Stored ball management system, game parlor system, and computer program

Abstract

To provide a system for securing appropriate operation of stored balls or replays in a game parlor.SOLUTION: A stored ball management system 20 stores a first setting value when performing replays, transmits the first setting value to a game parlor system 10, and acquires a second setting value when performing replays stored by the game parlor system 10 from the game parlor system 10. The stored ball management system 20 instructs the game parlor system 10 to permit withdrawal of stored balls of value corresponding to the first setting value when the first setting value agrees with the second setting value, and instructs the game parlor system 10 to restrict withdrawal of stored balls when the first setting value does not agree with the second setting value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ball management technique for managing balls saved by fans who play on gaming machines. The game media that fans have acquired at game arcades, such as physical game balls or game medals, are called "balls." [Background technology]

[0002] In arcades that have pachinko machines and other machines, various services are offered to encourage fans to return. One of the most typical services is exchanging game media that fans have acquired through playing for prizes. Recently, a service called "save balls and replay" has been introduced, which allows fans to replay using saved balls. With this service, fans can save the number of game media they have acquired and use them for their next play or exchange them for prizes of higher value. This is presumably leading to an increase in fans' motivation to play. In addition, since the same fans will come to the arcade multiple times to play in order to increase the number of saved balls, it is expected that this will lead to fans becoming repeat customers. The number of saved balls is stored as saved ball data, and fans can consume them at any time.

[0003] However, if a game parlor that allows ball saving and replay has troubles such as closure or bankruptcy, the balls saved by fans will become invalid. Therefore, in order to protect fans from the disadvantages caused by such troubles, the applicant of the present application proposed a ball saving management system disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like. However, if the number of fans using the ball saving and replay service increases, the burden of introducing and maintaining the game parlor system that enables the service and the fee burden to pay to a third party institution will increase. In addition, since ball saving and replay allows games to be played without using a ball rental machine, the profits of the game parlor are significantly reduced compared to when ball saving is not used. Therefore, when using the ball saving and replay service, some game parlors set an upper limit on the number of balls that can be replayed, or collect a certain fee from fans. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that deducts a fee for ball saving compensation from the number of balls saved by fans. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4538393 [Patent Document 2] JP 2007-151919 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the operation of the ball saving and replay service, some arcades collect fees for ball saving and replay, while others do not, and the handling of fees is not standardized in the gaming industry. In addition, when collecting fees for ball saving and replay from fans, it is common for the arcade to set the fee rate. Therefore, in the case of arcades that do not have a sufficient management system for ball saving and replay, there is a possibility that fan data related to ball saving and replay may be tampered with or unintended changes may occur due to system troubles, etc., in which case fans who used ball saving at the arcade may suffer damage, or the arcade itself or other arcades may suffer damage (including damage to reputations).

[0006] In view of the above problems, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a technique for managing stored balls that can ensure the appropriate management of stored balls or replays. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a ball management system for stored ball data and an amusement facility system. The ball storage management system of the present invention is a system for storing balls that game parlor members have acquired on game machines. have an account with A communication means for communicating with a gaming facility system that enables replay using the stored balls; To determine the required value for maintaining the accounta storage means for storing a first setting value; and a communication means for controlling the communication means to transmit the first setting value to the gaming center system and to transmit the first setting value to the gaming center system. To determine the prescribed value A second setting value is acquired from the gaming center system, and when the first setting value and the second setting value match, the gaming center system is notified of the Prescribed value Sign of and instructing the gaming center system to permit collection if the first set value and the second set value do not match. Prescribed value Sign of and a control means for instructing the limiting of collection.

[0008] In addition, the game center system of the present invention includes: The above ball storage management system A gaming parlor system that enables communication with a gaming parlor member and replay using saved balls by the gaming parlor member, The above A registration means for registering an account, and a means for registering all or a part of the game balls acquired by the game facility member in advance. Record a first means for storing the Second A setting method for setting the setting value and a method for replaying The above Prescribed value Before Record and a second means for collecting from the account, Second Set the value as above Ball storage management The collection is limited if no transmission to the system is possible for a predetermined period of time. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, since the settings related to ball storage and replay are managed by a system other than the amusement arcade, the effect is that the appropriate operation of ball storage and replay in the amusement arcade is guaranteed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a gaming management system. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an amusement arcade system. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an amusement center member DB. [Diagram 5] An example of the contents of the ball savings account DB. [Figure 6] Functional block diagram of the ball storage management system. [Figure 7] An example of the contents of the ball saving member DB. [Figure 8] An example of the contents of the ball savings account DB. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a fan terminal. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a process for checking a setting value. [Figure 12] A diagram showing the processing procedure for saving balls and replaying. [Figure 13] A diagram of the processing procedure after the ball savings account is compiled. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. <Overall composition> FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a gaming management system 1 to which the present invention is applied. The gaming management system 1 is an information processing system that enables ball saving and replay services, and is composed of an amusement facility system 10 installed at each amusement facility, a ball saving management system 20, and a fan terminal 30. The ball saving management system 20 is installed at a third party that has no vested interest with the operators of each amusement facility. The fan terminal 30 is an information terminal such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or personal computer that can be operated by a fan. The gaming facility system 10 and the ball saving management system 20, and the ball saving management system 20 and the fan terminal 30 are each connected via a communication network N.

[0012] When using the ball saving / replay service, fans use a membership card 40 that stores the number of game balls acquired during play in association with electronic money charged for playing or for maintaining the ball saving, which will be described later. Electronic money is data that represents the amount of cash inserted by fans through a cash insertion device installed in an amusement facility, or the monetary value equivalent to cash acquired through a financial system (not shown). When electronic money is acquired, it is increased along with date and time information, and is decreased each time it is used in place of cash in the amusement facility. The electronic money after the increase / decrease process is sometimes called the "charge balance."

[0013] The membership card 40 is a card that stores a card ID for identifying the card, as well as a membership ID, which is identification information for identifying the fan who holds the card as a member (an amusement parlor member or a ball saving member). The membership card 40 can be used repeatedly even if the number of game balls or the remaining charge balance becomes zero. However, for the remaining charge balance, a record of the increase / decrease process and the deduction process remains on the membership card 40 as a gaming history.

[0014] In addition, when only playing using electronic money, that is, when saving balls and replaying are not performed, fans can use the general card 50. The general card 50 is an unnamed card that can be used only on the day of playing, and is collected by the gaming machine when the number of game balls acquired by playing on the day of charging and the charge balance of the electronic money both become 0. The general card 50 does not record the game history, but it is possible to record the game history during a specified period in association with the general card ID. The member card 40 and the general card 50 can be used as prepaid cards, regardless of the number of game balls acquired by playing, as long as the charge balance is not 0.

[0015] The membership card 40 is issued when a fan registers as an amusement parlor member (ball member) in the amusement parlor system 10. A card ID and / or a ball account associated with the member ID is also registered for the amusement parlor member. The ball account is an account that accumulates ball data indicating the number of balls that the fan has requested to be saved among the number of game balls that the fan has acquired through play and that are stored in the membership card 40. In one embodiment, in addition to the ball data, the remaining charge amount of electronic money is also recorded in the ball account or in another memory area associated with the ball account. In the following explanation, it is assumed that the remaining charge amount of electronic money is recorded in the ball account together with the ball data. This ball account is registered in the amusement parlor system 10 and backed up in the ball management system 20.

[0016] The ball saving management system 20 registers the game parlor member as a ball saving member. The ID for identifying the ball saving member managed by the ball saving management system 20 may be the same as the member ID, but instead of or together with the member ID, a unique ID may be assigned. The ball saving management system 20 allows access accompanied by authority information from the fan terminal 30 operated by the ball saving member, making it possible to view the latest ball saving account contents. In addition, a two-dimensional image code representing the member ID and game parlor ID of the ball saving member is created, and the two-dimensional image code can be displayed on the display of the fan terminal 30 at the request of the accessed fan terminal 30. When a ball saving member visits the game parlor without a member card 40 and uses the fan terminal 30 to save balls and replay, the two-dimensional image code displayed on the fan terminal 30 is recognized by the reader on the game machine. In this case, since the member card 40 is not inserted on the game machine, the game balls acquired by the fan are stored in the general card 50.

[0017] Next, each individual system in the game management system 1 will be described. <Amusement Park System> The gaming center system 10 includes a card management device 11, a member management device 12, a gaming management device 13, a communication management device 14, and a card R / W (reader / writer) 111. These are connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) installed in the gaming center. The card management device 11 manages the stored information of the membership card 40 attached to the card R / W 111. That is, the card management device 11 stores the member ID of the gaming facility member and the gaming facility ID of the gaming facility in the membership card 40 at the time of issuance. The card management device 11 also reads the recorded information of the membership card 40 through the card R / W 111. The card R / W 111 can also read the general card 50.

[0018] The member management device 12, in cooperation with the card management device 11, holds, in a freely updateable manner, personal information of the amusement parlor member, authority information such as passwords, playing history, contract information between the amusement parlor as a ball saving member and a third-party institution, privilege information as an amusement parlor member, and other information regarding fans. The gaming management device 13 monitors the operation of each gaming machine 150 equipped with an inter-machine processing machine, monitors the operating status of the inter-machine processing machine, and performs various other controls related to gaming. The communication management device 14 periodically communicates with the ball storage management system 20, whose communication address destination is set. Encrypted communication is performed with the ball storage management system 20 using a virtual private line (VPN). The technology for realizing a virtual private line is described in detail, for example, in "Nikkei Open System" No. 46 (January 1997) p. 234. A communication control program for realizing a VPN has already been commercialized, so this can be used.

[0019] The gaming management device 13 is electrically connected to a plurality of gaming machines 150 via a plurality of relays 15 installed at predetermined locations in the gaming facility. The gaming machines 150 are, for example, pachinko gaming machines, and each of them is equipped with an inter-machine processing machine 17. As shown in FIG. 2, the inter-machine processing machine 17 includes a status display unit 171, a bill insertion slot 172, a display operation unit 173, a card insertion slot 174a, and a terminal holder unit 174b. The inter-machine processing machine 17 also includes a nozzle unit 175 for supplying gaming balls to the gaming machine 150, and a counting unit 176 for counting the gaming balls discharged from the gaming machine 150. The counting unit 176 records the counting result on the member card 40 or general card 50 attached to the card insertion slot 174a. The game balls counted by the counting unit 176 are collected in the inter-machine processor 17, similar to the collected balls collected within the game board, and can be supplied again from the nozzle unit 175.

[0020] The status display unit 171 displays the operating status of the gaming machine 150 and the inter-machine processing machine 17. If any trouble occurs during operation, the display content changes from normal operation. The bill insertion slot 172 is used to insert cash (bills) to be charged as electronic money to the membership card 40 or general card 50. The inserted cash is added to the charge balance. The display operation unit 173 is a user interface between the fan and the game machine, and includes a numeric keypad 173a and a display unit 173b. The numeric keypad 173a is used to select functions, use stored balls, and input instructions to start and end games, and other instructions. The display unit 173b displays the charge balance, the number of remaining stored balls, and guidance information for fans. The card insertion slot 174a is used to insert the membership card 40 or general card 50 during play.

[0021] While the member card 40 is issued by the card R / W 111 as described above, the general card 50 is issued or rejected from the card insertion slot 174a if the number of remaining balls or the remaining charge balance is other than 0 when the fan stops playing with the gaming machine 150. On the other hand, if the number of game balls and the remaining charge balance both become 0, the general card 50 is not ejected from the card insertion slot 174a but is automatically collected as described above and stored for issuance to the next fan. The terminal holding unit 174b reads the two-dimensional image code displayed on the fan terminal 30 when allowing ball storage and replay using the fan terminal 30 instead of the member card 40.

[0022] Next, the gaming management device 13 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The gaming management device 13 is a type of computer to which peripheral devices such as a display, a printer, a keyboard, and a storage device are connected. The gaming management device 13 executes a predetermined gaming management program to realize the functions of a data input unit 101, a personal authentication unit 102, a gaming media management unit 103, a data transmission / reception unit 107, a data output unit 108, a ball account management unit 109, a setting unit 110, and a control unit 100. In addition, a gaming facility member database (hereinafter, database will be abbreviated as "DB") 104 and a ball account DB 105 are constructed in a storage device not shown.

[0023] The data input unit 101 receives data input from the numeric keypad 173a, the card insertion slot 174a, the terminal holding unit 174b, etc. of the display operation unit 173 of the inter-machine processing machine 17 via the repeater 15, and data input from a keyboard or the like (not shown) connected to the game management device 13. It also transmits the input data to the control unit 100, etc. The personal authentication unit 102 is activated when the member card 40 is inserted into the card insertion slot 174a, and performs personal authentication of the game parlor member when exchanging for a prize, saving balls, replaying, etc. That is, the personal authentication of the game parlor member is performed by checking the member ID and authority information inputted through the data input unit 101 against the information stored in the game parlor member DB 104 at the time of registration.

[0024] The gaming media management unit 103 monitors the circulation status of gaming balls and the number of gaming balls used in each gaming machine 150, which are notified from the gaming management device 13 via the repeater 15. It also adds the gaming balls counted by the counting unit 176 of the inter-machine processing device 17 to the number of stored balls, and subtracts the gaming balls used during a replay from the number of stored balls. The gaming parlor member DB 104 stores personal information of gaming parlor members managed by the member management device 12 on a file basis. The saved ball account DB 105 stores the saved ball account for each gaming parlor member. The information stored in these DBs 104 and 105 will be explained in detail later.

[0025] The game parlor member management unit 106 manages information related to game parlor members. That is, when a fan registers as a member, it assigns a member ID and creates a record area for each member ID in the game parlor member DB 104. Also, when a fan registers as a member, it opens a ball account and associates this ball account with the member ID and registers it in the ball account DB 105. Furthermore, it transfers information related to game parlor members between the member management device 12, the game parlor member DB 104, and the ball account DB 105.

[0026] The data transmission / reception unit 107 enables the above-mentioned communication with the ball storage management system 20 via the communication management device 14 and the communication network N. The data output unit 108 displays various data, messages, etc. on the display unit 173b of each inter-machine processing machine 17 via the repeater 15. In addition, it causes a printer (not shown) connected to the game management device 13 to print various data.

[0027] The ball account management unit 109 subtracts ball maintenance fee data of a predetermined value required to maintain the ball account of the member from the balls in the ball account of the member, or subtracts electronic money equivalent to the ball maintenance fee data from the stored charge balance. The saved ball maintenance fee data is a predetermined number of saved balls to be collected from the saved ball account when the member saves balls and replays. The saved ball maintenance fee data is determined by the saved ball account management unit 109 based on a setting value set in the setting unit 110. Details of the setting value will be described later. The setting unit 110 transmits the setting value to the saved ball management system 20 via the data transmission / reception unit 107 at predetermined intervals.

[0028] The control unit 100 comprehensively controls various functions when the gaming center system 10 is operating. It also creates various messages to be sent from the gaming center system 10 to the ball management system 20, decodes messages received from the ball management system 20, and causes a function block in charge of the corresponding function to execute processing according to the decoded messages.

[0029] Next, the game parlor member DB 104 and ball account DB 105 will be described. The amusement parlor member DB 104 holds records of personal information of fans who have become amusement parlor members, authority information (password, etc.) used for personal authentication, and the gaming history of the amusement parlor member (date and time of playing, etc.) in association with the member ID. The contents held in the amusement parlor member DB 104 are updated as appropriate. Figure 4 shows an example of the contents of such amusement parlor member DB 104.

[0030] The ball account DB105 registers the ball accounts of game parlor members in association with their member IDs. The ball accounts record ball data, the increase or decrease in the number of balls (increase or decrease in number of balls) over a given period (e.g., one day), electronic money (remaining charge amount), and the like. The contents of the ball account are updated as game parlor members request the accumulation of balls, the charging of electronic money, the use of balls and electronic money, and the like. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of such a ball account DB105.

[0031] <Ball storage management system> The ball management system 20 manages the ball accounts of the game parlor members of each game parlor received from the game parlor systems 10 installed in each of the multiple game parlors. In other words, the ball management system 20 serves as a backup system for the game parlor member DB104 and ball account DB105 in each game parlor system 10, and also provides value-added services other than those of the game parlor system 10. Normally, the ball management system 20 receives and updates the information of the game parlor member DB104 and ball account DB105 from each game parlor system 10 once a day. Game parlor members are registered as ball members in the ball management system 20.

[0032] The ball management system 20 is a computer equipped with a large-capacity storage function and a communication function. Fig. 6 is a functional block diagram of the ball management system 20 formed by a computer executing a computer program. The ball management system 20 is configured with a data transmission / reception unit 21, a personal authentication unit 22, a ball member management unit 25 that manages ball member information using a ball member DB 23, a ball account management unit 26 that maintains and manages ball accounts using a ball account DB 24 for each gaming facility, a memory unit 27, and a control unit 28 that comprehensively controls the operation of the ball management system 20.

[0033] The data transmission / reception unit 21 performs two-way communication, preferably encrypted communication, between the game center system 10 and the fan terminal 30. The functions of the data transmission / reception unit 21 can be easily realized by using, for example, the network equipment and communication control program for constructing the VPN as described above, or equivalent products.

[0034] The ball saving member DB23 stores the personal information of the fan who has become a ball saving member, the password used for personal authentication, the game parlor ID of the game parlor where the ball saving member is a game parlor member, and the member ID as attribute information of the ball saving member. When the ball saving member is a game parlor member at multiple game parlors, the ball saving member DB23 holds the game parlor IDs and member IDs of all game parlors. The contents of the ball saving member DB23 are updated in response to new registration, deletion, changes to personal information, etc. of the ball saving member in the game parlor system 10. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of such a ball saving member DB23. In the example of FIG. 7, the ball saving member is a game parlor member at two game parlors, and has two game parlor IDs and two member IDs.

[0035] The ball account DB24 holds (registers) the contents of the ball account sent from the game arcade system 10 for each game arcade. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the ball account DB24. In the example of FIG. 8, the game arcade ID is held in association with the ball account, ball data, electronic money, and update date of the ball data sent from the game arcade. The contents of the ball account DB24 are updated as needed, and the update date is rewritten. In order to emphasize the reduction of communication load, updates are performed about once a day, but if communication load is not an issue, updates may be performed several times a day or in real time. The contents of the ball account are the same as those of the ball account DB105 of the game arcade system 10. For example, the ball account DB24 can be easily constructed by copying the contents of the ball account DB105 and managing them by adding the game arcade ID of the game arcade from which the contents were obtained.

[0036] The member ID of a ball saving member identifies the amusement parlor, the amusement parlor member, and the ball saving account of which the ball saving member is a member. In other words, the ball saving member's ball account can be searched for using the member ID of the ball saving member. Even if a ball saving member is a member of multiple amusement parlors, the ball accounts of all the amusement parlors can be searched for. The ball saving member DB23 and the ball saving account DB24 are formed, for example, in the mass storage device of the computer.

[0037] The personal authentication unit 22 performs personal authentication to permit the fan terminal 30 to access the ball saving management system 20. The personal authentication unit 22 performs personal authentication of the ball saving member by referring to a message including the ball saving member's system ID and authority information input from the fan terminal 30 via the data transmission / reception unit 21 and information in the ball saving member DB 23. If the personal authentication is successful, the ball saving member can view the contents of his / her ball saving account through the fan terminal 30, for example.

[0038] The ball saving member management unit 25 prompts the fan terminal 30 to input the game parlor ID, member ID, and authority information (password, etc.) when registering as a member. This information is stored in the ball saving member DB 23 in a file format for each ball saving member. When there is a request from the fan terminal 30 to view the ball saving account, the ball saving member management unit 25 reads out the game parlor ID and member ID associated with the ball saving member from the ball saving member DB 23 based on the member ID.

[0039] The ball account management unit 26 registers a ball account for each ball saving member. Each ball saving account is created based on the ball account received from the game center system 10. When a request for inquiry is received from a fan terminal 30 operated by a ball saving member, the ball account management unit 26 extracts the ball account of the ball saving member from the ball account DB 24 and makes it available for viewing by the fan terminal 30. This allows the ball saving member to check the ball account managed by the ball saving management system 20 at any time. Furthermore, when a request for freezing of the ball account is received from the ball saving member, the ball account management unit 26 restricts the use of the ball saving member's ball account. This makes it possible to prevent unauthorized use by third parties.

[0040] The storage unit 27 stores a setting value for saving balls and replaying, which is sent to the gaming arcade system 10 shown in Fig. 1. This setting value is called a "first setting value" to distinguish it from a setting value that is actually set in the gaming arcade system. The setting value that is set in the gaming arcade system is called a "second setting value."

[0041] The first setting value is a condition value agreed upon between the operator of the amusement facility where the amusement facility system 10 is installed and a third-party organization that operates the saved ball management system 20, and various condition values ​​can be set. In one example, the first setting value can be set to an upper limit on the number of saved balls that can be used when replaying, the number of saved balls with a value according to saved ball maintenance fee data, or electronic money. The first setting value may be set to the same value in multiple amusement facilities (amusement facility systems 10), but a different value can also be set for each amusement facility.

[0042] The first set value can also be changed for each member according to the status of saved balls or the status of use of saved balls. In this case, the status of saved balls is, for example, the number of saved balls, and the more the number, the more the number of saved balls collected or the more the number of saved balls available for replay. The status of use of saved balls is, for example, the time elapsed since the last time the saved ball account was accessed, and the longer the elapsed time, the more the number of saved balls collected or the fewer the number of saved balls available for replay.

[0043] Fig. 9 is an example diagram of the first setting value. In the example of Fig. 9, the same setting value is set in the gaming management device 13 of the gaming center with the gaming center ID 1 and the gaming center with the gaming center ID 2. In the gaming management device 13 of the gaming center with the gaming center ID 3, the same first setting value as in the gaming centers with the gaming center ID 1 and the gaming center ID 2 is set for the member ID #O, but a different first setting value is set for the member ID #P.

[0044] The control unit 28 comprehensively controls the operation of the ball storage management system 20. The control unit 28 also creates various messages to be sent from the ball storage management system 20 to each game arcade system 10 and fan terminal 30, and decodes messages received from each game arcade system 10 and fan terminal 30, and causes each component or the fan terminal 30 that has accessed it to execute processing according to the decoded messages.

[0045] In this embodiment, the control unit 28 transmits the first setting value stored in the storage unit 27 to the target amusement facility system 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 21. The control unit 28 also acquires the second setting value from the target amusement facility system 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 21. If no trouble occurs, the acquired second setting value will be the same as the first setting value stored in the storage unit 27. Therefore, the control unit 28 compares the first setting value with the second setting value, and if they match, it is presumed that the first setting value stored in the storage unit 27 has not been changed on the amusement facility system 10 side, and no trouble such as a system failure or communication environment has occurred, and therefore instructs the amusement facility system 10 to permit replay. Specifically, the control unit 28 instructs the amusement facility system 10 to permit collection of ball maintenance fee data according to the second setting value. On the other hand, if the first setting value and the second setting value do not match, the control unit 28 instructs the amusement facility system 10 to restrict replay. This ensures proper operation of saved balls and replays.

[0046] <Fan terminal> The fan terminal 30 executes a program for ball saving members installed in the built-in or extended storage to provide the ball saving members with various services provided by the ball saving management system 20. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 10, the fan terminal 30 operates as a data transmission / reception unit 31, a data input unit 32, a data output unit 33, and a control unit 34.

[0047] The data transmission / reception unit 31 is for accessing the ball storage management system 20 and performing two-way encrypted communication, and is a network device and a communication control program for constructing a VPN as described above, or an equivalent product.

[0048] The data input unit 32 is an input interface such as a key button, a touch panel, etc. The data output unit 33 is an output interface such as a small liquid crystal display, a voice output device, etc. The small liquid crystal display presents various data, messages, etc. to the ball saving member in a form that can be seen by the member, and the voice output device presents messages, etc. to the ball saving member by synthetic voice.

[0049] The control unit 34 comprehensively controls the operation of each functional block of the fan terminal 30. The control unit 34 also creates various messages to be sent to the ball management system 20, decodes messages received from the ball management system 20, and causes the corresponding functional block to execute processing according to the decoded messages. The above accesses include, for example, checking a ball account, obtaining a two-dimensional image code representing a ball member or member ID, and sending a request to freeze a ball account. In other words, a ball member can check his or her own ball account at any time from outside the arcade by operating the fan terminal 30.

[0050] [Example of operation mode] Next, an example of the operation form of the gaming management system 1 will be described. Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the processing procedure for checking the set value. First, the control unit 28 of the ball storage management system 20 transmits the first set value stored in the memory unit 27 to the target gaming center system 10 (S10). In the gaming center system 10, the gaming management device 13 stores the first set value acquired from the ball storage management system 20, and based on this, the setting unit 110 sets the condition value for ball storage and replay, etc. in the responsible functional block of the gaming center system 10, for example, the inter-machine processing machine 17 (S11).

[0051] After the control unit 100 sets the first setting value, the gaming management device 13 waits until a predetermined period of time has elapsed (S12:N). The predetermined period is the time required for the setting process of the setting unit 110. When the predetermined period of time has elapsed (S12:Y), the control unit 100 transmits the first setting value set by the setting unit 110 to each unit together with the gaming facility ID to the ball storage management system 20 (S13). At this time, it is desirable to transmit the setting time in association with the first setting value.

[0052] In the ball storage management system 20, the control unit 28 compares the second setting value acquired from the game arcade system 10 with the first setting value stored in the memory unit 27 (S14). The comparison is performed taking into consideration the above-mentioned predetermined time. If the first setting value and the second setting value match, the control unit 28 instructs the game arcade system 10 to collect the ball storage maintenance fee according to the setting value and to permit replay (S15: permit). As a result, in the game arcade system 10, the control unit 100 of the game management device 13 permits the collection of the ball storage maintenance fee and permits the start or continuation of the process for replay (S17). On the other hand, if it is determined in S15 that the first setting value and the second setting value do not match, the control unit 28 instructs the game arcade system 10 to restrict the collection of the ball storage maintenance fee according to the second setting value and the replay (S15: restrict). As a result, in the gaming facility system 10, the game management device 13 restricts replay using the saved balls, and also restricts the collection of saved ball maintenance fees from members (S16).

[0053] The control unit 100 of the gaming management device 13 monitors whether the transmission of the first setting value was successful in the process of S13 (S18). For example, the control unit 100 determines whether the transmission was successful by obtaining a positive response from the ball management system 20 to the transmission of the first setting value. If the transmission is successful (S18: Y), the control unit 100 waits again until a predetermined period of time has passed (S12). If the transmission is unsuccessful (S18: N), the control unit 100 restricts the collection of the ball maintenance fee and restricts replay (S16).

[0054] In the above example, the game management device 13 transmits the setting value to the ball management system 20 after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, but the first setting value may be transmitted at any timing. For example, the game management device 13 may determine the transmission timing so as to transmit the setting value at a fixed time every day, for example, at the start of work. In addition, the game management device 13 may transmit the first setting value by receiving a request to transmit the setting value from the ball management system 20.

[0055] FIG. 12 is a procedure explanatory diagram of the ball saving / replay executed by the game center system 10 (control unit 100 of the game management device 13) when the ball saving / replay is permitted by the ball saving management system 20 in the game center system 10. Fans who come to the game center can choose to save balls / replay or play with cash. When the ball saving / replay is selected, there is a first mode in which the fan accesses the ball saving account via a charge machine installed in the game center, reads out the desired number of balls from the ball saving account, and adds the balls to the member card 40 in the same way as game balls, and a second mode in which the member card 40 is inserted into the inter-machine processing machine 17 installed next to the game machine 150, reads out the balls, and stores them in the inter-machine processing machine 17. Here, an example of the second mode is shown.

[0056] When cash is inserted or electronic money is input without the membership card 40 being inserted in the inter-machine processing machine 17 (S20:N), the gaming arcade system 10 performs control for normal play. On the other hand, when the membership card 40 is inserted in the inter-machine processing machine 17 (S20:Y), the gaming arcade system 10 assumes that the fan has selected save balls / replay (S20:Y) and performs authorization authentication using the membership card 40 (S21). If unsuccessful (S22:N), the gaming arcade system 10 transitions to control for normal play without using the membership card 40.

[0057] If the authentication is successful (S22: Y), the gaming center system 10 displays the number of balls that can be withdrawn from the ball account on the display unit 173b of the inter-machine processing machine 17, and waits for input from the fan (S23). The number of balls that can be input in one operation is determined by the first and second set values. When the fan inputs the number of balls for one operation, the inter-machine processing machine 17 supplies a specified number of game balls from the nozzle unit 175 to the game machine 150. This allows the fan to play the game machine 150 using the game balls (S24). The number of game balls increases or decreases during play. In other words, if the fan cannot acquire game balls through play, the fan repeats the process of S23 (S25: N). Therefore, the number of balls in the ball account decreases. On the other hand, it is assumed that game balls are acquired through play. In this case, the counting unit of the inter-machine processing machine 17 adds the count value to the number of game balls. At that time, the gaming history is also stored on the membership card 40.

[0058] When the fan inputs the end of the game on the gaming machine by operating the operation panel 173 (S25: Y), the gaming arcade system 10 records the remaining number of game balls on the member card 40 (S26). At that time, a selection screen is displayed on the display unit 173b to select whether to save some or all of the balls or to leave them as game balls to be played on another gaming machine 150. If saving balls is not selected (S27: N), the gaming arcade system 10 ejects the member card 40 from the card insertion slot 174a and thereafter shifts to control for normal play. If saving balls is selected (S27: Y), the gaming arcade system 10 identifies the fan's ball account from the ball account DB 105 and updates the ball account (S28). When updating, the gaming arcade system 1 subtracts the ball maintenance fee data (number of saved balls or electronic money) from the ball account of the fan. The ball maintenance fee data is determined based on the fee rate set for the gaming center or the fan. After that, the gaming center system 10 ejects the membership card 40 from the card insertion slot 174a and transitions to control for normal play.

[0059] The gaming center system 10 performs backup processing of the ball accounts for the ball management system 20. The backup processing may be performed at a predetermined cycle, for example, at the end of business for one day, or, as described above, may be performed each time an update of the ball accounts of fans is completed. Figure 13 shows the procedure of the backup processing.

[0060] The game parlor system 10 (control unit 100 of the game management device 13) performs a process of tallying up the ball accounts of each game parlor member (fan who is also a ball member) by the game parlor member management unit 106 (S30). In this embodiment, game parlor members whose balances in their ball accounts have changed since the previous backup are extracted, and a process of tallying up the number of balls increased or decreased, the number of balls saved and replayed, and electronic money in the ball accounts of the game parlor members is performed. After that, a tallying up message is created. The tallying up message is created by adding the tallying up results of the ball accounts of each game parlor member (the number of balls increased or decreased, the number of balls saved and replayed, electronic money), etc. to the game parlor ID of the game parlor. The game parlor system 10 transmits the created tallying up message to the ball management system 20 via the data transmission / reception unit 107 (S31).

[0061] The ball management system 20 (control unit 28) receives the tally message sent from the gaming parlor system 10, and updates the data of the ball account of each ball member based on the tally message (S40). Specifically, the ball account management unit 26 identifies and updates the ball account for the member ID in the ball account DB 24 based on the gaming parlor ID, member ID, and ball account included in the tally message. Through the above backup process, the contents of the ball accounts stored in the gaming parlor system 10 and the ball management system 20 become the same.

[0062] As described above, in this embodiment, when the second setting value set by the game center system 10 is the same as the first setting value set by the ball management system 20, collection of ball maintenance fee data and ball replay are possible. Various causes can be assumed for the phenomenon in which the second setting value differs from the first setting value. For example, it is assumed that the game center system 10 is tampered with, the game center system 10 goes down, or a communication failure occurs, and the second setting value cannot be sent to the ball management system 20 for a certain period of time. Therefore, until the cause is found, the game center system 10 (the control unit 100 of the game management device 13) restricts the collection of ball replay or ball maintenance fee data. If the mismatch between the first setting value and the second setting value is due to a communication failure, the game center system 10 (the control unit 100 of the game management device 13) can release the restriction when the second setting value can be sent to the ball management system 20.

[0063] In this way, the third-party organization operating the saved ball management system 20 can set and monitor the replay, ensuring the appropriate operation of the saved balls and replay.

Claims

1. A communication means for communicating with a gaming facility system that allows a gaming facility member to hold an account for saving game balls acquired on a gaming machine and to replay using the saved balls; a storage means for storing a first set value for determining a predetermined value required to maintain said account; A ball management system comprising: a control means for controlling the communication means to transmit the first set value to the amusement arcade system and obtain from the amusement arcade system a second set value for determining the specified value stored in the amusement arcade system, and instructing the amusement arcade system to allow collection of the specified value if the first set value and the second set value match, and instructing the amusement arcade system to restrict collection of the specified value if the first set value and the second set value do not match.

2. the control means instructs the gaming arcade system to permit the replay when the first set value and the second set value match, and instructs the gaming arcade system to restrict the replay when the first set value and the second set value do not match. The ball storage management system according to claim 1.

3. An amusement facility system that enables communication with the ball management system described in claim 1 and replay by an amusement facility member using the balls, a registration means for registering the account of the gaming facility member; A first means for storing a part or all of the game balls acquired by the game facility member in the account; A setting means for setting the second set value; and second means for withdrawing the predetermined value from the account upon replay; The second means limits the collection when the second set value cannot be transmitted to the ball storage management system for a predetermined period of time. Playground system.

4. A computer program that causes a computer to operate as the ball storage management system according to claim 1.

5. A computer program for causing a computer to operate as the gaming center system according to claim 3.

Images