Electronic game and method for playing a game based upon removal and replacing symbols in the game matrix
OwnerDaniel Marks, Anthony Singer +1inventors
InventorsDaniel Marks, Anthony Singer, Howard Marks
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Abstract
Payout methods in a mechanical, an electro-mechanical and/or computer-based slot machine-like games-of-chance enable a series of awards based upon: appearance of predetermined symbol combinations in the symbol matrix; issuance of awards for the predetermined combination of symbols; removal of the winning symbol combinations from the symbol matrix; replacement of removed symbols with other symbols; issuance of awards for predetermined combination of symbols in the symbol matrix; and recurring cycles of award, removal and replacement until no winning symbol combinations appear in the symbol matrix.
Claims19
An electronic game device for a player comprising:
- a) a display;
- b) a game processor and a data structure storing data representing a plurality of game symbols and data representing a predetermined award schedule for winning outcome sets;
- c) a wager input apparatus for the player to input a wager on at least one symbol type to play the game and prompt play, the processor configured to, in response to prompting of play, (i) select, assign and control the display to display a selected game symbol into each coordinate of a game matrix having columns C and rows R, where C and R are at least 3, (ii) compare the symbols of the coordinates to determine whether a predetermined number of like symbols are disposed in at least one of a plurality of predetermined winning patterns defining a winning outcome set, (iii) define the winning patterns to include at least three of the wagered upon symbol type arranged in an adjacent relationship in a column, row or L-shaped pattern (iii) assign an award to each winning outcome set based upon at least one of the criteria of (a) amount wagered and (b) number of symbols in the winning outcome set, (iv) remove the symbols of each winning outcome set from the display,(v) to select, assign and display symbols to replace the removed symbols to reconstitute the game matrix and (vi) repeat steps (i) through (v) until there are no winning outcome sets.
A method for playing an electronic wagering game comprising:
- a) providing an electronic display and a game computer processor storing in a data structure data representing game symbol kinds and data representing a predetermined award schedule for winning outcome sets of a predetermined number of symbols arranged in one or more patterns of vertically adjacent, horizontally adjacent or in an L-shaped pattern;
- b) the player making a wager allocated to one or more selected symbols to play the game, the processor (i) controlling the display to display a game matrix having C columns and R rows where C and R are at least 3 and defining matrix coordinates and (ii) selecting, assigning and displaying from the data structure a game symbol into each matrix coordinate;
- c) the processor (i) comparing the symbols of the matrix to the award schedule to determine if any of the wagered upon and selected symbols are arranged to define at least one winning outcome set S, (ii) for each determined winning outcome set S the processor removing the winning outcome set S symbols from the display and selecting and displaying additional symbols to reconstitute the game matrix to have a game symbol for each coordinate, (iii) repeating steps (c)(i) and (c)(ii), and (iv) issuing an award to the player for each winning outcome set S according to the award schedule;
- and
- d) the processor concluding the game when it has determined there are no remaining winning outcome sets S.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.