Patent ID: 8662986

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: at least one input device; at least one display device; at least one processor; and at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device, for each play of a game, to: (a) display a plurality of symbol positions, (b) generate and display one of a plurality of symbols in each of the symbol positions, the plurality of symbols including at least one predetermined target symbol and at least one predetermined magnetic symbol, wherein said at least one target symbol and said at least one magnetic symbol are each predetermined independent of when the generation and display of one of the plurality of symbols in each of the symbol positions occurs, (c) if and because the generated and displayed symbols include a first designated number of the magnetic symbols displayed in a designated spatial relationship with a second designated number of the target symbols, said first designated number being at least one and said second designated number being at least one, for each such displayed magnetic symbol: (i) shift said magnetic symbol toward the spatially related target symbol based on the designated spatial relationship, said shifting resulting in an empty symbol position, and (ii) generate and display one of the plurality of symbols in the displayed empty symbol position, and (d) if the generated and displayed symbols include the first designated number of the magnetic symbols and the second designated number of the target symbols and said first designated number of magnetic symbols are not displayed in the designated spatial relationship with said second designated number of target symbols, not shift said magnetic symbols toward the target symbols, (e) thereafter, if any winning symbol combination is displayed: (i) display and provide an award for each displayed winning symbol combination, (ii) remove at least one symbol from at least one displayed winning symbol combination, (iii) generate and display one of the plurality of symbols in each empty symbol position, and (iv) repeat (c) and (e).