# US 10,478,726 B2 · Game machine and program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,478,726 B2 - Document ID: US10478726B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/672,524 - Filed: 2017-08-09 - Published: 2017-11-23 - Granted: 2019-11-19 - Earliest claimed: 2015-02-10 - Assignees: Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Norifumi Kawai; Shinya Suga - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10478726B2 ## CPC - A63F 13/44: involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot - A63F 13/2145: the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens - A63F 13/25: Output arrangements for video game devices - A63F 13/426: involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun - A63F 13/69: by enabling or updating specific game elements, e.g. unlocking hidden features, items, levels or versions - A63F 13/837: Shooting of targets - G07F 17/3209: {Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen} - G07F 17/3211: {Display means} - G07F 17/3246: {involving coins and/or banknotes} - G07F 17/3267: {Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games} - G07F 17/3269: {Timing aspects of game play, e.g. blocking/halting the operation of a gaming machine} - A63F 13/792: for payment purposes, e.g. monthly subscriptions - A63F 13/798: for assessing skills or for ranking players, e.g. for generating a hall of fame - A63F: CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00}) ## Abstract A game machine includes a game operation acceptance device configured to accept one or more game operations by a player. The game machine also includes a skill evaluating device configured to determine whether or not the one or more game operations that are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions. The game machine also includes a game value consuming device configured to consume a game value in case that the skill evaluating device determined that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A game machine comprising: one or more non-transitory computer readable memories that store one or more software components that include computer executable program instructions; and one or more computers that execute the computer executable program instructions to cause the one or more computers to: accept one or more game operations by a player; determine whether or not the one or more game operations that are accepted satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions; consume a game value based on a determination that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions; and determine a reward to the one or more game operations based on a determination that the one or more game operations that are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to consume the game value at zero amount or a less amount based on a determination that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted do not satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions, than an amount by which the game value would be consumed based on a determination that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to accept the one or more game operations in case that a more mount of the game value is accumulated than a predefined amount. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to output a result of the determination based on a determination that the one or more game operations that are accepted do not satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to determine a reward to the one or more game operations in case that the game value is consumed based on a determination that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to determine the reward to the one or more game operations in a process which comprises drawing. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to make, by the process which comprises drawing, at least one of a determination of whether to pay out the game value as the reward and a determination on an pay-out amount by which the game value is paid out as the reward. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to: acquire a game value information which represents a consumed amount of the game value which has been consumed in a predefined period of time and a paid-out amount of the game value which has been paid-out in the predefined period of time, and determine the reward based on the consumed amount of the game value and the paid-out amount of the game value. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a display device that displays a plurality of game objects of different types which are moving over a screen of the display device, and wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to determine a reward based on the type of the game object which corresponds to the one or more game operations of the player which are accepted based on a determination that the one or more game operations satisfy the one or more skill conditions. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to accept one or more game operations by the player to plural operation acceptance regions, and wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to determine a reward determination method for determining a reward based on which operation acceptance region of the plural operation acceptance regions accepted the one or more game operations by the player. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to make a display device to display a plurality of game objects of different types which are moving over a screen of the display device, and wherein the predefined skill condition is that a difference between a reach timing at which the game object reached at a predefined position and an operation timing of operation by the player which is accepted is in a predefined range. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to make a display device display a plurality of game objects of different types which are moving over a screen of the display device, and wherein the predefined skill condition is that a distance between a position of a game object and a position specified based on the game operation by the player which is accepted is in a predefined range. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to make a display device display a plurality of game objects of different types which are moving over a screen of the display device, and wherein to consume the game value includes to consume an amount of the game value, where the amount varies depending upon different types of the game objects which correspond to the game operations in case that the skill evaluating device determined that the game operations by the player which are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers execute the computer executable program instructions to further cause the one or more computers to: accept one or more game operations by the player to plural operation acceptance regions, and determine the one or more skill conditions based on which operation acceptance region of the plural operation acceptance regions accepted the one or more game operations by the player. ### Claim 15 A non-transitory computer readable storage medium that includes a computer-readable program, when executed by a computer, to cause the computer to at least: accept one or more game operations by a player; determine whether or not the one or more game operations that are accepted satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions; consume a game value in case that the skill evaluating device determined that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions; and determine a reward to the one or more game operations based on a determination that the one or more game operations that are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions. ### Claim 16 A game machine comprising: one or more non-transitory computer readable memories that store one or more software components that include computer executable program instructions; and one or more computers that execute the computer executable program instructions to cause the one or more computers to: accept one or more game operations by a player; determine whether or not the one or more game operations that are accepted satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions; consume a game value based on a determination that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions; and output a result of the determination to determine whether or not the one or more game operations satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions based on a determination that the one or more game operations that are accepted by the game operation acceptance device do not satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions.