gaming device pursuant to rules associated with the multiplayer play such that the first electronic gaming device has an individual outcome based only on a result of the first game instance and has a combined outcome based on both the result of the first game instance and a result of the second game instance; and executing a plurality of instructions on at least one processor of a computing device, which instructions when executed by the at least one processor cause the processor to: determine if the combined outcome is entitled to a payout; provide a first reward based on the payout to the first player; determine whether a second player playing the second electronic gaming device when the second game instance was executed had activated a multiplayer gaming feature of the second electronic gaming device prior to the determination of the combined outcome; and only provide a second reward based on the payout to the second player if it is determined that the second player had activated the multiplayer gaming feature prior to the determination of the combined outcome; and not provide a second reward based on the payout to the second player if it is determined that the second player had not activated the multiplayer gaming feature prior to the determination of the combined outcome.