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| Summary / Description | The prior art document is an application for a patent over a gaming method and machine that allows a player to select the risk level of their bonus play. The bonus round is triggered during the regular game play. A machine that allows this to occur is also claimed. |
| Type of Prior Art | Issued Patents - US |
| Country | United States of America |
| Patent/Application # | 2005/0064933 |
| Kind Code | United States (US) - United STATES Patent - A |
| Patentee Name | Wesley Steven Davis |
| Relevant Pages, Columns, or Lines | Multiple |
| URL | http://www.google.com/patents?i... |
| Filing Date | August 30, 2004 |
| Additional Information | |
| Notes | |
Excerpt The prior art document is an application for a patent over a gaming method and machine that allows a player to select the risk level of their bonus play. The bonus round is triggered during the regular game play. A machine that allows this to occur is also claimed. The application is not clear as to what the ‘trigger’ can be, thus in a sense it is similar to the present scenario – in the present one a wealth of options are claimed. |
A method of gaming comprising: selecting a set of symbols for display to a player in a set of display positions corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of reels; determining a game round outcome based on the selected symbols; determining that a feature game round should occur; and determining a feature game round outcome by determining an optimal winning combination of symbols from a feature subset of the set of symbols comprising more symbols than the number of reels.
| Relevance | Claim 1 in the prior art document is almost exactly the same as Claim 1 in the present application. During the regular play session, there is some kind of trigger that sets off a bonus round. Nothing new is added by the current application. With that in mind, claims 9 and 10 attempt to expand the breadth of the application by providing that the trigger may either be via a random event or by the player choice. The use of the general phrase ‘bonus trigger’ in the prior art document is broad enough to cover either option. |
A gaming system as claimed in anyone of claims 13 to 23 comprising a game play mechanism operable by a player to place a wager, and wherein the game round outcome determiner determines the game round outcome based on the wager.
| Relevance | The ability of the player to set the wager is similar to the application in the prior art document, which allows for players to set the risk level in the bonus round (Claim 1 of the prior art document). Allowing the player to set the wager is similar to the setting of the risk level, as it places the question of the player’s exposure in their hands. |
A game controller comprising: a symbol selector for selecting a set of symbols for display to a player on in a set of display positions corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of reels; a game round outcome determiner for determining a game round outcome based on the selected set of symbols; a feature game round controller for determining whether a feature game round should occur; and a feature game round outcome determiner for determining a feature game round outcome based on an optimal winning combination of symbols from a feature subset of the set of symbols for display comprising more symbols than the number of reels.
| Relevance | Claim 12 of the prior art document is substantially similar in that it provides for a gaming machine which determines when a feature round should occur, based on the occurrence of a particular trigger. Again, nothing new is added by the current application. |
Computer program code which when executed by a computer causes the computer to implement computer causes the computer to implement the method of gaming of anyone of claims 1 to 11.
| Relevance | The code being claimed is very similar to that used in claim 23 of the prior art document in that it simply allows for the bonus game to occur upon a certain trigger being hit. |
A computer readable medium comprising the program code of claim 35.
| Relevance | The claim over computer-readable medium is very similar to that found in claim 23 of the prior art document. It is simply a program that allows for the game to occur. |
United States