Wagering game with player-determined symbol function

A gaming terminal for playing a wagering game, comprising:

• a display displaying a plurality of symbols that indicate a randomly selected outcome of the wagering game;
• and
• an input device for allowing a player to select a function for a selected one of the plurality of symbols, the function being chosen from a plurality of functions, wherein the number of the plurality of functions presented to the player varies depending on a predetermined criteria;
• wherein, in response to the input device being activated and the randomly selected outcome including the selected one of the plurality of symbols, the selected function is attributed to only the selected one of the plurality of symbols included in the randomly selected outcome.

A gaming system comprising:

• at least one display;
• at least one gaming terminal for playing a wagering game having a randomly selected outcome being indicated by a symbol combination derived from a plurality of symbols, the symbol combination being aligned along a payline and the plurality of symbols each having a first function;
• and
• a controller coupled to the at least one gaming terminal and the at least one display, the controller operative to
• (i) allow a player to change the first function of one of the plurality of symbols to a player-selected function and the controller is adapted to assign a purchase amount to the player-selected function that is based upon a change of an expected value of the wagering game resulting from the use of the player-selected function, and
• (ii) in response to the player selecting the player-selected function of the one of the plurality of symbols and the one of the plurality of symbols being a part of the symbol combination, perform the player-selected function and change the appearance of the one of the plurality of symbols being a part of the symbol combination.