The present invention relates to gaming machines of the type generally referred to as slot machines, fruit machines or poker machines, and in particular the invention provides a new game played on such a machine.
Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particular games and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machines to come up with innovative games or game features that add interest to the games provided on such machines in order to keep the players amused and therefore willing to continue playing the game.
Gaming or poker machines have been well known in Australia, the state of Nevada, and many other jurisdictions for many years and have more recently gained considerable popularity throughout the world, with quite substantial amounts of money wagered on these machines. There is a growing tendency for State governments to legalise the use of gaming machines by licensing operators, with resulting revenue gains through licence fees and taxation of monies invested. The licensed operation of gaming machines is the subject of State legislation and regulation. This regulation most always dictates a minimum percentage payout for a gaming machine. For example, a minimum of 85% of monies invested must be returned as winnings, and manufacturers of gaming machines therefore must design their machines around these regulatory controls.
With the growth that has occurred in the gaming machine market there is intense competition between manufacturers to supply the various existing and new venues. When selecting a supplier of gaming machines, the operator of a venue will often pay close attention to the popularity of various games with their patrons.
Therefore, gaming machine manufacturers are keen to devise games which are popular with players, as a mechanism for improving sales.
In particular, manufacturers regularly devise new games which have not previously been seen on slot machines in order to stimulate renewal of player interest.
The present invention provides a slot machine including display means arranged to display a game being played on the machine, game initiating means to initiate a game on the machine and game control means responsive to the initiating means to control the playing of the game, characterised in that:
the display means is arranged to display a game image having a plurality of player selectable zones, the control means including player zone selection means, a prize being randomly associated with at least one of the zones such that if that zone is selected by a player the player will be awarded the associated prize, and the control means being arranged to randomly select zones of the plurality of zones one at a time and to indicate for each selected zone whether that zone has an associated prize, the random selection being continued by the control means until either, the player selects a zone, or all of the zones with associated prizes have been selected by the control means.
In various embodiments of the invention the background image for the game may be a static or dynamic image or an animation or fixed pattern. Alternatively there may be no significant background and each of the zones may be provided with its own graphic design.
In one embodiment, clues are provided to assist the player in determining the probability of a particular zone being the winning zone.
Preferably, the zone selection means includes touch sensors associated with the display means such that touching the display means within the area of one of the player selectable zones causes the respective zone to be selected. Preferably, the display means is a video screen or LCD panel and touch sensors are touch switches associated with zones of the display.
In some embodiments, the game image may display a sportsman playing his sport or a scene covering a hidden target. Examples include a golfer teeing off, a soccer player kicking a ball, a rugby player passing a ball, in which case a prize will be hidden in a zone where the ball might be expected to be found. Other examples include, an angler casting his fly, in which case the probable location of the fly will indicate the prize location, or a battleship dropping a depth charge or firing missiles, in which case the probable location of the target will indicate the prize. In each of these examples the screen image gives a clue to the player as to the zone having a prize associated with it. In other embodiments, clues may be permanently or temporarily revealed in zones that have been randomly selected by the control means or, alternatively clues might be permanently or temporarily displayed in unselected zones.
Prizes may be any of the types of awards commonly associated with gaming machines, including:
a monetary amount;
a multiplier amount that may be revealed indicating that a fixed prize from the basic game (for example the triggering game) may be multiplied by that amount;
a predetermined number of free games that may be revealed (may also include a win multiplier to apply during those free games);
a special symbol may that may be revealed to the player that will pay a bonus every time it appears for a predetermined number of games played (e.g. the next 50 games);
a physical prize such as a car or a free meal, but can also include bonus games, bonus features in future games, or other benefits awarded to the player
A progressive jackpot the value of which increments as a result of the machine being played or other machines in the system being played.