COMPETITIVE-COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY EVENT
A gaming system includes a plurality of linked gaming terminals. Each terminal includes a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a wagering game. Each gaming terminal further includes at least one display displaying a portion of a continuous image. Each gaming terminal further includes a controller coupled to the one or more displays and the wager input device. The controller is operative to cause at least one of the displays to display a community gaming event. At least one display of each of the linked gaming terminals displays a portion of a continuous image. Two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a first team and two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a second team.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/261,218, filed Nov. 13, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/244,186, filed Sep. 21, 2009, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
COPYRIGHTA portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to a gaming apparatus, and methods for playing wagering games, and more particularly, to wagering games having a competitive and collaborative community event.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONGaming terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options.
Other wagering games involve engaging multiple players to enter a shared, or community, wagering game wherein multiple gaming machines are linked together to play a shared basic game or secondary event. As the interest and demand for these types of community games increases, there is also a continuing need to develop new features for these games that enhance the gaming experience.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the present invention, a gaming system includes a plurality of linked gaming terminals. Each terminal includes a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a wagering game. Each gaming terminal further includes at least one display displaying a portion of a continuous image. Each gaming terminal further includes a controller coupled to the one or more displays and the wager input device. The controller is operative to cause at least one of the displays to display a community gaming event. At least one display of each of the linked gaming terminals displays a portion of a continuous image. Two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a first team and two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a second team.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of conducting a community wagering game on a plurality of linked gaming terminals is disclosed. The wagering game includes a game sequence in which a player input is detected and a wagering game outcome is determined in response to the detected input. The wagering game includes a basic game and a secondary event. The method includes using an interface device to detect the player input and transforming the detected player input to electronic data signals indicative of a wager to play the wagering game. The method further includes using one or more processors to interpret the wager from the data signals and to cause the recording of a digital representation of the wager in one or more storage devices. The method further includes using at least one of the processors to cause one or more display devices to display the basic game. The method further includes using at least one of the processors to initiate the secondary event in response to a triggering event during the basic game. The secondary event includes a continuous image displayed across at least one display of each of the linked gaming terminals. Two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a first team and two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a second team.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of conducting a community wagering game is disclosed. The community wagering game includes a plurality of linked gaming terminals and a game sequence in which two or more players of the plurality of gaming apparatus form a first team and two or more players of the plurality of gaming apparatus form a second team. The players make wagers and wagering game outcomes are determined. The method includes conducting the community wagering game using a plurality of gaming apparatus to receive inputs from the players and to generate wagering game outcomes that are communicated to the players. Each gaming apparatus includes a user interface device configured to receive inputs from the player. Each gaming apparatus further includes one or more display devices configured to display information or graphics to be viewed by the player. Each gaming apparatus further includes one or more storage devices. Each gaming apparatus further includes one or more processors configured to execute computer instructions relating to the wagering game. The method further includes accepting, at the user interface device, a player input and transforming the player input into electronic data signals indicative of a wager to play the wagering game. The method further includes using at least one of the gaming apparatus processors to interpret the wagers from the data signals and to, at least in part, cause the recording of a digital representation of the wagers in at least one of the gaming apparatus storage devices. The method further includes using at least one of the gaming apparatus processors to cause at least one of the display devices to display a basic portion of the wagering game. The method further includes using at least one of the gaming apparatus processors to cause at least one of the display devices to display a secondary event. The secondary event is displayed as a continuous image. A portion of the continuous image is displayed on at least one display of each of the plurality of linked gaming apparatus. An award awarded to a first player of the first team during the secondary event is likewise awarded to a second player of the first team.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, computer readable storage media is encoded with instructions for directing a gaming system to perform the above methods.
According to another aspect of the invention, a gaming system includes a plurality of linked gaming terminals. Each terminal includes a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a wagering game, one or more displays, and a controller coupled to the one or more displays and the wager input device. The controller is operative to cause at least one of the displays to display a community gaming event. At least two of the linked gaming terminals are associated with a first team and at least two of the linked gaming terminals being associated with a second team. A plurality of possible winning outcomes of a gaming terminal on the first team is affected by at least one event caused by at least one gaming terminal of the second team.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a gaming system comprises a plurality of linked gaming terminals. Each terminal includes a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a first wagering game, one or more displays, and a controller coupled to the one or more displays and the wager input device. The controller is operative to cause at least one of the displays to display a community gaming event. At least two of the linked gaming terminals are associated with a first team and at least two of the linked gaming terminals being associated with a second team. The gaming system further includes at least one additional gaming terminal including at least one display for displaying a second wagering game. The second wagering game is different than the first wagering game. The additional gaming terminal provides an option for placing a side wager on at least one of the plurality of linked gaming terminals.
Additional aspects of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of various embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONWhile this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
Referring to
The gaming terminal 10 illustrated in
The primary display area 14 include, in various aspects of the present concepts, a mechanical-reel display, a video display, or a combination thereof in which a transmissive video display is disposed in front of the mechanical-reel display to portray a video image in superposition over the mechanical-reel display. Further information concerning the latter construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,433 to Loose et al. entitled “Reel Spinning Slot Machine With Superimposed Video Image,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The video display is, in various embodiments, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a high-resolution liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED), a DLP projection display, an electroluminescent (EL) panel, or any other type of display suitable for use in the gaming terminal 10, or other form factor, such as is shown by way of example in
Video images in the primary display area 14 and/or the secondary display area 16 are rendered in two-dimensional (e.g., using Flash Macromedia™) or three-dimensional graphics (e.g., using Renderware™). In various aspects, the video images are played back (e.g., from a recording stored on the gaming terminal 10), streamed (e.g., from a gaming network), or received as a TV signal (e.g., either broadcast or via cable) and such images can take different forms, such as animated images, computer-generated images, or “real-life” images, either prerecorded (e.g., in the case of marketing/promotional material) or as live footage. The format of the video images can include any format including, but not limited to, an analog format, a standard digital format, or a high-definition (HD) digital format.
The player-input or user-input device(s) 26 include, by way of example, a plurality of buttons 36 on a button panel, as shown in
The information reader 24 (or information reader/writer) is preferably located on the front of the housing 12 and comprises, in at least some forms, a ticket reader, card reader, bar code scanner, wireless transceiver (e.g., RFID, Bluetooth, etc.), biometric reader, or computer-readable-storage-medium interface. As noted, the information reader may comprise a physical and/or electronic writing element to permit writing to a ticket, a card, or computer-readable-storage-medium. The information reader 24 permits information to be transmitted from a portable medium (e.g., ticket, voucher, coupon, casino card, smart card, debit card, credit card, etc.) to the information reader 24 to enable the gaming terminal 10 or associated external system to access an account associated with cashless gaming, to facilitate player tracking or game customization, to retrieve a saved-game state, to store a current-game state, to cause data transfer, and/or to facilitate access to casino services, such as is more fully disclosed, by way of example, in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0045354 entitled “Portable Data Unit for Communicating With Gaming Machine Over Wireless Link,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The noted account associated with cashless gaming is, in some aspects of the present concepts, stored at an external system 46 (see
Turning now to
To provide gaming functions, the controller 42 executes one or more game programs comprising machine-executable instructions stored in local and/or remote computer-readable data storage media (e.g., memory 44 or other suitable storage device). The term computer-readable data storage media, or “computer-readable medium,” as used herein refers to any media/medium that participates in providing instructions to controller 42 for execution. The computer-readable medium comprises, in at least some exemplary forms, non-volatile media (e.g., optical disks, magnetic disks, etc.), volatile media (e.g., dynamic memory, RAM), and transmission media (e.g., coaxial cables, copper wire, fiber optics, radio frequency (RF) data communication, infrared (IR) data communication, etc). Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a hard disk, magnetic tape (or other magnetic medium), a 2-D or 3-D optical disc (e.g., a CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or solid state digital data storage device, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read. By way of example, a plurality of storage media or devices are provided, a first storage device being disposed proximate the user interface device and a second storage device being disposed remotely from the first storage device, wherein a network is connected intermediate the first one and second one of the storage devices.
Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to controller 42 for execution. By way of example, the instructions may initially be borne on a data storage device of a remote device (e.g., a remote computer, server, or system). The remote device can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line or other communication path using a modem or other communication device appropriate to the communication path. A modem or other communication device local to the gaming machine 10 or to an external system 46 associated with the gaming machine can receive the data on the telephone line or conveyed through the communication path (e.g., via external systems interface 58) and output the data to a bus, which transmits the data to the system memory 44 associated with the processor 42, from which system memory the processor retrieves and executes the instructions.
Thus, the controller 42 is able to send and receive data, via carrier signals, through the network(s), network link, and communication interface. The data includes, in various examples, instructions, commands, program code, player data, and game data. As to the game data, in at least some aspects of the present concepts, the controller 42 uses a local random number generator (RNG) to randomly generate a wagering game outcome from a plurality of possible outcomes. Alternatively, the outcome is centrally determined using either an RNG or pooling scheme at a remote controller included, for example, within the external system 46.
As shown in the example of
As shown in the example of
As seen in
Communications between the controller 42 and both the peripheral components of the gaming terminal 10 and the external system 46 occur through input/output (I/O) circuit 56, which can include any suitable bus technologies, such as an AGTL+ frontside bus and a PCI backside bus. Although the I/O circuit 56 is shown as a single block, it should be appreciated that the I/O circuit 56 alternatively includes a number of different types of I/O circuits. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the components of the gaming terminal 10 can be interconnected according to any suitable interconnection architecture (e.g., directly connected, hypercube, etc.).
The I/O circuit 56 is connected to an external system interface or communication device 58, which is connected to the external system 46. The controller 42 communicates with the external system 46 via the external system interface 58 and a communication path (e.g., serial, parallel, IR, RC, 10bT, near field, etc.). The external system 46 includes, in various aspects, a gaming network, other gaming terminals, a gaming server, a remote controller, communications hardware, or a variety of other interfaced systems or components, in any combination. In yet other aspects, the external system 46 may comprise a player's portable electronic device (e.g., cellular phone, electronic wallet, etc.) and the external system interface 58 is configured to facilitate wireless communication and data transfer between the portable electronic device and the controller 42, such as by a near field communication path operating via magnetic field induction or a frequency-hopping spread spectrum RF signals (e.g., Bluetooth, etc.).
The gaming terminal 10 optionally communicates with external system 46 (in a wired or wireless manner) such that each terminal operates as a “thin client” having relatively less functionality, a “thick client” having relatively more functionality, or with any range of functionality therebetween (e.g., an “intermediate client”). In general, a wagering game includes an RNG for generating a random number, game logic for determining the outcome based on the randomly generated number, and game assets (e.g., art, sound, etc.) for presenting the determined outcome to a player in an audio-visual manner. The RNG, game logic, and game assets are contained within the gaming terminal 10 (“thick client” gaming terminal), the external systems 46 (“thin client” gaming terminal), or are distributed therebetween in any suitable manner (“intermediate client” gaming terminal).
Referring now to
In accord with various methods of conducting a wagering game on a gaming system in accord with the present concepts, the wagering game includes a game sequence in which a player makes a wager, such as through the money/credit detector 48, touch screen 38 soft key, button panel, or the like, and a wagering game outcome is associated with the wager. The wagering game outcome is then revealed to the player in due course following initiation of the wagering game. The method comprises the acts of conducting the wagering game using a gaming apparatus, such as the gaming terminal 10 depicted in
In the aforementioned method, for each data signal, the controller 42 is configured to processes the electronic data signal, to interpret the data signal (e.g., data signals corresponding to a wager input), and to cause further actions associated with the interpretation of the signal in accord with computer instructions relating to such further actions executed by the controller. As one example, the controller 42 causes the recording of a digital representation of the wager in one or more storage devices (e.g., system memory 44 or a memory associated with an external system 46), the controller, in accord with associated computer instructions, causing the changing of a state of the data storage device from a first state to a second state. This change in state is, for example, effected by changing a magnetization pattern on a magnetically coated surface of a magnetic storage device or changing a magnetic state of a ferromagnetic surface of a magneto-optical disc storage device, a change in state of transistors or capacitors in a volatile or a non-volatile semiconductor memory (e.g., DRAM), etc.). The noted second state of the data storage device comprises storage in the storage device of data representing the electronic data signal from the controller (e.g., the wager in the present example). As another example, the controller 42 further, in accord with the execution of the instructions relating to the wagering game, causes the primary display 14 or other display device and/or other output device (e.g., speakers, lights, communication device, etc.), to change from a first state to at least a second state, wherein the second state of the primary display comprises a visual representation of the physical player input (e.g., an acknowledgement to a player), information relating to the physical player input (e.g., an indication of the wager amount), a game sequence, an outcome of the game sequence, or any combination thereof, wherein the game sequence in accord with the present concepts comprises acts described herein. The aforementioned executing of computer instructions relating to the wagering game is further conducted in accord with a random outcome (e.g., determined by the RNG) that is used by the controller 42 to determine the outcome of the game sequence, using a game logic for determining the outcome based on the randomly generated number. In at least some aspects, the controller 42 is configured to determine an outcome of the game sequence at least partially in response to the random parameter.
The basic-game screen 60 is displayed on the primary display area 14 or a portion thereof. In
In the illustrated embodiment of
As shown in the example of
Symbol combinations are evaluated in accord with various schemes such as, but not limited to, “line pays” or “scatter pays.” Line pays are evaluated left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, or any combination thereof by evaluating the number, type, or order of symbols 90 appearing along an activated payline 30. Scatter pays are evaluated without regard to position or paylines and only require that such combination appears anywhere on the reels 62a-e. While an embodiment with nine paylines is shown, a wagering game with no paylines, a single payline, or any plurality of paylines will also work with the present invention. Additionally, though an embodiment with five reels is shown in
Referring now to
Each gaming terminal 102a,b, 104a,b of the illustrated embodiment includes a “Pirate” theme and displays a respective pirate ship 106a-106d on the secondary display area 16. As will be described in detail below, the secondary display areas 16 of the gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b function together as a single, continuous “metascreen,” displaying a single, continuous image. Thus, for example, an image may be shown as moving across one of the secondary display areas 16 of one gaming terminal 102a,b, 104a,b into a secondary display area 16 of an adjacent gaming terminal 102a,b, 104a,b. Furthermore, during play of the gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b of
Turning now to
In the illustrated embodiment, the basic-game screen 110 includes several game-session meters, as described with respect to
Turning now to
The bonus game 111 of
In order to participate in the bonus game 111, the player playing the gaming terminal 102a,b, 104a,b must be eligible (e.g., the player must have time remaining on the eligibility meter 114 of
During the bonus game 111, eligible players receive a predetermined amount of individual bonus spins on the bonus set of reels 120a-e displayed on the primary displays 14 of their respective gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b. Each of the players in the group of gaming terminals 100 receives the same amount of bonus spins, and the bonus set of reels 120a-e spin simultaneously on all of the gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b in the group of gaming terminals 100.
As illustrated in the embodiment of
After the predetermined number of free spins is concluded, the bonus game 111 is terminated. In other embodiments, the bonus game 111 is terminated when one or more end-game outcome is achieved. At the end of the bonus game 111, the treasure chests 124 achieved by each player during play of the bonus game 111 may be exchanged or converted into a credit award, which is then awarded to the respective player. Each treasure chest 124 may be worth a fixed amount of credits. In another embodiment, the value of each treasure chest 124 increases as the amount of treasure chests 124 achieved increases (e.g., the value of the first treasure chest 124 achieved is less than the value of the second treasure chest 124 achieved, which is less than the value of the third treasure chest 124 achieved, etc.). Each treasure chest 124 may also have a random value associated therewith.
If, during the bonus game 111, a player (e.g., Player 1A) achieves a predetermined number of treasure chests 124, the treasure chests 124 may be automatically exchanged for a random jackpot award that is awarded to each of the players (e.g., Player 1A and Player 1B) on his or her team (e.g., Team 1). A jackpot award of the embodiments described herein is a credit award represented as a monetary value (see
In the embodiment of
In one embodiment, once a jackpot award 132a is awarded, that award (e.g., $22.01) is removed from the displayed possible jackpot awards 132 and may no longer be awarded. If only one jackpot award 132 is displayed, and that award is awarded, that jackpot award 132 may continue to be displayed after being awarded and may be awarded again. In another embodiment, once all of the displayed jackpot awards 132 have been awarded and removed from the display, a new set of jackpot awards is displayed.
An additional or alternative bonus game embodiment is shown in
Hitting a pirate ship 106 with a predetermined number of cannonballs 142 causes the pirate ship 106 to sink. The player who fired the final cannonball that caused the pirate ship 106 to sink then “steals” the treasure chests accumulated on the sunken ship. Referring to
Prior to being sunk, Player 1A's pirate ship 106a included two treasure chests 152a,b (see
As shown in the embodiment of
According to one embodiment, a player (e.g., Player 1A of
According to one embodiment, a player's sunken ship may be resurrected as a rescue ship or a “ghost ship.” A ghost ship may be achieved in a variety of ways. For example, after a predetermined number of bonus spins during the bonus game 111, a team's sunken ships (if any) may be automatically resurrected into ghost ships. The ghost ships may then generally act like regular pirate ships. For example, a ghost ship may fire cannonballs sinking other pirate ships and may steal treasure chests of pirate ships that it sinks. The ghost ship may also re-enable the player's eligibility to obtain a jackpot award (see
As shown in
According to one embodiment, the bonus game continues until all of the pirate ships 106 of one of the teams have been sunk. Alternatively, the bonus game may continue until only a single pirate ship 106 remains floating (i.e., is not sunk). Thus, the amount of free spins is variable in these embodiments. The winning team or player may be awarded, for example, an additional award, promotional coupon, or the like.
As discussed above, a “virtual player” may substitute for an absent or ineligible player during the bonus game 111 on one of the gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b. Referring back to
In another embodiment, an instant “Little Event” feature may be awarded when a player playing the basic game triggers a bonus while the bonus game 111 (see
As shown in
In one embodiment, all award values achieved during the bonus spins may be multiplied by a multiplier. The multiplier may be a “Big Event” type multiplier, as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009-0042641. For example, the multiplier may be displayed to the player during the basic game via the eligibility meter, as described above. The multiplier may be based, for example, on the amount the player has wagered, the rate of play, combinations thereof, or the like. The multiplier generally does not come into play until the bonus game is triggered.
Another type of bonus event—a “Cannon Bonus”—is shown on the gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b in
The Cannon Bonus may be triggered in any suitable way. In one non-limiting example, the Cannon Bonus is triggered by the appearance of three clumped “WILD CANNON” symbols (not shown), three scattered WILD CANNON symbols, the appearance of other symbols, or the like. The Cannon Bonus may also be triggered at random (“mystery”) times or at predetermined times by the controller.
After the Cannon Bonus is triggered, each of the first and second pirate ships 200a, 200b is displayed with various values 210 thereon (see
As shown in
That value of 100 credits is then awarded to each of the members (Players 1A and 1B) of Team 1.
If the final remaining value 210 is a question mark symbol (see
As shown in
As shown in
If more than one multiplier is obtained by the players during the Treasure Bonus game, the multipliers are combined and awarded to each of the players on the team. For example, if Player 1A “digs up” a 2× multiplier, and Player 1B also digs up a 2× multiplier, a 4× multiplier would be applied to the Cannon Bonus award (e.g., 100 credits, see
If the team participating in the Treasure Bonus game includes a virtual player, the pirate 230 (see
If all of the players of a particular team are ineligible for the bonus, a virtual team may participate in the Cannon Bonus game. However, if the virtual team receives the highest final remaining value 210 in the Cannon Bonus game, the Treasure Bonus game is not triggered.
According to another embodiment, when a player's pirate ship 106 is hit with a cannonball 142 or sunk during the bonus game 111 (see
Additionally or alternatively, hitting or sinking a player's pirate ship 106 may cause the player's award multiplier (see multiplier 115 of
According to one embodiment, one or more reels of the players on a particular team are “communal” reels. In other words, the communal reel(s) of the team will always spin identically, i.e., display the same symbols, on the gaming terminals of all of the players on that team. The remaining “non-communal” reels will display different symbols for the different team members. Referring to the embodiments discussed herein, for example, it is also contemplated that the players of the first team 105a will have one or more communal reels, and the players of the second team 105b will have a different number of communal reels (e.g., no communal reels).
According to another embodiment, players playing different wagering games (e.g., other than the pirate-themed game discussed herein) may place side wagers on the outcome of the Pirate Battle bonus game (e.g., bonus game 111 of
In one embodiment, when a Pirate Battle bonus game is triggered, the portal gaming terminal at which a portal player has placed a side wager displays at least a portion of the Pirate Battle bonus game. For example, at least a portion of at least one of the displays (the primary display, the secondary display, or a portion thereof) may display the bonus set of reels 120a-e of the Pirate Battle bonus game, the pirate ships 106 firing cannonballs 142 at one another (see
According to yet another embodiment illustrated in
As shown in
According to one embodiment, the gaming terminals and/or the gaming table described herein include a sensory immersion game including features that assist in making a player feel as if he or she is on a pirate ship, on the ocean, etc. For example, the gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b may include lighting on the outside of the gaming terminal (e.g., surrounding the primary display 14 and/or the secondary display 16) that changes based on occurrences of the wagering game. For example, the lighting may become darker or display darker colors when the Pirate Battle bonus game is triggered.
The gaming terminals 102a,b, 104a,b may also include 3D or surround sound speakers mounted on a chair of the gaming machines 102a,b, 104a,b, for example typically behind a player's head at the top of the chair. Celebratory music or other sounds may be played back through the 3D or surround sound speakers of the chair upon occurrence of the triggering event, thereby making the player feel as if he or she is on the ocean, on a pirate ship under attack, etc. For more information regarding such surround sound gaming terminal chairs, the reader is referred, for example, to the commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,367,886 entitled “Gaming System With Surround Sound” and issued May 6, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. If a portal gaming terminal does not include such a chair, the sounds associated with the Pirate Battle bonus game may include a mix of audio from the base game of the portal gaming terminal and the Pirate Battle bonus game. Alternatively, the Pirate Battle bonus game sounds may interrupt the base game sounds or may not be played at all on the portal gaming terminal.
Additionally or alternatively, the chair may include a motion feature. The motion feature may be programmed such that the chair's movement is associated with occurrences of the wagering game. For example, the chair may vibrate when the pirate ship 106 of the gaming machine 102a,b, 104a,b is hit by a cannonball 142 during the Pirate Battle bonus game. One non-limiting example of a motion system that may be used is the D-BOX Motion Code™ (D-BOX Technologies, Inc., Canada).
Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A gaming system comprising:
- a plurality of linked gaming terminals, each terminal including a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a wagering game, one or more displays displaying a portion of a continuous image, and a controller coupled to the one or more displays and the wager input device, the controller operative to cause at least one of the displays to display a community gaming event,
- wherein at least one display of each of the linked gaming terminals displays a portion of a continuous image, and
- wherein two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a first team and two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a second team.
2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the first team competes against the second team.
3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the one or more displays are operative to display a basic game and a secondary event.
4. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein the secondary event is randomly triggered on the plurality of linked gaming terminals at predetermined time intervals.
5. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein a player associated with one of the plurality of linked gaming terminals eligible for the secondary event at the time the secondary event is triggered participates in the secondary event.
6. The gaming system of claim 5, wherein a virtual player substitutes for a player associated with one of the plurality of linked gaming terminals ineligible for the secondary event at the time the secondary event is triggered.
7. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein the secondary event includes collecting one or more collectable elements in response to a predetermined event.
8. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein, in response a gaming terminal associated with the first team obtaining a predetermined number of collectable elements, the collectable elements are exchanged for an award, the award being awarded on all of the gaming terminals associated with the first team.
9. A method of conducting a community wagering game on a plurality of linked gaming terminals, the wagering game including a game sequence in which a player input is detected and a wagering game outcome is determined in response to the detected input, the wagering game including a basic game and a secondary event, the method comprising the acts of:
- using an interface device to detect the player input and transforming the detected player input to electronic data signals indicative of a wager to play the wagering game;
- using one or more processors to interpret the wager from the data signals and to cause the recording of a digital representation of the wager in one or more storage devices;
- using at least one of the processors to cause one or more display devices to display the basic game; and
- using at least one of the processors to initiate the secondary event in response to a triggering event during the basic game, the secondary event including a continuous image displayed across at least one display of each of the linked gaming terminals,
- wherein two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a first team and two or more of the plurality of linked gaming terminals are associated with a second team.
10. The method of conducting a wagering game of claim 9, wherein the first team competes against the second team.
11. The method of conducting a wagering game of claim 9, wherein the secondary event is randomly triggered on the plurality of linked gaming terminals at predetermined time intervals.
12. The method of conducting a wagering game of claim 11, wherein a player associated with one of the plurality of linked gaming terminals eligible for the secondary event at the time the secondary event is triggered participates in the secondary event.
13. The method of conducting a wagering game of claim 9, further comprising collecting one or more collectable elements in response to a predetermined event during the secondary event.
14. The gaming system of claim 13, wherein, in response a gaming terminal associated with the first team obtaining a predetermined number of collectable elements, exchanging the collectable elements for an award, the award being awarded on all of the gaming terminal associated with the first team.
15. A gaming system comprising:
- a plurality of linked gaming terminals, each terminal including a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a wagering game, one or more displays, and a controller coupled to the one or more displays and the wager input device, the controller operative to cause at least one of the displays to display a community gaming event, at least two of the linked gaming terminals being associated with a first team and at least two of the linked gaming terminals being associated with a second team,
- wherein a plurality of possible winning outcomes of a gaming terminal on the first team is affected by at least one event caused by at least one gaming terminal of the second team.
16. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of linked gaming terminals further comprises at least one sensory immersion mechanism.
17. The gaming system of claim 15 further comprising a gaming table including at least one of the plurality of linked gaming terminals, the one or more displays being positioned on a top surface of the gaming table.
18. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein a plurality of reels is displayed on the one or more displays,
19. The gaming system of claim 18, wherein the number of activated reels of a gaming terminal of the first team is reduced based on the event caused by at least one gaming terminal of the second team.
20. The gaming system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of reels include a plurality of symbols, one or more of the plurality of reels of the gaming terminals of at least one of the first team and the second team displaying the same symbols.
21. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein an award multiplier is reduced based on the event caused by at least one gaming terminal of the second team.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 20, 2010
Publication Date: Mar 24, 2011
Applicant: WMS Gaming Inc. (Waukegan, IL)
Inventors: Joel R. Jaffe (Glenview, IL), Alfred Thomas (Las Vegas, NV)
Application Number: 12/886,217
International Classification: A63F 9/24 (20060101);