Gaming systems, apparatuses and methods for identifying awards based on continuity of paths through a gaming grid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020226884-A1
Application number	US-202016743068-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 15, 2020
Priority date	Jan 16, 2019
Publication date	Jul 16, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses and methods for determining gaming activity outcomes based at least in part on the successful progression through a game play area, such as through randomly-generated indicia facilitating or blocking passage through paths of the game play area. In one embodiment, slot game indicia may include passing or blocking indicia. Based on the random presentation of such indicia in a slot game grid, paths through the slot game grid may extend sufficiently to warrant an award, where blocking indicia obstructs such path extension and resultant awards.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A slot game apparatus comprising:
a display presenting a plurality of symbol locations forming a grid; a user interface including at least one user input to enable a player to at least initiate slot game events presented via the grid; a wager input device structured to identify and validate player assets, and to permit the player to play the slot game events when the player assets are provided; and a processor configured to:
in response to initiating of one of the slot game events, randomly provide, and present via the display, at least a passing indicator or a blocking indicator in each of the symbol locations of the grid;
identify at least a first path of the symbol locations between a first one of the symbol locations and a second one of the symbol locations;
determine whether only the passing indicators are randomly provided along the first path;
if any of the blocking indicators are randomly provided along the first path, do not provide an award; and
if only the passing indicators are randomly provided along the first path, provide an award in response thereto.

2 . The slot game apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify a second path of the symbol locations between particular ones of the symbol locations; determine whether only the passing indicators are randomly provided along the second path; if any of the blocking indicators are randomly provided along the second path, not provide an award; and if only the passing indicators are randomly provided along the second path, provide an award in response thereto.

3 . The slot game apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify one or more additional paths in addition to the first path between respective pairs of the symbol locations; determine whether only the passing indicators are randomly provided along each of the one or more additional paths; if any of the blocking indicators are randomly provided along the respective one of the additional paths, not provide an award for the respective one of the additional paths; and if only the passing indicators are randomly provided along the respective one of the additional paths, provide an award for the respective one of the additional paths in response thereto.

4 . The slot game apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to identify the first path and the one or more additional paths as respective paylines.

5 . The slot game apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to respectively identify the first path and the one or more additional paths as particular numbers of adjacent ones of the symbol locations.

6 . The slot game apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to identify the first path and the one or more additional paths as particular numbers of adjacent ones of the symbol locations along respective predetermined paylines.

7 . The slot game apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to visually move, via the display, a game position indicator along the symbol locations of the first path unless and until the blocking indicator is associated with one of the symbol locations along the first path.

8 . The slot game apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide the award if the blocking indicator does not occur until the game position indicator has passed the entirety of the first path without reaching the symbol location associated with the blocking indicator.

9 . The slot game apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to move the game position indicator from the first one of the symbol locations to the second one of the symbol locations, from left to right, along the first path.

10 . The slot game apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the display to present first indicia representative of a passable route for the symbol locations having the passing indicator presented therein, and to present second indicia representative of a blocked route for the symbol locations having the blocking indicator presented therein.

11 . A slot game apparatus comprising:
a display presenting a plurality of symbol locations forming a grid; a user interface including at least one user input to enable a player to at least initiate slot game events presented via the grid; a wager input device structured to identify and validate player assets, and to permit the player to play the slot game events when the player assets are provided; and a processor configured to:
in response to initiating of one of the slot game events, randomly provide, and present via the display, connection indicia at a plurality of the symbol locations of the grid, wherein the connection indicia includes one or more connectors reaching one or more boundaries of its respective symbol location;
determine whether a continuous line may be formed through the symbol locations having their connection indicia align across a plurality of the symbol locations;
provide no award if the continuous line is not formed across enough of the symbol locations to reach a destination symbol location; and
provide an award if the continuous line is formed across enough of the symbol locations to reach the destination symbol location.

12 . The slot game apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to provide the connection indicia as line segments passing through the center of the symbol location.

13 . The slot game apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the line segments reach to the one or more boundaries of its respective symbol location at the corners and/or side midpoints of the respective symbol location.

14 . The slot game apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to determine whether a continuous line may be formed through the symbol locations starting from a left column of the symbol locations to the destination symbol location that is to the right of the left column of the symbol locations.

15 . The slot game apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the destination symbol location is a fixed number of adjacent ones of the symbol locations away from the left column of the symbol locations.

16 . The slot game apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the destination symbol location is along an established payline of the symbol locations relative to the symbol location starting from the left column of the symbol locations.

17 . A gaming apparatus comprising:
a plurality of game segments, each including at least a passing indicator or a blocking indicator; a game segment randomization module configured to randomly select which of the game segments will be presented in a game grid; a game segment presentation module configured to present the randomly selected game segments in the game grid; a game segment conductivity determination module configured to identify unobstructed paths to one or more game grid destinations based on a contiguous string of passing indicators from an originating game grid location to the one or more game grid destinations; and a game segment award provision module configured to provide awards in response to the identification of the unobstructed paths to the one or more game grid destinations.

18 . The gaming apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the game segment conductivity determination module is configured to identify the blocking indicators which disrupt respective ones of the unobstructed paths, and wherein the game segment award provision module is configured to disallow providing the

Assignees

• King Show Games Inc

Inventors

• GROTTE Anthony
• Funk Steven

Classifications

• G07F17/3269 Primary

  Timing aspects of game play, e.g. blocking/halting the operation of a gaming machine · CPC title

• G07F17/3258

  Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots · CPC title

• G07F17/3225

  Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users · CPC title

• G07F17/3213 Primary

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

• G07F17/34

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