US20050266912A1

US20050266912A1 - Gaming machine

Info

Publication number: US20050266912A1
Application number: US11/137,758
Authority: US
Inventors: Hirofumi Sekiguchi
Original assignee: Aruze Corp
Current assignee: Universal Entertainment Corp
Priority date: 2004-05-28
Filing date: 2005-05-26
Publication date: 2005-12-01
Also published as: EP1600903A2; EA008400B1; AU2005202282A1; EA200500736A1; EP1600903A3

Abstract

In the gaming machine, when the game state shifts to the bonus game, the player selects at least one of the touch button areas 111˜113 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by touching thereon. At that time, if the player adjusts utilization state of the rotation scroll bar 121 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be controlled so that the touch button areas other than the touch button areas 111˜113 are displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 and the touch button areas 111˜113 are not displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATIONS(S)

This application is based upon and claims a priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2004-159804 filed on May 28, 2004, 2005-137706 filed on May 10, 2005, 2004-159805 filed on May 28, 2004 and 2005-137743 filed on May 10, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gaming machine in which a bonus game is processed based on a limb selected among a plurality of limbs by a player.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional gaming machine, for example, a slot machine, a winning state is determined according to a symbol combination displayed on an activated pay line after a coin is inserted. And as the winning state, for example, there exist a so-called “big prize” in which more than 1000 coins are paid out and a so-called “small prize” in which less than 1000 coins are paid out and a so-called “obtainment of second game” in which a second game can be done as a sub-game, as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Publication No. 11-244453.
At this point, the “second game” is called as a bonus game and there exist various bonus games. Here, showing one of the bonus games as an example, as shown in National Publication of the Translation Version No. 2002-537874, there exists a bonus game that a plurality of limbs, for each of which a payout is allotted beforehand, are displayed on a video display screen and a player can obtain a payout corresponding to the limb selected by himself/herself while seeing the video display screen.
In this case, the player can only select the limb among a plurality of limbs presently displayed on the video display screen, therefore the play style thereof becomes very simple. Thus, interest for the bonus game is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been done to dissolve the above problems and has an object to provide a gaming machine in which interest for the bonus game can be improved by increasing limbs to be selected.
In order to accomplish the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, it is provided a gaming machine in which a base game and a bonus game are conducted, the bonus game being conducted when a predetermined result is obtained in the base game,

- the gaming machine comprising:
- a preparation device for preparing a plurality of limbs belonging to a first limb group in the bonus game, each of the limbs corresponding to individual effect contents;
- a display device for displaying a part of the limbs in the first limb group;
- a first operation device for operating the display device so that a remainder except for the part of the limbs in the first limb group is displayed on the display device;
- a first selection device for selecting at least one of limbs in the first limb group displayed on the display device, the limbs including the part and the remainder thereof; and
- a game control device for processing the bonus game according to the effect contents corresponding to the limb selected by the first selection device.

According to the gaming machine of the present invention, in the bonus game, when a part of the limbs in the first limb group is displayed on the display device and a player selects at least one of the limbs in the first limb group by the first selection device, the player can operate the display device by the first operation device so that the remainder except for the part of the limbs in the first limb group is displayed on the display device. And each of the limbs in the first limb group corresponds to individual effect contents. Therefore, the remainder of the limbs not displayed on the display device can be displayed by the first operation device and selection routes corresponding to the effect contents can be increased, as a result, interest for the bonus game can be improved.
The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purpose of illustration only and not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the objects, advantages and principles of the invention.
In the drawings
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slot machine,
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a lower liquid crystal display and a reel,
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the lower liquid crystal display,
FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the slot machine,
FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing a liquid crystal drive circuit of the lower liquid crystal display,
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view schematically showing symbol columns which are displayed on the lower liquid crystal display in a base game and variably displayed on variable display portions;
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view schematically showing a display sheet stored in a work RAM when a game state shifts to a bonus game,
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a lottery table of stop symbols when the base game is conducted by using three variable display portions;
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing winning combinations and payouts thereof when the base game is conducted by using three variable display portions;
FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing an image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display when the game state shifts to the bonus game;
FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing an image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display when the game state shifts to the bonus game;
FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing payouts when the bonus game is conducted;
FIG. 13 is an explanatory view schematically showing display ranges of the upper liquid crystal display and the lower liquid crystal display in the display sheet stored in the work RAM when the game state shifts to the bonus game;
FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a main process program;
FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a start acceptance process program;
FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a lottery process program;
FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a base game process program;
FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a bonus game process program;
FIG. 19 is an explanatory view showing images displayed on the upper liquid crystal display and the lower liquid crystal display when the game state shifts to the bonus game;
FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing images displayed on the upper liquid crystal display and lower liquid crystal display when the game state shifts to the bonus game;
FIG. 21 is an explanatory view showing the lottery table of the winning combinations and the payouts thereof when the base game is conducted by using three variable display portions;
FIG. 22 is an explanatory view showing an image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display when the game state shifts to the bonus game;
FIG. 23 is an explanatory view showing an image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display when the game state shifts to the bonus game;
FIG. 24 is an explanatory view showing a rotation scroll bar; and
FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing images displayed on the upper liquid crystal display and the lower liquid crystal display when the game state shifts to the bonus game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, as the gaming machine according to the present invention, the embodiment embodying the present invention in the slot machine will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an outline construction of the slot machine according to the embodiment will described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the slot machine. FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system in the slot machine
In FIG. 1, the slot machine 1 has a cabinet 2 constructing a whole of the slot machine 1. On an upper plane of the cabinet 2, a lamp 15 is provided. And at a front upper part of the cabinet 2 an upper liquid crystal display 3 is arranged, and at a front central part of the cabinet 2 a lower liquid crystal display 4 is arranged. Here, the upper liquid crystal display 3 is constructed from a liquid crystal display device which is generally used, and the lower liquid crystal display 4 is constructed from, so-called, a transparent liquid crystal display device. On the upper liquid crystal display 3, game operation method, kinds of winning combinations and payout therefor and information concerning with the game such as various effects thereof are displayed. And on the lower liquid crystal display 4, as shown in FIG. 1, three variable display portions 22, 23 and 24 are basically displayed and various symbols formed on each of reels 220 (see FIG. 4) mentioned later are scrolled to the downward direction from the upward direction while being variably displayed on each of the variable display portions 22 to 24. Here, the detailed construction of the lower liquid crystal display 4 will be described hereinafter.
A control panel 5, which is projected frontward, is formed below the lower liquid crystal display 4, and from the most left side on the control panel 5, a change button 6, a cashout button 7, a help button 8 are arranged. And a coin insertion slot 9 and a bill insertion portion 10 are arranged at the right side of help button 8. Further, from the left side, a 1-BET button 11, a SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12, a 3-BET button 13 and a 5-BET button 14 are positioned at the front side on the control panel 5.
Here, the change button 6 is a button to turn on the lamp 15. To this change button 6, a change switch 62 is attached, and a switch signal is output to a CPU 50 from the change switch 62 based on press of the change button 6.
The cashout button 7 is usually pressed when games are terminated, and when the cashout button 7 is pressed coins got in games are paid out through the coin payout chute 17 to the coin tray 16. Here, to the cashout button 7, a cashout switch 63 (mentioned hereinafter) is attached and a switch signal is output to the CPU 50 from the cashout switch 63 based on press of the cashout button 7.
The help button 8 is pressed when the player cannot understand game operation method, and when the help button 8 is pressed, various help information is displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 or the lower liquid crystal display 4. To this help button 8, a help switch 64 (mentioned hereinafter) is attached and a switch signal is output to the CPU 50 from the help switch 64 based on press of the help button 8.
To the coin insertion slot 9, a coin sensor 65 (mentioned hereinafter) is positioned, and when the coin is inserted in the coin insertion slot 9 a coin detection signal is output to the CPU 50 through the coin sensor 65. And to the bill insertion portion 10 a bill sensor 66 (mentioned hereinafter) is positioned, and when the bill is inserted in the bill insertion portion 10 a bill detection signal is output to the CPU 50 through the bill sensor 66.
As for the 1-BET button 11, every the 1-BET button is pressed one credit is betted, and to the 1-BET button 11, a 1-BET switch 59 is attached and when the 1-BET button 11 is pressed a switch signal is output to the CPU 50 from the 1-BET switch 59 based on press of the 1-BET button 11.
The SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12 is the button to start games from the present bet number or the previous bet number by press thereof, thereby variable display of the symbols is started on the variable display portions 22 to 24 of the lower liquid crystal display 4. To the SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12, a spin switch 58 (mentioned later) is attached, and when the SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12 is pressed a switch signal is output to the CPU 50 from the spin switch 58 based on press of the SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12. Here, as the bet number which can be betted by press of the SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12, there may exist 1, 2, 3 and 5 bets.
The 3-BET button 13 is the button to start games from 3 bets on the basis of press thereof. To this 3-BET button 13, a 3-BET switch 60 (mentioned hereinafter) is attached and when the 3-BET button 13 is pressed a switch signal is output to the CPU 50 from the 3-BET switch 60. And the 5-BET button 14 is the button to start games from 5 bets on the basis of press thereof. To the 5-BET button 12, a 5-BET switch 61 is attached and when the 5-BET button is pressed a switch signal is output to the CPU 50 from the 5-BET switch 61 on the basis of press thereof.
Further, at the lower part of the cabinet 2, the coin payout chute 17 is formed and the coin tray 16 to receive coins paid out from the coin payout chute 17 is provided. In the coin payout chute 17, a coin detection part 73 constructed from a sensor and the like is positioned and the coin detection part 73 detects the number of coins paid out from the coin payout chute 17.
Next, it will be described a detailed construction of the lower liquid crystal display 4 and reels rotatably arranged behind the lower liquid crystal display 4 in the cabinet 2, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lower liquid crystal display and the reels, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the lower liquid crystal display 4.
In FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower liquid crystal display 4 is arranged within a display window 21 of a device front panel 20 positioned at the front center part of the cabinet 2 in the slot machine 1, with a touch panel 30 arranged at the front side (the left side in FIG. 2) of the lower liquid crystal display 4. And at the rear side (the right side in FIG. 2) of the lower liquid crystal display 4, three reels 220 (only one reel 220 is indicated in FIG. 2) are supported in a parallel state so that the reels 220 become independently rotatable.
That is to say, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower liquid crystal display 4 is arranged in front of three reels 220. And a base game mentioned later is conducted on the reels 220 which can be seen through the lower liquid crystal display 4.
Here, each reel 220 will be described. Among three reels 220, the left reel 220 when seen from the front plane of the slot machine 1 faces to a display portion 22 (see FIG. 1) formed in the lower liquid crystal display 4, the center reel 220 faces to a display portion 23 (see FIG. 1) similarly formed in the lower liquid crystal display 4 and the right reel 220 faces to a display portion 24 (see FIG. 1) similarly formed in the lower liquid crystal display 4.
Here, construction of each of the variable display portions 22 to 24 will be described hereinafter.
Next, construction of the lower liquid crystal display 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3A˜3I. In FIGS. 2 and 3A˜3I, the lower liquid crystal display 4 is constructed by arranging from the front side of the slot machine 1; the transparent touch panel 30, the reel glass base 31, the bezel metal frame 32, the transparent liquid crystal panel 33, the liquid crystal holder 34, the diffusion sheet 35, the light guiding plate 36, the white reflector 37, the rear holder 38 and the antistatic sheet 39. In the diffusion sheet 35, three openings 35A, 35B, 35C are formed. Similarly, in the light guiding plate 36, the reflector 37 and the rear holder 38, three openings 36A, 36B, 36C, 37A, 37B, 37C, 38A, 38B, 38C are formed respectively, so as to coincide with the openings 35A, 35B, 35C. Here, the openings 35A˜38A construct the variable display portion 22 (see FIG. 1) by superimposing so as to coincide with each other. Similarly, the openings 35B˜38B construct the variable display portion 23 (see FIG. 1) by superimposing so as to coincide with each other and the openings 35C˜38C construct the variable display portion 24 (see FIG. 1) by superimposing so as to coincide with each other.
Here, the openings 35A˜35C of the diffusion sheet 35 and the openings 36A˜36C of the light guiding plate 36 construct the light transmitting areas to retain visibility of the variable display portions 22 to 24.
In order to install the lower liquid crystal display 4 to the display window 210 of the device front panel 20, as shown in FIG. 2, brackets 40 are screwed to the rear side of the device front panel 20 by screws 410.
And at an upper and lower ends of the light guiding plate 36, a pair of cathode ray tubes 420 are arranged as light source of the liquid crystal panel 33. And at an upper and lower positions in the rear side of each of openings 38A˜38C in the holder 38, a pair of cold cathode ray tubes 430 may be arranged.
The liquid crystal panel 33 is a transparent electric display panel on which transparent electrodes such as Ito are formed, and the circumference in rear side of the display portion of the liquid crystal panel 33 is held by the liquid crystal holder 34. The light guiding plate 36 is made of the light transmitting resin panel, and in the light guiding plate 36 lens cut portions are formed, the lens cut portions guiding light emitted from the cathode ray tubes 420 positioned at side positions to the rear side of the liquid crystal panel 33. The light diffusion sheet 35 is made from a light transmitting resin sheet and diffuses light led thereto by the light guiding plate 36 and levels light irradiated to the liquid crystal panel 33. The liquid crystal holder 34 for holding the liquid crystal panel 33, the diffusion sheet 35 and the light guiding plate 36 are assembled into one-piece construction and circumference thereof is inserted in the bezel metal frame 32. Thereby, the front side of the display portion in the liquid crystal panel 33 is retained by the bezel metal frame 32.
Circumferences of the liquid crystal holder 34, the light diffusion sheet 35 and the light guiding plate 36, which are inserted in the bezel metal frame 32 and assembled into one-piece construction, is further inserted in the reel glass base 31 and retained by the reel glass base 31 in a state that the front display plane of the liquid crystal panel 33 is opened. The transparent touch panel 30 is pressed to the front face of the reel glass base 31 and superimposed on the front face of display portion of the liquid crystal panel 33 based on that the reel glass base 31 is attached to the device front panel 20 by screws 410.
The rear holder 38 is made from a white resin plate and retains to the reel glass base 31 the bezel metal frame 32 supported to the reel glass base 31, the liquid crystal holder 34 holding the liquid crystal panel 33, the light diffusion sheet 35 and the light guiding plate 36 from the rear sides thereof. The rear holder 38 also functions as a reflecting plate for reflecting light emitted from the cathode ray tubes 420 to the light guiding plate 36 toward the liquid crystal panel 33. The antistatic sheet 39 is made transparent and adhered to the rear plane of the rear holder 38 by double-sided adhesive tape, thereby the antistatic sheet 39 covers the rear plane of each of the openings 38A˜38C formed in the rear holder 38.
On an outer periphery of each reel 220, various symbols shown in FIG. 6 are formed, the symbols being used in the base game. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing symbol columns each of which is formed on the outer periphery of each reel 220 and which are variably displayed on each of variable display portions 22 to 24 made transparent on the lower liquid crystal display 4 while being scrolled in the base game. In FIG. 6, the symbol column 41 is the symbol column which is variably displayed on the variable display portion 22, the symbol column 42 is the symbol column which is variably displayed on the variable display portion 23, the symbol column 43 is the symbol column which is variably displayed on the variable display portion 24.
Here, the symbol columns 41 and 43 commonly have the same arrangement of the symbols and such arrangement of the symbols is constructed from eleven symbols in which the triple BAR 91, the cherry 92, the double BAR 93, the symbol seven 94, the single BAR 95 and the blank (no symbol exists) 96 are voluntarily combined.
And although the symbol column 42 is as same as the symbol column 41 and 43 at the point that the triple BAR 91, the cherry 92, the double BAR 93, the symbol seven 94, the single Bar 95 and the blank 96 are combined, one trigger symbol 97 is further arranged in the symbol column 42. This trigger symbol 97, as mentioned hereinafter, functions as a symbol to shift to the bonus game in the base game, and when the trigger symbol 97 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in the variable display portion 23, the game state shifts to the bonus game from the base game.
And formation of the symbols on the outer periphery of the reel 220 is generally done as follows. First, symbols and blanks (total number of which is 11) are printed on a long reel sheet having a width and a length corresponding to the width and the periphery length of the reel 220, respectively. And such reel sheet is adhered on the peripheral plane of the reel 220. Of course, the symbols may be formed by different method other than the above method.
Here, when the symbol columns 41 to 43, which are scrolled on the variable display portions 22 to 24 respectively, are stopped and displayed thereon, three symbols are stopped and displayed on each of the variable display portions 22 to 24.
And various winning combinations are set beforehand based on a plurality of symbol combinations and when the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination is stopped on the pay line L, coins are paid out from the coin payout chute 17 according to the winning combination. The above mentioned points are as same as those in the conventional slot machine, therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.
Next, it will be described a construction of the control system in the slot machine 1 with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the control system in the slot machine 1.
In FIG. 4, the control system of the slot machine 1 is basically constructed from the CPU 50, and a ROM 51 and a RAM 52 are connected to the CPU 50. The ROM 51 stores a main process program mentioned later, a base game process program, a bonus game process program, a lottery table utilized in a lottery of the symbols stopped and displayed in the base game, various programs necessary for controlling the slot machine 1 and various data tables and the like. And the RAM 52 is a memory for temporarily storing various data calculated by the CPU 50.
And to the CPU 50, a clock pulse generator 53 for generating standard clock pulses and a frequency divider 54 are connected, and a random number generator 55 and a sampling circuit 56 are also connected. Random number sampled by the random number generator 56 is utilized in various lotteries of the winning combinations and the like. Further, to the CPU 50, the spin switch 58 attached to the SPIN (SPIN/REPEAT BET) button 12, the 1-BET switch 59 attached to the 1-BET button 11, the 3-BET switch 60 attached to the 3-BET button 13, the 5-BET switch 61 attached to the 5-BET button 14, the change switch 62 attached to the change button 6, the cashout switch 63 attached to the cashout button 7 and the help switch 64 attached to the help button 8 are connected respectively. The CPU 50 controls the slot machine 1 to execute various operations corresponding to each button, based on the switch signal output from each switch when such buttons are pressed.
To the CPU 50, three stepping motors 68 for rotating each of the reels 220 through a motor drive circuit 167 are connected, and also a reel position detection circuit 69 is connected. When a motor drive signal is output to the motor drive circuit 167, each stepping motor 68 is driven to rotate by the motor drive circuit 167, thereby each reel 220 is rotated.
At that time, after each reel 22 is started to rotate, the number of drive pulses provided to each stepping motor 68 is calculated and the calculated value is written in the predetermined area of the RAM 52. And the reset pulse is output every one rotation of the reel 220 and such reset pulse is input to the CPU 50 through the reel position detection circuit 69. When the reset pulse is input to the CPU 50, the calculated value written in the RAM 52 is cleared in “0”, and the CPU 50 recognizes the symbol rotational position in the reel 220, based on the calculated value corresponding to the rotational position of the reel 220 within one rotation and the symbol table in which the rotational position of the reel 22 stored in the ROM 51 and the symbols formed on outer peripheral plane of the reel 22 are corresponded with each other.
Further, to the CPU 50, the coin sensor 65 positioned in the coin insertion slot 9 and the bill sensor 66 positioned in the bill insertion portion 10 are connected respectively. The coin sensor 65 detects coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 9 and the CPU 50 calculates the number of inserted coins based on the coin detection signal output from the coin sensor 65. The bill sensor 66 detects the kind and sum of bill and the CPU 50 calculates the number of coins equivalent to sum of bill, based on the bill detection signal output from the bill sensor 66.
To the CPU 50, a hopper 71 is connected through a hopper drive circuit 70. When a drive signal is output to the hopper circuit 70 from the CPU 50, the hopper 71 pays out predetermined number of coins from the coin payout chute 17
And to the CPU 50, a coin detection part 73 is connected through a payout completion signal circuit 72. The coin detection part 73 is arranged in the coin payout chute 17 and when the coin detection part 73 detects that a predetermined number of coins are paid out from the coin payout chute 17, the payout completion signal is output to the payout completion signal circuit 72 from the coin detection part 73. Based on this, the payout completion signal circuit 72 outputs the payout completion signal to the CPU 50. Further, to the CPU 50, the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4 are connected through a liquid crystal drive circuit 74. The upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4 are controlled by the CPU 50.
At this point of view, as shown in FIG. 5, the liquid crystal drive circuit 74 is constructed from a program ROM 81, an image ROM 82, an image control CPU 83, a work RAM 84, a VDP (Video Display Processor) 85 and a video RAM 86. And in the program ROM 81, an image control program concerning with display on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4 and various selection tables are stored. Further, in the image ROM 82, for example, it is stored dot data for forming images displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4. And the image control CPU 83 determines images displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4 among the dot data stored in the image ROM 82 beforehand, according to the image control program stored in the program ROM 81 based on parameters set by the CPU 50. And the work RAM 84 functions as the temporary memory when the above image control program is executed by the image control CPU 83. Further, the VDP 85 forms images corresponding to display contents determined by the image control CPU 83 and outputs the images to the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4. Here, the video RAM 86 functions as the temporary memory when images are formed by the VDP 85.
And to the CPU 50, LEDs 78 are connected through a LED drive circuit 77. A plurality of LEDs 78 are arranged on the front plane of the slot machine 1 and the LEDs 78 are controlled so as to turn on based on the drive signals from the CPU 50. Further, a speaker 80 and a sound output circuit 79 are connected to the CPU 50 and the speaker 80 produces various effective sounds when various effects are conducted based on the output signal from the sound output circuit 79.
And to the CPU 50, the lamp 15 is connected through a lamp drive circuit 75. The lamp 15 is disposed on the upper plane of the slot machine 1 (see FIG. 1) and when the change button 6 is pressed, the lamp 15 is controlled so as to turn on through the lamp drive circuit 75 based on the drive signal from the CPU 50.
And to the CPU 50, the transparent touch panel 30 is connected through a touch panel drive circuit 67. The transparent touch panel 30 is disposed on the image plane of the lower liquid crystal display 4 and it can be determined on the transparent touch panel 30 a portion touched by the finger of the player and a moving direction of the touched portion through the touch panel drive circuit 67, based on the coordinate position information of the portion touched by the finger of the player.
Therefore, concerning with a rotation scroll bar 121 (mentioned later) displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 and concerning with the rotation scroll bar 121 and a scroll bar 124 to magnify and reduce displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the CPU 50 can determine the directions along which the finger of the player traces the scroll bars 121, 124, by utilizing the touch panel drive circuit 67 and the transparent touch panel 30.
Further, concerning with a scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions and a scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the CPU 50 can determine the directions along which the finger of the player traces the scroll bars 122, 123, by utilizing the touch panel drive circuit 67 and the transparent touch panel 30.
And concerning with touch button areas 111˜115 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and touch button areas 114˜116 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIGS. 22, 23, the CPU 50 can determine by utilizing the touch panel drive circuit 67 and the transparent touch panel 30 that the player touches the above touch button areas.
Here, in a case that the base game is conducted in the slot machine 1, the lottery table utilized when the symbols stopped and displayed on the pay line L are determined will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the lottery table based on which the symbols to be stopped and displayed on three variable display portions 22 to 24 are determined when the base game is conducted while utilizing three variable display portions 22 to 24.
At this point, the symbols stopped and displayed on the pay line L are determined every each reel of three reels 220. In order to realize this, one of the code numbers “0”˜“10” is allotted from the upper position to the lower position to each symbol in the symbol columns 41 to 43 every reel 220 shown in FIG. 6, and it is provided the lottery table shown in FIG. 8. Further, three random number values are sampled corresponding to each of three reels 220, through the random number sampling circuit 56.
Here, in FIG. 8, for explanatory convenience, the reel 220 on which the symbol column 41, which can be seen through the left variable display portion 22, is formed is indicated as the “left reel”, the reel 220 on which the symbol column 43, which can be seen through the right variable display portion 24, is formed is indicated as the “right” reel” and the reel 220 on which the symbol column 42, which can be seen through the center variable portion 23, is formed is indicated as the “center reel”.
As for the “left reel” corresponding to the symbol column 41 of the left variable display portion 22, if the random number value sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 lies in a range of 0˜15, the blank 96 allotted to the code number “0” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. And if the random number value lies in a range of 16˜25, the triple BAR 91 allotted to the code number “1” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 26˜36, the cherry 92 allotted to the code number “2” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 37˜46, the double BAR 93 allotted to the code number “3” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 47˜52, the symbol seven 94 allotted to the code number “4” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 53˜63, the single BAR 95 allotted to the code number “5” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in range of 64˜80, the blank 96 allotted to the code number “6” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 81˜91, the triple BAR allotted to the code number “7” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 92˜103, the double BAR 93 allotted to the code number “8” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 104˜115, the symbol seven 94 allotted to the code number “9” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 116˜127, the single BAR 95 allotted to the code number “10” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L.
And as for the “right reel” corresponding to the symbol column 43 of the right variable display portion 24, there is the same relation as that in the above left reel. And if the random number value sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 lies in a range of 0˜15, the blank 96 allotted to the code number “0” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. And if the random number value lies in a range of 16˜25, the triple BAR 91 allotted to the code number “1” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 26˜36, the cherry 92 allotted to the code number “2” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 37˜46, the double BAR 93 allotted to the code number “3” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 47˜52, the symbol seven 94 allotted to the code number “4” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 53˜63, the single BAR 95 allotted to the code number “5” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in range of 64˜80, the blank 96 allotted to the code number “6” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 81˜91, the triple BAR allotted to the code number “7” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 92˜103, the double BAR 93 allotted to the code number “8” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. If the random number value lies in a range of 104˜115, the symbol seven 94 allotted to the code number “9” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 116˜127, the single BAR 95 allotted to the code number “10” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L.
On the other hand, as for the “center reel” corresponding to corresponding to the symbol column 42 of the center variable display portion 23, if the random number value sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 is 0 (zero), the trigger symbol 97 allotted to the code number “0” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. And if the random number value lies in a range of 1˜15, the triple BAR 91 allotted to the code number “1” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 16˜20, the cherry 92 allotted to the code number “2” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. And if the random number value lies in a range of 21˜32, the double BAR 93 allotted to the code number “3” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 33˜45, the symbol seven 94 allotted to the code number “4” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. And if the random number value lies in a range of 46˜53, the single BAR 95 allotted to the code number “5” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 54˜64, the blank 96 allotted to the code number “6” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. And if the random number value lies in a range of 65˜71, the triple BAR 91 allotted to the code number “7” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 72˜82, the double BAR 93 allotted to the code number “8” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L. And the random number value lies in a range of 83˜120, the symbol seven 94 allotted to the code number “9” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L, and if the random number value lies in a range of 121˜127, the single BAR 95 allotted to the code number “10” is stopped and displayed on the pay line L.
Next, in a case that the base game is conducted by utilizing three variable display portions 22 to 24 in the slot machine 1, the winning combinations and payouts thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing correspondence between winning combinations and payouts when the base game is conducted while utilizing three variable display portions 22 to 24. In FIG. 9, in a case that the code number of the center reel is “0” (zero) and the code numbers of the right reel and the left reel are any of “1” to “10”, the bonus game is won. In this case, the trigger symbol 97 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in the variable display portion 23 and the payout thereof is “500”, thereby the game state shifts to the bonus game from the base game. Here, the bonus game is the game which is conducted after the base game is finished and the bonus game is generally made beneficial for the player in many cases.
And if the code numbers of the right reel, the center reel and the left reel are “4” or “9”, the winning combination “7-7-7” is won. In this case, the symbol seven 94 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22, 23 and 24, and the payout thereof is “100”. And if the code numbers of the right reel, the center reel and the left reel are “1” or “7”, the winning combination “3BAR-3BAR-3BAR” is won. In this case, the 3 BAR 91 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22, 23 and 24, and the payout thereof is “5”. And if the code numbers of the right reel, the center reel and the left reel are “3” or “8”, the winning combination “2BAR-2BAR-2BAR” is won. In this case, the 2 BAR 93 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22, 23 and 24, and the payout thereof is “3”. And if the code numbers of the right reel, the center reel and the left reel are “5” or “10”, the winning combination “1BAR-1BAR-1BAR” is won. In this case, the 1 BAR 95 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22, 23 and 24, and the payout thereof is “2”. And if the code numbers of the right reel, the center reel and the left reel are “2”, the winning combination “cherry-cherry-cherry” is won. In this case, the cherry 92 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22, 23 and 24, and the payout thereof is “1”.
Here, if the combination of the code numbers in the right reel, the center reel and the left reel is a combination other than the above combinations, the winning combination is lost. In this case, any one of the triple BAR 91, the cherry 92, the double BAR 93, the symbol seven 94, the single BAR 95 and the blank 96, each of which corresponds to each code number is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22, 23 and 24, and the payout thereof is nothing.
Next, the bonus game will be described. The bonus game is, as mentioned in the above, a game which is shifted from the base game when the trigger symbol 97 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in the variable display portion 23 during the base game. Here, right after the game state shifts to the bonus game from the base game, an island 3D image is displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIG. 10. At this point, a rotation scroll bar 121 is displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 and when the player traces the rotation scroll bar 121 by the finger, the view point is moved to the direction traced. Thereby, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated. Therefore, by utilizing the rotation scroll bar 121, for example, an image of an opposite side of the island (the opposite side of the island cannot be seen), which is not displayed in FIG. 10, can be displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as show in FIG. 11.
Here, describing the rotation scroll bar 121 in detail, as shown in FIG. 24, the rotation scroll bar 121 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 and peripheral thereof are divided into six areas 121A, 121B, 121C, 121D, 121E and 121F.
And in a case that it is determined through the touch panel drive circuit 67 that the player traces the area 121A by the finger, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated in the right direction with high speed. And if it is determined through the touch panel drive circuit 67 that the player traces the area 121B by the finger, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated in the right direction with medium speed. Further, if it is determined through the touch panel drive circuit 67 that the player traces the area 121C by the finger, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated in the right direction with low speed.
In addition, if it is determined through the touch panel drive circuit 67 that the player traces the area 121D by the finger, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated in the left direction with high speed. And if it is determined through the touch panel drive circuit 67 that the player traces the area 121E by the finger, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated in the left direction with medium speed. Further, if it is determined through the touch panel drive circuit 67 that the player traces the area 121F by the finger, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated in the left direction with low speed.
That is to say, by the rotation scroll bar 121 and six areas 121A, 121B, 121C, 121D, 121E and 121F formed in the periphery of the rotation scroll bar 121, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be moved and rotated in the right direction or the left direction with any one of the high, medium and low speeds.
And in the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a plurality of touch button areas 111˜115 are displayed so as to correspond to each of various points in the island. At this point, right after the game state shifts to the bonus game, three touch button areas 111˜113 are displayed in the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIG. 10, and the other touch button areas 114 and 115 are not displayed. Therefore, in order that the player discovers the touch button areas 114, 115, it is required that the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 is rotated so that the display state shifts from the state in FIG. 10 to the state in FIG. 11 by tracing the rotation scroll bar 121 by the finger. At that time, as shown in FIG. 11, in the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, two touch button areas 114 and 115 are displayed and the other touch button areas 111˜113 are not displayed.
Further, to the plural touch button areas 111˜115, names each of which corresponds to each of the island points are displayed in English. Concretely speaking, the touch button area 111 is displayed as “DEEP JUNGLE” near the deep forest in the island. And the touch button area 112 is displayed as “SECRET CAVE” near the secluded cave in the island. Further, the touch button area 113 is displayed as “ROCKY PASS” near the pass of the rocky mountain in the island. And the touch button area 114 is displayed as “STEEP MOUNTAIN” near the steep mountain in the island. Further, the touch button area 115 is displayed as “GOLDEN PALACE” near the golden palace in the island.
And in the bonus game, when the player touches any one of the plural touch button areas 111˜115 by the finger, items which correspond to each of the points in the island and concern therewith are arranged like checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4. For example, when the player touches the touch button area 115 by the finger, treasure boxes which are the items concerning with the golden palace (GOLDEN PALACE) are arranged like checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIG. 19.
At this point, the treasure box arranged like checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 is arranged in each of the checkers formed in the display sheet 101 shown in FIG. 7, the display sheet 101 being stored in the work RAM 84. However, right after the player touches the touch button area 115 by the finger, the treasure boxes displayed on the lower liquid crystal 4 are only the treasure boxes arranged within the lower liquid crystal display window 4W as shown in FIG. 13. Here, based on that the player traces the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward direction or the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by the finger, the lower liquid crystal display window 4W can be moved along the direction traced. Therefore, by utilizing the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions or the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions, any of the treasure boxes arranged in the display sheet 101 can be displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4.
And any one of payouts (“100”, “50”, “30”, “20”, “10” and “skull mark” (termination of the bonus game)) shown in FIG. 12 is allotted to each of the treasure boxes arranged in the checkers of the display sheet 101 by the lottery, and based on that the player touches any one of the treasure boxes displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by the finger, one of the treasure boxes displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 is selected through the transparent touch panel 30 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). Thereby, the payout allotted to the selected treasure box is displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 as shown in FIG. 20.
That is to say, by utilizing the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions and the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions, concerning with the treasure boxes arranged in the display sheet 101, it can be realized that the treasure boxes not displayed can be made display and the treasure boxes displayed can be made not display on the lower liquid crystal display 4.
And in this bonus game, selection of the treasure box on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be continuously done till the payout allotted to the treasure box selected becomes the “skull mark” (termination of the bonus game), and the player can obtain all payouts displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 till then as the payout of the bonus game.
Here, in the above, although it is described a case that the player touches the touch button area 115 by the finger, the same operation is done even in a case that the player touches any one of the touch button areas 111˜114 by the finger. Of course, in such case, the items corresponding to each of the points in the island and concerning therewith are arranged like checkers and displayed, and the player can obtain all payouts displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 as the payout of the bonus game, according to selection of the items on the lower liquid crystal display 4.
In addition to the above, the main process program executed in the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the main process program. In FIG. 14, at first, in step (abbreviated as “S” hereinafter) 11, start acceptance process in FIG. 15 mentioned later is done. This start acceptance process is the process to accept the switch signal output from the spin switch 58, the 1-BET switch 59, the 3-BET switch 60 or the 5-BET switch 61, based on operation of the SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12, the 1-BET button 11, the 3-BET button or the 5-BET button 14. At the time that the switch signal output from each switch is accepted, the game is started.
And in S12, the lottery process in FIG. 16 mentioned later is done based on the switch signal output from the spin switch 58, the 1-BET switch 59, the 3-BET switch 60 or the 5-BET switch 61.
Here, if the trigger symbol is won and the bonus game is triggered, the number of times that the bonus games are continuously executed is determined, and such number of times is selected, for example, among 10 games, 20 games and 30 games by the lottery.
In S13, the base game process shown in FIG. 17 is done. Thereafter, procedure shifts to S14 and it is determined whether the bonus game is realized or not. Concretely speaking, in the lottery process in S12, if the random number value of the center reel sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 is “0” (zero), the bonus game is realized (S14: YES), therefore procedure shifts to S15 and the bonus game realization flag stored in the RAM 52 is made ON and, for example, the phrase “BONUS GAME IS REALIZED” is displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3, thereby display indicating realization of the bonus game is done. And the bonus game process in FIG. 18 is done in S15, thereafter the main process program is finished. On the other hand, if the random number value of the center reel sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 in the lottery process in S12 lies in a range of 1˜127, the bonus game is not realized (S14: NO), therefore the main process program is finished.
Next, the start acceptance process program done in the slot machine 1 will be with reference to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a start acceptance process program. In S11 of the main process program shown in FIG. 14, the start acceptance process is done. Concretely, at first, in S21 in FIG. 15, it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 15 seconds) is elapsed or not. Here, if it is determined that the predetermined time is not elapsed (S21: NO), procedure directly shifts to S23. On the other hand, if it is determined that the predetermined time is elapsed (S21: YES), the demonstration effect process is conducted on the upper liquid crystal display 3 or the lower liquid crystal display 4 in S22, thereafter procedure shifts to S23. And in S23, it is determined whether or not the SPIN/REPEAT BET button 12, the 1-BET button 11, the 3-BET button 13 or the 5-BET button 14 is operated. Here, if it is determined that one of the above buttons such as the 1-BET button 11 and the like is not operated (S23: NO), procedure returns to S21 and the above processes are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that one of the above buttons such as the 1-BET button 11 and the like is operated (S23: YES), procedure returns to the main process program in FIG. 14 even while the demonstration effect process is conducted, and procedure shifts to the lottery process in S12.
Next, the lottery process program conducted in the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a lottery process program. In S12 of the main process program in FIG. 14, the lottery process is done. Concretely, at first, in S31 in FIG. 16, the symbol determination process is done. Here, the symbols stopped and displayed on the pay line L are determined every each of the variable display portions 22 to 24. Concretely, as mentioned above, three random number values are sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 corresponding to each of the variable display portions 22 to 24, and the symbols stopped and displayed are determined on the basis of the lottery tables in FIG. 8, by utilizing the code numbers. And if the symbols stopped and displayed on the pay line L are determined, the winning combination determination process is done in S32, thereafter procedure returns to the main process program in FIG. 14 and shifts to the base game process. Here, in the winning combination determination process, concretely speaking, the winning combination and the payout are determined on the basis of the table in FIG. 9 by utilizing the code numbers obtained in S31.
Next, the base game process program conducted in the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a base game process program. In S13 of the main process program in FIG. 14, the base game process is done. Concretely, in S41 in FIG. 17, at first, three reels 220 in the cabinet 2 are started to rotate based on the switch signal output from the spin switch 58, the 1-BET switch 59, the 3-BET switch 60 or the 5-BET switch 61, the switch signal being accepted in S11 of FIG. 14. Thereby, the symbols are scrolled in the variable display portions 22 to 24. At that time, since the variable display portions 22 to 24 are made transparent, scroll of the symbols can be seen and recognized through the variable display portions 22 to 24.
And in S42, three reels 220 in the cabinet 2 are stopped to rotate, thereby scroll of the symbols in the variable display portions 22 to 24 is stopped.
And in S43, coins are paid out corresponding to the payout set beforehand based on the table in FIG. 9, according to the symbol combination of the winning combination which is stopped and displayed on the variable display portions 22 to 24 in S42. Here, after the process in S43, procedure returns to the main process program and shifts to S14.
Next, the bonus game process program done in the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 18. FIG. 18 is a flowchart of the bonus game process program. In S12 of the main process program in FIG. 14, if it is determined that the bonus game is realized (S12: YES), procedure shifts to S13 in FIG. 14 and the bonus game process is done. In order to realized this, at first, procedure shifts to S51 in FIG. 18 and a first limb group is displayed. Concretely speaking, the first limb group corresponds to a plurality of the touch button areas 111˜115 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Right after procedure shifts to the bonus game process in FIG. 18, the lower liquid crystal display 4 is made opaque and the island 3D image shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. As a result, three touch button areas 111˜113 are displayed and two touch button areas 114 and 115 are not displayed. Here, as mentioned above, if the rotation scroll bar 121 is utilized, the image of the opposite side of the island (the opposite side of the island cannot be seen), which is not displayed in FIG. 10, can be displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as show in FIG. 11. Thereby, two touch button areas 114 and 115 can be made display and three touch button areas 111˜113 can be made not display. Here, by adjusting utilization state of the rotation scroll bar 121, a part of five touch button areas 111˜115 can be made display and the remainder thereof can be made not display.
And in S52, it is determined whether or not one limb is selected among the first limb group. Concretely speaking, this determination is done based on whether or not the player touches any one of the plural touch button areas 111˜115 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by the finger. At that time, if it is determined that one limb is not selected from the first limb group (S52: NO), procedure returns to S51 and both the island 3D image and a part of the plural touch button areas 111˜115 are continuously displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4. On the other hand, if it is determined that one limb is selected from the first limb group (S52: YES), procedure shifts to S53.
And in S53, the lottery process is conducted. Concretely, for example, if the touch button area 115 is selected in the above mentioned S52, the treasure boxes of the items concerning with the golden palace (GOLDEN PALACE) displayed in the touch button area 115 are arranged in the checkers formed in the display sheet 101 and any one of payouts (“100”, “50”, “30”, “20”, “10” and “skull mark” (termination of the bonus game)) shown in FIG. 12 is allotted to each of the checkers formed in the display sheet 101 by the lottery conducted by the random number generator 55 and the random number sampling circuit 56. Here, in this lottery, the payout of the “skull mark” (termination of the bonus game) is certainly allotted to at least one of the plural checkers formed in the display sheet 101.
Here, the lottery process in S53 may be done right after procedure shifts to the bonus game shown in FIG. 18. In this case, any one of payouts (“100”, “50”, “30”, “20”, “10” and “skull mark” (termination of the bonus game)) shown in FIG. 12 is allotted to each of the checkers formed in the display sheet 101 by the lottery conducted by the random number generator 55 and the random number sampling circuit 56. Further, the items concerning with the touch button area selected among the touch button areas 111˜115 are arranged in the checkers formed in the display sheet 101 in S54 mentioned later.
And in S54, a second limb group is displayed. Concretely speaking, this second limb group corresponds to the item concerning with the point of the island corresponding to the touch button area selected among the touch button areas 111˜115. At this point, for example, if the touch button area 115 is selected in the above mentioned S52, the treasure boxes, which are the items concerning with the golden palace (GOLDEN PALACE) of the touch button area 115, are arranged in the checkers formed in the display sheet 101 and a part of the treasure boxes is arranged like checkers on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIG. 19. Here, if the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions or the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions is utilized, the lower liquid display window 4W can be moved, thereby concerning with the treasure boxes arranged in the display sheet 101, the treasure boxes, which are not displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, can be made display and the treasure boxes, which are displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, can be made not display.
Further, in S55, it is determined whether or not one limb is selected from the second limb group. Concretely speaking, for example, this determination is done based on whether or not the player touches any one of the items arranged and displayed like the checkers on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by the finger. At that time, if it is determined that one limb is not selected from the second limb group (S55: NO), procedure returns to S 54 and a part of the items are continuously displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4. On the other hand, if it is determined that one limb is selected from the second limb group (S55: YES), procedure shifts to S56.
Here, as for the selected limb it is displayed that such limb is already selected. Concretely speaking, for example, as shown in FIG. 19, if the second limb group is constructed form the treasure boxes, the selected treasure box is displayed in an open state on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIG. 20, thereby it is indicated that such treasure box is already selected. Here, it may be indicated that the treasure box is already selected by erasing the selected treasure box or by displaying characters/marks such as “already selected” or “X” so as to superimpose with the treasure box.
And in S56, the payout process is conducted. This payout process is done by adding the payout allotted to the selected limb from the second limb group to the credit. Concretely speaking, as shown in FIG. 19, in a case that the treasure boxes are arranged like the checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, and the player touches any one of the treasure boxes displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by the finger in above mentioned S52, thereby one treasure box displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 is selected through the touch panel 30 (see FIGS. 2 and 4), the payout allotted to the selected treasure box is displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 as shown in FIG. 20 and such payout is added to the credit.
And in S57, it is determined whether or not the bonus game is terminated. Concretely speaking, this determination is done based on whether or not the payout allotted to the limb selected in S55 corresponds to the “skull mark (termination of the bonus game). At that time, if it is determined that the bonus game is not terminated (S57: NO), procedure returns to S54 and a part of the items is continuously displayed and processes in S55 and S56 are repeatedly done. On the other hand, if it is determined that the bonus game is terminated (S57: YES), the bonus game process in FIG. 18 is terminated and procedure returns to the main process program in FIG. 14.
As mentioned, the CPU 50 functions as “game control device” when it executes the main process program in FIG. 14 and functions as “preparation device” when it executes the bonus game process program in FIG. 18.
That is to say, in the slot machine of the embodiment, when procedure shifts to the bonus game, the player selects any one of the touch button areas 111˜115 for determining the kind of the items arranged like the checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, based on the player touches the lower liquid crystal display 4 by the finger. At that time, by adjusting the utilization state of the rotation scroll bar 121 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, the player can freely conduct the operation that a part of five touch button areas 111˜115 is displayed and the remainder is not displayed. Thereby, since selection routes of five touch button areas 111˜115 are increased, interest for the bonus game can be improved.
And any one of the payouts (“100”, “50”, “30”, “20”, “10” and “skull mark” (termination of the bonus game)) shown in FIG. 12 is allotted to each of the items which are arranged like the checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, therefore selection routes of the payouts are increased and interest for the bonus game can be improved.
And the function of the rotation scroll bar 121 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 is realized through the touch panel drive circuit 76 and the transparent touch panel 30, thereby if the touch panel drive circuit 76 b and the touch panel 30 is provided in the conventional slot machine, display operation of five touch button areas 111˜115 by the rotation scroll bar 121 and selection of five touch button areas 111˜115 can be done on the touch panel 30, therefore hardware construction is not newly required.
Here, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and various modifications can be done within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in S51 of the bonus game process in FIG. 18, if the scroll bar 124 to magnify and reduce is displayed as shown in FIG. 22, the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 may be magnified or reduced, based on the direction along which the player traces the scroll bar 124 to magnify and reduce by the finger. For example, when the scroll bar 124 is traced from right to left by the finger, the display state is shifts to the state that a part of the island, which cannot be displayed in FIG. 22, is magnified and displayed as shown in the lower liquid crystal display 4 of FIG. 23, and a touch button area 116, in which the words “HOT SPRING” is described, is displayed near the hot spring which appears when magnification is done. At that time, in the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, the touch button areas 114 and 115, which are displayed in FIG. 22, are not displayed. On the other hand, in this state, if the scroll bar 124 to magnify and reduce is traced from left to right by the finger, the display state shifts to the state that whole island is reduced and displayed as shown in the lower liquid crystal display 4 of FIG. 22, and the touch button areas 114 and 115 are displayed. At that time, in the island 3D image displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, the touch button area 116, which is displayed in FIG. 23, is not displayed.
Here, if the player touches the touch button area 116 displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by the finger (S52: YES), the items concerning with the hot spring (HOT SPRING) are arranged like the checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal 4 (S54), and on the basis of selection of the item on the lower liquid crystal display 4 (S55), the player can obtain all payouts displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 as the payout of the bonus game (S56). This point is as same as the case of the touch button areas 111˜115.
And in the slot machine 1 of the embodiment, although termination of the bonus game is done (S57) based on whether or not the payout allotted to the limb selected in S55 mentioned above is the “skull mark (termination of the bonus game), the bonus game may be terminated under the condition that a predetermined time is elapsed in the bonus game.
Further, in the slot machine 1 of the embodiment, as mentioned, if the player touches any one of the plural touch button areas 111˜115 in the bonus game, the items concerning with the point of the island corresponding to each of the touch button areas are arranged like the checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4. For example, if the player touches the touch button area 115 by the finger, the treasure boxes, which are the items concerning with the golden palace (GOLDEN PALACE), are arranged like the checkers and displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4 as shown in FIG. 19. The treasure boxes arranged like the checkers are not displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3. Here, as shown in FIG. 25, the treasure boxes, which are the items concerning with the golden palace (GOLDEN PALACE), may be arranged like checkers and displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4.
At this point, although the treasure boxes displayed like the checkers on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4 are arranged in each of the checkers formed in the display sheet 101 shown in FIG. 7, the display sheet 101 being stored in the work RAM 84, the treasure boxes displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4 right after the player touches the touch button area 115, are only the treasure boxes arranged within the upper liquid crystal display window 3W and the lower liquid crystal display window 4W, as shown in FIG. 13. Here, the upper liquid crystal display window 3W and the lower liquid crystal display window 4W can be moved along the traced direction as shown in FIG. 25, based on that the player traces the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions and the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions by the finger. Therefore, by utilizing the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions and the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions, any of the treasure boxes arranged in the display sheet 101 can be displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4.
As mentioned in the above, on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the lower liquid crystal display 4, both being adjacently disposed in the upper and lower positions, if the items concerning with five touch button areas 111˜115 are arranged like the checkers and displayed, display range of the items concerning with five touch button areas 111˜115 is spread, thereby selection range of the items on the lower liquid crystal display 4 can be more widely grasped at the same time.
Here, since the touch panel 30 is not arranged on the upper liquid crystal display 3, the treasure boxes which the player can select are limited to the treasure boxes displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4. Therefore, when the treasure boxes which the player intends to select are not displayed on the lower liquid crystal display 4, the player makes the treasure boxes display on the lower liquid crystal display 4 by utilizing the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions and the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions, thereafter the treasure boxes are selected based on that the player touches them by the finger.
However, in the slot machine 1 of the embodiment, in a case that the touch panel 30 is arranged on the upper liquid crystal display 3 and the touch button areas 111˜116, the rotation scroll bar 121, the scroll bar 122 for rightward and leftward directions, the scroll bar 123 for upward and downward directions and the scroll bar 124 to magnify and reduce are displayed on the upper liquid crystal display 3, the touch button areas 111˜115 can be selected, thereby the items concerning with the touch button areas 111˜115 can be selected.
In the slot machine 1 of the embodiment, although the symbols to be stopped on the pay line L are determined every each of the variable display portions 22 to 24 (see FIG. 8) in the base game based on the random number values sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56, all symbols to be stopped on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22 to 24 may be determined on the basis of the random number values sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56. To realize this, the lottery table shown in FIG. 21 is utilized. FIG. 21 is an explanatory view of a lottery table showing correspondence between winning combinations and payouts when the base game is conducted while utilizing three variable display portions.
In FIG. 21, the random number value range utilized in the lottery table for winning combinations lies in 0˜16383. If the random number value sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 lies in a range of 0˜140, the bonus game is won, thereby the payout of “500” can be obtained. In this case, the trigger symbol 97 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in the variable display portion 23, thereby the game state can be shifted to the bonus game.
And if the random number value sampled by the random number sampling circuit 56 lies in a range of 141˜185, the winning combination “7-7-7” is won and the payout thereof is “100”. In this case, the symbol seven 94 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22 to 24. Similarly, if the random number value sampled lies in a range of 186˜200, the winning combination “3BAR-3BAR-3BAR” is won and the payout thereof is “5”. In this case, the triple BAR 91 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22 to 24. And similarly, if the random number value sampled lies in a range of 201˜232, the winning combination “2BAR-2BAR-2BAR” is won and the payout thereof is “3”. In this case, the double BAR 93 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22 to 24. Similarly, if the random number value samples lies in a range of 233˜514, the winning combination “BAR-BAR-BAR” is won and the payout thereof is “2”. In this case, the single BAR 95 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22 to 24. Similarly, if the random number value samples lies in a range of 515˜823, the winning combination “cherry-cherry-cherry” is won and the payout thereof is “1”. In this case, the cherry 92 is stopped and displayed on the pay line L in each of the variable display portions 22 to 24.
Here, if the random number value sampled lies in a range of 824˜16383, the winning combinations is lost. In this case, the symbol combination other than the above mentioned combinations is stopped and displayed on the pay line L and the payout thereof is nothing.
The present invention can be adopted to one embodiment in which the game in the bonus mode is executed continuously to the base mode.

Claims

1. A gaming machine in which a base game and a bonus game are conducted, the bonus game being conducted when a predetermined result is obtained in the base game,

the gaming machine comprising:

a preparation device for preparing a plurality of limbs belonging to a first limb group in the bonus game, each of the limbs corresponding to individual effect contents;

a display device for displaying a part of the limbs in the first limb group;

a first operation device for operating the display device so that a remainder except for the part of the limbs in the first limb group is displayed on the display device;

a first selection device for selecting at least one of limbs in the first limb group displayed on the display device, the limbs including the part and the remainder thereof; and

a game control device for processing the bonus game according to the effect contents corresponding to the limb selected by the first selection device.

2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising:

a touch panel arranged on the display device;

wherein the first operation device and the first selection device are constructed on the touch panel.

3. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the first operation device is constructed from a first scroll bar displayed on the display device and a touch panel portion corresponding to the first scroll bar.

4. The gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the remainder of the limbs in the first limb group is displayed by operating the first scroll bar.

5. The gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein the preparation device prepares a plurality of limbs belonging to a second limb group when at least one of limbs in the first limb group is selected by the first selection device, and

wherein a part of the limbs in the second limb group are displayed on the display device.

6. The gaming machine according to claim 5, wherein the second limb group corresponds to each of the limbs in the first limb group.

7. The gaming machine according to claim 6, further comprising:

a lottery device for allotting a payout to each of the limbs in the second limb group.

8. The gaming machine according to claim 7, further comprising:

a second operation device for operating the display device so that a remainder except for the part of the limbs in the second limb group is displayed on the display device; and

a second selection device for selecting at least one of limbs in the second limb group displayed on the display device

9. The gaming machine according to claim 8, wherein the second operation device and the second selection device are constructed on the touch panel.

10. The gaming machine according to claim 9, wherein the second operation device is constructed from a second scroll bar displayed on the display device and a touch panel portion corresponding to the second scroll bar.

11. The gaming machine according to claim 10, wherein the remainder of the limbs in the second limb group is displayed by operating the second scroll bar.

12. The gaming machine according to claim 8, wherein the display device comprises a first monitor on which the base game is conducted and a second monitor arranged adjacent to the first monitor.

13. The gaming machine according to claim 12, wherein the limbs including the part and the remainder in the second limb group are displayed on the first monitor and the limb in the second limb group selected by the second selection device on the first monitor is displayed on the second monitor.

14. The gaming machine according to claim 12, wherein the limbs including the part and the remainder in the second limb group are displayed on both the first monitor and the second monitor.