Patent ID: 8123610

Claim:
A method of conducting a wagering game on a plurality of gaming machines associated with each other, the method comprising: receiving wagers from players at the plurality of gaming machines to play basic games; displaying a plurality of symbols on each of the plurality of gaming machines corresponding to each play of the basic games, the plurality of symbols indicating one of a plurality of randomly selected outcomes for each play of the basic games at each of the plurality of gaming machines, the plurality of randomly selected outcomes including a special-game triggering event; aggregating a plurality of the special-game triggering events from the plurality of gaming machines only when a special-game triggering event is selected from the plurality of randomly selected outcomes from the plurality of plays from each of the plurality of gaming machines; in response to a predetermined number of the plurality of special-game triggering events being achieved, initiating a community-based bonus game involving inputs from only eligible ones of the plurality of gaming machines and including a winning outcome for all eligible ones of the plurality of gaming machines.