Gaming method and apparatus for facilitating a game involving 2D and 3D play areas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10445976-B2
Application number	US-201815912548-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2018
Priority date	Aug 5, 2009
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

Various embodiments are disclosed concerning games that use both 2D and 3D play areas. Various embodiments concern representing a 3D structure composed of a plurality of 3D shapes having a plurality of faces, presenting a plurality of elements, marking the plurality of faces and the elements, identifying a first set of one or more combinations of corresponding markings, moving the shapes of the three dimensional structure relative to the elements, and identifying a second set of one or more combinations of corresponding markings, each of the combinations of corresponding markings from the first set and the second set composed of markings from at least one of the elements and multiple faces of the shapes.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A gaming device comprising:
a display including a video screen having a game play grid showing portions of a plurality of game reels, where at least some of the plurality of game reels respectively include a plurality of three-dimensional game elements having six sides, wherein a first game reel and a fifth game reel each respectively include a plurality of vertical symbol positions that are configured to display game symbols, and wherein a second game reel, a third game reel, and a fourth game reel collectively form a three-dimensional structure having six sides, where the three-dimensional structure includes at least three layers of the game elements in a depth direction, where the three-dimensional structure includes at least three adjacent game elements in vertical direction, at least three adjacent game elements in a horizontal direction, and at least three game elements in the depth direction, where the three-dimensional structure is configured to be rotatable about a vertical axis and rotatable about a horizontal axis;
a player interface including at least one button, the button configured to generate a signal in response to being activated;
a memory configured to store a credit amount;
a wager input device structured to receive physical items associated with currency values; and
a processor operable to:
receive a signal indicating receipt of a physical item associated with a currency value;
increase the credit amount stored in the memory based on the currency value associated with the received physical item;
receive a game initiation signal including a wager amount, the wager amount deducted from the credit amount stored in the memory;
select symbols to be displayed on the display device for the plurality of game reels, including selecting symbols for each side of the three-dimensional game elements; and
evaluating symbol combinations formed from symbols displayed on the plurality of game reels.

2. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional structure formed by the game elements of the second reel, third reel, and fourth reel is cube-shaped.

3. The gaming device of claim 2 , wherein the three-dimensional structure formed by the game elements of the second reel, third reel, and fourth reel includes twenty seven of the six-sided game elements.

4. The gaming device of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
rotate the three-dimensional structure after evaluating the symbols combinations to display different game symbols on the second reel, third reel, and fourth reel; and
re-evaluate symbol combinations formed from symbols displayed on the first reel, the second reel, the third reel, the fourth reel, and the fifth reel.

5. The gaming device of claim 4 , wherein the processor is further operable to continue the rotation the three-dimensional structure and evaluating symbols combinations until each of the six sides of the cubed-shaped three-dimensional structure has had associated symbols evaluated along with the symbols displayed on the first reel and fifth reel.

6. The gaming device of claim 1 , where the three-dimensional game elements are displayed in a three-dimensional view so that at least some of the game symbols along sides of the three-dimensional game elements are visibly displayed on the display.

7. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
rotate the three-dimensional game elements after evaluating the symbols combinations to display different game symbols on different sides of the respective three-dimensional game elements; and
re-evaluating symbol combinations formed from the game reels after the rotation of the three-dimensional game elements.

8. The gaming device of claim 7 , wherein the three-dimensional game elements are rotated and the symbol combinations are re-evaluated only when a predefined criterion is satisfied.

9. The gaming device of claim 7 , where the three-dimensional game elements are rotated sequentially.

10. The gaming device of claim 7 , where the three-dimensional game elements are all rotated substantially simultaneously.

11. The gaming device of claim 7 , where the three-dimensional game elements are all rotated in random order.

12. The gaming device of claim 1 , where each of the plurality of three-dimensional game elements are independently rotatable with respect to other ones of the plurality of three-dimensional game elements.

13. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of game reels each respectively includes a plurality of three-dimensional game elements having six sides.

Assignees

• King Show Games Inc

Inventors

• Berman Bradley
• Malkovich Jason
• Schuh Rebecca
• Shapiro Chad
• Martin Adam

Classifications

• G07F17/34

  depending on the stopping of moving members {in a mechanical slot machine}, e.g. "fruit" machines · CPC title

• G07F17/3213 Primary

  Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members · CPC title

• G07F17/3202

  Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof · CPC title