Gaming incorporating social group features

Abstract

A gaming apparatus, method and system enables communication between members of a social group using machines belonging to the system. Members of a social group are thereby enable to share benefits from members' participation or winnings, by altering operation of gaming machines in use by member of the social group. A license to a progressively increasing portion of an audio-video work may be awarded in response to continuing game play by one or more members of the social group.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61 / 329,062, filed Apr. 28, 2010, which application is specifically incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field[0003]The present disclosure relates to computerized gaming, and more particularly to gaming incorporating social group features.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]Slot machine, video poker, and certain other machine gaming devices have been used in casinos since the “Liberty Bell” slot machine was invented by Charles Augustus Fey in the late 1890s. Electromechanical elements were introduced in the 1960s. As computers became ubiquitous elements within many previously mechanical devices in the 1990s, slot machines and other machine gaming devices were developed wherein the gaming outcome was determined by a computer, and the computer controlled the display of the results to the player. Because...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]Other aspects of the method may include altering a minimum wager requirement at the second gaming device, in response to the information concerning the games of chance played by the first player. This may include, for example, determining a current average wager per player for a player group including at least the first and second players and lowering a minimum wager requirement for the second player in response to determining that the current average wager exceeds a threshold.

[0015]Further aspects of the method may include altering a pay table at the second device, in response to the information from the first gaming device. This may include, for example, determining whether the second device is qualified for pay table alteration, based on a current average wager per player for a player group including at least the first and second players. For example, if the current average wager meets a threshold value, the pay table alteration may be enabled at the second device. Pay table alteration may include, for example, flattening the pay table to provide a higher frequency of winning results with payouts per win, or in the alternative, reducing the frequency of winning results with higher payouts per win. For example, in a group with a sufficiently high average wager, pay tables may be flattened at machines experiencing a run of losses or relatively low wager amounts, optionally in response to player input at the machines where pay tables are flattened, to encourage member of a social group to continue gambling. Later, in response to some event such as a reduced average wager amount, further user input or expiration of a timer, the pay tables may be un-flattened back to an original form.

Problems solved by technology

However, the benefits of these achievements are limited to alterations in the game play (for example, the ability to play a game themed based on the “Trouble with Tribbles” episode may be unlocked after winning a certain amount of points within the bonus rounds).

However, such customization is not free-form, and ultimately a player who plays the game until sufficient points have been earned will have access to a non-customized machine only, in that all players reaching the “end” of the points-gathering process will have unlocked all of the elements and be playing identical machines.

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