Game machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine which can provide novel game amusement.SOLUTION: A pachinko game machine 1 includes a game control microcomputer 81 which can execute jackpot determination processing, and a performance control microcomputer 91 which can display an icon 9 indicating that the jackpot determination processing was executed or that an execution of the jackpot determination processing is reserved. The performance control microcomputer 91 can display an icon complemented completion image IK by a touch icon 9e and each complementary image UR, DR, UL, DL complementing the surrounding of the touch icon 9e.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 60

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a pachinko gaming machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are known pachinko gaming machines, which are an example of gaming machines, that can be controlled to a jackpot gaming state (special gaming state) advantageous to the player when a jackpot determination process (a process for determining whether or not a jackpot has been reached) determines that a jackpot has been reached. In this type of pachinko gaming machine, for example, as in the gaming machine described in the following Patent Document 1, an icon is displayed indicating that the jackpot determination process has been executed or that the execution of the jackpot determination process is pending. Then, the icon is changed to an icon of a high expectation mode, which suggests that the expectation of being controlled to the jackpot gaming state is high, thereby giving the player a sense of elation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-005345 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the gaming machine described in the above Patent Document 1, although the display mode of the icon itself may change, a new image is not formed by combining the icon with other images. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of the entertainment value when the icon is displayed.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine capable of providing a novel gaming experience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gaming machine of the present invention is A game control means capable of executing a process for determining whether or not a winning combination has been selected; A performance control means capable of displaying an icon indicating that the determination process has been executed or that the execution of the determination process is pending. The presentation control means is a gaming machine capable of displaying an integrated completed image using the icon and a complementary portion that complements the periphery of the icon. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the gaming machine of the present invention, it is possible to provide a novel gaming experience. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the game board of the gaming machine. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing the relationship between the display screen of the image display device and the game area. [Figure 4] 1A is a diagram showing the movable plate body in a standby position, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the movable plate body in an operating position. [Diagram 5] (A) is a diagram of the logo sword gimmick in its normal position, and (B) is a diagram of the logo sword gimmick in its pushed-in position. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] 3 is an enlarged view of part A shown in FIG. 2, showing displays provided on the gaming machine. FIG. [Figure 8] A block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the main control board of the gaming machine. [Figure 9] A block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the sub-control board of the gaming machine. [Figure 10] 2 is a diagram for explaining details of a RAM provided on the main control board. FIG. [Figure 11] 2 is a diagram for explaining details of a RAM provided on the sub-control board. FIG. [Figure 12] This is a table showing the correspondence between the types of jackpots and the opening patterns of the jackpot openings. [Figure 13] 13 is a table showing various random numbers acquired by the game control microcomputer. [Figure 14] (A) is a jackpot determination table, (B) is a reach determination table, (C) is a normal symbol hit determination table, and (D) is a normal symbol variation pattern selection table. [Figure 15] This is a special chart fluctuation pattern determination table. [Figure 16] This is a table for determining the electric chute opening pattern. [Figure 17] This is a specific table of start winning commands. [Figure 18] 4 is a flowchart of a main control process. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart of a main-side timer interrupt process. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart of a sensor detection process. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart of a gate passing process. [Figure 22] 13 is a flowchart of a normal operation process. [Figure 23] 13 is a flowchart of a special action process. [Figure 24] 13 is a flowchart of a special symbol waiting process. [Diagram 25] 13 is a flowchart of a jackpot determination process. [Figure 26] 13 is a flowchart of a variation pattern selection process. [Figure 27] 13 is a flowchart of a variation pattern selection process. [Figure 28] This is a flowchart of processing during special pattern change. [Figure 29] 13 is a flowchart of a special symbol determination process. [Diagram 30] 13 is a flowchart of a game status management process. [Diagram 31] 13 is a flowchart of special electric device processing. [Diagram 32] 13 is a flowchart of a game status setting process. [Diagram 33] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining types of icons. [Diagram 34] 13 is a table showing the winning probability of icons. [Diagram 35] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Diagram 36] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 37] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 38] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 39] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Diagram 40] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Diagram 41] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Diagram 42] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Diagram 43] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Diagram 44] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Diagram 45] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 46] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 47] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 48] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 49] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a board icon change effect is executed. [Figure 50]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing each passing route when the first pattern nail image is a normal gate image. [Figure 51] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing each passing route when the first pattern nail image is a special gate image. [Figure 52] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing each passing route when the second pattern nail image is a normal gate image. [Figure 53] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing each passing route when the second pattern nail image is a special gate image. [Figure 54] 11 is a table showing whether or not a pseudo icon spherical image passes through a gate image on each passing route. [Figure 55] (A) is a table showing the allocation rate of each presentation pattern when a successful board icon change presentation is executed, and (B) is a table showing the allocation rate of each presentation pattern when a failed board icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 56] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 57] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 58] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 59] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 60] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 61] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 62] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 63] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation when a touch icon change presentation is executed. [Figure 64](A) is a table showing the allocation rate at which the touch icon change performance is executed when it is determined that the icon can be changed to a LOGO icon, (B) is a table showing the allocation rate at which the touch icon change performance is executed when it is determined that the icon can be changed to a red icon, and (C) is a table showing the allocation rate at which the touch icon change performance is executed when it is determined that the icon can be changed to a green icon. [Figure 65] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a case where a logo sword icon change effect is executed. [Figure 66] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 67] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 68] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 69] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 70] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 71] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 72] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 73] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of effects when a target icon change effect is executed. [Figure 74] (A) is a table showing the distribution rate at which the target icon change effect is executed when it is determined that the icon can be changed to the LOGO sword icon, and (B) is a table showing the distribution rate at which the pre-execution notification icon is displayed when the game ball enters the first starting hole after changing to the target icon. [Figure 75] 13 is a flowchart of a sub-control main process. [Figure 76] 13 is a flowchart of a reception interrupt process. [Figure 77] 13 is a flowchart of a 1 ms timer interrupt process. [Figure 78]13 is a flowchart of a 10 ms timer interrupt process. [Figure 79] A diagram showing a modified example of movement change presentation. [Figure 80] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing the icon passing change presentation of a modified example. [Figure 81] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example in which a special enemy character icon is displayed. [Figure 82] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a case where a glass plate is touched while an icon completion completion image is being displayed in the modified example. [Figure 83] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing target icon change effects in a modified example. [Figure 84] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing target icon change effects in a modified example. [Figure 85] A figure showing cases where each SP reach is executed in a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] 1. Structure of the gaming machine A pachinko gaming machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the left and right directions of each part of the pachinko gaming machine 1, which is an example of a gaming machine, will be described as being the same as the left and right directions of a player facing the pachinko gaming machine 1. Also, the front direction of each part of the pachinko gaming machine 1 will be described as the direction approaching the player facing the pachinko gaming machine 1, and the rear direction of each part of the pachinko gaming machine 1 will be described as the direction away from the player facing the pachinko gaming machine 1.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment includes a game machine frame 50 and a game board 2 (see FIG. 3) attached inside the game machine frame 50. The game machine frame 50 constitutes the outer shell of the pachinko game machine 1, and includes an outer frame 51, an inner frame 52, and a front frame (glass door frame) 53 (see FIG. 6). The outer frame (base frame portion) 51 is a vertically rectangular frame body that forms the outer shell of the game machine frame 50. The inner frame (holding frame portion) 52 is a vertically rectangular frame body that is disposed inside the outer frame 51 and that mounts the game board 2. The front frame (front frame portion) 53 is disposed on the front side of the outer frame 51 and the inner frame 52, and is a vertically rectangular frame body that protects the game board 2.

[0011] The gaming machine frame 50 is configured with a hinge portion 54 on the left end side. This hinge portion 54 allows the front frame 53 to rotate freely relative to the outer frame 51 and the inner frame 52, and the inner frame 52 to rotate freely relative to the outer frame 51 and the front frame 53. An opening is formed in the center of the front frame 53, and a transparent glass plate 55 (transparent member) is attached to the opening of the front frame 53 so that the player can see the game area 3 described later. In addition, the gaming machine frame 50 (the upper decorative unit 200 of the front frame 53) is provided with a frame lamp 66 that can emit light in various colors.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the front frame 53 is configured to include an upper decorative unit 200 on the upper side, a left decorative unit 210 on the left side, a right decorative unit 220 on the right side, and an operation mechanism unit 230 on the lower side. A speaker 67 for outputting sound is provided on the upper side of each of the left decorative unit 210 and the right decorative unit 220. The operation mechanism unit 230 is provided with a handle (launch operation part) 60 for launching game balls with a launch strength according to the rotation angle, a ball supply tray (upper tray) 61 for storing game balls, and a surplus ball receiving tray (lower tray) 62 for storing game balls that cannot be accommodated in the ball supply tray 61. The operation mechanism unit 230 is also provided with a performance button 63 and a select button (cross key) 64 that can be operated by the player during performances that are executed as the game progresses.

[0013] Next, the game board 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the game board 2 has a game area 3, in which game balls released by operating a handle 60 flow down, surrounded by a rail member 4. The game board 2 is also provided with a board lamp 5 (see Fig. 9) that can emit light in various colors. The game board 2 is an integrated unit of a game board 2A arranged on the front side and a back unit (a unit for mounting various control boards, an image display device 7, a harness, etc., described later) arranged on the rear side. Therefore, the above-mentioned game area 3 is formed on the game board 2A.

[0014] In the play area 3, a number of play pins for guiding the play ball are protruding. In addition, an image display device (display means) 7, which is a liquid crystal display device, is disposed near the center of the play area 3. The display screen 7a of the image display device 7 has a performance pattern display area which performs a variable display and a stationary display of performance patterns (decorative patterns) 8L, 8C, 8R synchronized with the variable display (variable display) and stationary display of the first special pattern and the second special pattern described below. The performance which displays the performance patterns 8L, 8C, 8R is called a performance pattern variable performance. The performance pattern variable performance is sometimes called a "decorative pattern variable performance" or simply a "variable performance".

[0015] The performance symbol display area is composed of three performance symbol display areas, for example, "left", "center", and "right". The left performance symbol display area displays a left performance symbol 8L, the center performance symbol display area displays a center performance symbol 8C, and the right symbol display area displays a right performance symbol 8R. Each performance symbol is composed of a plurality of symbols (number symbols) representing numbers, for example, from "1" to "9". The image display device 7 displays in an easy-to-understand manner the results of the variable display of the first special symbol and the second special symbol displayed on the first special symbol display device 41a and the second special symbol display device 41b (see FIG. 7) described later, based on the combination of the left, center, and right performance symbols (i.e., the results of the big win lottery).

[0016] For example, if a jackpot is won, the effect symbols are displayed as a repeat number such as "777" (a jackpot stop mode). If a loss occurs, the effect symbols are displayed as a random number such as "637" (a loss stop mode). This makes it easier for the player to understand the progress of the game. In other words, the player generally does not understand the result of the jackpot lottery through the first special symbol display 41a or the second special symbol display 41b, but through the image display device 7. The position of the effect symbol display area does not have to be fixed. In addition, the variable display mode of the effect symbols can be, for example, scrolled up and down. In addition, the combination of effect symbols to be displayed according to each lottery result can be arbitrarily changed.

[0017] The image display device 7 displays on the display screen 7a not only the effect pattern changing effect using the effect patterns as described above, but also the big win effect performed in parallel with the big win game, and the demo effect for waiting for customers (customer waiting effect), etc. In the effect pattern variable display effect, in addition to the effect patterns such as numbers, effect images other than the effect patterns such as background images and character images are also displayed.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 3, the display screen 7a of the image display device 7 has a first reserved display area 17a, a second reserved display area 17b, a third reserved display area 17c, and a fourth reserved display area 17d that display icons 9 according to the number of reserved first special figures or the number of reserved second special figures, which will be described later. The icons 9 displayed in these reserved display areas 17a to 17d will be appropriately called "reserved icons 9". The reserved icons 9 can be said to be icons that indicate that the jackpot determination process has not yet been executed.

[0019] If the reserved icon 9 is displayed only in the first reserved display area 17a, it indicates that the number of reserved special figures (first special figure reserved or second special figure reserved) is one. If the reserved icon 9 is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a and the second reserved display area 17b, it indicates that the number of reserved special figures is two. If the reserved icon 9 is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a, the second reserved display area 17b, and the third reserved display area 17c, it indicates that the number of reserved special figures is three. If the reserved icon 9 is displayed in all reserved display areas 17a to 17d, it indicates that the number of reserved special figures is four. In this way, by displaying the reserved icon 9, the number of reserved first special figures displayed on the first reserved first figure display unit 43a (see FIG. 7) described later, or the number of reserved second special figures displayed on the second reserved second figure display unit 43b, can be clearly shown to the player. In this embodiment, in the non-time-saving state described below, the number of reserved first special charts is displayed as a reserved icon 9, and in the time-saving state described below, the number of reserved second special charts is displayed as a reserved icon 9.

[0020] Furthermore, on the display screen 7a of the image display device 7, an icon 9 indicating that the big win determination process has been executed is displayed in the display area 17x. The icon 9 displayed in the display area 17x will be referred to as the "icon 9" as appropriate. The reserved icon 9 displayed in the reserved display areas 17a to 17d shifts (moves) to the reserved display area 17a to 17c on the left when a special pattern, which will be described later, goes through a variable display and stops being displayed. At this time, the reserved icon 9 displayed in the first reserved display area 17a shifts to the display area 17x as the icon 9.

[0021] The display area 17x is larger than each of the reserved display areas 17a to 17d. Therefore, when the reserved icon 9 displayed in the first reserved display area 17a shifts to the display area 17x, the shape of the reserved icon 9 becomes larger and becomes the reserved icon 9. In this way, the reserved icon 9 displayed in the display area 17x is made larger and more noticeable than the reserved icons 9 displayed in each of the reserved display areas 17a to 17d.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 2, a center decorative body 10 is disposed near the center of the game area 3 and in front of the image display device 7. A stage section 11 capable of guiding the game ball rolling on the upper surface to a first starting hole 20 described below is formed in the lower part of the center decorative body 10. In addition, a board movable body (performance movable body) 15 capable of moving forward of the display screen 7a of the image display device 7 is provided in the center decorative body 10.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4(A), the board movable body 15 is composed of an upper board movable body 15U, a left lower board movable body 15L, and a right lower board movable body 15R. The upper board movable body 15U is attached to the upper part of the game board 2 so as to be hidden. The upper board movable body 15U can move downward from the standby position shown in FIG. 4(A) to the operating position shown in FIG. 4(B). The left lower board movable body 15L is attached to the lower left part of the game board 2 so as to be hidden. The left lower board movable body 15L can move diagonally upward to the right from the standby position shown in FIG. 4(A) to the operating position shown in FIG. 4(B). The right lower board movable body 15R is attached to the rear of the lower right part of the game board 2 so as to be hidden. The right lower board movable body 15R can move diagonally upward to the left from the standby position shown in FIG. 4(A) to the operating position shown in FIG. 4(B).

[0024] The upper board movable body 15U, the lower left board movable body 15L, and the lower right board movable body 15R can move in tandem (at the same time) and can move in front of the display screen 7a so as to cover most of the area of ​​the display screen 7a (more than half of the area), as shown in Figure 4 (B). Therefore, by having the upper board movable body 15U, the lower left board movable body 15L, and the lower right board movable body 15R in their respective operating positions, it is possible to make a strong impact on the player.

[0025] 1, the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment is provided with a logo sword role object (operation means) 300 and a sword holder 310 in the right decorative unit 220. The logo sword role object 300 is an operation means that can be operated by the player, and is modeled after the shape of the sword used by the transformed main character ("logo") of this pachinko game machine 1. The sword holder 310 holds the logo sword role object 300 so that it can move up and down.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 5(A), in the normal state, about half of the blade 301 of the logo sword device 300 is housed in the sword holder 310. When the player presses the logo sword device 300 downward while gripping the handle 302, the logo sword device 300 can move downward so that most of the blade 301 is housed in the sword holder 310, as shown in FIG. 5(B). In the following, the position of the logo sword device 300 shown in FIG. 5(A) is called the "normal position," and the position of the logo sword device 300 shown in FIG. 5(B) is called the "pushed-in position." After the logo sword device 300 is pushed by the player to the pushed-in position shown in FIG. 5(B), it returns to the normal position shown in FIG. 5(A) by the driving force of the logo sword device drive motor 300a (see FIG. 9).

[0027] Returning to the explanation of the game board 2 shown in Fig. 2, as shown in Fig. 3, below the image display device 7 in the game area 3, a fixed winning device 19 is provided that has a first start hole (first start winning hole, ball hole) 20 that always allows a game ball to enter. The entry of a game ball into the first start hole 20 triggers a lottery for a first special symbol (a big win lottery, i.e., acquisition and determination of a big win random number, etc.).

[0028] In addition, below the first starting hole 20 in the game area 3, a normal variable winning device (so-called electric chute, variable ball entry means) 22 equipped with a second starting hole (second starting winning hole, ball entry hole) 21 is provided. The entry of a game ball into the second starting hole 21 triggers the drawing of a second special symbol (a big win drawing, i.e., the acquisition and determination of a big win random number, etc.).

[0029] The electric chute 22 has a movable member (ball entry opening opening / closing member) 23, and opens and closes the second starting opening 21 by operating the movable member 23. The movable member 23 is driven by an electric chute solenoid 24 (see FIG. 8). A game ball can enter the second starting opening 21 only when the movable member 23 is in the open state. In other words, the second starting opening 21 is a starting opening in which the ease with which a game ball can enter can be changed. Note that the electric chute 22 does not have to be one that makes it impossible for a ball to enter the second starting opening 21 when the movable member 23 is in the closed state, so long as it makes it easier for a ball to enter the second starting opening 21 when the movable member 23 is in the open state than when the movable member is in the closed state.

[0030] Additionally, a large prize device (special variable prize device, special prize means) 31 equipped with a large prize hole (special prize hole) 30 is provided to the upper right of the first starting hole 20 in the game area 3. The large prize device 31 is equipped with an opening / closing member (special prize hole opening / closing member) 32, and opens and closes the large prize hole 30 by operating the opening / closing member 32. The opening / closing member 32 is driven by a large prize hole solenoid 33 (see FIG. 8). The large prize hole 30 allows game balls to enter only when the opening / closing member 32 is open.

[0031] In addition, a gate (passing area) 28 through which the gaming ball can pass is provided above the big prize opening 30 in the gaming area 3. The passage of the gaming ball through the gate 28 triggers the execution of a normal symbol lottery (i.e., acquisition and determination of a normal symbol random number (winning random number)) that determines whether or not the electric chute 22 is opened.

[0032] A normal winning hole 27 is provided at the bottom of the game area 3. An outlet 16 is provided at the bottom of the game area 3 to discharge game balls that have been shot into the game area 3 but have not won in any of the winning holes.

[0033] The game area 3 in which various winning holes and the like are arranged has a left game area (first game area) 3A on the left side of the center in the left-right direction, and a right game area (second game area) 3B on the right side. A hitting method in which the game ball is shot so that it flows down the left game area 3A is called a left hit. On the other hand, a hitting method in which the game ball is shot so that it flows down the right game area 3B is called a right hit. In this form of pachinko game machine 1, the flow path through which the game ball flows down when playing with a left hit is called a first flow path R1, and the flow path through which the game ball flows down when playing with a right hit is called a second flow path R2.

[0034] A first start hole 20, a normal winning hole 27, and an outlet 16 are provided on the first flow path R1. A player can aim to win at the first start hole 20 or the normal winning hole 27 by hitting the ball to the left so that the ball flows down the first flow path R1. There is no gate 28 on the first flow path R1. Therefore, the electric chute 22 will not open when hitting the ball to the left.

[0035] On the other hand, on the second flow path R2, there are provided a gate 28, a big prize device 31, an electric chute 22, and an outlet 16. By hitting the ball to the right so that it flows down the second flow path R2, the player can aim to pass through the gate 28 or win in the big prize opening 30 or the second start opening 21.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 2, the display devices 40 are arranged in the center on the right side of the game board 2 (game board 2A). As shown in Fig. 7, the display devices 40 include a first special symbol display 41a that variably displays a first special symbol, a second special symbol display 41b that variably displays a second special symbol, and a normal symbol display 42 that variably displays a normal symbol. The display devices 40 also include a first special symbol reserve display 43a that displays the number of reserved activations (first special symbol reserves) of the first special symbol display 41a, a second special symbol reserve display 43b that displays the number of reserved activations (second special symbol reserves) of the second special symbol display 41b, and a normal symbol reserve display 44 that displays the number of reserved activations (normal symbol reserves) of the normal symbol display 42.

[0037] The variable display of the first special symbol is triggered by the entry of a game ball into the first starting hole 20. The variable display of the second special symbol is triggered by the entry of a game ball into the second starting hole 21. In the following description, the first special symbol and the second special symbol are sometimes collectively referred to as special symbols (distinguishing symbols). Also, the first special symbol display device 41a and the second special symbol display device 41b are sometimes collectively referred to as special symbol display device (distinguishing symbol display means) 41. Also, the first special symbol reservation and the second special symbol reservation are sometimes collectively referred to as special symbol reservation. Also, the first special symbol reservation display device 43a and the second special symbol reservation display device 43b are sometimes collectively referred to as special symbol reservation display device 43.

[0038] The special symbol display 41 notifies the result of a lottery (special symbol lottery, jackpot lottery) based on winning at the first start port 20 or the second start port 21 by displaying a special symbol in a variable manner (variable display) and then stopping it. The special symbol (stopped symbol, special symbol derived and displayed as a display result of the variable display) that is stopped is one special symbol selected from a plurality of types of special symbols by the special symbol lottery. When the stopped symbol is a predetermined specific special symbol (a special symbol in a specific stopping mode, i.e., a jackpot game (special game) is played in which the jackpot opening 30 is opened in an opening pattern according to the type of jackpot symbol that is stopped and displayed (i.e., the type of jackpot that has been won). The opening pattern of the jackpot opening 30 in the jackpot game will be described later.

[0039] The special symbol display 41 is composed of, for example, eight LEDs arranged side by side, and displays a special symbol according to the result of the big win lottery by the lighting state of the LEDs. For example, when a big win (one of the multiple types of big wins described later) is won, the big win symbol is displayed with the first, second, fifth, and sixth LEDs from the left lit, such as "○○●●○○●●" (○: lit, ●: off). Also, when a loss occurs, a losing symbol is displayed with only the rightmost LED lit, such as "●●●●●●●○". A mode in which all LEDs are turned off as a losing symbol may be adopted. Also, before the special symbol is displayed in a stopped state, the special symbol is displayed in a variable display (variable display) for a predetermined variable time, and the variable display mode is, for example, a mode in which each LED is lit so that light flows repeatedly from left to right. The variable display mode may be any mode, such as all LEDs flashing at once, unless each LED is displayed in a stopped state (lighting display in a specific mode).

[0040] In this pachinko game machine 1, when a game ball enters the first start hole 20 or the second start hole 21, the values ​​(judgment information) of various random numbers such as a jackpot random number acquired for that entry are temporarily stored in the special chart reservation memory unit 85 (see FIG. 8). In detail, if the game ball enters the first start hole 20, it is stored in the first special chart reservation memory unit 85a as the first special chart reservation, and if the game ball enters the second start hole 21, it is stored in the second special chart reservation memory unit 85b as the second special chart reservation. There is an upper limit to the number of special chart reservations that can be stored in each special chart reservation memory unit 85, and each upper limit value in this embodiment is four. Note that each upper limit value is not limited to four and can be changed as appropriate.

[0041] The reserved special symbols stored in the reserved special symbols memory unit 85 are consumed when the variable display of the special symbols based on the reserved special symbols becomes possible. The consumption of reserved special symbols means that the jackpot random number corresponding to the reserved special symbols is determined, and the variable display of the special symbols is executed to show the result of the determination. Therefore, in this pachinko game machine 1, even if the variable display of the special symbols based on the winning of the game ball into the first start hole 20 or the second start hole 21 cannot be executed immediately after the winning, that is, even if the winning occurs during the variable display of the special symbols or during the playing of the jackpot, the right to the jackpot lottery for the winning can be reserved up to a predetermined number.

[0042] The number of reserved special drawings is displayed on the reserved special drawing display 43. Specifically, the reserved special drawing display 43 is composed of, for example, four LEDs (see FIG. 8), and displays the number of reserved special drawings by lighting up the LEDs as many as the number of reserved special drawings.

[0043] The variable display of the normal symbol is triggered by the passage of the game ball through the gate 28. The normal symbol display device 42 notifies the result of the normal symbol lottery based on the passage of the game ball through the gate 28 by displaying the normal symbol variably (variably) and then stopping it. The normal symbol that is stopped and displayed (normal stop symbol, normal symbol that is derived and displayed as the display result of the variable display) is one normal symbol selected from a plurality of normal symbols by the normal symbol lottery. When the normal symbol that is stopped and displayed is a specific normal symbol (a normal symbol in a predetermined stopping mode, i.e., a normal winning symbol), an auxiliary game is performed in which the second start hole 21 is opened in an opening pattern according to the current game state. The opening pattern of the second start hole 21 will be described later.

[0044] Specifically, the normal symbol display 42 is composed of, for example, two LEDs (see FIG. 7), and displays a normal symbol according to the result of the normal symbol lottery by the way they are lit. For example, if the lottery result is a win, a normal winning symbol with both LEDs lit, such as "○○" (○: lit, ●: off), is displayed. If the lottery result is a loss, a normal loss symbol with only the right LED lit, such as "●○", is displayed. A mode in which all LEDs are turned off may be adopted as a normal loss symbol. Before the normal symbol is displayed in a stopped state, a variable display (variable display) of the normal symbol is performed for a predetermined variable time, and the variable display mode is, for example, a mode in which both LEDs are alternately lit. The variable display mode may be any mode, such as all LEDs flashing at once, as long as each LED is not displayed in a stopped state (lighting display in a specific mode).

[0045] In this pachinko game machine 1, when a game ball passes through the gate 28, the value of the normal symbol random number (winning random number) acquired for that passage is temporarily stored as a normal symbol reserve in the normal symbol reserve memory unit 86 (see FIG. 8). There is an upper limit to the number of normal symbol reserves that can be stored in the normal symbol reserve memory unit 86, and the upper limit in this embodiment is four.

[0046] The reserved normal symbols stored in the reserved normal symbols memory unit 86 are consumed when the variable display of the normal symbols based on the reserved normal symbols becomes possible. The consumption of reserved normal symbols means judging the normal symbol random number (winning random number) corresponding to the reserved normal symbols and executing the variable display of the normal symbols to show the judgment result. Therefore, in this pachinko game machine 1, even if the variable display of the normal symbols based on the passage of the game ball to the gate 28 cannot be performed immediately after the passage, that is, even if a prize is won during the variable display of the normal symbols or during the execution of the auxiliary game, the right to draw the normal symbols for the passage can be reserved up to a predetermined number.

[0047] The number of such reserved maps is displayed on the reserved map display 44. Specifically, the reserved map display 44 is composed of, for example, four LEDs (see FIG. 7), and displays the number of reserved maps by lighting up the LEDs corresponding to the number of reserved maps.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 2, an auxiliary symbol display area for displaying the auxiliary symbols 6L, 6C, and 6R is provided in the upper right portion of the display screen 7a. The auxiliary symbol display area is composed of three auxiliary symbol display areas, for example, "left", "middle", and "right". The left auxiliary symbol display area displays the left auxiliary symbol 6L, the middle auxiliary symbol display area displays the middle auxiliary symbol 6C, and the right auxiliary symbol display area displays the right auxiliary symbol 6R. The auxiliary symbols 6L, 6C, and 6R are each composed of a plurality of symbols (number symbols) representing numbers, for example, from "1" to "9", and are displayed in a smaller and less noticeable manner than the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R. The auxiliary symbols 6L, 6C, and 6R are displayed in a variable and stationary manner in synchronization with the variable and stationary display of the special symbols. As a result, even if the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R are difficult or impossible to see on the display screen 7a, the player can see whether the special symbols are fluctuating or stationary by looking at the auxiliary symbols 6L, 6C, and 6R. In addition, the auxiliary symbols 6L, 6C, and 6R are displayed as a repeat number such as "777" (a jackpot stop mode) when a jackpot is won, and are displayed as a random number such as "637" (a miss stop mode) when a miss is won.

[0049] In the present pachinko game machine 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the image display device 7 has a very large display screen 7a. Specifically, the upper part 7b of the display screen 7a of the image display device 7 is located above the upper end 3X of the play area 3, and can display a performance image. In particular, the upper left part 7bL of the upper part 7b of the display screen 7a is located above the left part 12L of the upper partition wall 12 that divides the upper side of the play area 3, and a performance image is also displayed in this upper left part 7bL. In addition, the upper right part 7bR of the upper part 7b of the display screen 7a is located above the right part 12R of the upper partition wall 12, and a performance image is also displayed in this upper right part 7bR. In this way, the upper part 7b of the display screen 7a, which is located above the play area 3, is visible over a wide range in the left-right direction.

[0050] The game board 2A of this embodiment is made of transparent synthetic resin, and most of the game board, including the game area 3, is not decorated (with stickers, etc.). Therefore, the player can view not only the effect image displayed in the center of the display screen 7a, but also the effect image displayed in the upper part 7b (including the upper left part 7bL and the upper right part 7bR) of the display screen 7a through the transparent game board 2A. In this way, the image display device 7 can display effect images over a wide range through the transparent game board 2A, entertaining the player.

[0051] As shown in Fig. 3, a return ball prevention unit 4A is provided at the upper end of the rail member 4. The return ball prevention unit 4A is intended to prevent a game ball that has entered the game area 3 from returning to the launching area 13. In other words, the return ball prevention unit 4A is provided at the boundary between the launching area 13 and the game area 3. In this embodiment, even in a portion of the upper left portion 7bL of the display screen 7a that is to the left of the return ball prevention unit 4A and above the upper end 3X of the game area 3, a performance image can be displayed.

[0052] In addition, in this pachinko game machine 1, as shown in Fig. 6, a glass plate touch sensor 55a is attached to the glass plate 55. The glass plate touch sensor 55a is for detecting a touch operation on the glass plate 55, and a detection signal by the glass plate touch sensor 55a is input to a performance control microcomputer 91 described later. Note that the glass plate touch sensor 55a does not detect a touch operation on the entire area of ​​the glass plate 55, but is designed to detect a touch operation on the central area TE of the glass plate 55, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 6.

[0053] 2. Electrical configuration of the gaming machine Next, the electrical configuration of the pachinko game machine 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 8 and Fig. 9. As shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, the pachinko game machine 1 includes a main control board (game control board) 80 that controls game profits such as big win lottery and transition of game state, a sub-control board (performance control board) 90 that controls performance executed as the game progresses, and a payout control board 110 that controls payout of game balls. The main control board 80 constitutes a main control unit, and the sub-control board 90 constitutes a sub-control unit together with an image control board 100, a sub-drive board 107, and a sound control board 106, which will be described later. Note that the sub-control unit only needs to include at least the sub-control board 90 and be capable of controlling game performance using performance means (such as the image display device 7, the board lamp 5, the frame lamp 66, the speaker 67, and the board movable body 15).

[0054] The pachinko game machine 1 also includes a power supply board 150. The power supply board 150 supplies power to the main control board 80, the sub-control board 90, and the payout control board 110, and also supplies necessary power to other devices via these boards. The power supply board 150 is provided with a backup power circuit 151. When power is not supplied to the pachinko game machine 1 due to a power outage such as closing time or a power outage, the backup power circuit 151 can supply power to the RAM 84 of the main control board 80 and the RAM 94 of the sub-control board 90, which will be described later. Therefore, the information stored in the RAM 84 of the main control board 80 and the RAM 94 of the sub-control board 90 is retained even when the power to the pachinko game machine 1 is cut off. A power switch 155 is also connected to the power supply board 150. The power supply is turned on and off by turning the power switch 155 on and off. In addition, a backup power supply circuit for the RAM 84 of the main control board 80 may be provided on the main control board 80, and a backup power supply circuit for the RAM 94 of the sub-control board 90 may be provided on the sub-control board 90.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 8, a one-chip microcomputer for game control (hereinafter, "microcomputer for game control") 81 that controls the progress of the game of the pachinko game machine 1 according to a program is mounted on the main control board 80. The microcomputer for game control 81 includes a ROM 83 that stores a program for controlling the progress of the game, a RAM 84 used as a work memory, a CPU 82 that executes the program stored in the ROM 83, and an I / O port section (input / output circuit) 87 for inputting and outputting data and signals. The RAM 84 is provided with the special pattern reservation memory section 85 and the normal pattern reservation memory section 86 described above. The ROM 83 may be external.

[0056] The RAM 84 (storage means) is provided with the above-mentioned special chart reservation memory section 85 (first special chart reservation memory section 85a and second special chart reservation memory section 85b) and the normal chart reservation memory section 86. More specifically, the first special chart reservation memory section 85a is made up of four memory areas corresponding to the number of first special chart reservations that can be stored, as shown in FIG. 10(A). Also, as shown in FIG. 10(B), the second special chart reservation memory section 85b is made up of four memory areas corresponding to the number of second special chart reservations that can be stored. Each memory area is further divided into four memory areas, as shown in FIG. 10(C). These four memory areas are an area for storing a jackpot random number, an area for storing a win type random number, an area for storing a reach random number, and an area for storing a variation pattern random number, as described later.

[0057] 8, various sensors and solenoids are connected to the main control board 80 via a relay board 88. Therefore, signals are input from each sensor to the main control board 80, and signals are output from the main control board 80 to each solenoid. Specifically, the sensors connected include the first start hole sensor 20a, the second start hole sensor 21a, the gate sensor 28a, the big prize hole sensor 30a, and the regular prize hole sensor 27a.

[0058] The first start hole sensor 20a is provided in the first start hole 20 and detects game balls that have entered the first start hole 20. The second start hole sensor 21a is provided in the second start hole 21 and detects game balls that have entered the second start hole 21. The gate sensor 28a is provided in the gate 28 and detects game balls that have passed through the gate 28. The special prize hole sensor 30a is provided in the special prize hole 30 and detects game balls that have entered the special prize hole 30. The regular prize hole sensor 27a is provided in each regular prize hole 27 and detects game balls that have entered the regular prize hole 27.

[0059] Also, as solenoids, an electric chute solenoid 24 and a special prize opening solenoid 33 are connected. The electric chute solenoid 24 drives the movable member 23 of the electric chute 22. The special prize opening solenoid 33 drives the opening / closing member 32 of the special prize device 31.

[0060] Furthermore, the first special symbol display 41a, the second special symbol display 41b, the normal symbol display 42, the first special symbol reserve display 43a, the second special symbol reserve display 43b, and the normal symbol reserve display 44 are connected to the main control board 80. That is, the display control of these displays 40 is performed by the game control microcomputer 81.

[0061] The main control board 80 also transmits various commands to the payout control board 110, and receives signals from the payout control board 110 to monitor payout. The payout control board 110 is connected to a prize ball payout device 120, a ball loan payout device 130, and a card unit 135 (installed adjacent to the pachinko game machine 1, enabling ball loan based on information on an inserted prepaid card, etc.), and is also connected to a launching device 112 via a launch control circuit 111. The launching device 112 includes a handle 60 (see FIG. 1).

[0062] The payout control board 110 drives the prize ball motor 121 of the prize ball payout device 120 to pay out prize balls, or drives the ball lending motor 131 of the ball lending device 130 to pay out loan balls, based on a signal from the game control microcomputer 81 or a signal from the card unit 135 connected to the pachinko game machine 1. The prize balls to be paid out are detected by the prize ball sensor 122 for counting. The loan balls to be paid out are also detected by the ball lending sensor 132 for counting. When the player operates the handle 60 (see FIG. 1) of the launching device 112, the touch switch 114 detects contact with the handle 60, and the launch volume 115 detects the amount of rotation of the handle 60. Then, the launching motor 113 is driven so that the game balls are launched with a strength corresponding to the magnitude of the detection signal of the launch volume 115. In this pachinko game machine 1, one game ball is shot in about 0.6 seconds.

[0063] Furthermore, the main control board 80 transmits various commands to the sub-control board 90. The connection between the main control board 80 and the sub-control board 90 is a unidirectional communication connection that only enables transmission of signals from the main control board 80 to the sub-control board 90. That is, a unidirectional circuit (not shown, for example, a circuit using a diode) is interposed between the main control board 80 and the sub-control board 90 as a communication direction restricting means.

[0064] As shown in Fig. 9, a one-chip microcomputer for performance control (hereinafter referred to as "microcomputer for performance control") 91 that controls the performance of the pachinko game machine 1 according to a program is mounted on the sub-control board 90. The microcomputer for performance control 91 (performance control means) includes a ROM 93 that stores programs for controlling the performance as the game progresses, a RAM 94 used as a work memory, a CPU 92 that executes the programs stored in the ROM 93, and an I / O port section (input / output circuit) 97 for inputting and outputting data and signals. The ROM 93 may be external.

[0065] Also, the RAM 94 is provided with a first special symbol reserved performance memory 95a capable of storing a first start winning command (described later) and the like specified based on winning in the first start hole 20, a second special symbol reserved performance memory 95b capable of storing a second start winning command (described later) and the like specified based on winning in the second start hole 21, and a variable performance memory (0th memory area) 95c common to the first special symbol and the second special symbol, as shown in FIG. 11(A). The first special symbol reserved performance memory 95a is divided into four memory areas (first memory area to fourth memory area) corresponding to the number of first special symbol reserved that can be stored, as shown in FIG. 11(B). Also, the second special symbol reserved performance memory 95b is composed of four memory areas (first memory area to fourth memory area) corresponding to the number of second special symbol reserved that can be stored, as shown in FIG. 11(C).

[0066] Furthermore, each memory area includes two memory areas as shown in Fig. 11(D). These two memory areas are a start winning command memory area that stores a start winning command, and an icon display mode data memory area that stores data indicating the display mode of an icon (reserved icon, icon) 9, which will be described later. The variable performance memory unit 95c also includes these four memory areas.

[0067] 9, an image control board 100, an audio control board 106, and a sub-drive board 107 are connected to the sub-control board 90. A performance control microcomputer 91 of the sub-control board 90 causes a CPU 102 of the image control board 100 to perform display control of the image display device 7 based on commands received from the main control board 80.

[0068] The image control board 100 includes a ROM 103 storing programs for controlling image display and the like, a RAM 104 used as a work memory, and a CPU 102 for executing the programs stored in the ROM 103. The ROM 103 stores still image data and video data to be displayed on the image display device 7, specifically image data such as characters, items, figures, letters, numbers, and symbols (including performance designs) and background images. The CPU 102 of the image control board 100 reads out image data from the ROM 103 based on a command from the performance control microcomputer 91. Then, display control is performed based on the read out image data.

[0069] Furthermore, the performance control microcomputer 91 outputs voice, music, sound effects, etc. from the speaker 67 via the voice control board 106 based on commands received from the main control board 80. Audio data such as voice output from the speaker 67 is stored in the ROM 93 of the sub-control board 90. A CPU may be implemented in the voice control board 106, and in this case, the CPU may be made to execute the voice control. Furthermore, in this case, a ROM may be implemented in the voice control board 106, and the voice data may be stored in the ROM. Furthermore, the speaker 67 may be connected to the image control board 100, and the CPU 102 of the image control board 100 may be made to execute the voice control. Furthermore, in this case, the voice data may be stored in the ROM 103 of the image control board 100.

[0070] Based on commands received from the main control board 80, the performance control microcomputer 91 also controls the lighting of lamps such as the frame lamp 66 and the board lamp 5 via the sub-drive board 107 and relay board 108. In detail, the performance control microcomputer 91 creates light emission pattern data (data that determines the on / off status and light emission color, also called lamp data) that determines the light emission mode of each lamp, and controls the lighting of lamps such as the frame lamp 66 and the board lamp 5 in accordance with the light emission pattern data. Note that data stored in ROM 93 of the sub-control board 90 is used to create the light emission pattern data.

[0071] Furthermore, the performance control microcomputer 91 can drive the board movable body 15 via the sub-drive board 107 and relay board 108 based on commands received from the main control board 80. In detail, the performance control microcomputer 91 sets board movable body drive data that determines the operation mode of the board movable body 15 in a predetermined drive data buffer of the RAM 94. This causes the board movable body drive motor 15a to rotate, and the board movable body 15 can move from the standby position shown in Figure 4(A) to the operating position shown in Figure 4(B). The performance in which the board movable body 15 is driven from the standby position shown in Figure 4(A) to the operating position shown in Figure 4(B) is called a "board movable body drive performance."

[0072] As a modified example, a CPU may be mounted on the sub-drive board 107, and the CPU may execute lamp lighting control and drive control of the movable board body 15 or the movable frame body 600. Furthermore, in this case, a ROM may be mounted on the sub-drive board 107, and data related to lamp data and drive data may be stored in the ROM.

[0073] The sub-control board 90 is connected to a performance button detection SW (switch) 63a, a select button detection switch 64a, and a glass plate touch sensor 55a. The performance button detection switch 63a detects that the performance button 63 (see FIG. 1) has been pressed. When the performance button 63 is pressed, a detection signal is output from the performance button detection switch 63a to the sub-control board 90. The select button detection switch 64a detects that the select button 64 (see FIG. 1) has been pressed. When the select button 64 is pressed, a detection signal is output from the select button detection switch 64a to the sub-control board 90. The glass plate touch sensor 55a detects that the central area TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55 has been touched. When the central area TE of the glass plate 55 is touched, a detection signal is output from the glass plate touch sensor 55a to the sub-control board 90.

[0074] 8 and 9 are merely functional block diagrams for explaining the electrical configuration of the pachinko game machine 1, and are not limited to the boards shown in Fig. 8 and 9. Except for the main control board 80, any of the boards shown in Fig. 8 or 9 may be configured as one board, and the one board shown in Fig. 8 or 9 may be configured as multiple boards.

[0075] 3. Explanation of the jackpot etc. In the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, the results of the jackpot lottery (special symbol lottery) are a "jackpot" and a "loss." When a "jackpot" occurs, a "jackpot symbol" is displayed on the special symbol display 41. When a "loss" occurs, a "loss symbol" is displayed on the special symbol display 41. When a jackpot is won, a "jackpot game" is executed in which the jackpot opening (the jackpot opening 30) is opened in an opening pattern according to the type of special symbol (the type of jackpot) that is displayed. The jackpot game is also called a special game.

[0076] In this embodiment, the jackpot game includes multiple round games (unit opening games), an opening (also written as OP) before the first round game starts, and an ending (also written as ED) after the final round game ends. Each round game starts with the end of the OP or the end of the previous round game, and ends with the start of the next round game or the start of the ED. The time (interval time) for closing the jackpot opening between round games is included in the open round game before the closure.

[0077] There are multiple types of jackpots. The types of jackpots are as shown in FIG. 12(A). As shown in FIG. 12(A), in this embodiment, there are two types: a special jackpot and a normal jackpot. A "special jackpot" is a jackpot that will be controlled to a high probability state, which will be described later, after a jackpot game. A "normal jackpot" is a jackpot that will be controlled to a normal probability state, which will be described later, after a jackpot game.

[0078] The "10R special jackpot 1" that can be won by drawing the special chart 1 (first special pattern), the "10R special jackpot 2" that can be won by drawing the special chart 2 (second special pattern), or the "10R normal jackpot 2" that can be won by drawing the special chart 2 are jackpots that open the jackpot slot 30 for a maximum of 25.0 seconds per 1R from 1R to 10R, as shown in FIG. 12(B). When the "special jackpot" is won by drawing the special chart 1, the "special chart 1_jackpot pattern 1" is displayed on the first special pattern display 41a. When the "special jackpot" is won by drawing the special chart 2, the "special chart 2_jackpot pattern 1" is displayed on the second special pattern display 41b. In addition, if a "normal jackpot" is won by the lottery of special chart 2, "special chart 2_jackpot pattern 2" is displayed stopped on the second special pattern display 41b.

[0079] In contrast, the "4R normal jackpot 1" that can be won by the lottery of the special chart 1 is a jackpot that opens the jackpot opening 30 for a maximum of 25.0 seconds per R from 1R to 4R, as shown in Fig. 12(B). If the "normal jackpot" is won by the lottery of the special chart 1, the "special chart 1_jackpot pattern 2" is stopped and displayed on the first special pattern display 41a.

[0080] However, even if the "normal jackpot" is won and the game is controlled to the normal probability state after the jackpot game, the game is controlled to the time-saving state described below. In this case, the number of time-saving times is set to 100. The time-saving times refers to the upper limit number of times that the variable display of the special pattern is executed in the time-saving state. In this form, as shown in FIG. 12(A), the distribution rate of the jackpot in the drawing of the special chart 1 and the distribution rate of the jackpot in the drawing of the special chart 2 are both set so that the probability of the jackpot is 80% and the normal jackpot is 20%.

[0081] In this pachinko game machine 1, the lottery for determining whether or not there is a jackpot is based on a "jackpot random number," and the lottery for the type of jackpot won is based on a "win type random number." As shown in FIG. 13(A), the jackpot random number has a value in the range of 0 to 65535. The win type random number has a value in the range of 0 to 99. The random numbers obtained based on winning at the first start port 20 or the second start port 21 include a "reach random number" and a "variation pattern random number" in addition to the jackpot random number and win type random number.

[0082] The reach random number is a random number that determines whether or not a reach occurs in the performance pattern change performance that indicates the result when the result of the jackpot judgment is a miss. A reach is a state in which there is only one performance pattern remaining among multiple performance patterns that are displayed in a variable manner, and depending on which of the performance patterns that are displayed in a variable manner are displayed as stopped, a combination of performance patterns that indicates a jackpot win (for example, a "7↓7" state). Note that the performance pattern displayed in a stopped state in the reach state may be displayed as if it is shaking slightly on the display screen 7a, or may be displayed as if it is repeatedly expanding and contracting. This reach random number has a value in the range of 0 to 127.

[0083] The fluctuation pattern random number is a random number for determining a fluctuation pattern including a fluctuation time. The fluctuation pattern random number has a value in the range of 0 to 99. The random numbers obtained based on passing through the gate 28 include a normal symbol random number (winning random number) shown in FIG. 13(B). The normal symbol random number is a random number for a lottery (normal symbol lottery) for determining whether or not to play an auxiliary game that opens the electric chute 22. The normal symbol random number has a value in the range of 0 to 255.

[0084] 4. Description of game status Next, the game state of the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment will be described. The special symbol display 41 and the normal symbol display 42 of the pachinko game machine 1 each have a probability variation function and a variation time shortening function. The state in which the probability variation function of the special symbol display 41 is activated is called a "high probability state", and the state in which it is not activated is called a "normal probability state (non-high probability state)". In the high probability state, the probability of a jackpot is higher than in the normal probability state. That is, a jackpot determination is performed using a jackpot determination table in which the value of the jackpot random number determined as a jackpot is greater than that of the jackpot determination table used in the normal probability state (see FIG. 14(A)). That is, when the probability variation function of the special symbol display 41 is activated, the probability that the display result of the variable display of the special symbol by the special symbol display 41 (i.e., the stopped symbol) will be a jackpot symbol is higher than when it is not activated.

[0085] In addition, the state in which the variable time shortening function of the special symbol display 41 is operating is called the "time shortening state", and the state in which it is not operating is called the "non-time shortening state". In the time shortening state, the variable time of the special symbol (the time from the start of the variable display to the derivation display of the display result) is shorter than in the non-time shortening state. In other words, the variable pattern is determined using a special symbol variable pattern table that is determined so that a variable pattern with a short variable time is selected more often than in the non-time shortening state (see FIG. 15). In other words, when the variable time shortening function of the special symbol display 41 is operating, a short variable time is more likely to be selected as the variable time of the variable display of the special symbol compared to when it is not operating. As a result, in the time shortening state, the pace of consumption of the special symbol reservation is faster, and effective winning (winning that can be stored as a special symbol reservation) at the starting port is more likely to occur. Therefore, it is possible to aim for a jackpot under smooth game progress.

[0086] The probability variation function and the variation time shortening function of the special symbol display 41 may operate simultaneously, or only one of them may operate. The probability variation function and the variation time shortening function of the normal symbol display 42 are designed to operate in synchronization with the variation time shortening function of the special symbol display 41. That is, the probability variation function and the variation time shortening function of the normal symbol display 42 operate in the time shortening state, and do not operate in the non-time shortening state. Therefore, in the time shortening state, the probability of winning in the normal symbol lottery is higher than in the non-time shortening state. That is, a win judgment (judgment of the normal symbol) is performed using a normal symbol win judgment table in which the value of the normal symbol random number (win random number) judged as a win is greater than that of the normal symbol win judgment table used in the non-time shortening state (see FIG. 14(C)). That is, when the probability variation function of the normal symbol display 42 operates, the probability that the display result of the variable display of the normal symbol by the normal symbol display 42 will be a normal winning symbol is higher than when it is not operating.

[0087] Also, in the time-saving state, the time it takes for the normal symbols to change is shorter than in the non-time-saving state. In this embodiment, the time it takes for the normal symbols to change is 30 seconds in the non-time-saving state, but 1 second in the time-saving state (see FIG. 14(D)). Furthermore, in the time-saving state, the time the electric chute 22 is open during auxiliary play is longer than in the non-time-saving state (see FIG. 16). In other words, the function to extend the opening time of the electric chute 22 is activated. Additionally, in the time-saving state, the number of times the electric chute 22 is opened during auxiliary play is greater than in the non-time-saving state (see FIG. 16). In other words, the function to increase the number of times the electric chute 22 is opened is activated.

[0088] When the probability variation function and variation time shortening function of the normal symbol display 42, and the opening time extension function and opening count increase function of the electric chute 22 are operating, the electric chute 22 opens more frequently and game balls enter the second starting hole 21 more frequently than when these functions are not operating. As a result, the base, which is the ratio of the number of winning balls to the number of shot balls, becomes higher. Therefore, the state in which these functions are operating is called a "high base state," and the state in which they are not operating is called a "low base state." In the high base state, you can aim for a jackpot without significantly reducing the number of game balls you have. The high base state is a state in which so-called electric support control (control that supports the electric chute 22 to enter the second starting hole 21) is being executed. Therefore, the high base state is also called an electric support control state or an easy-to-enter state. In contrast, the low base state is also called a non-electric support control state or a non-easy-to-enter state.

[0089] The high base state does not have to be one in which all of the above functions are activated. In other words, it is sufficient that the activation of one or more of the following functions makes it easier for the electric chute 22 to open than when the function is not activated: the probability fluctuation function of the normal symbol display 42, the fluctuation time reduction function of the normal symbol display 42, the opening time extension function of the electric chute 22, and the opening count increase function of the electric chute 22. The high base state may also be controlled independently of the time-saving state.

[0090] In the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, the game state after a jackpot game based on winning a jackpot with a high probability is a high probability state, a time-saving state, and a high base state. This game state is particularly called a "high probability high base state." As will be described later, the high probability high base state of this embodiment is designed to continue until the next jackpot is won and the post-jackpot game starts. In other words, the high probability high base state is a very advantageous state for the player to win the next jackpot without significantly reducing the number of game balls in hand.

[0091] In addition, the game state after a jackpot game based on winning a normal jackpot is a normal probability state (non-high probability state, i.e., low probability state), time-saving state, and high base state. This game state is particularly called a "low probability high base state." The low probability high base state ends when the variable display of special symbols is executed a predetermined number of times (100 times in this embodiment) or when a jackpot is won and the jackpot game starts.

[0092] When playing the pachinko game machine 1 for the first time, the game state after powering on is the normal probability state, the non-time-saving state, and the low base state. This game state is particularly called the "low probability, low base state." The low probability, low base state is sometimes called the "normal game state." In addition, the state during which a jackpot game (special game) is being played is called the "jackpot game state (special game state)." Furthermore, the state controlled to at least one of the high probability state and the high base state is called the "bonus game state."

[0093] In a high base state such as a high probability high base state or a low probability high base state, it is more advantageous to play by hitting the ball to the right game area 3B (see FIG. 3). This is because the electric support control makes it easier to open the electric chute 22 than in a low base state, making it easier to win the second start hole 21 than the first start hole 20. Therefore, the ball is hit to the right in order to win the second start hole 21 while passing through the gate 28, which is the trigger for the normal pattern lottery. This allows more start wins (wins at the start hole) to be obtained than by hitting to the left. In this pachinko game machine 1, the game is played by hitting to the right even during a jackpot game.

[0094] On the other hand, in the low base state, it is more advantageous to hit the game ball from the left to enter the left game area 3A (see FIG. 3) in order to progress in the game. Because the electric support control is not being executed, the electric chute 22 is less likely to open than in the high base state, and it is easier to win in the first start hole 20 than in the second start hole 21. Therefore, the game ball is hit from the left in order to win in the first start hole 20. This allows more start wins to be obtained than by hitting from the right.

[0095] 5. About the start winning command The pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment can execute a so-called pre-reading notice performance, as described later. The pre-reading notice performance is a performance that suggests the jackpot expectation rate (expectation rate of winning) or the probability of winning a jackpot for the start winning (i.e., special symbol reservation) before the win / loss judgment immediately before the start of the special symbol fluctuation (variation display of the special symbol) based on the start winning, by using the start winning command (winning information) specified based on the judgment information (random number value such as a jackpot random number) acquired by the start winning.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 17, the start winning command generated in this embodiment consists of two bytes (one byte of upper command and one byte of lower command). This start winning command contains win / loss information indicating whether it is a jackpot or not. In this embodiment, if the value of the last digit of the lower command (two digits in hexadecimal) is "1" or "2", it contains win / loss information indicating a jackpot. Furthermore, the start winning command contains win type information indicating whether the jackpot is a special jackpot or a normal jackpot. In this embodiment, if the last digit of the lower command is "1", it contains win type information indicating a special jackpot, and if it is "2", it contains win type information indicating a normal jackpot.

[0097] In addition, the start winning command includes start port information indicating whether the first start port 20 or the second start port 21 was won, game state information indicating whether the win was won in the non-time-saving state or the time-saving state, special reserved ball number information indicating the number of special reserved balls at the time of winning, reach information indicating whether a reach is formed, and SP reach information indicating whether an SP reach is formed. Here, the SP reach (super reach) is a reach with a longer fluctuation time after the reach than the normal reach. Note that the start winning command only needs to include at least hit / miss information on whether or not it is a jackpot, and the type of information to be included in the start winning command can be changed as appropriate.

[0098] 6. Operation of the gaming control microcomputer [Main control main processing] Next, the operation of the game control microcomputer 81 will be described with reference to Figs. 18 to 32. The counter, timer, flag, status, buffer, etc., which appear in the operation description of the game control microcomputer 81, are provided in the RAM 84. When the power supply of the pachinko game machine 1 is turned on, the game control microcomputer 81 provided in the main control board 80 reads out the program of the main control main processing shown in Fig. 18 from the ROM 83 and executes it. As shown in the figure, in the main control main processing, initial settings are first performed (step S001). In the initial settings, for example, stack settings, constant settings, interrupt time settings, CPU 82 settings, SIO, PIO, CTC (circuit for managing interrupt time), various flags, statuses, counters, etc. are reset. The initial value of the flag is "0", that is, "OFF", the initial value of the status is "1", and the initial value of the counter is "0". The initial settings (S001) are performed only once after the power supply is turned on, and are not performed thereafter.

[0099] Following the initial setting (S001), interrupts are prohibited (S002), and the normal and special symbol main random number update process (S003) is executed. In this normal and special symbol main random number update process (S003), the various random number counter values ​​shown in FIG. 13 are updated by incrementing them by 1. When each random number counter value reaches its upper limit, it returns to "0" and is incremented again. Note that the initial value of each random number counter may be a value other than "0" and may be changed randomly. Each random number may be a so-called hardware random number generated using a known random number generation circuit consisting of a counter IC or the like.

[0100] When the normal and special symbol main random number update process (S003) is completed, an interrupt is permitted (S004). While the interrupt is permitted, the main side timer interrupt process (S005) can be executed. The main side timer interrupt process (S005) is executed based on an interrupt pulse repeatedly input to the CPU 82, for example, at a 4 msec cycle. That is, it is executed at a 4 msec cycle, for example. Then, from the end of the main side timer interrupt process (S005) to the start of the next main side timer interrupt process (S005), the update process of various counter values ​​by the normal and special symbol main random number update process (S003) is repeatedly executed. Note that, if an interrupt pulse is input to the CPU 82 when the interrupt is prohibited, the main side timer interrupt process (S005) is not started immediately, but is started after the interrupt is permitted (S004).

[0101] [Main side timer interrupt processing] Next, the main side timer interrupt processing (S005) will be described. As shown in Fig. 19, in the main side timer interrupt processing (S005), first, the output processing (S101) is executed. In the output processing (S101), commands and the like set in the output buffer provided in the RAM 84 of the main control board 80 in each processing described below are output to the sub control board 90, the payout control board 110, and the like.

[0102] In the input process (S102) that follows the output process (S101), detection signals detected by various sensors (such as the first start hole sensor 20a, the second start hole sensor 21a, the special prize hole sensor 30a, the normal prize hole sensor 27a (see FIG. 8)) that are mainly attached to the pachinko game machine 1 are read and stored (set) in the output buffer of the RAM 84 as prize ball information. In addition, a detection signal from a lower tray full switch that detects whether the lower tray 62 is full is also taken in and stored in the output buffer of the RAM 84 as lower tray full data.

[0103] The normal and special symbol main random number update process (S103) that is performed next is the same as the normal and special symbol main random number update process (S003) that is performed in the main control main process of Fig. 18. That is, the update process of the various random number counter values ​​(including the normal symbol random number counter value) shown in Fig. 13 is performed both during the execution period of the main side timer interrupt process (S005) and during other periods (the period from the end of the main side timer interrupt process (S005) to the start of the next main side timer interrupt process (S005)).

[0104] Following the normal pattern / special pattern main random number update process (S103), the sensor detection process (S104), normal operation process (S105), and special operation process (S106) are executed. After that, other processes (S107) are executed, and the main side timer interrupt process (S005) is terminated. As the other processes (S107), the second special pattern reserved indicator 43b is controlled to a display mode showing the number based on the number of reserved balls of the special pattern 2 described later, and the first special pattern reserved indicator 43a is controlled to a display mode showing the number based on the number of reserved balls of the special pattern 1 described later. Then, the processes of steps S002 to S004 of the main control main process are repeatedly executed (see FIG. 18) until the next interrupt pulse is input to the CPU 82, and when the interrupt pulse is input (after about 4 msec), the main side timer interrupt process (S005) is executed again. In the output process (S101) of the main side timer interrupt process (S005) executed again, the commands etc. set in the output buffer of the RAM 84 in the previous main side timer interrupt process (S005) are output.

[0105] [Sensor detection process] As shown in Fig. 20, in the sensor detection process (S104), first, it is determined whether or not the gaming ball has passed through the gate 28, that is, whether or not the gaming ball has been detected by the gate sensor 28a (S201). If the gaming ball has passed through the gate 28 (YES in S201), the gate passing process described below is performed (S202). On the other hand, if the gaming ball has not passed through the gate 28 (NO in S201), the gate passing process (S202) is skipped and the process proceeds to step S203.

[0106] In step S203, it is determined whether or not a game ball has entered the second starting hole 21, that is, whether or not a game ball has been detected by the second starting hole sensor 21a (S203). If a game ball has not entered the second starting hole 21 (NO in S203), the process proceeds to step S209. If a game ball has entered the second starting hole 21 (YES in S203), it is determined whether or not the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 (the number of reserved balls for second chart, specifically, the value of the counter for counting the number of reserved balls for second chart provided in RAM 84) has reached "4" (upper limit number) (S204). If the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 has reached "4" (YES in S204), the process proceeds to step S209. If the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 is less than "4" (NO in S204), 1 is added to the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 (S205). The upper limit for the number of reserved balls in Special Chart 2 is not limited to "4" and can be changed as necessary.

[0107] Next, a special chart 2 related random number acquisition process is performed (S206). In the special chart 2 related random number acquisition process (S206), the jackpot random number counter value (label-TRND-A), the hit type random number counter value (label-TRND-AS), the reach random number counter value (label-TRND-RC), and the fluctuation pattern random number counter value (label-TRND-T1) are acquired (i.e., the random number group shown in FIG. 13(A) is acquired).

[0108] Next, a second start winning command identification process is performed (S207). In the second start winning command identification process (S207), a start winning command (hereinafter also referred to as a "second start winning command") is identified using a start winning command identification table shown in FIG. 17 based on the random number group acquired in step S206. As described above, the identified second start winning command includes hit / miss information, hit type information, start opening information, special reserved ball number information, reach information, SP reach information, etc. The identified second start winning command is set in the output buffer of RAM 84.

[0109] Then, the game control microcomputer 81 stores the random number group (special chart 2 related random number) shown in Fig. 13(A) acquired in step S206 in a storage area corresponding to the current number of reserved balls for special chart 2 in the second special chart reservation storage unit 85b (S208). Specifically, when the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 is "1", the special chart 2 related random number is stored in the first storage area of ​​the second special chart reservation storage unit 85b, when the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 is "2", the special chart 2 related random number is stored in the second storage area of ​​the second special chart reservation storage unit 85b, when the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 is "3", the special chart 2 related random number is stored in the third storage area of ​​the second special chart reservation storage unit 85b, and when the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 is "4", the special chart 2 related random number is stored in the fourth storage area of ​​the second special chart reservation storage unit 85b (see Fig. 10(B)).

[0110] Next, in the sensor detection process (S104), it is determined whether or not a game ball has entered the first starting hole 20, that is, whether or not a game ball has been detected by the first starting hole sensor 20a (S209). If a game ball has not entered the first starting hole 20 (NO in S209), the process is terminated. However, if a game ball has entered the first starting hole 20 (YES in S209), it is determined whether or not the number of reserved balls in the special chart 1 (the number of reserved first special charts, specifically, the value of the counter that counts the number of reserved first special charts provided in the RAM 84) has reached "4" (upper limit number) (S210). Then, if the number of reserved balls in the special chart 1 has reached "4" (YES in S210), the process is terminated. However, if the number of reserved balls in the special chart 1 is less than "4" (NO in S210), "1" is added to the number of reserved balls in the special chart 1 (S211). The maximum number of reserved balls for Special Chart 1 is not limited to "4" and can be changed as necessary.

[0111] Next, a special chart 1 related random number acquisition process is performed (S212). In the special chart 1 related random number acquisition process (S212), the value of the jackpot random number counter (value of label-TRND-A), the value of the hit type random number counter (value of label-TRND-AS), the value of the reach random number counter (value of label-TRND-RC), and the value of the fluctuation pattern random number counter (value of label-TRND-T1) are acquired (i.e., the random number group shown in FIG. 13(A) is acquired).

[0112] Next, a first start winning command identification process is performed (S213). In the first start winning command identification process (S213), a start winning command (hereinafter also referred to as the "first start winning command") is identified using a start winning command identification table shown in FIG. 17 based on the random value group acquired in step S212. As described above, the identified first start winning command includes hit / miss information, hit type information, start opening information, special reserved ball number information, reach information, SP reach information, etc. The identified first start winning command is set in the output buffer of RAM 84.

[0113] Then, the game control microcomputer 81 stores the random number group (special chart 1 related random number) shown in Fig. 13 (A) acquired in step S212 in a storage area corresponding to the current number of reserved balls of the special chart 1 in the first special chart reservation storage unit 85a (S214), and ends this process. Specifically, when the number of reserved balls of the special chart 1 is "1", the special chart 1 related random number is stored in the first storage area of ​​the first special chart reservation storage unit 85a, when the number of reserved balls of the special chart 1 is "2", the special chart 1 related random number is stored in the second storage area of ​​the first special chart reservation storage unit 85a, when the number of reserved balls of the special chart 1 is "3", the special chart 1 related random number is stored in the third storage area of ​​the first special chart reservation storage unit 85a, and when the number of reserved balls of the special chart 1 is "4", the special chart 1 related random number is stored in the fourth storage area of ​​the first special chart reservation storage unit 85a (see Fig. 10 (A)).

[0114] [Gate Passing Process] As shown in FIG. 21, in the gate passing process (S202), it is determined whether the number of reserved normal symbol balls (the number of reserved normal symbols, specifically, the value of the counter that counts the number of reserved normal symbols provided in RAM 84) is 4 or more (S301), and if the number of reserved normal symbol balls is 4 or more (YES in S301), the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the number of reserved normal symbol balls is not 4 or more (NO in S301), "1" is added to the number of reserved normal symbol balls (S302), and a normal symbol random number acquisition process is performed (S303). In the normal symbol random number acquisition process (S303), the normal symbol random number counter value (the value of label-TRND-H, see FIG. 13(B)) is acquired, and the acquired random number value is stored in a memory area of ​​the normal symbol reservation memory unit 86 of RAM 84 according to the current number of reserved normal symbol balls.

[0115] [Normal operation processing] The game control microcomputer 81 performs the normal operation processing (S105) following the sensor detection processing (S104) (see FIG. 19). As shown in FIG. 22, in the normal operation processing (S105), first, it is determined whether the electric chute 22 is in operation (S401). If the electric chute 22 is not in operation (NO in S401), it is then determined whether or not a normal symbol is being displayed in a stopped state (S402). If the normal symbol is not being displayed in a stopped state (NO in S402), it is then determined whether or not a variable normal symbol is being displayed (S403). If the variable normal symbol is not being displayed (NO in S403), it is then determined whether or not the number of reserved balls for the normal symbol is "0" (S404). If the number of reserved balls for the normal symbol is "0" (YES in S404), this processing is terminated.

[0116] In step S404, if the number of reserved balls for the normal symbol is not "0" (NO in S404), a hit determination process is performed (S405). In the hit determination process (S405), the normal symbol random number counter value (the value of label-TRND-H) stored in the normal symbol reserved memory unit 86 is read out, and it is determined whether or not there is a hit based on the normal symbol hit determination table shown in FIG. 14(C). Then, a pattern determination process is performed (S406) in which normal symbol stop symbol data according to the hit determination result is set in a predetermined memory area of ​​the RAM 84. That is, in the pattern determination process (S406), if there is a "miss", data corresponding to a "normal symbol miss symbol" is set, and if there is a "win", data corresponding to a "normal symbol win symbol" is set.

[0117] Next, the game control microcomputer 81 performs a normal symbol variation time determination process (S407). In the normal symbol variation time determination process (S407), by referring to the normal symbol variation pattern selection table shown in FIG. 14(D), if the game state is in the time-saving state, a normal symbol variation pattern with a normal symbol variation time of 1 second is selected. On the other hand, if the game state is not in the time-saving state, a normal symbol variation pattern with a normal symbol variation time of 30 seconds is selected.

[0118] Next, the game control microcomputer 81 decrements the number of reserved balls of normal symbols by 1 (S408). Then, the storage location (memory area) of each reserved normal symbol in the reserved normal symbol memory unit 86 is shifted from the current position to the side from which it is read, and the memory area corresponding to the fourth reserved normal symbol in the reserved normal symbol memory unit 86 (the memory area farthest from the side from which it is read) is cleared (S409). In this way, the reserved normal symbols are consumed in the order in which they were reserved. After that, the game control microcomputer 81 starts displaying the variation of the normal symbols in the normal symbol variation pattern selected in step S407 (S410). In addition, in conjunction with this, a normal symbol variation start command is set to inform the sub-control board 90 of the start of the variation of the normal symbols.

[0119] If the normal symbol is being displayed in a variable manner in step S403 (YES in S403), it is then determined whether the normal symbol variation time has elapsed (S411), and if not, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the time has elapsed (YES in S411), the normal symbol variation display is stopped with the display result (normal winning symbol or normal losing symbol) according to the determination result of the normal symbol random number (S412). Then, a normal symbol variation stop command is set to inform the sub-control board 90 that the normal symbol variation has stopped (S413), and the normal symbol stop time is set (S414), and the process is terminated.

[0120] Also, if the normal symbol is being displayed in the above-mentioned step S402 (YES in S402), it is then determined whether the stop time of the normal symbol set in step S414 has elapsed (S415), and if it has not elapsed, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if it has elapsed (YES in S415), it is determined whether the normal symbol stop symbol data of the normal winning symbol has been set (S416), and if it is not the data of the normal winning symbol (i.e., if it is not a win (NO in S416)), the process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is the data of the normal winning symbol (i.e., if it is a win (YES in S416)), the opening pattern of the electric chute 22 is set (S417). In detail, if the time-saving state is in effect, the opening pattern during the time-saving state (see electric chute opening TBL2 in FIG. 16) is set as the opening pattern of the electric chute 22. On the other hand, if the game is in a non-time-saving state, the opening pattern during the non-time-saving state (see electric chute opening TBL1 in FIG. 16) is set as the opening pattern of the electric chute 22. Then, the electric chute 22 is operated according to the opening pattern set in step S417 (S418).

[0121] If the electric chute 22 is in operation in step S401 (YES in S401), it is then determined whether the operation time of the electric chute 22 has elapsed (S419), and if not, the process ends. On the other hand, if the time has elapsed (YES in S419), the operation of the electric chute 22 is ended (S420).

[0122] [Special Action Processing] The game control microcomputer 81 performs the special action processing (S106) following the normal action processing (S105) (see FIG. 19). As shown in FIG. 23, in the special action processing (S106), the processing related to the special symbol display 41 and the big winning device 31 is divided into four stages, and each stage is assigned a "special action status 1, 2, 3, 4." Then, the game control microcomputer 81 performs special symbol waiting processing (S1302) when the "special operation status" is "1" (YES in S1301), performs special symbol changing processing (S1304) when the "special operation status" is "2" (NO in S1301, YES in S1303), performs special symbol determination processing (S1306) when the "special operation status" is "3" (NO in both S1301 and S1303, YES in S1305), and performs special electric role processing (S1307) when the "special operation status" is "4" (NO in all S1301, S1303, and S1305). The special operation status is initially set to "1".

[0123] [Special symbol waiting process] As shown in FIG. 24, in the special symbol waiting process (S1302), first, it is determined whether the number of reserved balls in the second starting port 21 (i.e., the number of reserved balls in the special symbol 2) is "0" (S1401). If the number of reserved balls in the special symbol 2 is "0" (YES in S1401), that is, if there is no memory of the random number counter value group acquired due to winning in the second starting port 21, it is determined whether the number of reserved balls in the first starting port 20 (i.e., the number of reserved balls in the special symbol 1) is "0" (S1407). Then, if the number of reserved balls in the special symbol 1 is also "0" (YES in S1407), that is, if there is no memory of the random number counter value group acquired due to winning in the first starting port 20, it is determined whether the customer waiting flag is ON (S1415). If it is ON (YES in S1415), this process ends; if it is not ON (NO in S1415), a customer waiting command is set in the output buffer of RAM 84 (S1416), and the customer waiting flag is set ON (S1417), and this process ends.

[0124] In step S1401, if the number of reserved balls for the special chart 2 is not "0" (NO in S1401), that is, if there is one or more random number counter value groups (reserved information for the special chart 2) acquired due to winning the second starting hole 21, the game control microcomputer 81 performs a special chart 2 big win determination process (S1402) and a special chart 2 variation pattern selection process (S1403) described later. After that, the game control microcomputer 81 decrements the number of reserved balls for the special chart 2 by 1 (S1404). Then, the storage location (storage area) of various counter values ​​in the second special chart reservation memory unit 85b is shifted by one from the current position to the side to be read, and the memory area corresponding to the first reserved ball in the second special chart reservation memory unit 85b is cleared (S1405). Next, the game control microcomputer 81 executes a special chart 2 variation start process (S1406) and proceeds to step S1413. In the special symbol 2 variation start process (S1406), the special operation status is set to "2" and the variation start command is set in the output buffer of the RAM 84 to start the variation display of the second special symbol. The variation start command (also called the special symbol 2 variation start command) set in the special symbol 2 variation start process (S1406) includes information on the special symbol stop symbol data set in the special symbol 2 big win determination process (S1402) and information on the variation pattern set in the special symbol 2 variation pattern selection process (S1403) (information including information on the variation time).

[0125] In addition, if the number of reserved balls for special chart 2 is "0" but the number of reserved balls for special chart 1 is not "0" (YES in S1401 and NO in S1407), that is, if there is no reserved information for special chart 2 but there is one or more random number counter value groups acquired due to winning in the first starting hole 20 (reserved information for special chart 1), the special chart 1 big win determination process (S1408) and the special chart 1 variation pattern selection process (S1409) described later are performed. After that, the game control microcomputer 81 decrements the number of reserved balls for special chart 1 by 1 (S1410). Then, the storage location (storage area) of various counter values ​​in the first special chart reservation memory unit 85a is shifted by one from the current position to the side to be read, and the memory area corresponding to the fourth reserved ball in the first special chart reservation memory unit 85a (the memory area farthest from the side to be read) is cleared (S1411). In this way, the first special chart reservations are consumed in the order in which they were reserved. Next, the game control microcomputer 81 executes the special symbol 1 variation start process (S1412) and proceeds to step S1413. In the special symbol 1 variation start process (S1412), the special operation status is set to "2" and a variation start command is set in the output buffer of the RAM 84 to start the variation display of the first special symbol. The variation start command (also called the special symbol 1 variation start command) set in the special symbol 1 variation start process (S1412) includes information on the special symbol stop symbol data set in the special symbol 1 big win determination process (S1408) and information on the variation pattern set in the special symbol 1 variation pattern selection process (S1409) (information including information on the variation time).

[0126] When the process proceeds to step S1413, it is determined whether the customer waiting flag is ON or not, and if it is ON, the customer waiting flag is turned OFF (S1414), and the process ends. As described above, in this embodiment, the variable display of the special pattern based on the first special pattern reservation is performed only when the second special pattern reservation is "0" (YES in S1401). In other words, the consumption of the second special pattern reservation is executed in priority to the consumption of the first special pattern reservation.

[0127] [Special chart 2 big win determination process (special chart 1 big win determination process)] The special chart 2 big win determination process (S1402) and the special chart 1 big win determination process (S1408) have the same process flow, so they will be described together based on FIG. 25. As shown in FIG. 25, in the special chart 2 big win determination process (S1402) or the special chart 1 big win determination process (S1408), first, the big win random number counter value (value of label-TRND-A) is read as a determination value (S1501). In detail, in the special chart 2 big win determination process (S1402), the big win random number counter value stored in the first storage area (see FIG. 10(B)) of the second special chart reserved storage unit 85b of the RAM 84 is read. In addition, in the special chart 1 big win determination process (S1408), the big win random number counter value stored in the first storage area (see FIG. 10(A)) of the first special chart reserved storage unit 85a of the RAM 84 is read.

[0128] Next, the jackpot determination table (FIG. 14(A)) is set (S1502). Next, it is determined whether the probability flag is ON, i.e., whether the state is high probability or not (S1503). Then, if the state is not high probability (NO in S1503), i.e., if the state is normal probability state (non-high probability state), it is determined whether the jackpot is a jackpot or not based on the table for non-high probability state (jackpot determination value is "0" to "218") in the jackpot determination table (FIG. 14(A)) (S1504). On the other hand, if the state is high probability (YES in S1503), it is determined whether the jackpot is a jackpot or not based on the table for high probability state (jackpot determination value is "0" to "1499") in the jackpot determination table (FIG. 14(A)) (S1505).

[0129] If the result of the jackpot determination (S1504, S1505) is "jackpot", the win type random number counter value (value of label-TRND-AS) is read out and the win type is determined based on the jackpot type determination table shown in FIG. 12(A) (S1506). After determining the win type (S1506), the jackpot flag is turned ON (S1507), and the special stop symbol data corresponding to the win type (see FIG. 12(B)) is set in the win type buffer provided in RAM 84 (S1508) to end the process. On the other hand, if the result of the jackpot determination (S1504, S1505) is "miss", the special stop symbol data corresponding to the miss symbol is set (S1508) to end the process.

[0130] [Special chart 2 variation pattern selection process (special chart 1 variation pattern selection process)] The special chart 2 variation pattern selection process (S1403) and the special chart 1 variation pattern selection process (S1409) have the same processing flow, so they will be explained together based on Figures 26 and 27. As shown in Figure 26, in the special chart 2 variation pattern selection process (S1403) or the special chart 1 variation pattern selection process (S1409), first, it is determined whether the game state is in a time-saving state (whether the time-saving flag is ON or not) (S1601).

[0131] If the time-saving state is not reached (NO in S1601), that is, if the state is not in the time-saving state, it is next determined whether the jackpot flag is ON (S1602). If it is ON (YES in S1602), the non-time-saving state jackpot normal table (the portion of the special chart fluctuation pattern determination table shown in FIG. 15 that corresponds to the non-time-saving state and the jackpot) is referenced, and a fluctuation pattern is selected based on the fluctuation pattern random number counter value (the value of label-TRND-T1) (S1603). As shown in FIG. 15, once the fluctuation pattern is determined, the fluctuation time is also determined.

[0132] In this pachinko game machine 1, a variation pattern is selected so that an SP reach (super reach), which has a longer variation time after the reach than a normal reach, can be executed. In the SP reach, the allocation rate of various variation patterns is set so that the winning expectation rate (expectation rate of winning the jackpot) is higher than in the normal reach (see FIG. 15). Therefore, by looking at the SP reach, which has a long variation time, the player can understand that the winning expectation rate is higher than in the normal reach.

[0133] In step S1602 shown in FIG. 26, if the jackpot flag is not ON, it is determined whether the reach random number counter value (the value of label-TRND-RC) is a reach establishment random number value or not (S1604). As shown in FIG. 14(B), the reach establishment random number value is "0" to "13" in the non-time-saving state, and "0" to "5" in the time-saving state. In other words, the time-saving state makes it more difficult to reach when missing than the non-time-saving state. This is to speed up the consumption of special reserved charts by selecting more non-reach misses with short fluctuation times in the time-saving state.

[0134] If the reach random number counter value is a reach establishment random number value (YES in S1604), that is, if there is a reach but a miss, a reach with a miss table during non-time-saving state (the portion of the special chart fluctuation pattern determination table shown in Figure 15 that corresponds to the non-time-saving state and reach with a miss) is referenced and a fluctuation pattern is selected based on the fluctuation pattern random number counter value (S1605).

[0135] On the other hand, if the reach random number counter value is not a reach establishment random number value (NO in S1604), that is, in the case of a miss without a reach, a non-time-saving state no-reach miss table (the part of the special pattern fluctuation pattern determination table shown in FIG. 15 that corresponds to the non-time-saving state and a miss without a reach) is referenced and a fluctuation pattern is selected based on the fluctuation pattern random number counter value (S1606). In this case of a miss without a reach, a function of shortening fluctuation according to the number of reserved balls is activated. In other words, when the number of reserved balls of the special pattern is "3" or "4", a fluctuation pattern with a shorter fluctuation time is selected compared to when the number of reserved balls of the special pattern is "0" to "2".

[0136] Also, in step S1601, if it is determined that the game state is in the time-saving state (YES in S1601), as shown in Figure 27, processing (S1607 to S1611) is performed in the same manner as steps S1602 to S1606 above, except that the special chart fluctuation pattern determination table to be referenced is the table in the time-saving state (the portion of the special chart fluctuation pattern determination table shown in Figure 15 that corresponds to the time-saving state).

[0137] That is, if it is a big win, a variation pattern is selected based on the variation pattern random number counter value by referring to the part in the time-saving state and the part corresponding to the big win in Fig. 15 (S1608). Also, if it is a close miss, a variation pattern is selected based on the variation pattern random number counter value by referring to the part in the time-saving state and the part corresponding to the close miss in Fig. 15 (S1610). Also, if it is a no-reach miss, a variation pattern is selected based on the variation pattern random number counter value by referring to the part in the time-saving state and the part corresponding to the no-reach miss in Fig. 15 (S1611).

[0138] In addition, in the special chart fluctuation pattern judgment table during the time-saving state (the part of the special chart fluctuation pattern judgment table shown in Figure 15 that corresponds to the time-saving state), the function of shortening fluctuation according to the number of reserved balls at the time of no reach and miss works when the number of reserved balls is "2" to "4". In other words, shortening fluctuation is more likely to be selected than in a non-time-saving state. Also, the fluctuation time for shortening fluctuation is shorter in the time-saving state than in a non-time-saving state. In other words, the special chart fluctuation pattern judgment table during the time-saving state is a table in which the fluctuation time is shorter than that in the special chart fluctuation pattern judgment table during a non-time-saving state.

[0139] After the variation pattern is selected as described above, the selected variation pattern is set (S1612) as shown in Fig. 26, and this process ends. The information on the variation pattern set in step S1612 is included in the variation start command set in step S1406 or S1412 in the special symbol waiting process (S1302), and is sent to the sub-control board 90 by the output process (S101).

[0140] [Special symbol variation processing] As shown in Fig. 28, in the special symbol variation processing (S1304), first, it is determined whether the special symbol variation time (variation time determined according to the variation pattern selected in step S1403 or S1409, see Fig. 15) has elapsed (S1801). If it has not elapsed (NO in S1801), this processing is immediately ended. This allows the variation display of the special symbol to continue.

[0141] On the other hand, if the variation time has elapsed (YES in S1801), a variation stop command is set (S1802) and the special operation status is set to "3" (S1803). Then, other processing such as stopping the special symbol variation display at a symbol (a big win symbol or a losing symbol) according to the set special symbol stop symbol data is performed (S1804), and this processing ends.

[0142] [Special Symbol Determination Process] As shown in FIG. 29, in the special symbol determination process (S1306), first, it is determined whether or not the stop time of the special symbol (the stop time determined according to the variation pattern selected in step S1403 or S1409, see FIG. 15) has elapsed (S1901). If it has not elapsed (NO in S1901), this process is immediately terminated. This allows the stopped display of the special symbol to continue. On the other hand, if the stop time has elapsed (YES in S1901), the game status management process described below is performed (S1902).

[0143] Next, it is determined whether the jackpot flag is ON (S1903). If the jackpot flag is ON (YES in S1903), an opening pattern (see FIG. 12(B) for details) corresponding to the type of jackpot won is set (S1904). At this time, the value of a round counter that counts the number of unit opening games (round games) executed during the jackpot game is set to the number of rounds corresponding to the type of jackpot won. The setting of the opening pattern (setting of data corresponding to the opening pattern) may be performed for each round.

[0144] Following step S1904, the game control microcomputer 81 performs a game state reset process (S1905). In the game state reset process (S1905), first, if the probability variable flag is ON, the probability variable flag is turned OFF, and if the time-saving flag is ON, the time-saving flag is turned OFF. In other words, during the execution of the jackpot game, the state is controlled to a non-high probability state and a non-time-saving state. After that, in order to start the jackpot game, a jackpot opening command is set (S1906), and the opening of the jackpot game is started (S1907). Then, the special operation status is set to "4" (S1908), and this process ends.

[0145] Also, if the big win flag is not ON in step S1903 (NO in S1903), the big win game does not start, so the special action status is set to "1" (S1909) and this process ends.

[0146] [Game Status Management Process] As shown in FIG. 30, in the game status management process (S1902), first, it is determined whether the time-saving flag is ON or not (S2001). If it is ON (YES in S2001), the value of the time-saving counter that counts the number of times the special pattern changes during the time-saving state is decremented by 1 (S2002), and it is determined whether the value of the time-saving counter is "0" or not (S2003). If it is "0" (YES in S2003), the time-saving flag is turned OFF (S2004), and the process proceeds to step S2005. If the determination result of step S2001 or S2003 is NO, the process immediately proceeds to step S2005. In step S2005, a game status designation command including information on the current game status (information on whether the probability change flag and the time-saving flag are ON or OFF), information on the value of the time-saving counter, etc. is set in the output buffer of RAM 84, and this process ends.

[0147] [Special Electric Device Processing (Big Win Game)] As shown in Fig. 31, in the special electric device processing (S1307), first, it is determined whether or not the big win end flag is ON (S2201). The big win end flag is a flag that indicates that all the big win openings 30 have been opened in the big win game being executed.

[0148] If the big win end flag is not ON (NO in S2201), it is determined whether the big win opening 30 is being opened (S2202). If it is not being opened (NO in S2202), it is determined whether it is time to open the big win opening 30, that is, whether the opening time of the big win game has passed and it is time to start opening in the first round of play, or whether the interval time (closing time) until the once closed big win opening 30 is reopened has passed and it is time to start opening (S2203).

[0149] If the result of the determination in step S2203 is NO, the process ends. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S2203 is YES, the big prize opening 30 is opened according to the opening pattern (see FIG. 12(B)) corresponding to the type of the big win (S2204).

[0150] In the next step S2205, a round designation command transmission determination process is performed. In the round designation command transmission determination process (S2205), it is determined whether the opening of the big prize opening 30 in step S2204 is the first opening during one round of play, and if so, a round designation command including information on the number of rounds of the big prize game being played is set in the output buffer of the RAM 84. In this embodiment, the big prize opening 30 is not opened multiple times during one round of play. Therefore, in this step S2205, a round designation command is always set.

[0151] In step S2202 of the special electric device processing (S1307), if the large prize opening 30 is open (YES in S2202), it is determined whether or not the closing condition for the large prize opening 30 is satisfied (S2206). In this embodiment, the closing condition is that either the number of winnings in the large prize opening 30 in that round of play has reached the specified maximum number of winnings (8 winnings per round in this embodiment), or the time to close the large prize opening 30 has arrived (i.e., a specified opening time (see FIG. 12(B)) has elapsed since the large prize opening 30 was opened) has been satisfied. Then, if the closing condition for the large prize opening 30 has not been satisfied (NO in S2206), the processing is terminated.

[0152] On the other hand, if the closing condition for the large prize opening 30 is met (YES in S2206), the large prize opening 30 is closed (blocked) (S2207). Then, it is determined whether or not one round of play ends with the closing in step S2207 (S2008). If one round of play does not end (NO in S2208), this process ends. On the other hand, if one round of play ends (YES in S2208), the round counter value is decremented by 1 (S2209), and it is determined whether or not the round counter value is "0" (S2210). If it is not "0" (NO in S2210), the process ends as it is to start the next round of play.

[0153] On the other hand, if it is "0" (YES in S2210), the jackpot ending command is set (S2211) as the jackpot ending process to end the jackpot game, and the jackpot ending is started (S2212). Then, the jackpot ending flag is set (S2213), and the process ends.

[0154] Also, if the jackpot end flag is ON in step S2201 (YES in S2201), the final round has ended, so it is determined whether the jackpot ending time has elapsed (S2214). If the ending time has not elapsed (NO in S2214), the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the ending time has elapsed (YES in S2214), the jackpot end flag is turned OFF (S2215), the jackpot flag is turned OFF (S2216), and the special operation status is set to "1" (S2217). As a result, in the next main side timer interrupt process (S005), the special symbol standby process (S1302) is executed again as the special operation process (see FIG. 23). After that, the game state setting process (S2218) described later is performed, and this process is terminated.

[0155] [Game Status Setting Process] As shown in FIG. 32, in the game status setting process (S2218), first, it is determined whether the type of jackpot is a probability jackpot (stopping pattern is special pattern 1_jackpot pattern 1 or special pattern 2_jackpot pattern 1, see FIG. 12(A)) (S2301). If it is not a probability jackpot (NO in S2301), the time-saving flag is turned ON (S2305), and the time-saving counter is set to "100" (S2306), and the process proceeds to step S2307. As a result, the game status after this jackpot game becomes a normal probability state, a time-saving state, and a high base state (i.e., a low probability high base state). This low probability high base state ends when either of the following conditions is met: the variable display of the special pattern is performed 100 times, or the next jackpot is won.

[0156] On the other hand, if a jackpot is determined to be a sure-win in step S2301, the sure-win flag is turned ON (S2302) and the time-saving flag is turned ON (S2303). Then, the time-saving counter is set to "10000" (S2304), and the process proceeds to step S2307. As a result, the game state after the current jackpot game becomes a high probability state, time-saving state, and high base state (i.e., high probability, high base state). This high probability, high base state will essentially continue until the next jackpot is won. In other words, the sure-win flag will not be turned OFF until the next jackpot game starts. And since it is almost impossible for the special symbol to be displayed in a variable manner until the time-saving counter value becomes "0" from "10000", the time-saving flag will not be turned OFF until the next jackpot game starts.

[0157] In step S2307, a game state designation command including information on the current game state (information on whether the special bonus flag and the time-saving flag are ON or OFF), information on the value of the time-saving counter, etc. is set in the output buffer of RAM 84, and this process is terminated.

[0158] 7. Changes in icon appearance on the board Before explaining the board icon change presentation that is a feature of this embodiment, the types of icons 9 (the icon 9, the reserved icon 9) displayed in this pachinko game machine 1 will be explained based on Fig. 33. As shown in Fig. 33(A), the icons 9 include a normal icon 9a with a red triangle in a yellow circle. The normal icon 9a is the icon 9 displayed as the default, and is also called the normal mode icon 9 or the default icon 9.

[0159] As shown in Fig. 34, when the normal icon 9a is displayed, the winning expectation rate (the winning expectation rate of the jackpot) corresponding to the normal icon 9a is set to 3% or less. In other words, a player who sees the normal icon 9a is made to understand that the possibility of winning the jackpot in the jackpot determination process corresponding to the normal icon 9a is 3% or less. The winning expectation rate suggested by the icon 9 is appropriately set based on the type of the variation pattern, the distribution rate of the variation pattern, etc.

[0160] As shown in Fig. 33(B), the icon 9 includes a blue icon 9b with a red triangle in a blue circle. The blue icon 9b can be said to be an icon in which the circular part (part of the display mode) of the normal icon 9a has changed to blue. As shown in Fig. 34, when the blue icon 9b is displayed, the winning expectation corresponding to the blue icon 9b is set to 10%.

[0161] As shown in Fig. 33(C), the icon 9 includes a green icon 9c with a red triangle in a green circle. The green icon 9c can be said to be an icon in which the circular part of the normal icon 9a has changed to green. As shown in Fig. 34, when the green icon 9c is displayed, the winning expectation corresponding to the green icon 9c is set to 20%.

[0162] As shown in Fig. 33(D), the icon 9 includes a red icon 9d, which is a red triangle in a red circle. The red icon 9d can be said to be an icon in which the circular part of the normal icon 9a has changed to red. As shown in Fig. 34, when the red icon 9d is displayed, the winning expectation corresponding to the red icon 9d is set to 40%.

[0163] As shown in FIG. 33(E), the icon 9 has four letters "TOUCH" and a touch icon 9e showing a left hand in a diamond shape. The touch icon 9e is significantly different from the display mode of the normal icon 9a, and indicates in advance that a touch icon change performance, which will be described later, will be executed. The touch icon 9e and the touch icon change performance will be described in detail later. As shown in FIG. 34, when the touch icon 9e is displayed, the winning expectation rate corresponding to the touch icon 9e is set to be 20% or more.

[0164] Also, as shown in FIG. 33(F), the icon 9 has a LOGO icon 9f showing the letter "L" and a base in a truncated cone shape. The LOGO icon 9f is significantly different from the display mode of the normal icon 9a, and the letters shown in the truncated cone shape are switched in the order of "L" ⇒ "O" ⇒ "G" ⇒ "O" ⇒ "L" ⇒ ... every predetermined short time. In other words, the LOGO icon 9f displays the name ("LOGO") of the transformed main character in this pachinko game machine 1 as time passes. As shown in FIG. 34, when the LOGO icon 9f is displayed, the winning expectation corresponding to the LOGO icon 9f is set to 60.

[0165] As shown in FIG. 33(G), the icon 9 has a LOGO sword icon 9g, which shows a sword (sword image KG described later) used by the main character ("LOGO") stabbing into the shape of the normal icon 9a (a shape in which a red triangle is shown in a yellow circle). The LOGO sword icon 9g is significantly different from the display mode of the normal icon 9a, and may be displayed by executing a LOGO sword icon change performance described later. The LOGO sword icon 9g and the LOGO sword icon change performance will be described in detail later. As shown in FIG. 34, when the LOGO sword icon 9g is displayed, the winning expectation corresponding to the LOGO sword icon 9g is set to 70%.

[0166] As shown in FIG. 33(H), the icon 9 includes a rainbow icon 9h, which is a rainbow circle with a red triangle inside. The rainbow icon 9h can be said to be an icon in which the circular part of the normal icon 9a changes to rainbow colors. As shown in FIG. 34, when the rainbow icon 9h is displayed, the winning expectation rate corresponding to the rainbow icon 9h is set to 100%. In other words, a player who sees the rainbow icon 9h knows that the big win has been confirmed in the big win determination process corresponding to the rainbow icon 9h.

[0167] Thus, in this embodiment, the types of icons 9 include a blue icon 9b, a green icon 9c, a red icon 9d, and a rainbow icon 9h, which have the same shape as the normal icon 9a but different colors (expectation factor). These icons 9 suggest that the winning expectancy increases (high expectation mode) in the order of normal mode (default) ⇒ blue ⇒ green ⇒ red ⇒ rainbow, and can be called icons of standard modes. On the other hand, the types of icons 9 include a touch icon 9e, a LOGO icon 9f, and a LOGO sword icon 9g, which have shapes different from the normal icon 9a. These icons can be called icons of special modes.

[0168] Here, in this pachinko game machine 1, an icon change performance may be executed as in the past. The icon change performance (specific notice performance, specific performance) is a performance that changes the display mode of the icon 9 displayed in the display area 17x, or the display mode of the reserved icon 9 displayed in each reserved display area 17a to 17d, to a display mode (high expectation mode) that suggests that the winning expectation rate will increase. For example, it is assumed that a normal icon 9a is displayed in the display area 17x. After that, the normal icon 9a displayed in the display area 17x changes to, for example, a red icon 9d. In this way, by executing the icon change performance, it is possible to make the player understand that the winning expectation rate has increased from 3% or less to 40%, and to give him a sense of elation. The timing at which the icon change performance is executed includes not only the timing at which the icon 9 shifts (the timing at which the variable display of the performance pattern 8 starts), but also various timings during the execution of the variable performance. In addition, when the icon 9 displayed when the game ball enters the first starting hole 20 or the second starting hole 21 (at the time of winning) is an icon other than the normal icon 9a, this is also an icon change effect.

[0169] The performance control microcomputer 91 may determine the transition (change scenario) of the display mode of the icon 9 in the reserved display areas 17a to 17d and the display area 17x based on receiving a start winning command (see FIG. 17). In this case, the performance control microcomputer 91 changes the display mode of the icon 9 based on the determined change scenario, so that an icon change performance is executed as a pre-reading notice performance. In addition, the performance control microcomputer 91 may determine the transition (change scenario) of the display mode of the icon 9 in the display area 17x based on receiving a change start command including information on a change pattern (see FIG. 15). In this case, the performance control microcomputer 91 changes the display mode of the icon 9 based on the determined change scenario, so that an icon change performance is executed during the execution of the change performance (during the change). Detailed control when the icon change performance is executed is the same as in the past, so a description will be omitted.

[0170] In the above-mentioned icon change presentation, the player only pays attention to whether the display mode of the icon 9 displayed in the display area 17x or the display mode of the reserved icon 9 displayed in each reserved display area 17a to 17d changes. Therefore, the points that the player pays attention to are limited to the display area 17x and each reserved display area 17a to 17d, and there is room for improvement in the presentation that changes the display mode of the icon 9 (icon change presentation).

[0171] In this embodiment, a board icon change effect may be executed as an effect for changing the display mode of the icon 9 to provide a novel gaming interest. The board icon change effect is an effect in which a pseudo icon ball image 9k, which is substantially the same shape as the icon 9, moves from the position where the icon 9 is displayed, and when this pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, the icon 9 that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move is changed to an icon with a high expectation mode that suggests a high probability of winning. An example of the effect when the board icon change effect is executed will be described below.

[0172] As shown in FIG. 35, when the board icon change performance is executed, first, a special character image HC showing a special character is displayed in association with the reserved icon 9 displayed in the reserved display area 17a to 17d. The special character image HC clearly shows the reserved icon 9 that triggered the execution of the board icon change performance. In the performance example shown in FIG. 35, since the special character image HC is displayed in association with the normal icon 9a displayed in the third reserved display area 17c, the board icon change performance is started for the normal icon 9a displayed in the third reserved display area 17c. In this performance example, a daytime background image Ha indicating that the game is controlled to a normal game state is displayed on the display screen 7a, and the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R are displayed in a variable manner.

[0173] When the board icon change performance starts, as shown in FIG. 36, a pseudo icon ball image 9k is displayed by jumping out from the position of the normal icon 9a to which the special character image HC is attached, that is, from the third reserved display area 17c, toward the lower left. The pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) is an image in which a triangle is shown in a circle and a flame-like effect part are combined, and is yellow overall. In other words, the shape of the triangle shown in the circle in the pseudo icon ball image 9k is the same as the normal icon 9a displayed in the third reserved display area 17c, and it can be said that they are basically the same shape. This makes it look like the pseudo icon ball image 9k has separated and moved from the normal icon 9a displayed in the third reserved display area 17c. And the flame-like effect part in the pseudo icon ball image 9k is intended to give the impression of jumping out from the icon 9. Thus, the shape of the pseudo icon ball image 9k is substantially the same as the shape of the icon 9 (normal icon 9a) that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move. After the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves from the third pending display area 17c toward the lower left, when it reaches the edge of the display screen 7a, the pseudo icon ball image 9k becomes invisible.

[0174] When the board icon change effect starts, the normal icon 9a that triggered the movement of the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes to gray, as shown in Fig. 36. That is, the normal icon 9a with a red triangle in a yellow circle changes to a change standby icon 9j with a gray triangle in a gray circle. In this way, the normal icon 9a changes to the change standby icon 9j, which clearly indicates that the pseudo icon ball image 9k has moved and that it is the target of the board icon change effect.

[0175] When the board icon change performance starts, as shown in Fig. 36, a first pattern nail image PH1 imitating eleven nails is displayed on the upper side of the display screen 7a. The first pattern nail image PH1 (display object of a first specific aspect) changes the direction in which the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves, and shows each nail in a first nail arrangement pattern, which is a predetermined position. When the board icon change performance starts, in addition to the first pattern nail image PH1 being displayed, a second pattern nail image PH2 imitating eleven nails (display object of a second specific aspect) may be displayed (see Fig. 46), as described later.

[0176] When the board icon change performance starts, as shown in Fig. 36, a normal gate image GA1 is displayed in the approximate center of the display screen 7a below the first pattern nail image PH1. The normal gate image GA1 (passing area of ​​the first mode) is for indicating whether or not the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through. When the board icon change performance starts, in addition to the normal gate image GA1 being displayed, a special gate image GA2 (passing area of ​​the second mode) may be displayed as described later (see Fig. 46).

[0177] When the board icon change performance starts, an opening / closing section image OA indicating "OPEN" is displayed in the upper left of the display screen 7a, above the first pattern nail image PH1, as shown in Fig. 36. The opening / closing section image OA indicates whether the pseudo icon ball image 9k is in a state where it can move toward the nail images PH1 and PH2 (the first pattern nail image PH1 and the second pattern nail image PH2). When the opening / closing section image OA is in the position shown in Fig. 36, it is in a closed state, indicating a situation where the pseudo icon ball image 9k cannot move toward the nail images PH1 and PH2.

[0178] Here, the display area 17x and each reserved display area 17a-17d are display areas where the icon 9 (the icon 9 and the reserved icon 9) is normally displayed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 36, the display area 17x and each reserved display area 17a-17d can be called the "icon display area 17X. On the other hand, the display area of ​​the display screen 7a other than the icon display area 17X is a display area where the icon (the icon 9 and the reserved icon 9) is not normally displayed. Therefore, the display area of ​​the display screen 7a other than the icon display area 17X will be called the "outer display area 17Y". In this way, when the board icon change performance is executed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k, the nail images PH1, PH2 (first pattern nail image PH1, second pattern nail image PH2), the gate images GA1, GA2 (normal gate image GA1, special gate image GA2), and the opening and closing part image OA are displayed in the outer display area 17Y. As a result, the outer display area 17Y pseudo-represents the game board as an image.

[0179] After that, as shown in Fig. 37, the opening / closing section image OA indicating "OPEN" rotates about 180 degrees counterclockwise. As a result, when the opening / closing section image OA is in the position shown in Fig. 37, it is in the open state, and indicates a situation in which the pseudo icon ball image 9k can move toward the nail images PH1 and PH2. Then, the pseudo icon ball image 9k is displayed so as to appear from the upper left part 7bL of the upper part 7b of the display screen 7a, and moves toward the first pattern nail image PH1. In this way, the pseudo icon ball image 9k pops out from an unexpected position (the upper left part 7bL of the upper part 7b of the display screen 7a) above and to the left of the left game area 3A, which can give a surprise to the player.

[0180] Here, the pseudo icon ball image 9k appearing from the upper left portion 7bL of the upper portion 7b of the display screen 7a has a shape in which a triangle is shown in a circle, and is gray. That is, the pseudo icon ball image 9k shown in FIG. 37 has a similar form to the change waiting icon 9j displayed in the third hold display area 17c, which is the trigger for the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move. However, unlike the pseudo icon ball image 9k shown in FIG. 36, the pseudo icon ball image 9k shown in FIG. 37 does not have a flame-like effect part, and the color changes from yellow to gray. Thus, the pseudo icon ball image 9k is yellow and has a flame-like effect part only immediately after it starts to move from the third hold display area 17c, and after it appears from the upper left portion 7bL of the upper portion 7b of the display screen 7a, it has the same form as the change waiting icon 9j.

[0181] Next, as shown in FIG. 38, the pseudo icon ball image 9k collides with the nails shown in the first pattern nail image PH1 and flows downward. At this time, the direction of movement (flowing downward) of the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes depending on the first pattern nail image PH1. Then, the flowing pseudo icon ball image 9k reaches the upper side of the normal gate image GA1. In this way, the outer display area 17Y shows a pseudo game board surface as an image, and the pseudo icon ball image 9k imitating an icon flows downward like a pachinko game machine. Note that, as shown in FIG. 38, the path along which the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows downward is the passing route RT2a described later (see FIG. 50).

[0182] Then, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the normal gate image GA1, as shown in FIG. 39, the change pseudo icon ball image 9n moves downward from the normal gate image GA1. The change pseudo icon ball image 9n is an image that suggests that the probability of winning is high. Specifically, in the performance example shown in FIG. 39, the change pseudo icon ball image 9n is an image that combines a triangle in a circle and a flame-like effect part, and is blue overall. That is, the triangle in a circle part in the change pseudo icon ball image 9n has the same shape as the pseudo icon ball image 9k (see FIG. 38) before passing through the normal gate image GA1. The flame-like effect part in the change pseudo icon ball image 9n is intended to give the impression that the normal gate image GA1 has been passed through. In this way, the change pseudo icon ball image 9n that has moved downward from the normal gate image GA1 moves toward the change standby icon 9j. The change pseudo icon ball image 9n is displayed so as to overlap with the change standby icon 9j. In other words, the blue changed pseudo icon ball image 9n returns to the position of the icon 9 (the third hold display area 17c) that triggered the movement of the pseudo icon ball image 9k.

[0183] As a result, as shown in Fig. 40, the blue icon 9b is displayed in the third reserved display area 17c. That is, by the board icon change effect, the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the normal gate image GA1, and the normal icon 9a changes to the blue icon 9b via the change waiting icon 9j in the third reserved display area 17c. Note that, in the board icon change effect, the icon change effect is executed so that the color becomes the same as the color indicated by the change pseudo icon ball image 9n. That is, in the above-mentioned effect example, since the change pseudo icon ball image 9n indicates blue, the change waiting icon 9j changes to the blue icon 9b.

[0184] In this way, it is possible to provide a novel game interest in that the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes to an icon 9 with a display mode that has a high winning expectation when it passes through the normal gate image GA1. Furthermore, the pseudo icon ball image 9k that starts moving from the third reserved display area 17c becomes a changed pseudo icon ball image 9n that suggests that the winning expectation has increased. Then, the changed pseudo icon ball image 9n returns to the third reserved display area 17c, and in the third reserved display area 17c, it is possible to present a novel icon change performance in which the icon 9 (blue icon 9b) changes to a display mode that has a high winning expectation.

[0185] Next, in the variable performance being performed, the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R are displayed in a stop state in a losing mode after the variable display. This causes each icon 9 to shift, and the blue icon 9b displayed in the third reserved display area 17c shifts to the second reserved display area 17b. Then, with the start of the variable display of the special symbol (due to the next change), as shown in FIG. 41, the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R start to display the variable.

[0186] After that, as shown in FIG. 42, as the board icon change effect starts, a yellow pseudo icon ball image 9k is displayed popping out from the second reserved display area 17b toward the lower left. Then, the blue icon 9b in the second reserved display area 17b, which triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move, changes to gray. That is, the blue icon 9b changes to a gray change waiting icon 9j. In this way, in this embodiment, the board icon change effect may be executed as a continuous notice effect. The continuous notice effect is an effect in which a notice effect suggesting the probability of winning is executed across multiple variable displays of special patterns (effect patterns 8).

[0187] Thus, as shown in Fig. 42, when the board icon change performance starts, the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed on the upper side of the display screen 7a. At this time, the normal gate image GA1 is displayed below the first pattern nail image PH1, and the opening and closing part image OA, which is in the closed position, is displayed above the first pattern nail image PH1. Then, the yellow pseudo icon ball image 9k moves from the second reserved display area 17b toward the lower left and reaches the edge of the display screen 7a, and the yellow pseudo icon ball image 9k becomes invisible.

[0188] After that, as shown in FIG. 43, when the opening / closing section image OA indicating "OPEN" is in the open position, a gray pseudo icon ball image 9k is displayed so as to appear from the upper left portion 7bL of the upper portion 7b of the display screen 7a. Then, the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves rightward toward the first pattern nail image PH1. Next, the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows downward while colliding with the nails shown in the first pattern nail image PH1. However, the gray pseudo icon ball image 9k flows downward to the right of the normal gate image GA1 without passing through the normal gate image GA1. As a result, when the gray pseudo icon ball image 9k reaches the edge of the display screen 7a, the gray pseudo icon ball image 9k cannot be seen. Note that, as shown in FIG. 43, the path along which the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows downward is a passing route RT3 described later (see FIG. 50).

[0189] As a result, the change waiting icon 9j displayed in the second reserved display area 17b returns to the display of the blue icon 9b as shown in FIG. 44. In this way, in the icon change performance, if the gray pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, the icon change performance is executed for the icon 9 that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move. On the other hand, if the gray pseudo icon ball image 9k does not pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2, the icon change performance is not executed for the icon 9 that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move. Therefore, after the board icon change performance is started, the player is made to pay attention to whether the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, and it is possible to enjoy the icon change performance that has not been seen before. Hereinafter, the performance in which the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2 in the board icon change performance is called a "board icon change success performance (movement change performance)". In addition, in the board icon change effect, an effect in which the pseudo icon ball image 9k does not pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 is called a "board icon change failure effect (false movement effect)".

[0190] Next, in the variable performance being performed, the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R are displayed in a stop state in a losing mode after the variable display. This causes each icon 9 to shift, and the blue icon 9b displayed in the second reserved display area 17b shifts to the first reserved display area 17a. Then, with the start of the variable display of the special symbol (due to the next change), as shown in FIG. 45, the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R start to display the variable.

[0191] After that, as shown in Fig. 46, as the board icon change performance starts, a yellow pseudo icon ball image 9k is displayed popping out from the first reserved display area 17a toward the lower left. Then, the blue icon 9b in the first reserved display area 17a, which triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move, changes to gray. In other words, the blue icon 9b changes to a gray change waiting icon 9j.

[0192] Also, when the board icon change performance starts, as shown in FIG. 46, a second pattern nail image PH2 imitating 11 nails is displayed on the upper side of the display screen 7a. The second pattern nail image PH2 changes the direction in which the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves, and shows each nail in a second nail arrangement pattern different from the first nail arrangement pattern (see FIG. 36). At this time, a special gate image GA2 is displayed below the second pattern nail image PH2. The special gate image GA2 is wider than the normal gate image GA1 (see FIG. 36), and indicates that the pseudo icon ball image 9k is easier to pass through than the normal gate image GA1. At this time, an opening and closing part image OA, which is in the closed position, is displayed above the second pattern nail image PH2. Then, when the yellow pseudo icon ball image 9k moves from the first reserved display area 17a toward the lower left and reaches the edge of the display screen 7a, the yellow pseudo icon ball image 9k becomes invisible.

[0193] After that, as shown in FIG. 47, when the opening / closing section image OA indicating "OPEN" is in the open position, a gray pseudo icon ball image 9k is displayed so as to appear from the upper left part 7bL of the upper part 7b of the display screen 7a. Then, the gray pseudo icon ball image 9k moves rightward toward the second pattern nail image PH2. Then, the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows downward while colliding with the multiple nails shown in the second pattern nail image PH2. Then, the flowing gray pseudo icon ball image 9k reaches the upper side of the special gate image GA2. Note that, as shown in FIG. 48, the path along which the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows is the passing route RU1b described later (see FIG. 53).

[0194] Then, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the special gate image GA2, the change pseudo icon ball image 9n moves downward from the normal gate image GA1 as shown in FIG. 48. At this time, the change pseudo icon ball image 9n is generally green. Thus, the green change pseudo icon ball image 9n that has moved downward from the normal gate image GA1 moves toward the change standby icon 9j. Then, the green change pseudo icon ball image 9n is displayed so as to overlap with the change standby icon 9j. In other words, the green change pseudo icon ball image 9n returns to the position of the icon 9 (first pending display area 17a) that triggered the movement of the pseudo icon ball image 9k.

[0195] As a result, as shown in Fig. 49, the green icon 9c is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a. That is, in the first reserved display area 17a, the blue icon 9b changes to the green icon 9c via the change waiting icon 9j due to the successful change of the board icon in the first reserved display area 17a. As described above, by executing the board icon change effect as a continuous notice effect, it is possible to draw attention to whether or not the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the normal gate image GA1 each time the change display of the effect pattern 8 is executed.

[0196] In the above-mentioned performance example, the case where the board icon change performance is executed every time the icon 9 that is the target of the board icon change performance moves (shifts) from the third hold display area 17c to the first hold display area 17a has been described. However, the board icon change performance is not necessarily executed every time the icon 9 that is the target of the board icon change performance moves (shifts), but the board icon change performance is executed by lottery. That is, for example, when the icon 9 that is the target of the board icon change performance is displayed in the third hold display area 17c, the board icon change performance is executed, when the icon 9 that is the target of the board icon change performance is displayed in the second hold display area 17b, the board icon change performance is not executed, and when the icon 9 that is the target of the board icon change performance is displayed in the first hold display area 17a, the board icon change performance may be executed.

[0197] The board icon change performance of this embodiment is executed for the reserved icon 9. However, the board icon change performance may be executed for the icon 9. For example, in the performance example shown in FIG. 49, it is not shown that the board icon change performance is executed after that, but even after the green icon 9c shifts from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x, the board icon change performance may be executed for the green icon 9c displayed in the display area 17x.

[0198] In the above-mentioned example, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, a blue pseudo icon ball image 9n is displayed, and a green pseudo icon ball image 9n is displayed. A case where a change pseudo icon ball image 9n is displayed has been described. However, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, a red change pseudo icon ball image 9n may be displayed and change to a red icon 9d. Also, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, a rainbow change pseudo icon ball image 9n may be displayed and change to a rainbow icon 9h. Also, in the above-mentioned performance example, a case where a board icon change performance is executed during the execution of a change performance has been described. However, even when the reserved icon 9 shifts, the board icon change performance may be executed at the start of the change of (performance pattern 8).

[0199] In the above, in the board icon change performance, the first pattern nail image PH1 or the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed, and the normal gate image GA1 or the special gate image GA2 is displayed, and there are four combinations in total. That is, as shown in Fig. 50, the first pattern nail image PH1 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed, as shown in Fig. 51, the first pattern nail image PH1 and the special gate image GA2 are displayed, as shown in Fig. 52, the second pattern nail image PH2 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed, and as shown in Fig. 53, the second pattern nail image PH2 and the special gate image GA2 are displayed.

[0200] 50 and 51, when the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed, there are four types of passing routes through which the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows down the first pattern nail image PH1, regardless of the type of the gate image GA1, GA2 (normal gate image GA1, special gate image GA2). That is, from left to right, there are four passing routes (first routes): passing route RT1, passing route RT2a, passing route RT2b, and passing route RT3.

[0201] 52 and 53, when the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed, there are four types of passing routes for the pseudo icon ball image 9k to flow down the second pattern nail image PH2, regardless of the type of the gate image GA1, GA2 (normal gate image GA1, special gate image GA2). That is, there are four passing routes (second routes) from left to right, namely, passing route RU1a, passing route RU1b, passing route RU2a, and passing route RU2b.

[0202] Here, as shown in Fig. 50 and Fig. 54(A), when the first pattern nail image PH1 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed, if the passing route is RT2a, the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the normal gate image GA1. That is, the successful board icon change effect is executed. On the other hand, if the passing route is RT1, the passing route RT2b, or the passing route RT3, the pseudo icon ball image 9k does not pass through the normal gate image GA1. That is, the unsuccessful board icon change effect is executed.

[0203] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 51 and Fig. 54(B), when the first pattern nail image PH1 and the special gate image GA2 are displayed, if the passing route is RT2a or RT2b, the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the special gate image GA2. That is, the successful change of the board icon effect is executed. On the other hand, if the passing route is RT1 or RT3, the pseudo icon ball image 9k does not pass through the special gate image GA2. That is, the unsuccessful change of the board icon effect is executed.

[0204] Also, as shown in Fig. 52 and Fig. 54(C), when the second pattern nail image PH2 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed, if the passing route is RU1b or RU2a, the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the normal gate image GA1. That is, the successful board icon change effect is executed. On the other hand, if the passing route is RU1a or RU2b, the pseudo icon ball image 9k does not pass through the normal gate image GA1. That is, the unsuccessful board icon change effect is executed.

[0205] On the other hand, as shown in Figures 53 and 54(D), when the second pattern nail image PH2 and the special gate image GA2 are displayed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the special gate image GA2 on the passing route RU1a, the passing route RU1b, the passing route RU2a, and the passing route RU2b. That is, no matter which of the passing routes RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, and RU2b is used, the board icon change failure effect is not executed, and the board icon change success effect is executed.

[0206] Here, the distribution ratio of each of the presentation patterns Q1 to Q16 when a board icon change presentation is executed will be explained with reference to Fig. 55. In the board icon change presentation, as shown in Fig. 55(A), there are each of the presentation patterns Q1 to Q9 when a board icon change success presentation is executed, and as shown in Fig. 55(B), there are each of the presentation patterns Q10 to Q16 when a board icon change failure presentation is executed.

[0207] For example, the effect pattern Q1 is an effect pattern in which the first pattern nail image PH1 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed, and the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the normal gate image GA1 via the passing route RT2a (see FIG. 50), as shown in FIG. 55(A). The other effect patterns Q2 to Q9 when the successful board icon change effect is executed are as shown in FIG. 55(A), and therefore the explanation is omitted.

[0208] Also, for example, the effect pattern Q16 is an effect pattern in which the second pattern nail image PH2 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed, and the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the passage route RU2b and does not pass through the normal gate image GA1, as shown in Fig. 55(B) (see Fig. 52). The other effect patterns Q10 to Q15 when the board icon change failure effect is executed are as shown in Fig. 55(B), and therefore the explanation will be omitted.

[0209] When a board icon change success effect is executed, the distribution ratio of each of the effect patterns Q1 to Q9 is set as shown in Fig. 55(A). That is, when the effect control microcomputer 91 decides to execute a board icon change success effect, it determines by lottery one of the effect patterns Q1 to Q9 at the distribution ratio shown in Fig. 55(A). On the other hand, when a board icon change failure effect is executed, the distribution ratio of each of the effect patterns Q10 to Q16 is set as shown in Fig. 55(B). That is, when the effect control microcomputer 91 decides to execute a board icon change failure effect, it determines by lottery one of the effect patterns Q10 to Q16 at the distribution ratio shown in Fig. 55(B).

[0210] As shown in FIG. 55(A), when the successful board icon change effect is executed and the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed (effect patterns Q1, Q2, Q3), the allocation rate is 30% in total. On the other hand, when the successful board icon change effect is executed and the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed (effect patterns Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8, Q9), the allocation rate is 70% in total. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 55(B), when the unsuccessful board icon change effect is executed and the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed (effect patterns Q10, Q11, Q12, Q13, Q14), the allocation rate is 90% in total. On the other hand, when the unsuccessful board icon change effect is executed and the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed (effect patterns Q15, Q16), the allocation rate is 10% in total.

[0211] As a result, when the board icon change effect is executed, the board icon change success effect is more likely to be executed when the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed than when the first pattern nail image PH1 is executed. That is, after the board icon change effect is started, the player thinks that the pseudo icon ball image 9k is more likely to pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 (normal gate image GA1, special gate image GA2) when the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed than when the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed, and can be more likely to expect the execution of the board icon change success effect. In other words, the nails of the second pattern nail image PH2 are arranged so that the pseudo icon ball image 9k is more likely to pass through the gate images (normal gate image GA1, special gate image GA2) than when the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed.

[0212] Also, as shown in FIG. 55(A), when a successful board icon change performance is executed and a normal gate image GA1 is displayed (performance patterns Q1, Q4, Q5), the allocation rate is 45% in total. On the other hand, when a successful board icon change performance is executed and a special gate image GA2 is displayed (performance patterns Q2, Q3, Q6, Q7, Q8, Q9), the allocation rate is 55%. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 55(B), when a failed board icon change performance is executed and a normal gate image GA1 is displayed (performance patterns Q10, Q11, Q12, Q15, Q16), the allocation rate is 70%. On the other hand, when a failed board icon change performance is executed and a special gate image GA2 is displayed (performance patterns Q13, Q14), the allocation rate is 30%.

[0213] As a result, when the board icon change effect is executed, the board icon change success effect is more likely to be executed when the special gate image GA2 is displayed than when the normal gate image GA1 is executed. In other words, after the board icon change effect starts, the player thinks that the pseudo icon ball image 9k is more likely to pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 when the special gate image GA2 is displayed than when the normal gate image GA1 is displayed, and it is possible to have a higher expectation for the execution of the board icon change success effect. In this way, the pseudo icon ball image 9k is more likely to pass through the special gate image GA2 than the normal gate image GA1.

[0214] Also, as shown in FIG. 55(A), when a board icon change success performance is executed, the allocation rate of the passing route RT (performance patterns Q1, Q2, Q3) is 30%. On the other hand, when a board icon change success performance is executed, the allocation rate of the passing route RU (performance patterns Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8, Q9) is 70%. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 55(B), when a board icon change failure performance is executed, the allocation rate of the passing route RT (performance patterns Q10, Q11, Q12, Q13, Q14) is 90%. On the other hand, when a board icon change failure success performance is executed, the allocation rate of the passing route RU (performance patterns Q15, Q16) is 10%.

[0215] As described above, when the board icon change effect is executed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k is more likely to pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 (normal gate image GA1 and special gate image GA2) when it flows down through the pass route RU (pass routes RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, and RU2b, see Figs. 52 and 53) than when it flows down through the pass route RT (pass routes RT1, RT2a, RT2b, and RT3, see Figs. 50 and 51). That is, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows down through the pass route RU, it is more likely to pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 than when it flows down through the pass route RT, and it is possible to make the player more hopeful that the board icon change successful effect will be executed. Thus, the pass route RU is a route (trajectory) that makes it easier for the pseudo icon ball image 9k to pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 than the pass route RT.

[0216] As described above, in the board icon change presentation of this embodiment, the pseudo icon ball image 9k, which has substantially the same shape as the icon 9, is shown flowing down like a game ball, and depending on whether it passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2 (normal gate image GA1 and special gate image GA2), an icon change presentation is executed, providing a novel game interest. In particular, the ease with which the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2 varies depending on the type of nail images PH1 and PH2, the type of gate images GA1 and GA2, and the type of passing routes RT and RU. Therefore, it is possible to make the player pay attention to which nail images PH1 and PH2 are displayed, which gate images GA1 and GA2 are displayed, and which passing routes RT and RU the pseudo icon ball image 9k flows down through, and to enjoy the process until the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2.

[0217] In addition, in the board icon change effect of this embodiment, a pseudo icon ball image 9k having substantially the same shape as the icon 9 moves from the icon 9 so as to pop out into the outer display area 17Y. Then, the pseudo icon ball image 9k may change to a changed pseudo icon ball image 9n that suggests a higher probability of winning. In this case, the changed pseudo icon ball image 9n moves back to the position of the icon 9 that triggered the movement of the pseudo icon ball image 9k. As a result, the icon 9 that triggered the movement of the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes to an icon 9 that suggests a higher probability of winning. As a result, the pseudo icon ball image 9k that moved from the icon 9 returns to the position of the original icon 9 in a high expectation state (changed pseudo icon ball image 9n), so that the player can enjoy a novel icon change effect in which the icon 9 also changes to an icon 9 in a high expectation state.

[0218] 8. Touch icon change effect Next, the touch icon change effect of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 56 to 63. The touch icon change effect is an effect in which the icon 9 changes to an icon 9 in a high expectation mode, which suggests that the expectation level will increase, based on a touch operation on the glass plate 55. Incidentally, the icon 9 may change to an icon 9 in a high expectation mode based on a pressing operation of an operation means such as the effect button 63. However, it is already commonplace for an icon change effect to be executed by pressing the effect button 63. In addition, it is desirable that the distance from the effect button 63, which is the operation target, to the icon 9, which is the change target, is not so close, and that an icon change effect that is more intuitive and visually new is desirable.

[0219] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the touch icon change effect is executed, the glass plate 55 is touched. Here, the glass plate 55 is for protecting the game board 2A while ensuring the visibility of the game area 3 and the display screen 7a, and is not generally operated by the player. Therefore, it is possible to give the player a surprise that the icon change effect is executed by operating an unexpected operation means (glass plate 55). In addition, since the glass plate 55 is disposed immediately in front of the icon 9, the distance from the glass plate 55, which is the operation target, to the icon 9, which is the change target, is short. Therefore, it is possible for the player to enjoy an intuitively easy-to-understand effect in which the icon 9 changes to a high expectation mode when the glass plate 55, which is close to the icon 9, is touched.

[0220] Next, a performance example when the touch icon change performance is executed will be described. As shown in FIG. 56, when the touch icon change performance is executed, first, the touch icon 9e is displayed in one of the reserved display areas 17a to 17d. That is, the touch icon change performance is started when the touch icon 9e is displayed in one of the reserved display areas 17a to 17d. In the performance example shown in FIG. 56, the touch icon 9e is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a. As described above, the touch icon 9e shows four letters "TOUCH" and a left hand in a diamond shape (see FIG. 33(E)). Therefore, the touch icon 9e can be said to be an icon 9 (icon of an operation display mode) that suggests a touch operation on the glass plate 55.

[0221] Then, with the touch icon 9e displayed in the first reserved display area 17a, the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R stop and display in a losing state after changing. As a result, the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R start changing as the special symbol changes (due to the next change). At this time, the touch icon 9e displayed in the first reserved display area 17a shifts to the display area 17x. Thus, as shown in FIG. 57, when the touch icon 9e is displayed in the display area 17x, it is displayed larger than when it is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a. In other words, when the touch icon 9e shifts from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x, it moves while expanding.

[0222] Then, the touch icon 9e that has shifted from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x immediately moves to the central position 7c (predetermined position) in the central portion of the display screen 7a, as shown in FIG. 57. That is, the touch icon 9e moves to the central position 7c of the display screen 7a immediately after being displayed in the display area 17x. Then, after the touch icon 9e moves to the central position 7c, as shown in FIG. 58, it starts to rotate around the vertical axis O1 extending in the up-down direction. At this time, an upper right complementary image UR moving toward the central position 7c appears in the upper right part of the display screen 7a, a lower right complementary image DR moving toward the central position 7c appears in the lower right part of the display screen 7a, an upper left complementary image UL moving toward the central position 7c appears in the upper left part of the display screen 7a, and a lower left complementary image DL moving toward the central position 7c appears in the lower left part of the display screen 7a. In this way, the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL move toward the touch icon 9e rotating at the central position 7c from all four sides (upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left).

[0223] Then, as shown in FIG. 59, the rotating touch icon 9e stops when viewed from the front. At this time, each of the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL reaches the center position 7c, and the four sides (upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left) of the touch icon 9e are surrounded by each of the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL. In this way, one completed icon complementary completed image IK is formed by the touch icon 9e and each of the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL (complementary portion) surrounding the periphery of the touch icon 9e. Here, in the icon complementary completed image IK (integrated completed image) shown in FIG. 59, "TOUCH" is shown in each of the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL. That is, "TOUCH" is shown small in the touch icon 9e, while "TOUCH" is shown large in each of the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL, so that each of the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL complements the content suggested by the touch icon 9e.

[0224] After that, as shown in FIG. 60, in the icon completion completion image IK, a large left hand is shown and large letters saying "Touch! Please touch the screen" are shown. That is, in the icon completion completion image IK, the player is prompted to perform a touch operation (specific operation, predetermined operation) on the glass plate 55 (specific object) with the left hand. Note that the left hand is shown in the icon completion completion image IK shown in FIG. 60 in order to encourage the player to perform a touch operation on the glass plate 55 with the free left hand, since the player will rotate the handle 60 with his right hand. As described above, the icon completion completion image IK is an operation prompting image that prompts the player to perform a touch operation on the glass plate 55, and the touch icon 9e (special icon) displayed before the icon completion completion image IK is displayed can be said to be a pre-operation image that indicates in advance that the operation prompting image (icon completion completion image IK) will be displayed.

[0225] When a player touches the central region TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55 while the icon completion completion image IK shown in Fig. 60 is being displayed, a detection signal from the glass plate touch sensor 55a is input to the sub-control board 90. As a result, the performance control microcomputer 91 gradually enlarges and displays the touch icon 9e in the icon completion completion image IK as shown in Fig. 61, and displays a light-emitting image HG indicating that the edge of the icon completion completion image IK is emitting light. In this way, the touch icon 9e gradually enlarges and the light-emitting image HG is displayed, allowing the player to recognize that the touch operation on the glass plate 55 is valid.

[0226] In this way, when the player touches the central area TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55 for a predetermined period of time, the enlarged touch icon 9e displayed in the central part of the display screen 7a changes to a LOGO icon 9f as shown in FIG. 62. In this way, in the touch icon change presentation, the icon change presentation is executed based on the player's touch operation of the glass plate 55. The LOGO icon 9f that has changed from the touch icon 9e moves toward the display area 17x while shrinking. Then, as shown in FIG. 63, the LOGO icon 9f that has returned to its original size is displayed in the display area 17x.

[0227] In the above-mentioned performance example, the touch icon 9e changes to the LOGO icon 9f in the touch icon change performance. However, in this embodiment, when the touch icon change performance is executed, there are three types of patterns: a pattern in which the touch icon 9e changes to the LOGO icon 9f, a pattern in which the touch icon 9e changes to the red icon 9d, and a pattern in which the touch icon 9e changes to the green icon 9c. Therefore, when the touch icon change performance starts, the player can obtain an icon 9 that suggests a winning expectation rate of at least the green icon 9c. Therefore, the touch icon 9e can be said to be an icon 9 that at least suggests a winning expectation rate of 20% or more, which is the winning expectation rate of the green icon 9c (see FIG. 34).

[0228] Here, the control when the touch icon change performance is executed will be described. When the performance control microcomputer 91 determines that the icon 9 can be changed to the LOGO icon 9f based on the start winning command (see FIG. 17), the performance control microcomputer 91 determines whether or not to execute the touch icon change performance by lottery. At this time, as shown in FIG. 64(A), the allocation rate at which the touch icon change performance is executed is 50%, and the allocation rate at which the touch icon change performance is not executed is 50%. Therefore, when the performance control microcomputer 91 determines to execute the touch icon change performance, as in the performance examples shown in FIG. 56 to FIG. 63, after the touch icon 9e is displayed, it changes to the LOGO icon 9f based on the touch operation on the glass plate 55. On the other hand, when the performance control microcomputer 91 determines not to execute the touch icon change performance, the LOGO icon 9f will be displayed at a predetermined timing.

[0229] Also, when the production control microcomputer 91 determines that the icon 9 can be changed to the red icon 9d based on the start winning command (see FIG. 17), it determines whether to execute the touch icon change effect by lottery. At this time, as shown in FIG. 64(B), the allocation rate at which the touch icon change effect is executed is 20%, and the allocation rate at which the touch icon change effect is not executed is 80%. Also, when the production control microcomputer 91 determines that the icon 9 can be changed to the green icon 9c based on the start winning command (see FIG. 17), it determines whether to execute the touch icon change effect by lottery. At this time, as shown in FIG. 64(C), the allocation rate at which the touch icon change effect is executed is 5%, and the allocation rate at which the touch icon change effect is not executed is 95%.

[0230] As can be seen from the comparison of FIGS. 64(A), (B), and (C) above, from the perspective of the player, when the touch icon change effect is executed, the touch icon 9e is likely to change in the order of the green icon 9c < red icon 9d < LOGO icon 9f. That is, it is difficult for the touch icon 9e to change to the green icon 9c with a relatively low winning expectation, and it is easy for the touch icon 9e to change to the LOGO icon 9f with a relatively high winning expectation. Therefore, when the touch icon change effect is started for the player, it is possible to give a sense of elation that while minimally guaranteeing the acquisition of the green icon 9c, it is easy to change to the LOGO icon 9f with a high winning expectation.

[0231] In this embodiment, after the icon completion completion image IK shown in FIG. 60 is displayed, if the operation effective period elapses without touching the central area TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55, the touch icon 9e changes to a green icon 9c in the center of the display screen 7a. The green icon 9c moves toward the display area 17x. That is, even if it is determined by lottery that the touch icon 9e can be changed to a LOGO icon 9f, the touch icon 9e changes to the green icon 9c if the central area TE of the glass plate 55 is not touched. In this way, in the touch icon change performance, icons 9 (LOGO icon 9f, red icon 9d) with a higher winning expectation than the green icon 9c are displayed on the condition that the central area TE of the glass plate 55 is touched. This makes it possible to actively encourage the player to touch the glass plate 55 so that the icon 9 changes to an icon 9 with a higher winning expectation in the touch icon change performance.

[0232] As a modified example, when the effective operation period has elapsed without any touch operation on the central region TE of the glass plate 55, the touch icon 9e may be changed to an icon 9 determined by lottery. Alternatively, when the effective operation period has elapsed without any touch operation on the central region TE of the glass plate 55, the display mode of the touch icon 9e may be maintained as it is, so that the probability of winning is not substantially indicated. Alternatively, when the effective operation period has elapsed without any touch operation on the central region TE of the glass plate 55, the touch icon 9e may be changed to a normal icon 9a.

[0233] Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 6, the glass plate touch sensor 55a detects that the central region TE of the glass plate 55 has been touched. In other words, the glass plate touch sensor 55a cannot detect that the region of the glass plate 55 that is outside the central region TE has been touched. Here, in this embodiment, the central region TE of the glass plate 55 overlaps with the portion in which the icon completion completion image IK is displayed in the front-rear direction. Therefore, when the player touches the region of the glass plate 55 that appears to overlap with the icon completion completion image IK (i.e., the central region TE) while the icon completion completion image IK shown in FIG. 60 is being displayed, the touch operation on the glass plate 55 is determined to be valid. In other words, even if the player touches the region of the glass plate 55 that does not overlap with the icon completion completion image IK (i.e., the region outside the central region TE), the touch operation on the glass plate 55 is not determined to be valid. In this embodiment, the icon change effect is executed by touching the area (center area TE) of the glass plate 55 that appears to overlap with the icon completion image IK that prompts the player to touch the glass plate 55. This allows the player to easily understand which area of ​​the glass plate 55 to touch.

[0234] As described above, in the touch icon change performance of this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 56, the touch icon 9e is displayed. This touch icon 9e is an icon 9 indicating in advance that an icon completion image IK (see FIG. 60) that encourages a touch operation to the glass plate 55 will be displayed thereafter. Then, after shifting to the display area 17x, the touch icon 9e moves to the center position 7c of the display screen 7a (see FIG. 57), and the touch icon 9e is surrounded by the respective completion images UR, DR, UL, and DL (see FIG. 59). As a result, as shown in FIG. 60, the icon completion image IK that includes the touch icon 9e inside encourages a touch operation to the glass plate 55. In this way, it is possible to enjoy the touch icon change performance by a visually novel image (icon completion image IK) that includes the touch icon 9e.

[0235] Then, the player touches the central area TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55 that overlaps with the icon complement completed image IK shown in FIG. 60, and the touch icon 9e changes to, for example, a LOGO icon 9f (see FIG. 62). In this way, the touch icon 9e can be changed as if the player were touching it directly. Therefore, compared to when the icon change effect is executed by pressing the effect button 63, for example, the player can feel more strongly that the icon 9 has been changed by his own operation, and can enjoy a novel icon effect.

[0236] 9. Target icon change effect Next, before describing the target icon change performance, which is a feature of this embodiment, the LOGO sword icon change performance will be described based on FIG. 65. When the LOGO sword icon change performance starts, as shown in FIG. 65(A), a sword image KG showing the sword used by the main character ("LOGO") moves from above toward the icon 9a displayed in the reserved display area 17a-17d or the display area 17x. In the performance example shown in FIG. 65(A), the sword image KG moves from the upper right of the second reserved display area 17b toward the normal icon 9a displayed in the second reserved display area 17b. After that, it is divided into a case where the LOGO sword icon change success performance shown in FIG. 65(B-1) is executed and a case where the LOGO sword icon change failure performance shown in FIG. 65(B-2) is executed.

[0237] As shown in FIG. 65(B-1), when the LOGO sword icon change success performance (special notice performance) is executed, the sword image KG pierces the normal icon 9a displayed in the second reserved display area 17b. Thus, the normal icon 9a changes to the LOGO sword icon 9g. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 65(B-2), when the LOGO sword icon change failure performance is executed, the sword image KG does not pierce the normal icon 9a displayed in the second reserved display area 17b, and the sword image KG moves toward the lower left of the second reserved display area 17b. Thus, the normal icon 9a remains unchanged. As a result, when the LOGO sword icon change performance starts, the player pays attention to whether the sword image KG pierces the normal icon 9a, that is, whether the LOGO sword icon change success performance or the LOGO sword icon change failure performance is executed. In addition, the "LOGO sword icon change effect" corresponds to a "change teasing effect," the "sword image KG piercing the icon 9" corresponds to a "successful mode," and the "sword image KG not piercing the icon 9" corresponds to a "failed mode."

[0238] However, after the icon change effect is executed, the player may stop throwing the game ball into the game area 3 until the result of the jackpot determination process for the icon 9 that triggered the execution of the icon change effect is notified. That is, when a player sees that the display mode of the icon 9 has changed, the player stops shooting the game ball and suspends the game until the player knows whether the jackpot determination process for that icon 9 has resulted in a win (big win or small win) or a miss. However, the above-mentioned suspension of the throwing of the game ball means that continuous play is suddenly interrupted, which may lead to a decrease in interest in the game.

[0239] Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to address the above-mentioned problems, a target icon change performance is executed. Below, a performance example when the target icon change performance is executed will be explained based on Figs. 66 to 73. First, a target mark image TG is added to and displayed on a normal icon 9a displayed in any of the reserved display areas 17a to 17d. The target mark image TG shows a double circle cut by a cross, and clearly shows that it is an icon 9 that will be the trigger for executing the target icon change performance.

[0240] Thus, the trigger for starting the target icon change performance is the addition of a target mark image TG to the reserved icon 9 (any of the normal icons 9a displayed in the reserved display areas 17a to 17d). In the performance example shown in FIG. 66, the target mark image TG is added to the reserved icon 9 displayed in the second reserved display area 17b. Hereinafter, the normal icon 9a to which the target mark image TG is added will be appropriately referred to as the "target icon 9aT (icon of a predetermined mode, predetermined image)". Note that, although the above describes a case in which the target mark image TG is added after the normal icon 9a is displayed, the target icon 9aT may suddenly be displayed when the game ball enters the start hole (first start hole 20, second start hole 21).

[0241] As shown in FIG. 66, when the target icon 9aT is displayed, an explanatory text image SM showing the text "Every time the ball lands in the center hole?" is displayed above the target icon 9aT. The explanatory text image SM is an image that urges the player to place the game ball in the first starting hole 20 as a requirement for displaying a light effect image EK, which will be described later. The display of the light effect image EK indicates whether or not a pre-execution notification icon 9aX, which essentially indicates the acquisition of the LOGO sword icon 9gX, is displayed, as will be described later. In this way, the display of the explanatory text image SM (requirement suggestion display) makes it easier for the player to understand that he or she is in a situation where he or she should aim to place the game ball in the first starting hole 20.

[0242] Then, with the target icon 9aT displayed in the second reserved display area 17b, the player continues to shoot the game ball into the game area 3, and the game ball enters the first starting hole 20. As a result, as shown in FIG. 67, a light effect image EK is displayed that extends from the position where the first starting hole 20 (fixed winning device 19) is provided on the display screen 7a toward the position where the target icon 9aT is displayed (second reserved display area 17b).

[0243] The light effect image EK clearly indicates that the game ball has entered the first starting hole 20, and serves as an introductory image before indicating whether or not to display the advance execution notification icon 9aX described later. Specifically, the light effect image EK shows a yellow arrow starting from the position of the first starting hole 20 on the display screen 7a and pointing toward the target icon 9aT, and also shows light emission around the target icon 9aT. In this way, a player who sees the light effect image EK can understand that a performance for the target icon 9aT will be executed based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20.

[0244] After that, as shown in Fig. 68, the light effect image EK disappears, and the display mode of the target icon 9aT does not change in the second reserved display area 17b, and the target icon 9aT is displayed as it is. In this way, the effect in which the display mode of the target icon 9aT is maintained after the light effect image EK is displayed toward the target icon 9aT is called a "target icon change failure effect".

[0245] Next, the player continues to shoot the game ball into the game area 3, and the game ball enters the first starting hole 20. As a result, as shown in FIG. 69, the light effect image EK is displayed in the same manner as in the case shown in FIG. 67. The light effect image EK extends to the position where the target icon 9aT is displayed. Therefore, if the target icon 9aT is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a, the light effect image EK extending from the position where the first starting hole 20 (fixed winning device 19) is provided on the display screen 7a toward the first reserved display area 17a will be displayed. In this way, the light effect image EK and the target icon 9aT (target mark image TG) make it easy to understand which icon 9 is the target of the target icon change performance.

[0246] After that, as shown in FIG. 70, the light effect image EK disappears, and in the second reserved display area 17b, the target icon 9aT changes to a pre-execution notification icon 9aX indicating that it is emitting light in a special light-emitting manner. The pre-execution notification icon 9aX does not have a target mark image TG attached thereto, and no explanatory text image SM is displayed above it. After the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed in this way, the light effect image EK will not be displayed even if the game ball enters the first starting hole 20. The effect in which the light effect image EK is displayed toward the target icon 9aT and then the target icon 9aT changes to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX will be called a "target icon change success effect."

[0247] Then, when the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (icon of a special mode) is displayed, the LOGO sword icon change performance is always executed thereafter, and in the LOGO sword icon change performance, the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is always changed to the LOGO sword icon 9gX described later. In other words, the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (icon of a special mode) indicates in advance that the LOGO sword icon change performance will be executed, and indicates in advance that the sword image KG will pierce the pre-execution notification icon 9aX in the LOGO sword icon change performance (execution of the LOGO sword icon success performance). In this way, the "display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX" corresponds to the "special pre-performance", and the "performance indicating whether or not the icon will change to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX after displaying the light effect image EK (see Figs. 67 to 70)" corresponds to the "success or failure teasing performance indicating whether or not the icon will change to a special mode".

[0248] Then, in the state where the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed in the second reserved display area 17b, the performance symbols 8L, 8C, and 8R are displayed in a stop state in a losing state after changing display in the variable performance being performed. As a result, as shown in Fig. 71, the pre-execution notification icon 9aX displayed in the second reserved display area 17b shifts to the first reserved display area 17a. After that, as shown in Fig. 72, the LOGO sword icon change performance starts, and the sword image KG moves from the upper right of the first reserved display area 17a toward the pre-execution notification icon 9aX displayed in the first reserved display area 17a.

[0249] In this performance example, a case where the LOGO sword icon change performance is executed when the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a will be described. However, the timing at which the LOGO sword icon change performance is executed based on the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX can be changed as appropriate. That is, when the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed in the second reserved display area 17b, the LOGO sword icon change performance may be executed, and the pre-execution notification icon 9aX displayed in the second reserved display area 17b may change to the LOGO sword icon 9gX described later. Also, when the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed in the display area 17x, the LOGO sword icon change performance may be executed, and the pre-execution notification icon 9aX displayed in the display area 17x may change to the LOGO sword icon 9gX described later.

[0250] In this way, when the LOGO sword icon change performance starts, as shown in Fig. 73, in the first reserved display area 17a, the sword image KG is stuck into the advance execution notification icon 9aX, and the LOGO sword icon 9gX (icon in a special mode) is displayed. In addition, when comparing the LOGO sword icon 9gX shown in Fig. 73 with the LOGO sword icon 9g shown in Fig. 33 (G) or the LOGO sword icon 9g shown in Fig. 65 (B-1), the display modes are the same in that the sword image KG is stuck into a shape shown with a triangle in a circle, but the display modes are different in that the special light emission mode is emitted or not. However, the LOGO sword icon 9gX shown in Fig. 73 indicates that it is an icon 9 that has changed after the target icon change performance, and suggests that it has the same winning expectancy (70%, see Fig. 34) as the LOGO sword icon 9g shown in Fig. 33 (G) or the LOGO sword icon 9g shown in Fig. 65 (B-1). Therefore, the LOGO sword icon 9gX and the LOGO sword icon 9g can be said to be icons with the same special aspect in that the same sword image KG is stuck into a shape shown as a triangle in a circle.

[0251] In this way, when the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed and the LOGO sword icon change performance starts, the sword image KG will always pierce the pre-execution notification icon 9aX, and the LOGO sword icon change success performance will be executed. In other words, even though the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed, the sword image KG will not pierce the pre-execution notification icon 9aX and the LOGO sword icon change failure performance will not be executed. Therefore, it is possible to give a special sense of relief to a player who is looking at the pre-execution notification icon 9aX that the icon will definitely change to the LOGO sword icon 9gX by the subsequent LOGO sword icon change performance. Note that the pre-execution notification icon 9aX will definitely change to the LOGO sword icon 9gX thereafter, whereas the target icon 9aT will not necessarily change to the LOGO sword icon 9gX thereafter. Therefore, the pre-execution notification icon 9aX can be said to be an icon 9 that suggests a higher probability of winning than the target icon 9aT.

[0252] In this embodiment, the light effect image EK is displayed based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20 only when the target icon 9aT is displayed in each of the reserved display areas 17a to 17d. Specifically, when the target icon 9aT displayed in the first reserved display area 17a shifts to the display area 17X, the normal icon 9a is displayed in the display area 17x, not the target icon 9aT. In other words, when the target icon 9aT displayed in the first reserved display area 17a shifts to the display area 17x, it always changes to the normal icon 9a, and the target icon 9aT is never displayed in the display area 17x.

[0253] In this way, when the normal icon 9a is displayed in the display area 17x, the explanatory text image SM is not displayed on the upper side of the display area 17x, and even if the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, the light effect image EK is not displayed. Therefore, the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is not displayed in the display area 17x. And, after the target icon 9aT displayed in the first reserved display area 17a shifts to the display area 17X, the LOGO sword icon change performance is not executed for the icon 9 (normal icon 9a) displayed in the display area 17x. This is based on the following reason.

[0254] In the target icon change presentation of this embodiment, after the target icon 9aT is displayed in any of the reserved display areas 17a to 17d, the player is made to continue firing game balls into the game area 3, and is made to expect the target icon 9aT to change into the advance execution notification icon 9aX (LOGO sword icon 9gX). However, if the target icon 9aT is also displayed in the display area 17x and a light effect image EK is displayed based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20, the player will find it difficult to concentrate on the change presentation of the icon 9. Furthermore, if the player is forced to fire game balls even after the target icon 9aT has shifted from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x, many balls may be wasted. As a result of the above, in this embodiment, only when the target icon 9aT is displayed in each of the pending display areas 17a to 17d, the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (LOGO sword icon 9gX) can be displayed as a bonus for the player continuing to fire the game ball.

[0255] In addition, the reason why the LOGO sword icon effect is not executed for the icon 9 (normal icon 9a) after the target icon 9aT shifts from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x and the normal icon 9a is displayed in the display area 17x is as follows. That is, if the LOGO sword icon change effect is executed for the icon 9 after the target icon 9aT shifts to the display area 17x, the player may think that it has already been decided whether the target icon 9aT will change to the LOGO sword icon 9gX (LOGO sword icon 9g) or not when he sees the target icon 9aT displayed in each reserved display area 17a to 17d. If that happens, the player may lose the motivation to continue firing the game ball.

[0256] Therefore, in this embodiment, after the target icon 9aT shifts from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x, the microcomputer 91 for effect control does not execute the LOGO sword icon change effect for the icon 9 displayed in the display area 17x as a prohibition process. In this way, only when the target icon 9aT is displayed in each reserved display area 17a to 17d, the advance execution notification icon 9aX (LOGO sword icon 9gX) can be displayed as a bonus for the player to continue firing the game ball. This allows a player who sees the target icon 9aT displayed in each reserved display area 17a to 17d to actively fire the game ball before the target icon 9aT shifts to the display area 17x.

[0257] Here, a case where the target icon change success performance is executed will be described. When the performance control microcomputer 91 determines that the icon 9 can be changed to the LOGO sword icon 9g based on the start winning command (see FIG. 17), it determines by lottery whether the LOGO sword icon change success performance shown in FIG. 65(B-1) or the target icon change success performance can be executed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 74(A), the allocation rate at which the LOGO sword icon change success performance shown in FIG. 65(B-1) is determined to be executable is 85%, and the allocation rate at which the target icon change success performance is determined to be executable is 15%. As described above, in this embodiment, the target icon change success performance is set to be less likely to be executed than the LOGO sword icon change success performance shown in FIG. 65(B-1). In this way, even when the LOGO sword icon 9g (LOGO sword icon 9gX) is acquired, it is possible to increase the player's sense of elation when the rare target icon change performance is executed by lowering the execution frequency of the target icon change success performance.

[0258] However, even if the performance control microcomputer 91 determines by lottery that the target icon change success performance can be executed, it only displays the target icon 9aT, and does not necessarily execute the target icon change success performance. That is, the performance control microcomputer 91 determines by lottery whether or not to execute the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (i.e., the target icon change success performance) based on receiving the start winning command (see FIG. 17) based on the ball entering the first start hole 20 after displaying the target icon 9aT in the reserved display area 17a-17d due to the determination that the target icon change success performance can be executed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 74(B), the allocation ratio for deciding to execute the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is 30%, and the allocation ratio for deciding not to execute the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is 70%.

[0259] In this way, when the performance control microcomputer 91 determines by lottery to execute the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX, it displays the light effect image EK (see FIG. 69) and then displays the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (see FIG. 70). In other words, it executes the target icon change success performance. Thereafter, the performance control microcomputer 91 executes the LOGO sword icon change performance at a predetermined timing (see FIG. 72) and displays the LOGO sword icon 9gX as the LOGO sword icon change success performance (see FIG. 73).

[0260] On the other hand, when the performance control microcomputer 91 determines by lottery not to display the advance execution notification icon 9aX, it displays the light effect image EK (see FIG. 67) but does not change the display mode of the target icon 9aT (see FIG. 68). In other words, it executes the target icon change failure performance. As described above, after the target icon 9aT shifts from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x, even if the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, the light effect image EK is not displayed and the LOGO sword icon change performance is not executed as a prohibition process.

[0261] In this embodiment, even if the reserved icons 9 are all displayed from the first reserved display area 17a to the fourth reserved display area 17d, if the target icon 9aT is displayed, the target icon change effect is executed based on the game ball entering the first start hole 20. In other words, even if the game ball enters the first start hole 20 and a new reserved icon 9 is not displayed, the target icon change effect is executed. This allows a player who is looking at the target icon 9aT to aim for the game ball to enter the first start hole 20, even in a situation where the reserved icons 9 are all displayed from the first reserved display area 17a to the fourth reserved display area 17d. However, as a modified example, when the reserved icons 9 are all displayed from the first reserved display area 17a to the fourth reserved display area 17d, the target icon change effect may not be executed when the game ball enters the first start hole 20. In this case, in a situation where no new reserved icon 9 is generated, it is possible to prevent the player from aiming to throw a game ball into the first starting hole 20, thereby avoiding the generation of wasted balls as much as possible.

[0262] As described above, in the target icon change presentation of this embodiment, first, the target icon 9aT is displayed in the reserved display area 17a to 17d (see FIG. 66). After that, when the target icon 9aT is displayed, a light effect image EK is displayed every time the game ball enters the first starting hole 20. Then, this light effect image EK indicates whether the target icon 9aT displays a pre-execution notification icon 9aX indicating the execution of the LOGO sword icon change presentation. Therefore, it is possible for the player to expect a change from the target icon 9aT to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (execution of the target icon change success presentation) and to continue to launch the game ball into the game area 3 actively. That is, after the target icon 9aT is displayed, it is possible to continue the game by aiming for the game ball to enter the first starting hole 20.

[0263] In particular, even if a game ball enters the first start hole 20 after the target icon 9aT is displayed, it does not necessarily change to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX, and the more game balls that enter the first start hole 20, the higher the possibility that the icon will change to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX by lottery. Therefore, it is possible to motivate the player to enter as many game balls as possible into the first start hole 20 while the target icon 9aT is displayed.

[0264] Also, as shown in FIG. 66, a target mark image TG is attached to the target icon 9aT, and an explanatory text image SM indicating "Every time it enters the center hole?" is displayed above the target icon 9aT. When the game ball enters the first start hole 20, a light effect image EK is displayed extending from the position where the first start hole 20 (fixed winning device 19) is provided on the display screen 7a to the position where the target icon 9aT is displayed. This allows the player to easily understand the situation where the display mode of the target icon 9aT may change when the game ball enters the first start hole 20.

[0265] Also, when the target icon 9aT changes to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX, as described above, the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX indicates the execution of the subsequent LOGO sword icon change presentation, and indicates that the sword image KG will definitely pierce the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (execution of the LOGO sword icon change success presentation) (see FIG. 70). In this way, it is possible to provide a novel gaming interest in that if the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed, the player will definitely be able to obtain the LOGO sword icon 9gX (see FIG. 73) afterwards.

[0266] In this embodiment, when comparing the possibility of acquiring the LOGO sword icon 9g when the LOGO sword icon performance shown in FIG. 65 is executed with the possibility of acquiring the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (i.e., the LOGO sword icon 9gX) when the target icon change performance is executed, the possibility of acquiring the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (i.e., the LOGO sword icon 9gX) is higher when the target icon change performance is executed. That is, when the LOGO sword icon performance shown in FIG. 65 is executed, it is set so that it is relatively difficult for the sword image KG to pierce the icon 9 (it is difficult for the LOGO sword icon change success performance to be executed). On the other hand, when the target icon change performance is executed, if the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, it is set so that it is relatively easy to change to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (i.e., the LOGO sword icon 9gX). As a result, it is possible to give the player a sense of exhilaration by thinking that there is a higher chance of acquiring the LOGO sword icon 9gX when the target icon change performance is executed than when the LOGO sword icon performance shown in FIG. 65 is executed.

[0267] 10. Operation of the performance control microcomputer [Sub-control main processing] Next, the operation of the performance control microcomputer 91 will be described with reference to Figs. 75 to 78. The counters, timers, flags, status, buffers, etc., which appear in the description of the operation of the performance control microcomputer 91, are provided in the RAM 94. When the power supply of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is turned on, the performance control microcomputer 91 provided in the sub-control board 90 reads out the program of the sub-control main processing shown in Fig. 75 from the ROM 93 and executes it. As shown in the figure, in the sub-control main processing, first, a CPU initialization processing is performed (S4001). In the CPU initialization processing (S4001), settings such as stack setting, constant setting, CPU 92 setting, SIO, PIO, CTC (circuit for managing interrupt time), etc. are performed.

[0268] Next, it is determined whether the power-off signal is ON and the contents of the RAM 94 are normal (S4002). If the result of this determination is NO, the RAM 94 is initialized (S4003) and the process proceeds to step S4004. On the other hand, if the result of the determination is YES (YES in S4002), the RAM 94 is not initialized and the process proceeds to step S4004. That is, if the power-off signal is not ON, or if the contents of the RAM 94 are not normal even if the power-off signal is ON (NO in S4002), the RAM 94 is initialized, but if the power-off signal is ON due to a power outage or the like but the contents of the RAM 94 are maintained normal (YES in S4002), the RAM 94 is not initialized. Note that when the RAM 94 is initialized, the values ​​of various flags, statuses, counters, etc. are reset. Note that steps S4001 to S4003 are executed only once after the power is turned on and are not executed thereafter.

[0269] In step S4004, interrupts are inhibited. Next, a random number seed update process is executed (S4005). In the random number seed update process (S4005), the values ​​of various random number counters for determining effects are updated. When the random number seed update process (S4005) is completed, a command transmission process is executed (S4006). In the command transmission process, various commands stored in the output buffer in RAM 94 of the sub-control board 90 are transmitted to the image control board 100. The image control board 100 that has received the command executes various effects (effect pattern change effect, opening effect, round effect, ending effect, icon change effect, board icon change effect, touch icon change effect, target icon change effect, etc.) using the image display device 7 in accordance with the command.

[0270] In addition, in accordance with the execution of various performances by the image control board 100, the sub-control board 90 outputs sound from the speaker 67 via the audio control board 106, lights up the frame lamp 66 and the board lamp 5 via the sub-drive board 107, and drives the board movable body 15 and the logo sword role object 300. The performance control microcomputer 91 then permits interrupts (S4007). Thereafter, steps S4004 to S4007 are looped. While the interrupts are permitted, it becomes possible to execute reception interrupt processing (S4008), 1 ms timer interrupt processing (S4009), and 10 ms timer interrupt processing (S4010).

[0271] [Reception interrupt processing] In reception interrupt processing (S4008), as shown in Fig. 76, it is determined whether or not the strobe signal (STB signal) is ON, that is, whether or not the strobe signal sent from the main control board 80 has been input to the external INT input section of the performance control microcomputer 91 (S4101). If the strobe signal is not ON, the processing ends, and if it is ON, the various commands sent from the main control board 80 are stored in the reception buffer of RAM 94 (S4102). This reception interrupt processing is executed with priority over other interrupt processing (S4009, S4010).

[0272] [1 ms timer interrupt processing] The 1 ms timer interrupt processing (S4009) is executed each time an interrupt pulse with a 1 msec period is input to the sub-control board 90. As shown in Fig. 77, the 1 ms timer interrupt processing (S4009) first performs input processing (S4201). In the input processing (S4201), switch data (edge ​​data and level data) is created based on a detection signal from the performance button detection switch 63a (see Fig. 9).

[0273] Next, lamp data output processing (S4202) is performed. In the lamp data output processing (S4202), in order to light the frame lamp 66 and the board lamp 5 at a timing that matches the performance, the lamp data created in other processing (S4304) in the 10 ms timer interrupt processing described later is output to the sub-drive board 107. In other words, the frame lamp 66 and the board lamp 5 are made to light in a predetermined light emission mode according to the lamp data.

[0274] Next, a drive control process (S4203) is performed. In the drive control process (S4203), drive data (data for driving the board movable body 15) is created and output in order to drive the board movable body 15 and the logo sword role object 300 at a timing that matches the performance. In other words, the board movable body drive motor 15a for moving the board movable body 15 and the logo sword role object drive motor 300a for moving the logo sword role object 300 are driven according to the drive data.

[0275] Then, a watchdog timer process (S4204) is performed to reset the watchdog timer, and this process ends.

[0276] [10 ms timer interrupt processing] The 10 ms timer interrupt processing (S4010) is executed every time an interrupt pulse with a 10 msec period is input to the sub-control board 90. As shown in Fig. 78, the 10 ms timer interrupt processing (S4010) first performs a received command analysis processing (S4301). In the received command analysis processing (S4301), the performance control microcomputer 91 determines whether a fluctuation start command has been received from the game control microcomputer 81, and if so, executes a fluctuation performance pattern selection processing for executing a fluctuation performance and a notice performance selection processing for executing a notice performance based on the analysis result of the fluctuation start command (information on the fluctuation pattern).

[0277] In the received command analysis process (S4301), it is determined whether an opening command has been received from the game control microcomputer 81, and if so, an opening performance selection process is executed. It is also determined whether a round designation command has been received from the game control microcomputer 81, and if so, a round performance selection process is executed. It is also determined whether an ending command has been received from the game control microcomputer 81, and if so, an ending performance selection process is executed. It is also determined whether a start winning command (first start winning command, second start winning command) has been received from the game control microcomputer 81, and if so, a look-ahead notice performance selection process for executing a look-ahead notice performance, and an icon display process for displaying the icon 9 are executed.

[0278] Following the received command analysis process (S4301), the performance control microcomputer 91 performs a switch state acquisition process (S4302) to store the switch data created in the 1 ms timer interrupt process in the RAM 94 as switch data for the 10 ms timer interrupt process. Next, the performance control microcomputer 91 performs a switch process (S4303) to set the display contents of the display screen 7a based on the switch data stored in the switch state acquisition process.

[0279] Thereafter, the performance control microcomputer 91 performs lamp processing (S4304). In the lamp processing (S4304), lamp data (data for controlling the lighting of the frame lamp 66 and the board lamp 5) is created, and time management of the light emission performance is performed. Next, audio control processing (S4305) is performed. In the audio control processing (S4305), audio data (data for controlling the output of audio from the speaker 67) is created and output to the audio control board 106, and time management of the audio performance is performed. As a result, audio suited to the performance to be executed is output from the speaker 67. Then, other processing such as updating various random numbers for determining performance is performed (S4306), and this processing ends.

[0280] 11. Control Example Next, an example of the control of the board icon change performance will be described. As a prerequisite, it is assumed that the game is in a normal game state, and that the number of first special reserved symbols is two. Then, it is assumed that the game ball flowing down the game area 3 has entered the first start hole 20. In this case, the game control microcomputer 81 specifies the first start winning command by the first start winning command specifying process (S213) shown in FIG. 20. The specified first start winning command is, for example, a non-time-saving state (normal game state), the number of first special reserved symbols is three, and indicates an SP reach miss ("E1H33H", see FIG. 17). Then, this first start winning command is transmitted to the sub-control board 90 by the output process (S101) shown in FIG. 19.

[0281] When the performance control microcomputer 91 of the sub-control board 90 receives the first start winning command, it analyzes the received first start winning command by the received command analysis process (S4301) shown in FIG. 78. Then, based on the analysis result, it executes a pre-reading advance notice performance selection process and an icon display process. In the pre-reading advance notice performance selection process, it decides whether or not to execute a board icon change performance based on a board icon change performance selection table (not shown) stored in the ROM 93. In this way, when it decides to execute a board icon change performance, it further decides the display mode of the reserved display areas 17a to 17c and the icon 9 in the display area 17x based on an icon change pattern selection table (not shown). This determines an icon change pattern in which, in the board icon change presentation, the normal icon 9a changes to a blue icon 9b in the third hold display area 17c, the blue icon 9b is maintained in the second hold display area 17b, the blue icon 9b changes to a green icon 9c in the first hold display area 17a, and the green icon 9c is maintained in the display area 17x.

[0282] Then, when the normal icon 9a changes to the blue icon 9b in the third reserved display area 17c in the board icon change performance, the microcomputer 91 for performance control determines a performance pattern Q1 (see FIG. 55(A)) in which the first pattern nail image PH1 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed to become the passing route RT2a based on the board icon performance lottery table (not shown). Also, when the blue icon 9b is maintained in the second reserved display area 17b in the board icon change performance, the microcomputer 91 for performance control determines a performance pattern Q12 (see FIG. 55(B)) in which the first pattern nail image PH1 and the normal gate image GA1 are displayed to become the passing route RT3 based on the board icon performance lottery table (not shown). When the blue icon 9b changes to the green icon 9c in the first reserved display area 17a in the board icon change performance, the microcomputer 91 for performance control determines a performance pattern Q7 (see FIG. 55(A)) in which the second pattern nail image PH2 and the special gate image GA2 are displayed to become the passing route RU1b based on the board icon performance lottery table (not shown). As a result, a board icon change effect is executed as shown in the effect examples in Figs.

[0283] Next, an example of the control of the touch icon change performance will be described. As a prerequisite, it is assumed that the game is in a normal game state, there is no first special symbol reserved, but the variable performance is being executed. Then, it is assumed that the game ball flowing down the game area 3 has entered the first start hole 20. In this case, the game control microcomputer 81 specifies the first start winning command by the first start winning command specifying process (S213) shown in FIG. 20. The specified first start winning command is, for example, a non-time shortening state (normal game state), there is one first special symbol reserved, and indicates a SP reach normal big win ("E1H12H", see FIG. 17). Then, this first start winning command is transmitted to the sub-control board 90 by the output process (S101) shown in FIG. 19.

[0284] When the performance control microcomputer 91 of the sub-control board 90 receives the first start winning command, it analyzes the received first start winning command by the received command analysis process (S4301) shown in FIG. 78. Then, based on the analysis result, it executes the pre-reading notice performance selection process and the icon display process. In the pre-reading notice performance selection process, it decides whether or not to execute the touch icon change performance based on the touch icon change performance selection table (not shown) stored in the ROM 93. In this way, when it is decided to execute the touch icon change performance, the performance control microcomputer 91 further decides the display mode of the icon 9 that can be changed in the display area 17x based on the icon change pattern selection table (not shown). As a result, it is decided that the touch icon 9e can be changed to the LOGO icon 9f in the touch icon change performance. As a result, the touch icon change performance is executed as in the performance examples shown in FIG. 56 to FIG. 63. It should be noted that the examples of presentation shown in Figures 56 to 63 are for the case where the player touches the central area TE of the glass plate 55. If the player does not touch the central area TE of the glass plate 55, the touch icon 9e will change to a green icon 9c.

[0285] Next, an example of the control of the target icon change performance will be described. As a prerequisite, it is assumed that the game is in a normal game state and that the first special symbol reservation is one. And, it is assumed that the game ball flowing down the game area 3 has entered the first start hole 20. In this case, the game control microcomputer 81 specifies the first start winning command by the first start winning command specification process (S213) shown in FIG. 20. The specified first start winning command is, for example, a non-time-saving state (normal game state), two first special symbols are reserved, and indicates a SP reach probability variable jackpot ("E1H21H", see FIG. 17). And, this first start winning command is transmitted to the sub-control board 90 by the output process (S101) shown in FIG. 19.

[0286] When the performance control microcomputer 91 of the sub-control board 90 receives the first start winning command, it analyzes the received first start winning command by the received command analysis process (S4301) shown in FIG. 78. Then, based on the analysis result, it executes the pre-reading notice performance selection process and the icon display process. In the pre-reading notice performance selection process, it determines whether it is possible to change to the LOGO sword icon 9g based on the LOGO sword icon changeable lottery table (not shown) stored in the ROM 93. As a result, when it is determined that it is possible to change to the LOGO sword icon 9g, it then determines whether the LOGO sword icon change successful performance or the target icon change successful performance is executable based on the target icon change performance lottery table (not shown) stored in the ROM 93. In this way, when it is determined that the target icon change successful performance is executable, the performance control microcomputer 91 first displays the target icon 9aT in the second reserved display area 17b as shown in FIG. 66. Thereafter, the performance control microcomputer 91 determines whether or not to display the pre-execution notification icon 9aX based on the pre-execution notification icon display lottery table (not shown) each time it receives a first start winning command (see FIG. 17) based on the game ball entering the first start hole 20. As a result, it is determined that the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is not to be displayed when the first game ball enters the first start hole 20 after the target icon 9aT is displayed, and that the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is to be displayed when the second game ball enters the first start hole 20. As a result, the target icon change performance is executed as in the performance examples shown in FIG. 66 to FIG. 73.

[0287] 12. Effect of this Form As described above in detail, according to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves from the third reserved display area 17c in which the normal icon 9a is displayed to the outer display area 17Y outside the icon display area 17X. After that, as shown in FIG. 39, the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes to a changed pseudo icon ball image 9n in the outer display area 17Y, which suggests that the probability of winning is increasing. As a result, as shown in FIG. 40, the normal icon that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move is changed to a changed pseudo icon ball image 9n in the outer display area 17Y, which suggests that the probability of winning is increasing. 9a changes to a blue icon 9b, which indicates that the probability of winning is high. In this way, the player is made to pay attention to whether the display mode of the pseudo icon ball image 9k that has moved from the third reserved display area 17c changes, and it is possible to provide a novel gaming interest as a performance in which the display mode of the icon 9 changes.

[0288] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 39, after the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes to the changing pseudo icon ball image 9n, which suggests that the probability of winning is high, the changing pseudo icon ball image 9n returns to the position of the icon 9 (the change waiting icon 9j) that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move. As a result, the icon 9 (the change waiting icon 9j) that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move changes to a blue icon 9b, as shown in Fig. 40. In this way, it is possible to provide a novel game interest in that the display mode of the icon 9 changes with the cycle of the movement of the pseudo icon ball image 9k from the position of the icon 9 and the movement of the changing pseudo icon ball image 9n to the original icon 9.

[0289] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 42 and Fig. 43, even if the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves from the second reserved display area 17b where the blue icon 9b is displayed to the outer display area 17Y, the pseudo icon ball image 9k may not become the changed pseudo icon ball image 9n, but may remain as the pseudo icon ball image 9k. In this case, the blue icon 9b that caused the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move is maintained without becoming an icon 9 (e.g., a green icon 9c) that suggests a high probability of winning. In this way, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves from the position where the icon 9 is displayed, the player is made to pay attention to whether the board icon change success effect or the board icon change failure effect will be executed, thereby increasing the interest in the game.

[0290] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, the pseudo icon ball image 9k that has moved from the position where the icon 9 is displayed may move along the passing routes RT1, RT2a, RT2b, and RT3 in the outer display area 17Y as shown in Fig. 50 and Fig. 51, or along the passing routes RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, and RU2b in the outer display area 17Y as shown in Fig. 52 and Fig. 53. However, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves along the passing routes RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, and RU2b, the successful change of the icon on the board effect is more likely to be executed than when the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves along the passing routes RT1, RT2a, RT2b, and RT3. Therefore, it is possible to make the player expect the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move along the passing routes RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, and RU2b rather than along the passing routes RT1, RT2a, RT2b, and RT3, thereby increasing the interest in the game.

[0291] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves from the position where the icon 9 is displayed, there are cases where the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed as shown in Figures 50 and 51, and cases where the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed as shown in Figures 52 and 53. However, when the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed, it is easier to execute the successful change of the icon on the board effect than when the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to make the player expect the second pattern nail image PH2 to be displayed rather than the first pattern nail image PH1, and to increase the interest in the game.

[0292] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, when the board icon change success performance is executed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k, which is substantially the same shape as the icon 9, moves from the position where the icon 9 is displayed to the outer display area 17Y and changes to the changed pseudo icon ball image 9n (see Figs. 35 to 39). In this way, the pseudo icon ball image 9k like the icon 9 moves to the outer display area 17Y where it normally does not move, and can be made to look like it is changing to the changed pseudo icon ball image 9n (see Fig. 39), making it possible to provide a novel gaming experience.

[0293] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, in the board icon change presentation, the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves toward the gate images GA1 and GA2 (normal gate image GA1 and special gate image GA2). When the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, the icon 9 changes to an icon 9 with a high expectation state, which suggests that the probability of winning is high. On the other hand, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k does not pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2, the display state of the icon 9 is maintained. In this way, it is possible to provide a novel gaming interest as a presentation in which the display state of the icon 9 changes by drawing the player's attention to whether the moving pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2 or not.

[0294] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, when the board icon change performance is executed, there are cases where the normal gate image GA1 is displayed as shown in Figures 50 and 52, and cases where the special gate image GA2 is displayed as shown in Figures 51 and 53. However, when the special gate image GA2 is displayed, it is easier for the pseudo icon ball image 9k to pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 than when the normal gate image GA1 is displayed. Therefore, when the board icon change performance is executed, the player is made to expect the special gate image GA2 to be displayed rather than the normal gate image GA1, and it is possible to provide a novel gaming interest.

[0295] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, when the board icon change performance is executed, there are cases where the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed as shown in Figures 50 and 51, and cases where the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed as shown in Figures 52 and 53. However, when the second pattern nail image PH2 is displayed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k is more likely to pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2 than when the first pattern nail image PH1 is displayed. Therefore, when the board icon change performance is executed, the player is made to expect the second pattern nail image PH2 to be displayed rather than the first pattern nail image PH1, which can increase the interest in the game.

[0296] In addition, according to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, when the board icon change performance is executed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k, which is substantially the same shape as the normal icon 9a, moves toward the gate images GA1 and GA2 (see Fig. 37 and Fig. 38). In this way, when the pseudo icon ball image 9k, which looks like the normal icon 9a, passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, it changes into the icon 9 with high expectation, providing a novel gaming interest.

[0297] In addition, according to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, when a completed icon completion image IK is displayed by the touch icon 9e and each of the completion images UR, DR, UL, and DL that complete the periphery of the touch icon 9e, as shown in Fig. 59, the execution of the icon change effect is suggested. In this way, by showing the icon completion completion image IK that includes the touch icon 9e inside, the player is made to expect the execution of the icon change effect, and it is possible to provide a novel gaming interest.

[0298] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, when the icon completion image IK shown in Fig. 59 is displayed, first, as shown in Fig. 57, the touch icon 9e moves from the display area 17x to the center position 7c. After that, as shown in Fig. 58 and Fig. 59, the icon completion image IK is formed by the touch icon 9e at the center position 7c and the completion images UR, DR, UL, and DL that complement the periphery of the touch icon 9e at the center position 7c. In this way, the movement of the touch icon 9e to the center position 7c is used as a trigger to display the icon completion image IK and to enjoy the flow up to the icon change performance (see Figs. 57 to 63).

[0299] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 60, the icon completion completion image IK including the touch icon 9e therein encourages a touch operation on the glass plate 55. Then, when the player performs a touch operation on the glass plate 55 while the icon completion completion image IK is displayed, an icon change effect is executed in which the touch icon 9e changes to, for example, a LOGO icon 9f, as shown in Fig. 62. In this way, the player can enjoy a series of events from the display of the icon completion completion image IK, through the player's touch operation, to the icon change effect being executed.

[0300] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, the touch icon 9e is an icon 9 suggesting a touch operation on the glass plate 55 (see FIG. 33(E)). That is, as shown in FIG. 56, a touch icon 9e suggesting a touch operation on the glass plate 55 may be displayed as the icon 9. Then, as shown in FIG. 60, when the icon completion image IK is displayed by this touch icon 9e and each of the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL, the player is prompted to perform a touch operation on the glass plate 55. In this way, it is possible to make the player aware (expect) of a touch operation on the glass plate 55 at the stage where the touch icon 9e shown in FIG. 56 is displayed before the icon completion image IK shown in FIG. 60 is displayed.

[0301] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, the player performs a touch operation on the glass plate 55 arranged in front of the image display device 7 while the icon completion completion image IK that encourages the touch operation on the glass plate 55 is displayed, as shown in FIG. 60. As a result, as shown in FIG. 62, the LOGO icon 9f is displayed as an icon change effect. In this way, although the glass plate 55 is generally not touched, it is possible to provide a novel game interest in that an icon change effect is executed in response to a touch operation on the glass plate 55. In other words, it is possible to provide an effect that is easy to understand intuitively, in which the display mode of the icon 9 visible through the glass plate 55 changes in response to a touch operation on the glass plate 55.

[0302] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, the icon change effect is executed by the player touching the central area TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55 that overlaps with the icon completion image IK. In this way, the player can easily understand which area of ​​the glass plate 55 to touch.

[0303] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 56, a touch icon 9e is displayed, which indicates in advance that an icon completion completion image IK will be displayed. Next, as shown in FIG. 57, the touch icon 9e moves to the center position 7c of the display screen 7a, and as shown in FIG. 60, an icon completion completion image IK is displayed, which prompts a touch operation on the glass plate 55. Then, when the glass plate 55 is touched while the icon completion completion image IK is displayed, as shown in FIG. 62, a LOGO icon 9f is displayed as an icon change effect. In this way, by setting the display and movement of the touch icon 9e as the trigger for executing the icon change effect, it is possible to give a player who sees the icon completion completion image IK a sense of elation.

[0304] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 56 and Fig. 57, a touch icon 9e is displayed indicating in advance that an icon completion completion image IK will be displayed as an icon 9 indicating that a big win determination process has been executed or that execution of the big win determination process is pending. In other words, when the touch icon 9e is displayed, an icon completion completion image IK is displayed thereafter, which prompts a touch operation to the glass plate 55. In this way, it is possible to show a novel touch icon 9e that has never been seen before to the player.

[0305] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 66, after the target icon 9aT is displayed, the target icon 9aT may change to a pre-execution notification icon 9aX as shown in Fig. 71 based on the game ball entering the first start hole 20. Therefore, even after the target icon 9aT is displayed, the player can continue playing by aiming for the game ball to enter the first start hole 20 without interrupting the game.

[0306] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, after the target icon 9aT is displayed as shown in Fig. 66, a light effect image EK is displayed as shown in Fig. 67 based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20. Then, after the light effect image EK is displayed, there are cases where the target icon 9aT is maintained as it is as shown in Fig. 68, and cases where the target icon 9aT changes to a pre-execution notification icon 9aX as shown in Fig. 70. In this way, the player who sees the light effect image EK is made to expect the target icon 9aT to change to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX, which can increase the interest in the game.

[0307] Furthermore, according to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, even if the normal icon 9a is displayed and then the game ball enters the first start hole 20, the normal icon 9a does not change to the advance execution notification icon 9aX. In other words, if the target icon 9aT is not displayed, the game ball does not change to the advance execution notification icon 9aX even if it enters the first start hole 20. In this way, when the target icon 9aT is displayed, it is possible to give the player a sense of something special and stimulate his / her desire to change it to the advance execution notification icon 9aX.

[0308] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, after the target icon 9aT is displayed, the icon changes to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20, and the pre-execution notification icon 9aX changes to the LOGO sword icon 9gX, indicating the execution of an icon change effect. Therefore, not only does the target icon 9aT change to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (see FIG. 70), but the pre-execution notification icon 9aX always changes to the LOGO sword icon 9gX afterwards (see FIG. 73), which can give the player a great sense of excitement.

[0309] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, in the LOGO sword icon change performance shown in FIG. 65, if the sword image KG is stuck into the normal icon 9a, it changes to the LOGO sword icon 9g as shown in FIG. 65 (B-1), while if the sword image KG is not stuck into the normal icon 9a, the normal icon 9a remains. However, when the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed as shown in FIG. 70, the LOGO sword icon change performance is always executed thereafter as shown in FIG. 72, and the sword image KG is always stuck into the pre-execution notification icon 9aX in the LOGO sword icon change performance as shown in FIG. 73, and becomes the LOGO sword icon 9gX. In this way, if the pre-execution notification icon 9aX is displayed, the sword image KG is stuck in the LOGO sword icon change performance, and the LOGO sword icon 9gX can always be obtained, providing a novel gaming interest.

[0310] According to the pachinko game machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 66, every time a game ball enters the first starting hole 20 while the target icon 9aT is displayed, a light effect image EK is displayed as shown in Fig. 67. The display of the light effect image EK indicates whether or not the advance execution notification icon 9aX is displayed. Therefore, in order to display the light effect image EK, it is possible to make the player actively aim for the game ball to enter the first starting hole 20.

[0311] 13.Example of changes Next, modified examples of the pachinko game machine 1 of the above embodiment will be described. In the description of the modified examples, the same components as those of the above embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described. Of course, the components of the modified examples may be appropriately combined. Furthermore, technical features in the above embodiment and the following modified examples may be appropriately deleted unless they are described as essential in this specification.

[0312] In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 35 and Fig. 36, in the board icon change effect (movement change effect), after the pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) moves from the position where the icon 9 is displayed, as shown in Fig. 39, the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes to a changed pseudo icon ball image 9n (specific image of high expectation mode), and as shown in Fig. 39 and Fig. 40, the normal icon 9a that triggered the pseudo icon ball image 9k to move changes to a blue icon 9b (icon of high expectation mode). However, as shown in the modified example shown in Fig. 79, a movement change effect may be executed.

[0313] In the modified example shown in FIG. 79, first, as shown in FIG. 79(A), a logo appearance image GH (specific image) showing the main character ("LOGO") riding a horse is displayed from the position where the icon 9 is displayed, that is, from the display area 17x. Then, this logo appearance image GH moves to a specified position 7d on the display screen 7a. After that, when the logo appearance image GH has finished moving to the specified position 7d, a red change logo appearance image GHd (specific image of high expectation mode) showing the upper body of the main character ("LOGO") and the words "RED CHANGE" is displayed. As a result, the icon 9 (normal icon 9a) that triggered the movement of the logo appearance image GH is changed to a red icon 9d.

[0314] In addition, in this modified example, the icon 9 is not limited to being changed to a red icon 9d by displaying the red change logo appearance image GHd. That is, when the logo appearance image GH has finished moving to the specified position 7d on the display screen 7a, if a blue change logo appearance image showing the upper body of the main character ("LOGO") and the word "BLUE CHANGE" is displayed, the icon 9 (normal icon 9a) that triggered the logo appearance image GH to move changes to a blue icon 9b. Also, when the logo appearance image GH has finished moving to the specified position 7d on the display screen 7a, if a green change logo appearance image showing the upper body of the main character ("LOGO") and the word "GREEN CHANGE" is displayed, the icon 9 that triggered the logo appearance image GH to move changes to a green icon 9c. Also, when the logo appearance image GH has finished moving to the specified position 7d on the display screen 7a, if a lucky change logo appearance image showing the upper body of the main character ("LOGO") and the word "GOOD LUCK" is displayed, the icon 9 that triggered the logo appearance image GH to move changes to a LOGO icon 9f. In contrast to these, when the logo appearance image GH has finished moving to a specified position 7d on the display screen 7a, and a "disappointing" changed logo appearance image showing the upper body of the main character ("logo") and the word "disappointing" is displayed, the icon 9 that triggered the movement of the logo appearance image GH is displayed as it is without changing.

[0315] In the above modified example, unlike the board icon change performance, even if the specific image (pseudo icon ball image 9k) does not pass through the passing area (gate images GA1, GA2), the icon 9 that triggers the specific image to move is changed to an icon 9 in a high expectation state. Even if the specific image in a high expectation state does not return to the position of the icon 9 that triggered the specific image to move, the icon 9 that triggered the specific image to move is changed to an icon 9 in a high expectation state. Also, the specific image does not need to be the pseudo icon ball image 9k that is substantially the same in shape as the normal icon 9a, and can be changed appropriately like the logo appearance image GH described above. Note that the specific image may be exactly the same in shape as the normal icon 9a. Then, in the movement change performance, the icon 9 (the icon 9, the reserved icon 9) itself that was displayed in the icon display area 17X moves to the outer display area 17Y (see FIG. 36) and changes to an icon 9 in a high expectation state (for example, a red icon 9d) at any location in the outer display area 17. Thereafter, the icon 9 with high expectation (for example, the red icon 9d) may be returned to its original position (icon display area 17X).

[0316] In the above-mentioned form, in the board icon change effect (movement change effect, icon passing change effect), as shown in Fig. 50 and Fig. 51, there are cases where the pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) moves along the passing route RT1, RT2a, RT2b, RT3 (first route), and as shown in Fig. 52 and Fig. 53, there are cases where the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves along the passing route RT1, RT2a, RT2b, RT3 (second route). However, the route along which the pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) moves is not limited to the above, and for example, there may be a route in which the pseudo icon ball image 9k does not pass through the gate images GA1 and GA2, and then returns and passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2, and can be changed as appropriate.

[0317] In the above-mentioned embodiment, in the board icon change performance (movement change performance, icon passing change performance), as shown in FIG. 50 and FIG. 51, there are cases where the first pattern nail image PH1 (display object of the first specific mode) is displayed, and as shown in FIG. 52 and FIG. 53, there are cases where the second pattern nail image PH2 (display object of the second specific mode) is displayed. However, the third pattern nail image may be displayed, and the type of the display object (nail image) can be changed as appropriate. In addition, the display object is not limited to the nail image, and may be an image showing an obstacle as long as it changes the path (direction) in which the pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) moves, and can be changed as appropriate. In addition, in the board icon change performance (movement change performance, icon passing change performance), it is also possible not to display a display object such as a nail image (an image that changes the moving direction of the specific image).

[0318] In the above embodiment, in the board icon change effect (movement change effect, icon passing change effect), as shown in FIG. 50 and FIG. 51, when the first pattern nail image PH1 (display object of the first specific mode) is displayed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) moves along the passing route RT1, RT2a, RT2b, RT3 (first route), and as shown in FIG. 52 and FIG. 53, when the second pattern nail image PH2 (display object of the second specific mode) is displayed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k moves along the passing route RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, RU2b (second route). That is, the type of the display object and the type of the route are in a corresponding relationship. However, the type of the display object and the type of the route do not have to be in a corresponding relationship. For example, when the first pattern nail image PH1 (display object of the first specific mode) is displayed, the pseudo icon ball image 9k may move along the passing route RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, RU2b (second route).

[0319] In the above-mentioned embodiment, in the board icon change performance (movement change performance, icon passing change performance), as shown in Fig. 50 and Fig. 51, there are cases where a normal gate image GA1 (passing area of ​​the first mode) is displayed, and as shown in Fig. 52 and Fig. 53, there are cases where a special gate image GA2 (passing area of ​​the second mode) is displayed. However, other gate images may be displayed, or only one of the normal gate image GA1 or the special gate image GA2 may be displayed, and the type of passing area can be changed as appropriate. In addition, the special gate image GA2 (see Fig. 51) is wider than the normal gate image GA1 (see Fig. 50), and indicates that the pseudo icon ball image 9k is easier to pass through than the normal gate image GA1, but the shape of the gate images GA1 and GA2 can be changed as appropriate, and may be a shape that does not allow the ease of passing to be understood.

[0320] In the above-mentioned form, in the board icon change effect (movement change effect, icon passing change effect), when the pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) passes through the gate images GA1, GA2 (passing area), the icon 9 that triggered the movement of the pseudo icon ball image 9k changes to any one of the blue icon 9b, green icon 9c, red icon 9d, and LOGO icon 9f. In contrast, a blue gate image in blue, a green gate image in green, a red gate image in red, a special gate image in a special form, and a rainbow gate image in rainbow may be displayed so that the display mode of the icon 9 that triggered the movement of the specific image changes depending on the gate image through which the specific image passes. That is, when the specific image passes through the blue gate image, the icon 9 which triggers the specific image to move changes to a blue icon 9b, when the specific image passes through the blue gate image, the icon 9 which triggers the specific image to move changes to a blue icon 9b, when the specific image passes through the green gate image, the icon 9 which triggers the specific image to move changes to a green icon 9c, when the specific image passes through the red gate image, the icon 9 which triggers the specific image to move changes to a red icon 9d, when the specific image passes through the special gate image, the icon 9 which triggers the specific image to move changes to a LOGO icon 9f, and when the specific image passes through the rainbow gate image (the passing area of ​​the winning notification mode), the icon 9 which triggers the specific image to move may change to a rainbow icon 9h. With this modified example, it is possible to provide the player with the interest of paying attention to which gate image the specific image passes through, and the display mode of the icon 9 changes depending on the gate image that it passes through.

[0321] In the above embodiment, in the board icon change effect (icon passing change effect), after the pseudo icon ball image 9k (specific image) moves from the position where the icon 9 is displayed, it is shown whether the pseudo icon ball image 9k passes through the gate images GA1 and GA2 (passing area). However, as in the modified example shown in Fig. 80, it is also possible to execute an icon passing change effect that shows whether the specific image passes through the first gate image GB1 (passing area) without moving the specific image from the position where the icon 9 is displayed.

[0322] In this modified example, when the icon passing change performance is started, first, as shown in FIG. 80(A), a seesaw image SX showing a rotatable seesaw, a ball image BA (specific image) placed on the seesaw image SX, a first gate image GB1 arranged at the lower left of the seesaw image SX, and a second gate image GB2 arranged at the lower right of the seesaw image SX are displayed on the display screen 7a. The ball image BA is a white circle as a normal display mode (default). The word "change" is displayed on the first gate image GB1 so that it is easy to understand that the icon changing performance is executed by the ball image BA passing through. On the other hand, an "x" is displayed on the second gate image GB2 so that it is easy to understand that the icon changing performance is not executed by the ball image BA passing through.

[0323] After FIG. 80(A), the flow branches to the case shown in FIG. 80(B-1) and the case shown in FIG. 80(B-2). In the case shown in FIG. 80(B-1), the seesaw image SX rotates so as to tilt downward to the left. As a result, the ball image BA flows downward to the left and passes through the first gate image GB1. As a result, the display mode of the ball image BA changes to a green ball image BAc, which is a green circle. At this time, the icon 9 changes to a green icon 9c.

[0324] On the other hand, in the case shown in Fig. 80 (B-2), the seesaw image SX rotates so as to tilt downward to the right. As a result, the ball image BA flows downward to the right, and the ball image BA passes through the second gate image GB2. As a result, the ball image BA remains a white circle (normal display mode). At this time, the display mode of the icon 9 is maintained as it is (it remains the normal icon 9a).

[0325] In the above-described modified example, the ball image BA changes to a green ball image BAc, which is a green circle, by passing through the first gate image GB1, and then changes to a green icon 9c. However, when the ball image BA changes to a blue ball image, which is a blue circle, by passing through the first gate image GB1, it changes to a blue icon 9b. When the ball image BA changes to a red ball image, which is a red circle, by passing through the first gate image GB1, it changes to a red icon 9d. When the ball image BA changes to a rainbow ball image, which is a rainbow circle, by passing through the first gate image GB1, it changes to a rainbow icon 9h. In addition, the ball image BA may be revived and pass through the first gate image GB1 after passing through the second gate image GB2.

[0326] In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 57 to Fig. 62, in the touch icon change performance, the icon change performance (specific performance) is executed after forming the icon completion completion image IK (integrated completion image) by the touch icon 9e and each of the completion images UR, DR, UL, DL (complementary portion). However, the completion portion, the integrated completion image, and the specific performance are not limited to the above, and can be appropriately changed, and may be as shown in the modified example in Fig. 81.

[0327] In this modified example, first, as shown in FIG. 81(A), a special enemy character icon 9z is displayed in the display area 17x. This special enemy character icon 9z indicates in advance that the enemy character to be fought in the battle reach performance is a special enemy character when the battle reach performance is executed. Specifically, the special enemy character icon 9z is in a form showing the face part of the special enemy character. This special enemy character icon 9z moves while expanding from the display area 17x to the center position 7e of the display screen 7a. Then, when the special enemy character icon 9z has finished moving to the center position 7e of the display screen 7a, a complement image HK is displayed around the special enemy character icon 9z as shown in FIG. 81(B). The complement image HK (complement portion) is in a form that excludes the face part of the upper body of the special enemy character. In this way, a special enemy character completed image IJ (integral completed image) showing the upper body of the special enemy character is displayed by the special enemy character icon 9z and the complement image HK that complements the periphery of the special enemy character icon 9z. This special enemy character completed image IJ suggests the execution of a special enemy character battle reach performance (specific performance).

[0328] Also, as shown in FIG. 81(B), when the special enemy character completed image IJ is formed, the auxiliary symbols 6L, 6C, and 6R are displayed in a reach state (for example, "4↓4") in the upper right part of the display screen 7a. This indicates that a reach effect will be executed. Also at this time, a defeat image GK showing the words "Defeat the enemy character" is displayed in the upper part of the display screen 7a. In this way, after the special enemy character completed image IJ is formed, a special enemy character battle reach effect is executed, which indicates that the main character ("logo") will fight a special enemy character.

[0329] In the special enemy character battle reach performance, if it is shown that the main character ("logo") has won against the special enemy character, a big win is announced, and if it is shown that the main character ("logo") has been defeated by the special enemy character, a loss is announced. This special enemy character battle reach performance is one of the SP reaches, and the winning expectation rate of the special enemy character battle reach performance is set to 60%. In this way, it is possible to give a player who has seen the process from the special enemy character icon 9z to the special enemy character completed image IJ a sense of elation that the special enemy character battle reach performance, which suggests a high winning expectation rate, has begun. As shown in FIG. 81(A)(B), after the special enemy character icon 9z moves from the display area 17x to the center position 7e of the display screen 7a, a LOGO icon 9f is displayed in the display area 17x.

[0330] In the above-mentioned modified example, a case where a special enemy character battle performance is executed after a special enemy character completed image IJ is formed from a special enemy character icon 9z is shown. However, there are also cases where a special enemy character completed image IJ is not formed from a special enemy character icon 9z and a special enemy character battle performance is not executed. In other words, if a special enemy character completed image IJ is formed, a special enemy character battle performance (specific performance) is necessarily executed thereafter. However, just because a special enemy character icon 9z is displayed does not necessarily mean that a special enemy character battle performance will be executed thereafter.

[0331] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 60, the touch icon 9e and the complementary images UR, DR, UL, and DL (complementary parts) that complement the periphery of the touch icon 9e form an icon complemented completed image IK (integrated completed image). In the above modified embodiment, as shown in FIG. 81(B), the special enemy character icon 9z and the complementary image HK (complementary part) that complements the periphery of the special enemy character icon 9z form a special enemy character completed image IJ (integrated completed image). Here, the complementary part that complements the periphery of the icon means a part that forms a single design (design) by connecting (attaching) to the periphery of the icon and the complementary part. The complementary part may be attached not only to the entire periphery (whole circumference) of the icon (touch icon 9e, special enemy character icon 9z) as in the above embodiment (see FIG. 60) or the above modified embodiment (FIG. 81(B)), but also to a part of the periphery of the icon. However, in order to strengthen the impression of the newly formed design through the integrated completed image, it is desirable for the complementary portion to be attached to more than half (semi-circumference) of the icon, and it is even more desirable for the complementary portion to be attached to the entire periphery (full circumference) of the icon.

[0332] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 57 and FIG. 58, when the touch icon 9e (icon) moves from the display area 17x to the central position 7c (predetermined position), an icon complemented completed image IK (integrated completed image, see FIG. 59) is formed. However, the integrated completed image may be formed by moving the icon 9 to a predetermined position other than the central position 7c. Alternatively, the integrated completed image may be formed without moving the icon 9. That is, the integrated completed image may be displayed by the icon 9 and a complementary part that complements the periphery of the icon 9, or the integrated completed image may be formed by the reserved icon 9 and a complementary part that complements the periphery of the reserved icon 9.

[0333] In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 60, the touch icon 9e (see Fig. 33(E)) included in the icon complemented completed image IK (integrated completed image) was an icon in an operation display mode suggesting a touch operation (specific operation) on the glass plate 55 (specific object). However, the display mode of the icon included in the integrated completed image is not limited to the operation display mode suggesting a touch operation on the glass plate 55, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the display mode of the icon included in the integrated completed image may be the display mode of a red icon 9d or the display mode of a LOGO icon 9f.

[0334] In the above embodiment, in the touch icon change presentation, the icon change presentation (specific presentation) is performed based on the touch operation of the central region TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55 (transparent member) overlapping the icon completion completion image IK (operation prompt image). In contrast, the icon change presentation (specific presentation) may be performed even if the region of the glass plate 55 including at least the central region TE is touched. For example, the icon change presentation (specific presentation) may be performed even if any part of the glass plate 55 is touched. This is because the player does not need to be confused about which part of the glass plate 55 to touch. Note that, when the central region TE (see FIG. 6) of the glass plate 55 overlapping the icon completion completion image IK (operation prompt image) is touched, the icon change presentation is not performed, whereas when the region of the glass plate 55 not overlapping the icon completion completion image IK (operation prompt image) is touched, the icon change presentation may be performed.

[0335] In the above embodiment, in the touch icon change performance, a touch icon 9e (pre-operation image) is displayed before an icon completion image IK (operation prompting image) that prompts a touch operation to the glass plate 55 (transparent member) is displayed (see Figs. 56 and 57). However, the pre-operation image is not limited to the touch icon 9e and can be changed as appropriate. For example, a touch image that is not an icon 9 but has the same display mode as the touch icon 9e (see Fig. 33(E)) is displayed. This touch image is a pre-operation image that indicates in advance that the icon completion image IK (operation prompting image) will be displayed, and the operation prompting image may be displayed based on the touch image moving to, for example, the central position 7c (specific position).

[0336] In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 60, the icon complemented completed image IK (integrated completed image) was an image that prompted a touch operation (specific operation) on the glass plate 55 (specific object). However, the integrated completed image may be an image that prompted a specific operation on an operation object other than the glass plate 55, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the integrated completed image may be an image that prompted a pressing operation (specific operation) on an operation means (operation object) such as the performance button 63 or the logo sword role object 300.

[0337] In the above embodiment, the icon change effect (specific effect) is executed based on the contact operation (predetermined operation) of the glass plate 55 (transparent member). However, the specific effect such as the icon change effect may be executed based on the approach operation (predetermined operation) of the glass plate 55 (transparent member) without directly touching it. In this case, the approach operation (predetermined operation) to the glass plate 55 may be detected using, for example, a capacitance type proximity sensor that detects the presence of a non-metallic object (human body) or an infrared sensor (human sensor). In this way, the icon change effect (specific effect) is executed by simply approaching the glass plate 55 without a contact operation, so that even a player who dislikes directly touching the glass plate 55 can execute the icon change effect by his / her own operation.

[0338] In the above embodiment, in the touch icon change performance, as shown in Figs. 60 and 61, an icon completion image IK (operation prompting image) that prompts a touch operation (predetermined operation) on the glass plate 55 (transparent member) is displayed. However, the operation prompting image is not limited to an image that prompts a touch operation on the glass plate 55, but may be an image that prompts an approach operation to the glass plate 55, and may be changed as appropriate as long as it is an image that prompts an operation on the glass plate 55. In addition, the operation prompting image is not limited to the icon completion image IK shown in Figs. 60 and 61 including the touch icon 9e, but may be changed as appropriate. For example, the operation prompting image may be a text image indicating "Touch the glass plate!" or a text image indicating "Get closer to the glass plate!"

[0339] In the above embodiment, as shown in Figs. 60 to 62, an icon change effect (specific effect) is executed in which the icon changes to a LOGO icon 9f, a red icon 9d, or a green icon 9c based on a contact operation (specific operation, predetermined operation) of a glass plate 55 (specific object, transparent member) during the display of an icon completion completion image IK (integrated completion image). However, an icon change effect may be executed in which the icon changes to a rainbow icon 9h that notifies a winning of a big win. Alternatively, the specific effect executed based on a specific operation of a specific object is not limited to an icon change effect, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the specific effect may be a cut-in notice effect that suggests the winning expectation by temporarily displaying a cut-in image on the display screen 7a, a step-up notice effect that suggests that the more steps reached, the higher the winning expectation, by displaying an image related to each step, or a pseudo consecutive effect in which the variable display of the performance pattern 8 is executed multiple times in one variable effect.

[0340] Or, as in the modified example shown in FIG. 82, the specific effect may be a board movable body drive notice effect. That is, based on the glass plate 55 being touched while the icon complemented completed image IK (integrated completed image) shown in FIG. 82(A) is being displayed, as shown in FIG. 82(B), a board movable body drive effect may be executed in which the board movable body 15 is driven from the standby position shown in FIG. 4(A) to the operating position shown in FIG. 4(B). In this case, the player can be given the feeling that he or she has moved the board movable body 15 by his or her own touch operation, and it is possible to enjoy a novel operation effect. That is, the distance between the glass plate 55 and the board movable body 15 is shorter than the distance between the operation means such as the effect button 63 and the board movable body 15. Therefore, it is possible to enjoy a novel operation effect in which the board movable body 15 appears just in front of the glass plate 55 by touching the glass plate 55 located near the board movable body 15. In addition, a touch operation on the glass plate 55 may cause a movable body other than the board movable body 15 to move (for example, the frame movable body to move or vibrate, or the performance button 63 to move or vibrate).

[0341] In the above embodiment, in the touch icon change performance, the icon 9 (touch icon 9e) is changed to any one of the LOGO icon 9f, the red icon 9d, and the green icon 9c. However, in the touch icon change performance, the icon 9 may be changed to the blue icon 9b, the LOGO sword icon 9g, or the rainbow icon 9h. In addition, in the touch icon change performance, an icon 9 other than the touch icon 9e may be changed to the touch icon 9e based on a touch operation on the glass plate 55 (transparent member). In this case, the touch icon 9e indicates that the touch icon change performance has been executed.

[0342] In the above embodiment, in the touch icon change presentation, the icon change presentation (specific presentation) is always executed based on the touch operation (predetermined operation) on the glass plate 55 (transparent member) as shown in Fig. 62. However, even if the predetermined operation is performed on the transparent member, there may be cases where the specific presentation is not executed.

[0343] In the above embodiment, when the touch icon 9e moves from the first reserved display area 17a to the display area 17x, the touch icon change performance is executed. However, the execution timing of the touch icon change performance is not limited to the above timing and can be changed as appropriate. For example, when the touch icon 9e is displayed in the reserved display areas 17a to 17d, the touch icon change performance may be executed, and the touch icon 9e displayed in the reserved display areas 17a to 17d may be changed to an icon 9 with high expectation (for example, the LOGO icon 9f).

[0344] In the above embodiment, in the target icon change performance, after the target icon 9aT (icon of a predetermined mode, see FIG. 66) is displayed in the reserved display area 17a-17d, when the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, it may change to a pre-execution notification icon 9aX (icon of a special mode, see FIG. 70). However, as in the modified example shown in FIG. 83 and FIG. 84, even if the normal icon 9a (the icon 9, the icon of a predetermined mode) is displayed in the display area 17x, when the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, the display mode of the normal icon 9a in the display area 17x may be changed.

[0345] In the following, the modified example shown in FIG. 83 and FIG. 84 will be described. In the target icon change performance of this modified example, first, as shown in FIG. 83(A), an explanatory character image SM showing the characters "Every time the ball enters the center hole?" is displayed on the upper side of the display area 17x. This allows the player to understand that the icon 9a is the icon 9 that is the target of the target icon change performance. After that, when the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, a point image PO showing, for example, "25 points" is displayed on the right side of the display area 17x as shown in FIG. 83(B). At this time, the normal icon 9a is displayed in the first reserved display area 17a.

[0346] Here, in the target icon change performance of the modified example, the points indicated by the point image PO can be increased every time the game ball enters the first starting hole 20. Then, when the number indicated by the point image PO reaches 100 points, the icon 9 (the icon 9) that is the subject of the target icon change performance changes to a LOGO icon 9f (icon of a special mode) as described later (see FIG. 84(B)). In other words, even if the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, if the points indicated by the point image PO do not reach 100 points, the icon 9 (the icon 9) that is the subject of the target icon change performance does not change to a LOGO icon 9f but remains as a normal icon 9a.

[0347] Returning to the explanation of the modified example shown in Figures 83 and 84, when the gaming ball enters the first starting hole 20 after Figure 83(B), the points shown in the point image PO become 80 points, as shown in Figure 84(A). In other words, the points shown in the point image PO increase by 60 points. The increase in the points shown in the point image PO is determined by a lottery using a point lottery table (not shown) by the performance control microcomputer 91, based on the entry of the gaming ball into the first starting hole 20. Also, as shown in Figure 84(A), a normal icon 9a is displayed in the second pending display area 17b based on the entry of the gaming ball into the first starting hole 20.

[0348] Furthermore, when the game ball enters the first starting hole 20, the points shown in the point image PO become 100 points, as shown in FIG. 84(B). As a result, in the display area 17x, the icon 9 (normal icon 9a) changes to a LOGO icon 9f. At this time, the normal icon 9a is displayed in the third reserved display area 17c.

[0349] 83 and 84, after the explanatory text image SM is displayed (after the target icon change performance is started), the icon 9a displayed in the display area 17x can be changed to a LOGO icon 9f based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20. Therefore, it is possible for the player to actively aim for the game ball to enter the first starting hole 20 after the explanatory text image SM is displayed.

[0350] In the above-mentioned modified example shown in Fig. 83 and Fig. 84, after the icon 9 is displayed, the icon 9 changes to the LOGO icon 9f (icon of a special mode) based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20. However, the icon 9 may change stepwise, such as blue icon 9b (icon of a special mode) ⇒ green icon 9c (icon of a special mode) ⇒ red icon 9d (icon of a special mode) ⇒ LOGO icon 9f, according to the points shown in the point image PO.

[0351] In the above embodiment, in the target icon change performance, after the target icon 9aT (icon of a predetermined mode) is displayed, it may change to a pre-execution notification icon 9aX (icon of a special mode) based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20 (ball entry hole). However, after the icon of a predetermined mode is displayed, it may change to an icon of a special mode based on the game ball entering the second starting hole 21 (ball entry hole).

[0352] In the above embodiment, in the target icon change performance, after the target icon 9aT (icon of a predetermined mode) is displayed, a light effect image EK is displayed as shown in FIG. 67 based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20. Then, after the display of this light effect image EK, whether or not it will change to a pre-execution notification icon 9aX (icon of a special mode) is displayed. However, the success / failure teasing performance indicating whether or not it will change to an icon of a special mode is not limited to the above-mentioned performance and can be changed as appropriate. For example, as described in the modified example shown in FIG. 83 and FIG. 84, the success / failure teasing performance may be a performance indicating whether or not the points indicated by the point image PO reach 100 points, or may indicate whether or not it will change to an icon of a special mode depending on whether or not the mini character image transforms.

[0353] In the above embodiment, when the target icon 9aT (icon of a predetermined mode) changes to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX in the target icon change performance, the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (icon of a special mode) indicates the execution of the LOGO sword icon change success performance (special notice performance). However, the special notice performance executed by the display of the icon of the special mode is not limited to the LOGO sword icon change success performance, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the special notice performance may be a cut-in notice performance that suggests the winning expectation by temporarily displaying a cut-in image on the display screen 7a, a step-up notice performance that suggests that the more steps reached, the higher the winning expectation, by displaying an image related to each step, a pseudo consecutive performance in which the change display of the performance pattern 8 is executed multiple times in one change performance, a movable body drive notice performance that shows that a movable object such as the board movable body 15 or the frame movable body is moving, etc.

[0354] In the above embodiment, the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (special pre-effect) indicates that the LOGO sword icon change effect will be executed, and indicates in advance that the LOGO sword icon change effect (change teasing effect) will not show a failure mode in which the sword image KG does not pierce the icon 9, but will always show a success mode in which the sword image KG pierces the icon 9. However, the special pre-effect is not limited to the display of the pre-execution notification icon 9aX, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the special pre-effect may be a logo SP reach shown in FIG. 85 (A-2), as described in the following modified example.

[0355] As shown in FIG. 85, in this modified example, after the performance pattern 8 becomes a reach, the SP reach may be executed as a character SP reach shown in FIG. 85(A-1), a logo SP reach shown in FIG. 85(A-2), or an awakening SP reach shown in FIG. 85(A-3). In the character SP reach shown in FIG. 85(A-1), a mission image in which a predetermined character challenges a mission is displayed. In the logo SP reach shown in FIG. 85(A-2), a normal battle image in which the main character ("logo") fights an enemy character is displayed. In the awakening SP reach shown in FIG. 85(A-3), a special battle image in which the main character fights an enemy character in an awakened state is displayed. In any SP reach, the final branch is between the winning notification performance shown in FIG. 85(B-1) and the losing notification performance shown in FIG. 85(B-2).

[0356] Here, in the character SP reach shown in Fig. 85 (A-1), the winning probability of the jackpot is set to 20%, and an expectation suggestion image Y2 indicating "Winning probability 2 ★★" is displayed on the display screen 7a. Also, in the logo SP reach shown in Fig. 85 (A-2), the winning probability of the jackpot is set to 40%, and an expectation suggestion image Y3 indicating "Winning probability 3 ★★★" is displayed on the display screen 7a. Also, in the awakening SP reach shown in Fig. 85 (A-3), the winning probability of the jackpot is set to 60%, and an expectation suggestion image Y3 indicating "Winning probability 4 ★★★★" is displayed on the display screen 7a.

[0357] In this modified example, a LOGO sword icon change effect (change teasing effect) may be executed while a character SP reach is being executed. However, even if a LOGO icon change effect is executed while a character SP reach is being executed, there are cases where a successful mode in which the sword image KG pierces the icon 9 is displayed, and cases where a failed mode in which the sword image KG does not pierce the icon 9 is displayed. Similarly, a LOGO icon change effect (change teasing effect) may be executed while an awakening SP reach is being executed. However, even if a LOGO sword icon change effect is executed while an awakening SP reach is being executed, there are cases where a successful mode in which the sword image KG pierces the icon 9 is displayed, and cases where a failed mode in which the sword image KG does not pierce the icon 9 is displayed.

[0358] However, during the execution of the Logo SP reach, the LOGO sword icon change performance is always executed, and in the LOGO sword icon change performance (change teasing performance), a failure mode in which the sword image KG does not pierce the icon 9 is never shown, but a success mode in which the sword image KG pierces the icon 9 is always shown. This is because, in the Logo SP reach, a normal battle image in which the main character ("Logo") fights an enemy character is displayed, so that the uniformity of the performance can be ensured by displaying the LOGO sword icon 9g as the icon 9. As described above, in this modified example, the Logo SP reach indicates in advance the execution of the LOGO sword icon change performance as a special advance performance, and indicates in advance that the LOGO sword icon change success performance will be executed.

[0359] In the above embodiment, the light effect image EK is displayed (the success / failure prompting performance is executed) based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20 (based on the establishment of a predetermined condition) while the target icon 9aT (predetermined image) is displayed. However, the predetermined image is not limited to the target icon 9aT, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the predetermined image may be a ball entry promotion image (for example, an image showing the words "Aim for the center hole") that encourages the ball to enter the first starting hole 20, and while this ball entry promotion image is displayed, the light effect image EK is displayed (the success / failure prompting performance is executed) based on the game ball entering the first starting hole 20 (based on the establishment of a predetermined condition).

[0360] In the above embodiment, the establishment of the predetermined condition for displaying the light effect image EK (executing the success / failure teasing performance) is that the game ball enters the first starting hole 20 while the target icon 9aT (predetermined image) is being displayed. However, the establishment of the predetermined condition for executing the success / failure teasing performance is not limited to the above and can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the pseudo consecutive performance, the variable display of the performance pattern may be executed a predetermined number of times (e.g., three times) or more, or the performance may develop into an SP reach.

[0361] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 66, while the target icon 9aT (predetermined image) is displayed, an explanatory text image SM showing the text "Every time you win in the center?" is displayed as a requirement suggestion display. However, the requirement suggestion display is not limited to the explanatory text image SM, and can be changed as appropriate as long as it suggests the requirement for displaying the light effect image EK (executing the success / failure teasing performance). For example, the requirement suggestion display may be executed by displaying an arrow image showing an arrow pointing to the position where the first starting hole 20 is located.

[0362] In the above embodiment, the LOGO sword icon change effect shown in FIG. 65 was a change prompting effect that indicates whether the icon 9 will be changed to the LOGO sword icon 9g (icon of a special mode) by indicating a success mode or a failure mode. However, the change prompting effect is not limited to the LOGO sword icon change effect and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the change prompting effect may be a rainbow icon change prompting effect that indicates whether the icon 9 will be changed to a rainbow icon 9h (icon of a special mode) by indicating a success mode or a failure mode. When a full rotation reach (special advance effect) in which the performance patterns 8L, 8C, and 8R are displayed side by side at the same speed and change, the rainbow icon change prompting effect is always executed, and the rainbow icon change prompting effect may always indicate a success mode and change to the rainbow icon 9h.

[0363] In the above embodiment, when the pre-execution notification icon 9aX (icon of a special mode) is displayed, it indicates in advance that the LOGO sword icon change performance (change teasing performance) will be executed, and also indicates in advance that the LOGO sword icon change success performance (success mode) will be displayed. However, the icon of the special mode is not limited to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, a LOGO icon change teasing performance is executed to indicate whether or not the icon will change to the LOGO icon 9f by indicating a success mode or a failure mode. And, as the icon 9, a face icon indicating the face of the main character (logo) is present. In this case, when an icon 9 other than the face icon is displayed, a LOGO icon change teasing performance may be executed thereafter, and in the LOGO icon change teasing performance, either the success mode or the failure mode is displayed. On the other hand, when the face icon is displayed, a LOGO icon change teasing performance is always executed thereafter, and in the LOGO icon change teasing performance, the success mode is always displayed. In this modified example, the face icon is an icon of a special mode.

[0364] In the above embodiment, the pachinko gaming machine 1 is a so-called "probability loop type" in which the high probability state continues until the next big win is won after being controlled to the high probability state. However, it may be a so-called "ST type" pachinko gaming machine in which the normal probability state is controlled when the number of times the special symbol variable display reaches a predetermined number after being controlled to the high probability state. Also, in the above embodiment, the pachinko gaming machine 1 is a so-called "type 1 type" in which a big win game is executed when a big win is won in the lottery of a special symbol, but it may be another type of pachinko gaming machine capable of executing a small win game (for example, a so-called type 1 / type 2 mixed machine).

[0365] In the above embodiment, the pachinko game machine 1 transitions to a high probability state depending on the type of special symbol that is stopped and displayed. However, the pachinko game machine may be a pachinko game machine that transitions to a high probability state based on the passage of a gaming ball into a specific area (V area) provided in the big prize device, or a pachinko game machine that does not transition to a high probability state.

[0366] In the above embodiment, the number of time-saving times is set to "100" times after a big win, or the time-saving state continues until the next big win is won. However, the number of time-saving times may be set to "0" times after a big win (i.e., controlled to a "non-time-saving state").

[0367] In the above embodiment, the upper limit of the number of reserved balls for the first special symbol and the upper limit of the number of reserved balls for the second special symbol are each "4". However, the upper limit of the number of reserved balls for the first special symbol and the upper limit of the number of reserved balls for the second special symbol are not limited to "4" and can be changed as appropriate. In addition, the pachinko game machine may have no reserved balls for the first special symbol or the second special symbol.

[0368] The winning expectancy of each icon 9 described in the above form (see Figure 34), the allocation rate of each presentation pattern Q1 to Q9 when a board icon change success presentation is executed (see Figure 55 (A)), the allocation rate of each presentation pattern Q10 to Q16 when a board icon change failure presentation is executed (see Figure 55 (B)), the allocation rate when a touch icon change presentation is executed (see Figures 64 (A) (B) (C)), the allocation rate when a target icon change success presentation is executed when it is determined that the icon can be changed to the LOGO sword icon (see Figure 74 (A)), and the allocation rate when the icon changes to the target icon 9aT and then changes to the pre-execution notification icon 9aX when the game ball enters the first starting hole 20 (see Figure 74 (B)) are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0369] 14. The invention shown in the above embodiment The above-mentioned embodiment describes the invention of each of the following means. In the following description of the means, the corresponding component names and expressions in the above-mentioned embodiment and the symbols used in the drawings are added in parentheses for reference. However, the components of each invention are not limited to these additions.

[0370] <Means A> The invention according to means A1 is as follows: A game control means (game control microcomputer 81) capable of executing a process for determining whether or not a winning combination has been selected (a process for determining whether or not a winning combination has been selected); In a gaming machine (pachinko gaming machine 1), a performance control means (performance control microcomputer 91) capable of displaying an icon (9) in an icon display area (17X) indicating that the judgment process has been executed or that the execution of the judgment process is pending is provided. The performance control means includes: This gaming machine is characterized in that it is capable of executing a movement change effect (successful change effect of icon on board) in which a specific image (pseudo icon ball image 9k) is moved from the position where the icon is displayed to an outer display area (17Y) outside the icon display area, and then the specific image is changed to a specific image (changing pseudo icon ball image 9n) of a high expectation state suggesting that the expectation of the icon being determined to be a hit is high, thereby changing the icon that triggered the movement of the specific image to an icon of a high expectation state (for example, blue icon 9b) suggesting that the expectation of the icon being determined to be a hit is high.

[0371] According to a gaming machine having this configuration, the specific image moves from the position where the icon is displayed to the outer display area. After that, the specific image changes to a specific image of a high expectation mode in the outer display area, suggesting high expectations. As a result, the icon that triggered the specific image to move changes to an icon of a high expectation mode, suggesting high expectations. In this way, it is possible to provide a novel gaming interest by drawing the player's attention to whether the display mode of the specific image that has moved from the position where the icon is displayed changes, as a presentation in which the display mode of the icon changes.

[0372] The invention according to means A2 is as follows: In the gaming machine described in the means A1, The moving change effect is an effect in which the specific image changes to a specific image of a high expectation state (changing pseudo icon ball image 9n), and then the specific image of the high expectation state returns to the position of the icon that triggered the specific image to move (see Figure 39), and the icon that triggered the specific image to move changes to an icon of a high expectation state (for example, blue icon 9b) (see Figure 40).

[0373] According to the gaming machine of this configuration, after the specific image changes to a specific image of a high expectation mode, the specific image of the high expectation mode returns to the position of the icon that triggered the specific image to move. As a result, the icon that triggered the specific image to move changes to an icon of a high expectation mode. In this way, it is possible to provide a novel gaming interest in that the display mode of the icon changes with the cycle of the specific image moving from the icon and the specific image of the high expectation mode moving to the icon.

[0374] The invention according to means A3 is as follows: In the gaming machine according to the means A1 or A2, The performance control means includes: This gaming machine is characterized by the fact that after the specific image is moved from the position where the icon is displayed to the outer display area, the display mode of the specific image is maintained, thereby making it possible to execute a false move effect (a failed change effect of the icon on the board) in which the display mode of the icon that triggered the specific image to move is maintained (see Figures 43 and 44).

[0375] According to the gaming machine of this configuration, even if the specific image moves from the position where the icon is displayed to the outer display area, the display mode of the specific image may be maintained without becoming the high expectation mode. In this case, the display mode of the icon that triggered the specific image to move is maintained without becoming the high expectation mode. In this way, when the specific image moves from the position where the icon is displayed, the player is made to pay attention to whether the movement change effect or the movement false effect will be executed, which can increase the interest of the game.

[0376] The invention according to Means A4 is as follows: In the gaming machine described in the means A3, The performance control means includes: There are cases where the specific image is moved along a first path (passing routes RT1, RT2a, RT2b, RT3) in the outer display area (see FIGS. 50 and 51), and cases where the specific image is moved along a second path (passing routes RU1a, RU1b, RU2a, RU2b) in the outer display area (see FIGS. 52 and 53), This is a gaming machine characterized in that it is easier to execute the movement change effect when the specific image is moved along the second path than when the specific image is moved along the first path (see Figures 55 (A) and (B)).

[0377] According to the gaming machine of this configuration, the specific image that moves from the position where the icon is displayed may move along a first path in the outer display area, or along a second path in the outer display area. However, when the specific image moves along the second path, the movement change effect is more likely to be executed than when the specific image moves along the first path. Therefore, it is possible to make the player expect the specific image to move along the second path rather than the first path, thereby increasing the interest in the game.

[0378] The invention according to means A5 is as follows: In the gaming machine described in the means A3, The performance control means includes: In the outer display area, there are a case where a display object of a first specific aspect (a first pattern nail image PH1) is displayed (see Figs. 50 and 51) and a case where a display object of a second specific aspect (a second pattern nail image PH2) is displayed (see Figs. 52 and 53). This gaming machine is characterized in that when the specific image is moved from the position where the icon is displayed to the outer display area, it is easier to execute the movement change effect when an object of the second specific state is displayed than when an object of the first specific state is displayed (see Figures 55 (A) and (B)).

[0379] According to the gaming machine of this configuration, when the specific image moves from the position where the icon is displayed, there are cases where a display object of a first specific mode is displayed in the outer display area, and cases where a display object of a second specific mode is displayed. However, when a display object of the second specific mode is displayed, the movement change effect is more likely to be executed than when a display object of the first specific mode is displayed. Therefore, ...

Claims

1. A performance control means capable of displaying an image on a display means; a first movable body; a second movable body; A transparent member is disposed in front of the display means. The performance control means An operation prompting image that prompts a predetermined operation on the transparent member can be displayed, A gaming machine characterized in that the first movable body can be caused to perform a first operation and the second movable body can be caused to perform a second operation based on a predetermined operation being performed on the transparent member while the operation prompt image is displayed.

2. In the gaming machine described in claim 1, the second movable body is a vibrating body that can vibrate, The performance control means A gaming machine characterized in that the first movable body is caused to perform a first operation and the vibrating body is caused to vibrate based on a predetermined operation being performed on the transparent member while the operation prompting image is displayed.

Images