Game machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine with which the amusement of a game can be improved.SOLUTION: A slot machine 10 starts rotation of each reel 32L, 32M, 32R on the basis of an operation of a start lever 41 after a bet operation. Operations of stop switches 42-44 stop a corresponding reel, which can stop a stop pattern of symbols according to a lottery result. A push sequence notification may be carried out in a push sequence combination winning in which a prize result differs depending on an operation sequence of the stop switches 42-44. When an increase number of medals gets equal to a predetermined specific number in an advantageous section in which the push sequence notification is carried out, an additional lottery of an AT mode is carried out.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gaming machine.

Background Art

[0002] As a type of gaming machine, pachinko machines, slot machines, etc. are known. In these gaming machines, an internal lottery is conducted based on the establishment of predetermined lottery conditions, and a privilege is granted to the player according to the result of the internal lottery.

[0003] Specifically, for a slot machine, when the start lever is operated in a situation where medals as gaming media are bet, an internal lottery is carried out, the rotation of the reels is started, and when the stop switch is operated during the rotation of the reels, the rotation of the reels stops. And when the stop result of the reels corresponds to the result of the internal lottery, a privilege corresponding to the result is granted (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Here, in the gaming machines exemplified above, it is necessary to improve the amusement of the game, and there is still room for improvement in this regard.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-exemplified circumstances, etc., and an object thereof is to provide a gaming machine capable of improving the amusement of the game.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present invention is A plurality of rotating bodies with a plurality of patterns attached in the circumferential direction, A display unit that makes some of the patterns visible for each of the rotating bodies, Receiving means for receiving a game medium or a virtual game medium, A bet number setting means for grasping that a game medium or a virtual game medium has been received by the receiving means and setting the number of bets in the game with a predetermined number as the upper limit, A start operation means for starting the rotation of each of the rotating bodies when operated, A lottery means for conducting a lottery on whether to give a privilege to the player based on the operation of the start operation means, A stop operation means for stopping the rotation of each of the rotating bodies when operated, A drive control means for starting the rotation of each of the rotating bodies when the start operation means is operated and stopping the rotation of each of the rotating bodies when the stop operation means is operated, When a predetermined combination of patterns corresponding to the predetermined result stops at a valid position where the lottery result in the lottery means is a predetermined result and is set at a position where the pattern is visible through the display unit, a payout means for paying out a predetermined number of game media as a privilege corresponding to the winning of the predetermined result, A gaming machine comprising: As a lottery result by the lottery means, a specific result is set in which when the stop operation means is operated in a first operation mode, a first operation result wins, and when the stop operation means is operated in a second operation mode different from the first operation mode, a second operation result different from the first operation result can be awarded and wins, When the lottery result by the lottery means is the specific result, there is provided a mode notification means capable of executing mode notification including the first operation mode or the second operation mode by a predetermined notification means, An advantageous state in which a transition to a specific state where the mode notification by the mode notification means can be executed is possible, and a normal state in which the mode notification by the mode notification means cannot be executed are set, Specific increase / decrease number calculation means for calculating a specific increase / decrease number, which is the difference between the number of game media paid out by the payout means after a predetermined start condition is satisfied in the advantageous state and the number of bets set by the bet number setting means. Specific increase / decrease number grasping means for grasping the specific increase / decrease number calculated by the specific increase / decrease number calculation means. Prize giving means capable of giving a prize to a player when the specific increase / decrease number grasped by the specific increase / decrease number grasping means is equal to a predetermined specific number. It is characterized by comprising the above.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to enhance the interest of the game.

Brief Explanation of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figure 28

Figure 29

Figure 30

Figure 31

Figure 32

Figure 33

Figure 34

Figure 35

Figure 36

Figure 37

Figure 38

Figure 39

Figure 40

Figure 41

Figure 42

Figure 43

Figure 44

Figure 45

Figure 46

Figure 47

Figure 48

Figure 49

Figure 50

Figure 51

Figure 52

Figure 53

Figure 54

Figure 55

Figure 56

Figure 57

Figure 58

Figure 59

Figure 60

Figure 61

Figure 62

Figure 63

Figure 64

Figure 65

Figure 66

Figure 67

Figure 68

Figure 69

Figure 70

Figure 71

Figure 72

Figure 73

Figure 74

Figure 75

Figure 76

Figure 77

Figure 78

Figure 79

Figure 80

Figure 81

Figure 82

Figure 83

Figure 84

Figure 85

Figure 86

Figure 87

Figure 88

Figure 89

Figure 90

Figure 91

Figure 92

Figure 93

Figure 94

Figure 95

Figure 96

Figure 97

Figure 98

Figure 99

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] <The First Embodiment> Hereinafter, an embodiment of a rotating drum type gaming machine, which is a type of gaming machine, specifically when applied to a slot machine, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the slot machine 10, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slot machine 10 with the front door 12 closed, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the slot machine 10 with the front door 12 open, FIG. 4 is a rear view of the front door 12, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the housing 11.

[0011] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the slot machine 10 includes a housing 11 that forms its outer shell. The housing 11 is formed in a box shape with an open front as a whole, and is attached by driving nails or the like to so-called island equipment when installed in a game hall.

[0012] A front door 12 is attached to the front side of the housing 11 so as to be openable and closable. That is, the housing 11 is provided with a pair of upper and lower support shafts 13a and 13b on the left side when viewed from the front, and the front door 12 is provided with bearing portions 14a and 14b at positions corresponding to the respective support shafts 13a and 13b. When each support shaft 13a, 13b is inserted into each bearing portion 14a, 14b, the front door 12 is supported by the housing 11 so as to be rotatable about an opening and closing axis extending in the vertical direction connecting the two support shafts 13a, 13b, and the front opening side of the housing 11 can be opened or closed by the rotation of the front door 12. Further, the front door 12 is set in a locked state where it cannot be opened by a locking device 20 provided on its back surface. A key cylinder 21 integrated with the locking device 20 is provided at the upper right end side of the front door 12, and the locked state is configured to be released by a predetermined key operation on the key cylinder 21.

[0013] A game panel 25 for notifying the player of the game state is provided near the upper center of the front door 12. The game panel 25 is formed with three vertically long display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R arranged side by side, and the inside of the slot machine 10 can be viewed through each display window 26L, 26M, and 26R. Note that the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R may be combined into one common display window.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the housing 11 is vertically divided into two parts by a partition plate 30, and a reel unit 31 constituting variable display means is attached to the upper part of the partition plate 30. The reel unit 31 includes left reel 32L, middle reel 32M, and right reel 32R, each formed in a cylindrical (annular) shape. Each of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R is rotatably supported such that its central axis becomes the rotation axis of the reel. The rotation axes of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R are arranged on the same axis extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and the respective reels 32L, 32M, 32R correspond one-to-one with the display windows 26L, 26M, 26R. Therefore, a part of the surface of each of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R is visible through the corresponding display windows 26L, 26M, 26R. Further, when the reels 32L, 32M, 32R rotate forward, the surfaces of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R are projected through the display windows 26L, 26M, 26R as if they are moving downward from above.

[0015] Here, the configuration of the reel unit 31 will be briefly described.

[0016] Each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is connected to a stepping motor, and each reel 32L, 32M, 32R can be rotationally driven individually, that is, independently, by driving each stepping motor. The stepping motor is set to be rotated by applying a drive signal of, for example, 504 pulses (hereinafter also referred to as excitation pulses). The rotational position of the stepping motor, that is, the rotational position of the reel, is controlled by this excitation pulse. Further, a reel index sensor for detecting that the reel has made one rotation is installed in each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R of the reel unit 31. When the reel index sensor detects that the reel has made one rotation, a detection signal is output to the main control device 101, which will be described later, each time such detection occurs. For this reason, the main control device 101 can confirm and correct the angular position of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R once per rotation based on the detection signal of the reel index sensor and the number of excitation pulses output until the detection signal is input.

[0017] On the outer peripheral surface of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, a plurality of patterns as identification information are drawn in the long side direction (circumferential direction). More specifically, 21 patterns are drawn at equal intervals. For this reason, in order to switch a certain pattern to the next pattern at a predetermined position, it is necessary to output 24 pulses (= 504 pulses ÷ 21 patterns) of excitation pulses. Further, the main control device 101 can perform control to grasp the pattern visible from the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R based on the number of excitation pulses output after the detection signal of the reel index sensor is input, or to stop a predetermined pattern at a position visible from the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R.

[0018] Next, the patterns drawn on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R will be described.

[0019] Figure 6 shows the symbol arrangements of the left reel 32L, the middle reel 32M, and the right reel 32R. As shown in the figure, on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, 21 symbols are arranged in a row. Also, numbers from 0 to 20 are assigned to correspond to each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. However, these numbers are for the main control device 101 to recognize the symbols visible through the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R, and are not actually assigned to the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. However, in the following description, these numbers will be used for explanation.

[0020] The symbols include the "Red Bell" symbol (e.g., the 7th on the left reel 32L), the "White Bell" symbol (e.g., the 20th on the left reel 32L), the "First Replay" symbol (e.g., the 19th on the left reel 32L), the "Second Replay" symbol (e.g., the 6th on the left reel 32L), the "Red 7" symbol (e.g., the 10th on the left reel 32L), the "Watermelon" symbol (e.g., the 8th on the left reel 32L), the "Cherry" symbol (e.g., the 4th on the left reel 32L), the "Black BAR" symbol (e.g., the 18th on the left reel 32L), the "White BAR" symbol (e.g., the 17th on the left reel 32L), the "LUCKY" symbol (e.g., the 5th on the left reel 32L), and the "Young Man" symbol (e.g., the 0th on the left reel 32L). And as shown in Figure 6, the number and arrangement order of various symbols on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are completely different.

[0021] Each of the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R is formed such that 3 symbols out of the 21 symbols attached to the corresponding reel are visible. Therefore, when all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are stopped, 3 × 3 = 9 symbols are in a visible state through the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R.

[0022] In the slot machine 10, the game result of each game is notified by using a combination of three symbols, one for each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, among the symbols that can be seen. As described above, 3×3=9 symbols can be seen, and as the combination of these three symbols, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, there are combinations of symbols that stop on the upper line L1 connecting the upper symbols of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, combinations of symbols that stop on the middle line L2 connecting the middle symbols of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, and combinations of symbols that stop on the lower line L3 connecting the lower symbols of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. There are also combinations of symbols that stop on a right-downward line L4 that connects the upper pattern of the left reel 32L, the middle pattern of the middle reel 32M, and the lower pattern of the right reel 32R, and combinations of symbols that stop on a right-upward line L5 that connects the lower pattern of the left reel 32L, the middle pattern of the middle reel 32M, and the upper pattern of the right reel 32R. There are also combinations of symbols that stop on a bent line L6 that connects the upper pattern of the left reel 32L, the middle pattern of the middle reel 32M, and the middle pattern of the right reel 32R. The above lines L1 to L5 are lines that become a straight line when the symbols are lined up, and the bent line L6 is a line that bends when the symbols are lined up. There are other combinations of symbols that stop on a bent line besides the bent line L6, but we will not explain them here.

[0023] Among these lines L1 to L6, some are activated and some are not activated depending on the number of medals bet, and when symbols stop in a predetermined combination on an activated line, i.e., an activated line, a prize is awarded in which a predetermined number of medals, which are game media, are paid out, or a prize is awarded in which the game state is changed. On the other hand, when symbols stop in a predetermined combination on an inactivated line, a prize is not awarded and the above-mentioned prize is not awarded.

[0024] In this slot machine 10, there are cases where only the downward right line L4 as shown in Fig. 8(a) is the effective line, cases where the two combined lines of the downward line L3 and the downward right line L4 as shown in Fig. 8(b) are the effective lines, and cases where only the bent line L6 as shown in Fig. 8(c) is the effective line. More specifically, when three medals are bet and the game starts, only the downward right line L4 is the effective line. When two medals are bet and the game starts, the downward line L3 and the downward right line L4 are the effective lines. Also, when one medal is bet and the game starts, only the bent line L6 is the effective line. For the three combined lines of the upper line L1, the middle line L2, and the upward right line L5, they are never the effective lines. Hereinafter, a game started with three medals bet is called a 3-bet game, a game started with two medals bet is called a 2-bet game, and a game started with one medal bet is called a 1-bet game.

[0025] Figs. 9 to 11 are diagrams showing the correspondence between the combinations of winning symbols and the benefits given when winning.

[0026] As small winning prizes for which medal payouts are made, there are the 1st small winning prize to the 41st small winning prize.

[0027] When the "red bell" symbol or the "white bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "red bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "red bell" symbol or the "white bell" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the effective line, it is the 1st small winning prize. When the 1st small winning prize is established, 9 medals are paid out in a 3-bet game and 15 medals are paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0028] The winning combinations for the 2nd to 26th minor winning patterns are different in terms of the combinations of winning symbols. In the 3-bet game, when the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "White BAR" symbol, "Red 7" symbol, "Cherry" symbol, "White Bell" symbol, or "LUCKY" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "White BAR" symbol, "Young Man" symbol, "White Bell" symbol, "Red 7" symbol, or "2nd Replay" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the upper line L1. That is, it is a winning mode where the "Bell" symbols on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on the upper line L1. For example, when the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L stops in the upper position, the "Cherry" symbol on the middle reel 32M stops in the middle position, and the "White BAR" symbol on the right reel 32R stops in the lower position, it results in an 8th minor winning. As shown in Figure 6, on the middle reel 32M, the "Cherry" symbol (No. 11) and the "Red Bell" symbol are arranged at the adjacent position on the upstream side (No. 12). On the right reel 32R, the "Red Bell" symbol is arranged at a position (No. 20) separated by one symbol from the "White BAR" symbol (No. 18) on the upstream side. Therefore, when the 8th minor winning is achieved on the downward-sloping line L4, the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Red Bell" symbol on the right reel 32R will stop on the upper line L1. When the 2nd to 26th minor winning patterns are achieved, in the 3-bet game, 3 medals are paid out, and in the 2-bet game, 14 medals are paid out.

[0029] The 27th minor winning combination is a winning combination determined by whether or not winning is achieved based on the stopped symbol of the left reel 32L as a predetermined reel among each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Specifically, when the "cherry" symbol of the left reel 32L stops in the upper or lower stage, the 27th minor winning combination is established. In this case, the stopped symbols of the middle reel 32M and the right reel 32R do not affect the winning determination. In other words, regardless of the stopped symbols of the middle reel 32M and the right reel 32R, when the "cherry" symbol of the left reel 32L stops in the upper or lower stage, that is, when the "cherry" symbol or the "second replay" symbol stops on the effective line, the 27th minor winning combination is established. When the 27th minor winning combination is established, in a 3-bet game, 2 medals are paid out, and in a 2-bet game, 15 medals are paid out.

[0030] The 28th minor winning combination is a winning pattern that occurs when the "cherry" symbol of the left reel 32L stops in the upper or lower stage and the "cherry" symbols are aligned and stopped on the downward right line L4. More specifically, when the "cherry" symbol or the "second replay" symbol stops on the left reel 32L, the "red bell" symbol, the "white bell" symbol, or the "cherry" symbol stops on the middle reel 32M, and the "cherry" symbol, the "first replay" symbol, or the "second replay" symbol stops on the right reel 32R, the 28th minor winning combination is achieved. When the 28th minor winning combination is established, in a 3-bet game, 2 medals are paid out, and in a 2-bet game, 14 medals are paid out.

[0031] Supplementary explanation regarding the relationship between the 27th minor winning combination and the 28th minor winning combination: Although the 27th minor winning combination is established when the "cherry" symbol or the "second replay" symbol of the left reel 32L stops regardless of the stopped symbols of the middle reel 32M and the right reel 32R, depending on the stopped symbols of the middle reel 32M and the right reel 32R, there may be a case where the 28th minor winning combination is established instead of the 27th minor winning combination. That is, although the winning pattern of the 28th minor winning combination is included in the winning pattern of the 27th minor winning combination, the 27th minor winning combination and the 28th minor winning combination are clearly distinguished and the winning determination is made.

[0032] The winning of the 29th minor combination is a winning mode in which the "Watermelon" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Watermelon" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Watermelon" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line. That is, when the downward right diagonal line L4 is the active line, the winning of the 29th minor combination is established by the "Watermelon" symbols stopping aligned in a downward right diagonal manner. When the winning of the 29th minor combination is established, 5 medals are paid out in a 3-bet game, and 14 medals are paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0033] The winning of the 30th minor combination is a winning mode in which the "Watermelon" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Watermelon" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Watermelon" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the upper line L1. More specifically, when the "Watermelon" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Red Bell" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, it is the winning of the 30th minor combination. When the winning of the 30th minor combination is established, 5 medals are paid out in a 3-bet game, and 14 medals are paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0034] When the "Black BAR" symbol, "Young Man" symbol, "Watermelon" symbol, "First Replay" on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, it is the winning of the 31st minor combination. When the winning of the 31st minor combination is established, 9 medals are paid out in a 3-bet game, and 15 medals are paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0035] When the winning of the 32nd minor combination to the 35th minor combination is established in a 3-bet game, 2 medals are paid out, and in a 2-bet game, 14 medals are paid out.

[0036] The winning of the 36th minor prize is a winning pattern where, for example, when the player operates the stop switches 42-44 aiming for the "Watermelon" symbols on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, the "Watermelon" symbols on the left reel 32L and the middle reel 32M, or the left reel 32L and the right reel 32R stop on the active line, while the "Watermelon" symbols on the remaining reels do not stop on the active line, which is a so-called stop outcome of a miss in the watermelon combination. When the 36th minor prize is won, 5 medals are paid out in a 3-bet game and 15 medals are paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0037] When the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Black BAR" symbol, "Watermelon" symbol, "Cherry" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Red Bell" symbol, "White Bell" symbol, "Young Man" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, it results in a win of the 37th minor prize. As shown in Figure 6, on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol (No. 7) and the "Second Replay" symbol are arranged at the adjacent position on the downstream side (No. 6), and the main "White Bell" symbols (No. 3, 12, 15, 20) and the "First Replay" symbols are arranged at the adjacent positions on the downstream side (No. 2, 11, 14, 19). On the right reel 32R, the main "Red Bell" symbols (No. 2, 5, 12, 20) and the "First Replay" symbol or "Second Replay" symbol are arranged at the adjacent positions on the upstream side (No. 3, 6, 16, 0), and the "White Bell" symbol (No. 10) and the "First Replay" symbol are arranged at the adjacent position on the upstream side (No. 11). Therefore, when the 37th minor prize is won on the downward-sloping line L4, mainly, the "Bell" symbols and "Replay" symbols on the left reel 32L and the right reel 32R are in a combination while the "Bell" symbols and "Replay" symbols on the middle reel 32M do not stop, which is a so-called stop outcome of a miss in the double combination. When the 37th minor prize is won, 9 medals are paid out in a 3-bet game and 15 medals are paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0038] When the "White BAR" symbol, "Youth" symbol, "Watermelon" symbol, and "First Replay" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "First Replay" symbol, "Watermelon" symbol, and "Black BAR" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, it results in a winning of the 38th minor winning combination. In a 3-bet game, when the player operates the left stop switch at the timing when the 4th "Cherry" symbol on the left reel 32L reaches from the upper stage to the lower stage, if a winning of the 38th minor winning combination is established, the "Red Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the right reel 32R will stop on the middle line L2. When a winning of the 38th minor winning combination is established, 9 medals will be paid out in a 3-bet game and 15 medals will be paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0039] When the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Black BAR" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, it results in a winning of the 39th minor winning combination. The 39th minor winning combination is a winning mode that is established only in a 3-bet game. When a winning of the 39th minor winning combination is established, 9 medals will be paid out.

[0040] When the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Red 7" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, it results in a winning of the 40th minor winning combination. The 40th minor winning combination is a winning mode that is established only in a 3-bet game. When a winning of the 40th minor winning combination is established, 9 medals will be paid out.

[0041] When the "Watermelon" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Black BAR" symbol or "Cherry" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Watermelon" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, it results in a winning of the 41st minor winning combination. When a winning of the 41st minor winning combination is established, 5 medals will be paid out in a 3-bet game and 14 medals will be paid out in a 2-bet game.

[0042] As winning awards that confer the privilege of replay games that enable playing the next game without inserting medals, there are the 1st Replay Winning Award to the 12th Replay Winning Award. Also, when the 2nd Replay Winning Award is established, the game state shifts to the 1st RT state, when the 3rd Replay Winning Award is established, the game state shifts to the 2nd RT state, and when the 4th Replay Winning Award or the 5th Replay Winning Award is established, the game state shifts to the 3rd RT state.

[0043] As state transition winning awards where only the transition of the game state is performed, there are the 1st BB Winning Award, the 2nd BB Winning Award, and the CB Winning Award.

[0044] When the "Red 7" symbols on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on the effective lines, the 1st BB Winning Award is achieved and the game state shifts to the 1st BB state. Also, when the "White BAR" symbols on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on the effective lines, the 2nd BB Winning Award is achieved and the game state shifts to the 2nd BB state. When the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Watermelon" symbol, "1st Replay" symbol, "Black BAR" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the effective lines, the CB Winning Award is achieved. When the CB Winning Award is established, the game state shifts to the CB state.

[0045] In addition, although different from winning awards, on the condition that the game state is the normal game state, there are stop outcomes that shift to the 1st RT state when stopped. Specifically, when the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "White BAR" symbol, "LUCKY" symbol, "Red 7" symbol, "White Bell" symbol, "Cherry" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "Watermelon" symbol, "1st Replay" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the effective lines, the game state shifts to the 1st RT state. Also, when the "Red Bell" symbol or "White Bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "Red Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "White BAR" symbol, "Young Man" symbol, "White Bell" symbol, "Red 7" symbol, "2nd Replay" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the effective lines, the game state also shifts to the 1st RT state. Hereinafter, the combinations of the above-mentioned symbols are referred to as transition outcomes.

[0046] On the lower left side of the game panel 25, there is a start lever 41 that is operated to start the rotation of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. The start lever 41 constitutes a start operation means or a starting operation means that is operated to start the rotation of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, that is, to start the variable display of symbols. When the start lever 41 is operated with a predetermined number of medals inserted, each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R starts to rotate.

[0047] On the right side of the start lever 41, there are provided button-shaped stop switches 42 to 44 that are operated to individually stop the rotating reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Each of the stop switches 42 to 44 is disposed immediately below the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R corresponding to the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R to be stopped.

[0048] Stop detection sensors 42a to 44a (FIG. 12) are respectively connected to the stop switches 42 to 44, and the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a and a main control device 101 described later are connected. Then, the main control device 101 grasps that the stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated based on the detection signals from the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a. Specifically, when the stop switches 42 to 44 are not operated, the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a output detection signals of LOW signals, and when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated, the detection signals are switched from LOW signals to HI signals. The main control device 101 grasps the switching of such signals and grasps that the stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated. When the main control device 101 grasps that the stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated, it controls to stop the rotation of the reel corresponding to the operated switch.

[0049] That is, when the left stop switch 42 is operated, the rotation of the left reel 32L stops; when the middle stop switch 43 is operated, the rotation of the middle reel 32M stops; and when the right stop switch 44 is operated, the rotation of the right reel 32R stops. The stop switches 42 to 44 constitute stop operation means that are operated to stop the variable display of symbols based on the rotation of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

[0050] Below the lower right side of the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R, a medal insertion port 45 for inserting medals is provided. The medal insertion port 45 constitutes input means for inputting game media. Also, focusing on the fact that the medal insertion port 45 involves the operation of directly inserting medals by the player, it can also be said to constitute direct input means for directly inputting game media.

[0051] The medals inserted from the medal insertion port 45 are guided by a selector 46, which is a passage switching means provided on the back of the front door 12, to either the storage passage 47 or the discharge passage 48. More specifically, the selector 46 is provided with a medal passage switching solenoid 46a. When the medal passage switching solenoid 46a is not energized, the medals are guided to the discharge passage 48 side, and when the medal passage switching solenoid 46a is energized, the medals are guided to the storage passage 47 side. The medals guided to the storage passage 47 are then guided to a hopper device 51 housed inside the housing 11. On the other hand, the medals guided to the discharge passage 48 are guided from a medal discharge port 49 provided at the lower front of the front door 12 to a medal tray 50 and returned to the player.

[0052] The hopper device 51 is composed of a storage tank 52 for storing medals and a payout device 53 for paying out medals to the player. The payout device 53 discharges medals to the opening 48a provided in the discharge passage 48 by rotating a medal payout rotating plate (not shown), and pays out medals to the medal tray 50 through the discharge passage 48. Further, a reserve tank 54 is provided to the right of the hopper device 51 to avoid storing more than a predetermined amount of medals in the storage tank 52. Inside the storage tank 52 of the hopper device 51, a guide plate 52a for discharging medals from the storage tank 52 to the reserve tank 54 is provided. Therefore, when medals are stored above the height where the guide plate 52a is provided, such medals will be stored in the reserve tank 54.

[0053] Below the medal insertion port 45, a button-shaped return switch 55 is provided. When the return switch 55 is operated in a situation where the medals inserted into the medal insertion port 45 are jammed in the selector 46, the selector 46 is mechanically interlocked and operated, and the medals jammed in the selector 46 are returned from the medal discharge port 49.

[0054] On the lower left side below the display windows 26L, 26M, 26R, a first credit insertion switch 56 for inserting three virtual medals credited as game media at a time is provided. Further, a second credit insertion switch 57 is provided to the right of the first credit insertion switch 56, and a third credit insertion switch 58 is provided to the left of the first credit insertion switch 56. The second credit insertion switch 57 is for inserting one virtual medal, and the third credit insertion switch 58 is for inserting two virtual medals at a time. Each of the credit insertion switches 56 to 58 constitutes an input means for inputting game media together with the medal insertion port 45. Also, while the medal insertion port 45 involves the operation of directly inserting medals by the player, if we focus on the fact that each of the credit insertion switches 56 to 58 only involves the operation of inserting virtual medals based on stored memory, it can be said that they also constitute an indirect input means for indirectly inputting game media.

[0055] Between the first credit insertion switch 56 and the second credit insertion switch 57, there is a production switch 66 that is operated when a production occurs. That is, to the left of the production switch 66, the first credit insertion switch 56 and the third credit insertion switch 58 are provided, and to the right of the production switch 66, the second credit insertion switch 57 is provided.

[0056] To the left of the start lever 41, a settlement switch 59 is provided. That is, this slot machine 10 has a credit function of storing and memorizing surplus inserted medals and paid-out medals at the time of winning as virtual medals until a predetermined maximum value (equivalent to 50 medals) is reached. When the settlement switch 59 is operated under the condition that virtual medals are stored and memorized, the virtual medals are paid out from the medal payout port 49 as actual medals. In this case, focusing on the function of paying out the credited virtual medals as actual medals, it can be said that the settlement switch 59 constitutes a settlement operation means for actually paying out the stored and memorized game media.

[0057] Below the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R of the game panel 25, a credit display unit 60 for displaying the number of credited virtual medals, a remaining payout number display unit 61 for displaying the number of remaining medals to be paid out until the BB state ends, and a payout number display unit 62 for displaying the number of medals paid out at the time of winning are respectively provided. These display units 60 to 62 are constituted by 7-segment displays, but it is of course possible to replace them with liquid crystal displays or the like.

[0058] Below the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R on the game panel 25 and to the right of the payout number display unit 62, there are provided a push order display for notifying the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, a section display for indicating an advantageous section, which is a section where the winning rate of a small combination is changed by notifying the operation order and the game can be advanced in a situation advantageous to the player, and an instruction monitor 68. The instruction monitor 68 will be described in detail later.

[0059] Above the upper front door 12, there are an upper lamp 63 that lights up or blinks as the game progresses, a pair of left and right speakers 64 that play various sound effects as the game progresses and inform the player of the game state, and an auxiliary display unit 65 that provides various information to the player. The auxiliary display unit 65 is for executing various display effects as the game progresses. Since the game by each of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R can be considered as the one by the main display unit, it is referred to as the auxiliary display unit 65 in this embodiment. On the back of the auxiliary display unit 65, there are provided an upper lamp 63, speakers 64, and a display control device 81 for driving the auxiliary display unit 65.

[0060] Inside the cabinet 11, to the left of the hopper device 51, a power supply box 70 is provided. The power supply box 70 houses a power supply device 91 inside and is equipped with a power switch 71, a reset switch 72, a setting key insertion hole 73, and the like. The power switch 71 is a start switch for supplying power to each part including the main control device 101. The reset switch 72 is a switch for resetting the error state of the slot machine 10. Also, the setting key insertion hole 73 is for a hall manager or the like to adjust the payout of medals. That is, when a hall manager or the like inserts a setting key into the setting key insertion hole 73 and performs an ON operation, the winning probability (set value) of the slot machine 10 can be set. Note that the reset switch 72 is operated not only when resetting the error state but also when changing the winning probability of the slot machine 10.

[0061] Above the reel unit 31, a main control device 101 for overall management of the game is attached to the cabinet 11.

[0062] The main control device 101 is provided with a ratio monitor 77 for indicating the ratio between a gaming state advantageous to the player and a non-advantageous state. The ratio monitor 77 is installed on the side facing the front of the gaming machine in the main control device 101 so that it can be visually recognized from the front of the gaming machine when the front door 12 is in the open state and cannot be visually recognized when the front door 12 is in the closed state. More specifically, it is housed in the substrate box such that the display surface of the ratio monitor 77 can be visually recognized through the substrate box in which the main control device 101 is housed. Incidentally, when the front door 12 is in the closed state, the ratio monitor 77 cannot be visually recognized even through gaps such as those between the display windows 26L to 26R, and it is impossible to check the ratio monitor 77 unless the locked state is released by a predetermined key operation on the key cylinder 21 and the front door 12 is opened. The ratio monitor 77 will be described in detail later.

[0063] Next, the electrical configuration of this slot machine 10 will be described based on the block diagrams of FIGS. 12 and 13.

[0064] The main control device 101 is equipped with a microcomputer centered around a CPU 102 which is an arithmetic processing means. In addition to the power supply device 91, a clock circuit 103 that outputs a rectangular wave of a predetermined frequency, an input / output port 104, etc. are connected to the CPU 102 via an internal bus. Such a main control device 101 serves as a main board built into the slot machine 10.

[0065] On the input side of the main control device 101, there are various sensors such as a reel index sensor (more specifically, a sensor that individually detects when each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R has rotated once), a start detection sensor 41a that detects the operation of the start lever 41, stop detection sensors 42a to 44a that individually detect the operations of the respective stop switches 42 to 44, a inserted medal detection sensor 45a that detects medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 45, a payout detection sensor 51a that detects medals paid out from the hopper device 51, a first credit insertion detection sensor 56a that individually detects the operation of the first credit insertion switch 56, a second credit insertion detection sensor 57a that individually detects the operation of the second credit insertion switch 57, a third credit insertion detection sensor 58a that individually detects the operation of the third credit insertion switch 58, a settlement detection sensor 59a that detects the operation of the settlement switch 59, a reset detection sensor 72a that detects the operation of the reset switch 72, and a setting key detection sensor 73a that detects that a setting key has been inserted into the setting key insertion hole 73 and turned on. Signals from these various sensors are output to the CPU 102 via the input / output port 104.

[0066] Also, on the input side of the main control device 101, a power supply device 91 is connected via the input / output port 104. The power supply device 91 is equipped with a power supply unit 91a that supplies driving power to each electronic device of the slot machine 10 including the main control device 101, a power failure monitoring circuit 91b, and the like.

[0067] The power failure monitoring circuit 91b monitors the power-off state and is for generating a power failure signal not only during a power failure but also when the power is cut off by the power switch 71. Therefore, the power failure monitoring circuit 91b monitors the stabilized drive voltage of 12 VDC in this example output from the power supply unit 91a, and is configured to determine that the power is cut off when this drive voltage drops to less than 10 V, for example, and output a power failure signal. The power failure signal is supplied to each of the CPU 102 and the input / output port 104, and the CPU 102 executes a power failure process described later by recognizing this power failure signal. Also, this power failure signal is configured to be supplied to the display control device 81 as well.

[0068] The power supply unit 91a is configured to output a stabilized voltage of 5 V that is used as a drive voltage in a control system such as the main control device 101 even when the output voltage drops to less than 10 V. As the time for which this stabilized voltage is output, sufficient time is ensured for the main control device 101 to execute the power failure process.

[0069] On the output side of the main control device 101, there are an external centralized terminal board 121 etc. that can transmit information to a reel unit 31 (more specifically, a stepping motor for rotating each of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R), a medal passage switching solenoid 46a provided in a selector 46, a hopper device 51, a credit display section 60, a remaining payout number display section 61, a payout number display section 62, an instruction monitor 68, a winning ratio monitor 77, a display control device 81, a hall management device (not shown), etc., and these are connected via the input / output port 104.

[0070] The above-mentioned CPU 102 includes a ROM 105 that stores various control programs and fixed-value data executed by this CPU 102, and a RAM 106 for securing a working area for temporarily storing various data when executing the control programs stored in this ROM 105. In addition, as is well known although not shown in the figure, various processing circuits necessary in the slot machine 10 such as an interrupt circuit, a timer circuit, and a data transmission / reception circuit, and various counters such as a credit counter for counting the number of credit cards are built in. The ROM 105 and the RAM 106 constitute a main memory as a storage means, and the programs for executing various processes are stored in the above-mentioned ROM 105 as a part of the control programs.

[0071] The RAM 106 is configured to be able to hold (backup) data by being supplied with a backup voltage from the power supply device 91 even after the power of the slot machine 10 is turned off. The RAM 106 includes a memory for temporarily storing various data, a winning flag storage area 106a for storing the result of role lottery, a stop information storage area 106b for storing stop information used when performing stop control of each reel 32L, 32M, 32R, a state information storage area 106c for storing game states such as the BB state, and the like, and a backup area is provided.

[0072] The backup area is an area for storing the value of the stack pointer at the time of power-off (including power-off by operating the power switch 71. The same applies hereinafter) in the case where the power is cut off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like. When the power failure is resolved (including power-on by operating the power switch 71. The same applies hereinafter), the state of the slot machine 10 can be restored to the state before the power-off based on the information in the backup area. Writing to the backup area is executed at the time of power-off by the power-off process (see FIG. 14), and the restoration of each value written in the backup area is executed in the main process at the time of power-on.

[0073] Also, the NMI terminal (non-maskable interrupt terminal) of the CPU 102 is configured such that a power failure signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 91b is input when the power supply is cut off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like. And when the power supply is cut off, NMI interrupt processing as power failure flag generation processing is immediately executed.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 13, the display control device 81 is equipped with a microcomputer centered on the CPU 181 which is an arithmetic processing means. The CPU 181 has a ROM 182 that stores various control programs and fixed value data executed by this CPU 181, and a RAM 183 for securing a work area for temporarily storing various data when executing the control programs stored in the ROM 182, etc. built therein.

[0075] The display control device 81 is provided with an input / output port (not shown). The main control device 101 is connected to the input side, and the upper lamp 63, the speaker 64, and the auxiliary display unit 65 are connected to the output side. And based on various commands input from the main control device 101, the upper lamp 63, the speaker 64, and the auxiliary display unit 65 are driven and controlled. That is, the display control device 81 serves as a sub-base for executing auxiliary control in relation to the main control device 101 which is the main base for overall management of the game. That is, by providing a sub-base for indirect game-related sounds, lamps, and displays, the burden on the main base is reduced.

[0076] An effect switch 66 (more specifically, an effect switch detection sensor for detecting the operation of the effect switch 66) is connected to the input side of the display control device 81. In addition, the various display units 60 to 62, 68 may also be configured to be driven and controlled by the display control device 81.

[0077] Next, each control process executed by the CPU 102 of the main control device 101 will be described. As the processing of such a CPU 102, roughly speaking, there are a main process that is started when the power is turned on, a timer interrupt process that is started periodically (at a cycle of 1.49 msec in this embodiment), and an NMI interrupt process that is started when a power failure signal is input to the NMI terminal. Hereinafter, among these processes, the processes related to the progress of the game, that is, the timer interrupt process and the normal process performed in the main process will be described.

[0078] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the timer interrupt process that is periodically executed by the main control device 101. A timer interrupt occurs, for example, every 1.49 msec by the CPU 102 of the main control device 101.

[0079] First, in the register save process shown in step S101, the values of all the registers in the CPU 102 used in the normal process described later are saved in the backup area of the RAM 106. In step S102, it is checked whether the power failure flag is set. When the power failure flag is set, the process proceeds to step S103, and the power failure process is executed.

[0080] Here, the outline of the power failure process will be described.

[0081] When the power is cut off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like, a power failure signal is output from the power failure monitoring circuit 91b of the power supply device 91, and the power failure signal is input to the main control device 101 via the NMI terminal. When the power failure signal is input, the main control device 101 immediately executes the NMI interrupt process and sets the power failure flag in the power failure flag storage area provided in the RAM 106.

[0082] In the power failure process, first, it is determined whether the transmission of the command has ended. If the transmission has not ended, this process ends and returns to the timer interrupt process to complete the transmission of the command. If the transmission of the command has ended, the value of the stack pointer of the CPU 102 is saved in the backup area of the RAM 106. Then, the output state of the output port in the input / output port 104 is cleared, and all actuators (not shown) are turned off. And, in order to determine whether the data in the RAM 106 is normal when the power failure is resolved, a RAM determination value is calculated and saved in the backup area, thereby prohibiting subsequent RAM access. After performing the above processes, in preparation for the power supply being completely cut off and the process being unable to be executed, an infinite loop is entered. Note that, considering the case where the power failure flag is accidentally set due to, for example, noise, it is confirmed whether the power failure signal is being output until entering the infinite loop. If the power failure signal is not being output, it means that the power failure state has been restored, so writing to the RAM 106 is permitted and the power failure flag is reset, and the process returns to the timer interrupt process. If the output of the power failure signal continues, an infinite loop is entered as it is. Incidentally, even under the infinite loop, it is confirmed whether the power failure signal is being output, and if the power failure signal stops being output, the process proceeds to the main process.

[0083] Returning to the explanation of the timer interrupt process, if the power failure flag is not set in step S102, various processes after step S104 are performed.

[0084] That is, in step S104, a watchdog timer clear process is performed to initialize the value of the watchdog timer for monitoring the occurrence of malfunction. In step S105, an interrupt end declaration process is performed to enable the CPU 102 itself to set the next timer interrupt. In step S106, a stepping motor control process is performed to drive the stepping motors, which are the respective reel driving motors, to rotate each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. In step S107, a sensor monitoring process is performed to read the states of various sensors (see FIG. 12) such as the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a, the inserted medal detection sensor 45a, and the payout detection sensor 51a connected to the input / output port 104, and to monitor whether the read result is normal. In step S108, a timer arithmetic process is performed to subtract the values of the respective counters and timers. In step S109, a counter process is performed to output the results of counting the number of bet medals and the number of paid-out medals to the external centralized terminal board 121.

[0085] In step S110, a command output process is performed to transmit various commands such as a lottery result command, which will be described later, to the display control device 81. In step S111, a segment data setting process is performed to set the segment data respectively displayed on the credit display unit 60, the remaining payout number display unit 61, and the payout number display unit 62. In step S112, a segment data display process is performed to supply the segment data set in the segment data setting process to the respective display units 60 to 62 and 68 to display the corresponding numbers, symbols, etc. In step S113, a port output process is performed to output data corresponding to the I / O device from the input / output port 104. In step S114, the values of the respective registers saved in the backup area in the previous step S101 are restored to the corresponding registers in the CPU 102. Then, in step S115, an interrupt permission process is performed to permit the next timer interrupt, and this series of timer interrupt processes is terminated.

[0086] Next, the normal process for performing the main control related to the game will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 15.

[0087] First, in step S201, an interrupt permission process for permitting the next timer interrupt is performed. In step S202, a pre-start process for enabling the game is performed. In the pre-start process, the display control device 81 and the like wait until the initialization is completed. When the initialization of the display control device 81 and the like is completed, the game management process shown in steps S203 to S214 is performed.

[0088] As the game management process, in step S203, data such as various game information stored in the RAM 106 (for example, the random number value used in the previous game) is cleared. After that, in step S204, a start waiting process is performed.

[0089] In the start waiting process, it is determined whether any replay winning has occurred in the previous game. If any replay winning has occurred, an automatic insertion process for automatically inserting the same number of virtual medals as the previous bet number is performed, and the start waiting process ends. Specifically, for example, when a replay winning occurs in a 3-bet game, a process of automatically inserting 3 virtual medals is performed, and when a replay winning occurs in a 1-bet game, a process of automatically inserting 1 virtual medal is performed.

[0090] Note that in the automatic insertion process, virtual medals are inserted without reducing the number of virtual medals displayed on the credit display unit 60. That is, if any replay winning has occurred in the previous game, the player can play this game without reducing the medals owned and without inserting medals. If no replay winning has occurred, a sensor abnormality confirmation process is performed to confirm whether an abnormality has occurred in the sensor reading result obtained in the sensor monitoring process step S107 of the timer interrupt process. If an abnormality has occurred, an abnormality occurrence process is performed to set the slot machine 10 to an error state and notify the occurrence of the error. Such an error state is maintained until the reset switch 72 is operated. If the sensor reading result is normal, it is determined whether the settlement switch 59 has been operated. If the settlement switch 59 has been operated, a medal return process for paying out the same number of medals as the credited virtual medals is performed.

[0091] After the medal return process is completed or when the settlement switch 59 is not operated, it is determined whether a medal has been inserted or the credit insertion switches 56 to 58 have been operated between the previous start waiting process and the current start waiting process. If any of them has been done, a medal insertion process for changing the number of bets or the like is performed, and the start waiting process is terminated. Also, if neither a medal has been inserted nor the credit insertion switches 56 to 58 have been operated between the previous start waiting process and the current start waiting process, the start waiting process is terminated as it is.

[0092] After the start waiting process is completed, in step S205, it is determined whether the number of medal bets has reached the specified number. In this slot machine 10, "2" is set as the specified number in the CB state, and "1" and "3" are set as the specified numbers in game states other than the CB state (specifically, the normal game state, the first RT state, the second RT state, the third RT state, the BB state). That is, in the CB state, an affirmative determination is made in step S205 on the condition that the number of bets is "2", and in states other than the CB state, an affirmative determination is made in step S205 on the condition that the number of bets is "1" or "3". In other words, in game states other than the CB state, if no medal is bet, or even if a medal is bet and the number of bets is "2", a negative determination is made in step S205. If the number of bets has not reached the specified number, the process returns to the start waiting process in step S204, and the processes after the sensor abnormality confirmation process in that process are performed.

[0093] If the number of bets has reached the specified number, the process proceeds to step S206. In step S206, a bet command including the information on the number of bets, which has been determined affirmatively in step S205, is set as the output target to the display control device 81 as the control device on the sub side. The command set here is output to the display control device 81 in step S110 in the timer interrupt process. The process of the display control device 81 that has received the bet command will be described in detail later.

[0094] After executing the process of step S206, it is determined in step S207 whether or not the start lever 41 has been operated. If the start lever 41 has not been operated, the process returns to the start waiting process of step S204, and the processes after the sensor abnormality confirmation process among the processes are performed.

[0095] On the other hand, when the start lever 41 is operated, since the game can be started when the start lever 41 is operated under the situation where a prescribed number of medals are bet, it means that a start command has been generated to start the game. In such a case, in step S208, an effective line setting process is performed to set the combination line corresponding to the bet number as an effective line. That is, in a 3 - bet game, only the downward - right line L4 is set as the effective line, in a 2 - bet game, the lower line L3 and the downward - right line L4 are set as the effective lines, and in a 1 - bet game, the bent line L6 is set as the effective line. In step S209, the medal passage switching solenoid 46a is switched to the non - excited state to prohibit medal reception. Thereafter, the lottery process of step S210, the reel control process of step S211, the medal payout process of step S212, the RT state process of step S213, and the bonus state process of step S214 are executed in order, and the process returns to step S203.

[0096] Next, the lottery process of step S210 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 16.

[0097] In step S301, a random number used for determining the validity of a role is acquired. In this slot machine 10, when the start lever 41 is operated, the hard circuit is configured to latch the value of the free-run counter at that time. The free-run counter generates random numbers from 0 to 65535, and after the CPU 102 confirms the operation of the start lever 41, it stores the value latched by the hard circuit in the RAM 106. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to quickly acquire a random number at the timing when the start lever 41 is operated, and it becomes possible to avoid problems such as synchronization. The hard circuit of this slot machine 10 is configured to latch the value of the free-run counter each time the start lever 41 is operated.

[0098] After acquiring the random number, in step S302, a lottery table for determining the validity of a role is selected. In this slot machine 10, as game states, there are six types of game states, namely, a normal game state, a first RT state, a second RT state, a third RT state, a BB state, and a CB state. The lottery tables are set for each game state.

[0099] That is, in step S302, based on the bet number and the setting flag set in the state information storage area 106c, the current game state of the slot machine 10 is determined, and a lottery table corresponding to the bet number and the game state is selected. For example, when the bet number is "3" and the setting flag is not set in the state information storage area 106c, it is determined that the current game state is the normal game state, and the lottery table for the normal game state is selected. Also, in this slot machine 10, winning probabilities in six levels from "setting 1" to "setting 6" are prepared in advance. By inserting a setting key into the setting key insertion hole, performing an ON operation, and performing a predetermined operation, it is possible to set based on which winning probability the internal processing is to be executed. In step S302, when the setting state is "setting 1", the lottery table with the lowest expected value of medal payout is selected, and when the setting state is "setting 6", the lottery table with the highest expected value of medal payout is selected.

[0100] Here, a supplementary explanation will be given regarding the process for setting the winning probability.

[0101] The winning probability setting process is executed in the main process that is started by the main control device 101 when the power is turned on. More specifically, the winning probability setting process is started after the initialization process when the power is turned on while the setting key detection sensor 73a has detected that the setting key is inserted into the setting key insertion hole and is in the ON operation state. In the winning probability setting process, as a predetermined operation, the set value is updated by 1 for each operation of the start lever 41. For example, each time the start lever 41 is operated once, the set value is updated so that it becomes "Setting 1" → "Setting 2" → "Setting 3" → "Setting 4" → "Setting 5" → "Setting 6" → "Setting 1". Note that each set value is displayed on the credit display unit 60, for example, and the display is also updated for each update of the above set value. Then, the operation of the start lever 41 with the setting key detection sensor 73a in the OFF operation state is regarded as the confirmation operation of the set value, and the set value at that time is taken as the current set value, and the winning probability setting process is terminated. Based on the termination of the winning probability setting process, the display on the credit display unit 60 also ends. The set value set in the winning probability setting process is stored and held in the RAM 106 until the next winning probability setting process is started. In step S302, based on this stored set value, a process of selecting a lottery table will be performed.

[0102] The lottery table will be briefly explained. FIG. 17 is a lottery table for the normal game state selected in the normal game state of "Setting 3". Index values IV are set in the lottery table, and for each index value IV, a winning combination is uniquely associated and a point value PV is set.

[0103] After selecting the lottery table, in step S303, the index value IV is set to 1, and in the subsequent step S304, a determination value DV used for determining the success or failure of a role is set. In such a determination value setting process, the current point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV is added to the current determination value DV to set a new determination value DV. In the first determination value setting process, the random number value obtained in step S301 is used as the current determination value DV, and the point value PV corresponding to 1, which is the current index value IV, is added to this random number value to obtain a new determination value DV.

[0104] Thereafter, in step S305, a determination of the success or failure of the role corresponding to the index value IV is made. In the determination of the success or failure of the role, it is determined whether the determination value DV exceeds 65535. If it exceeds 65535, in step S306, it is determined whether the player has won any of the First BB, Second BB, or CB. Specifically, it is determined whether a positive determination was made in step S305 with an index value IV (IV = 34 to 58) that includes any of the First BB, Second BB, or CB. If a positive determination is made in step S306, in step S307, the corresponding bonus winning flag (First BB winning flag, Second BB winning flag, CB winning flag) is set in the winning flag storage area 106a. If a negative determination is made in step S306, or after the process of step S307, in step S308, the winning flags of each minor role corresponding to the index value IV for which a positive determination was made in step S305 are set in the winning flag storage area 106a. For example, when the determination value DV exceeds 65535 when IV = 34, the First BB winning flag is set in step S307, and the winning flags for the 28th minor role, 33rd minor role, and 35th minor role are set in step S308. Also, when the determination value DV exceeds 65535 when IV = 17, the winning flags indicating winning the 30th minor role and 41st minor role are set in the winning flag storage area 106a in step S308.

[0105] Incidentally, if the set winning flag is not a winning flag indicating winning in the first BB (first BB winning flag) or a winning flag indicating winning in the second BB (second BB winning flag), the winning flag set in the winning flag storage area 106a is reset after the end of the game in which the corresponding winning flag is set (see S203 in the normal process). On the other hand, when the winning flag is the first BB winning flag or the second BB winning flag, these winning flags are reset on the condition that the corresponding winning has been established. That is, the first BB winning flag and the second BB winning flag may be valid over a plurality of games.

[0106] Note that in steps S306 to S308 in the state where the first BB winning flag or the second BB winning flag is carried over, if winning in a combination other than the first BB, second BB, and CB, the corresponding winning flag is set, and if not winning in a combination other than the first BB, second BB, and CB, the corresponding winning flag is not set.

[0107] That is, for example, in the state where the first BB winning flag is carried over, when the determination value DV exceeds 65535 at, for example, the index value IV = 34, the first BB winning flag is not set, and the 28th smallest winning flag, the 33rd smallest winning flag, and the 35th smallest winning flag are set. Also, in the state where the first BB winning flag is carried over, when the determination value DV exceeds 65535 at, for example, the index value IV = 35, the second BB winning flag is not set, and the 28th smallest winning flag, the 33rd smallest winning flag, and the 35th smallest winning flag are set.

[0108] Note that a separate lottery table may be prepared in the state where the first BB winning flag or the second BB winning flag is carried over, and in the state where the first BB winning flag or the second BB winning flag is carried over, the lottery process may be performed using the separately prepared lottery table. In this case, in the separately prepared lottery table, it is advisable to set each index value IV and point value PV so as not to win in the first BB, second BB, and CB.

[0109] If the determination value DV does not exceed 65535 in step S305, it means that the index value IV has failed to match the corresponding role. In such a case, the index value IV is incremented by 1 in step S309, and in the subsequent step S310, it is determined whether there is a role corresponding to the index value IV, that is, whether there is a determination target to be judged as correct or incorrect. Specifically, it is determined whether the incremented index value IV exceeds the maximum value of the index value IV set in the lottery table. If there is a determination target to be judged as correct or incorrect, the process returns to step S304 to continue the role correctness determination. At this time, in step S304, the point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV is added to the determination value DV (i.e., the current determination value DV) used in the previous role correctness determination to obtain a new determination value DV, and in step S305, the role correctness determination is performed based on the determination value DV. Incidentally, when performing the role correctness determination using the lottery table shown in Fig. 17, the probability of winning the normal replay (the probability of winning when IV = 1) is about 1 / 7.3, the probability of winning the strong cherry (the probability of winning when IV = 15) is about 1 / 300, and the probability of winning the weak cherry (the probability of winning when IV = 16) is about 1 / 183. The probability of winning the strong watermelon (the probability of winning when IV = 17) is about 1 / 300, the probability of winning the weak watermelon (the probability of winning when IV = 18) is about 1 / 218, the probability of winning the Chance A (the probability of winning when IV = 19) is about 1 / 252, and the probability of winning the Chance B (the probability of winning when IV = 20) is about 1 / 252. The probability of winning the middle bell (the probability of winning when IV = 21) is about 1 / 32800, and the probability of winning the no - question bell (the probability of winning when IV = 22) is about 1 / 65500. The probabilities of winning the straight - push bell 1, straight - push bell 2, pinch - push bell 1, and pinch - push bell 2 (the probabilities of winning when IV = 23 - 26) are each about 1 / 37.4, and the probabilities of winning the middle - push bell 1, middle - push bell 2, right - push bell 1, and right - push bell 2 (the probabilities of winning when IV = 27 - 30) are each about 1 / 18.7.The probability of winning the Strong Cherry Duplicate 1 (the probability of winning when IV = 34) is approximately 1 in 21,800, the probability of winning the Strong Cherry Duplicate 2 (the probability of winning when IV = 35) is approximately 1 in 21,800, the probability of winning the Weak Cherry Duplicate 1 (the probability of winning when IV = 36) is approximately 1 in 32,800, and the probability of winning the Weak Cherry Duplicate 2 (the probability of winning when IV = 37) is approximately 1 in 32,800. The probability of winning the Strong Watermelon Duplicate 1 (the probability of winning when IV = 38) is approximately 1 in 32,800, and the probability of winning the Strong Watermelon Duplicate 2 (the probability of winning when IV = 39) is approximately 1 in 32,800. The probability of winning the Weak Watermelon Duplicate 1 (the probability of winning when IV = 40) is approximately 1 in 65,500, and the probability of winning the Weak Watermelon Duplicate 2 (the probability of winning when IV = 41) is approximately 1 in 65,500. The probabilities of winning Chance A Duplicate 1, Chance A Duplicate 2, Chance B Duplicate 1, and Chance B Duplicate 2 (the probabilities of winning when IV = 42 - 45) are each approximately 1 in 32,800. The probabilities of winning the Middle Bell Duplicate 1 and Middle Bell Duplicate 2 (the probabilities of winning when IV = 46, 47) are each approximately 1 in 21,800. The probability of winning the Special Reel A Duplicate 1 (the probability of winning when IV = 48) is approximately 1 in 1,010, and the probability of winning the Special Reel A Duplicate 2 (the probability of winning when IV = 49) is approximately 1 in 1,310. The probability of winning the Special Reel AB Duplicate 1 (the probability of winning when IV = 50) is approximately 1 in 1,010, and the probability of winning the Special Reel AB Duplicate 2 (the probability of winning when IV = 51) is approximately 1 in 1,310. The probabilities of winning the First BB and Second BB alone (the probabilities of winning when IV = 52, 53) are each approximately 1 in 32,800. The probability of winning the CB (the probability of winning when IV = 54) is approximately 1 in 19.9. Also, the probability of a miss, not winning any of the hands, is approximately 1 in 2.14.

[0110] Note that in the lottery table for the normal game state, 0 is set for the point values PV of IV = 2 - 14, 31 - 33, 55 - 58. Therefore, in the normal game state, no win occurs for these index values IV.

[0111] After setting the winning flag in step S308, or when it is determined in step S310 that there is no determination target to be determined, it means that the winning / losing determination of the role has ended. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S311, and a freeze lottery process is performed to determine whether to execute a freeze effect that invalidates the operations of the stop switches 42 to 44 for a predetermined period.

[0112] In the subsequent step S312, lottery result corresponding processing is performed. In the lottery result corresponding processing, processing such as determining whether to shift the game state according to the result of the lottery from step S301 to step S311 and processing for notifying the pressing order role are performed. The lottery result corresponding processing will be described in detail later.

[0113] After executing the process of step S312, a lottery result command is set in step S313. Here, the lottery result command is a command transmitted to the display control device 81 to make the result of the winning / losing determination of the role known. However, in normal processing, only various commands such as the above lottery result command are set in the ring buffer, and no command is transmitted to the display control device 81. The command transmission to the display control device 81 is performed in the command output process (step S110) of the timer interrupt process described above.

[0114] Then, in step S314, a stop information setting process is executed to set symbols that can stop on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R based on the lottery result of the current game. In the stop information setting process, stop symbol information corresponding to a winning combination is set based on the winning flags set in steps S306 to S308. For example, when winning a strong cherry (winning when IV = 15) and the strong cherry winning flag is set, the stop symbol information is set so that symbols corresponding to winning the 28th minor combination, the 32nd minor combination to the 35th minor combination can stop on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Also, when winning a double strong cherry 1 (winning when IV = 34) and the strong cherry winning flag and the first BB winning flag are set, the stop symbol information is set so that symbols corresponding to winning the 28th minor combination, the 33rd minor combination, the 35th minor combination, and the first BB can stop on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

[0115] In the subsequent step S315, when a plurality of stoppable symbol information is set in step S314, a priority setting process for setting the priority order thereof is executed. For example, when winning multiple types of combinations among the types of minor combinations, replay games, and bonuses, the following priority order is set. When winning both a minor combination and a bonus, the priority order is set such that winning the minor combination takes precedence. If winning the minor combination cannot be achieved, winning the bonus is made possible. When winning both a replay game and a bonus, the priority order is set such that winning the replay game takes precedence.

[0116] For example, when winning the strong cherry duplication 1 and the stop symbol information corresponding to the 28th minor winning, the 33rd minor winning, the 35th minor winning, and the first BB winning is set, the priority is set so that the 28th minor winning, the 33rd minor winning, and the 35th minor winning are established prior to the first BB winning. Also, when winning the special replay A duplication 1 and the stop symbol information corresponding to the 9th replay game and the first BB winning is set, the priority is set so that the 9th replay game winning is established prior to the first BB winning. And, for example, in a situation where the first BB winning is carried over and winning the normal replay, and the stop symbol information corresponding to the first BB winning and the first replay game winning is set, the priority is set so that the first replay game winning is established prior to the first BB winning.

[0117] Here, when winning a replay game, the combination of symbols for winning is set so that any one of the winning replay games will definitely win. That is, when winning a replay game, the replay game winning will definitely be established and no omission will occur. Therefore, when the stop symbol information for the replay game and the bonus is set, any one of the set replay game winnings will definitely be established and the bonus winning will not be established.

[0118] In addition, when a plurality of minor winning combinations or a plurality of replay games overlap and win, which symbol corresponding to which minor winning combination or replay game stops on the valid line depends on the timing at which the stop operation is performed. For example, when winning on the strong watermelon and the stop symbol information corresponding to winning on the 30th minor winning combination and the 41st minor winning combination is set, as described above, for the 30th minor winning combination and the 41st minor winning combination, the target symbol on the left reel 32L is commonly the "watermelon" symbol. Therefore, depending on the timing of the stop operation of the left reel 32L, which minor winning combination will be established is not determined. On the other hand, the target symbols on the middle reel 32M and the right reel 32R are both "red bell" symbols for the 30th minor winning combination, and for the 41st minor winning combination, the middle reel 32M has "cherry" symbols and "black BAR" symbols, and the right reel 32R has the "watermelon" symbol. For example, in a 3-bet game, on the middle reel 32M, when the stop operation of the middle stop switch 43 is performed at the timing when the 7th "red bell" symbol from the 4th "watermelon" symbol reaches the middle stage, for either the 7th "red bell" symbol which is the target symbol of the 30th minor winning combination or the "black BAR" symbol which is the target symbol of the 41st minor winning combination, it is possible to stop them in the middle stage which is on the valid line. In this case, in the present embodiment, the stop symbol information is set so as to preferentially stop the symbol with fewer slipping numbers. As a result, in the above case, the stop drive control is performed so that the "red bell" symbol stops in the middle stage, the 41st minor winning combination does not win, and the 30th minor winning combination becomes eligible to win.

[0119] On the other hand, on the middle reel 32M, when the stop operation of the middle stop switch 43 is performed at the timing when the 12th "red bell" symbol from the 8th "black BAR" symbol reaches the middle stage, for either the 8th "black BAR" symbol and the 11th "cherry" symbol which are the target symbols of the 41st minor winning combination or the 12th "red bell" symbol which is the target symbol of the 30th minor winning combination, it is possible to stop them in the middle stage. Also in this case, since the stop symbol information is set so as to preferentially stop the symbol with fewer slipping numbers, the 8th "black BAR" symbol or the 11th "cherry" symbol stops in the middle stage, the 30th minor winning combination does not win, and the 41st minor winning combination becomes eligible to win.

[0120] The same applies to the right reel 32R. Based on the timing when the stop operation of the right stop switch 44 is performed, the stop symbol information is set so that the symbol with fewer slips between the "Red Bell" symbol, which is the target symbol of the 30th minor winning combination, and the "Watermelon" symbol, which is the target symbol of the 41st minor winning combination, stops at the lower stage, which is the valid line. In the right reel 32R, when the stop operation of the right stop switch 44 is performed at the timing when the 6th "First Replay" symbol and the 7th "Black BAR" symbol reach the valid positions, neither the "Watermelon" symbol nor the "Red Bell" symbol can be stopped. In this case, no minor winning combination is established, resulting in a so-called miss.

[0121] After executing the process of step S315, the first interval display process is executed in step S316, and then the lottery process is terminated. The first interval display process is a process related to the display control of the instruction monitor 68 and the winning ratio monitor 77, and this process will be described in detail later.

[0122] Next, the reel control process of step S211 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 18.

[0123] In the reel control process, first, a rotation effect process is performed in step S401. The rotation effect process is a process for performing an effect using reel control during the invalid period based on the result of the freeze lottery process performed in step S311 above. In the subsequent step S402, a rotation start process for starting the rotation of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is performed.

[0124] In the rotation start process, it is checked whether a predetermined wait time (for example, 4.1 seconds) has elapsed since the reels started rotating in the previous game. If it has not elapsed, the system waits until the wait time elapses. When the wait time has elapsed, the wait time for the next game is reset, and a motor control initialization process is performed to set rotation start information in the motor control storage area provided in the RAM 106. By performing such processing, the acceleration process of the stepping motor is started in the stepping motor control process (step S106) of the timer interrupt process, and each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R starts rotating. For this reason, even if the player bets a specified number of medals and operates the start lever 41, the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R may not immediately start rotating. Thereafter, the system waits until each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R rotates at a predetermined rotation speed at a constant speed, and the rotation start process ends. Further, when the rotation speed of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R becomes a constant speed, the CPU 102 notifies the player and the like that it has become possible to generate a stop command by lighting up the lamps (not shown) of each of the stop switches 42 to 44.

[0125] Following the rotation start process, in step S403, it is determined whether any of the stop switches 42 to 44 has been operated. If none of the stop switches 42 to 44 has been operated, the system waits until any of the stop switches 42 to 44 is operated. When it is determined that any of the stop switches 42 to 44 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S404, and it is determined whether the stop switch corresponding to the rotating reel has been operated, that is, whether a stop command has been generated. If the stop command has not been generated, the process returns to step S403, and the system waits until any of the stop switches 42 to 44 is operated. When the stop command has been generated, a stop command is set in step S405. Here, the stop command is a command transmitted to the display control device 81 to identify which stop switch has been operated to generate the stop command. When the stop command is set, stop control processing shown in steps S406 to S412 is performed to stop the rotating reel.

[0126] In step S406, the symbol number of the reaching symbol that has reached the reference position (the lower stage in this embodiment) at the timing when the stop switch is operated is confirmed. Specifically, based on the number of excitation pulses output from the time when the detection signal of the reel index sensor is input, the symbol number of the reaching symbol that has reached the reference position is confirmed. In the subsequent step S407, based on the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b, the slippage number of the reel to be stopped this time is calculated. In this slot machine 10, as the stop modes for stopping each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated, there are five stop modes: a stop mode in which the reaching symbol that has reached the reference position is stopped as it is; a stop mode in which the corresponding reel is stopped after slipping by one symbol; a stop mode in which the corresponding reel is stopped after slipping by two symbols; a stop mode in which the corresponding reel is stopped after slipping by three symbols; and a stop mode in which the corresponding reel is stopped after slipping by four symbols. Therefore, in step S407, based on the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b, a value of any one of 0 to 4 is calculated as the slippage number. Thereafter, in step S408, the calculated slippage number is added to the symbol number of the reaching symbol, and the symbol number of the stop symbol that is actually stopped at the reference position is determined. In step S409, it is determined whether or not the symbol number of the reaching symbol of the reel to be stopped this time is equal to the symbol number of the stop symbol. If they are equal, in step S410, a reel stop process for stopping the rotation of the reel is performed. Thereafter, in step S411, it is determined whether or not all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped. If not all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped, in step S412, a stop information second setting process is performed, and the process returns to step S403.

[0127] Here, the stop information second setting process is a process of changing the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b of the RAM 106 after the reel stops. In the stop information second setting process, the stop information is changed based on the set winning flag and the stop outcome of the stopped reel. In this slot machine 10, for example, when winning occurs when IV = 23 to 30, that is, when winning occurs for the forward push bell 1, forward push bell 2, sandwich push bell 1, sandwich push bell 2, middle push bell 1, middle push bell 2, right push bell 1, right push bell 2 (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as "push order bells").) (see FIG. 17), the stop information second setting process is performed to change the winning mode established by the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 that generated the stop command.

[0128] FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the winning combination, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, and the winning mode established. For example, when winning on the middle push bell 1, if the left stop switch 42 is operated first, the stop information is set so that a second minor winning combination, a seventh minor winning combination, or a ninth minor winning combination is established. If the middle stop switch 43 is operated first, the stop information is set so that a first minor winning combination is established. If the right stop switch 44 is operated first, the stop information is set so that a second minor winning combination, a seventh minor winning combination, or a ninth minor winning combination is established. However, even when the stop information is set in this way, the corresponding winning combination may not be established depending on the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44.

[0129] The symbol arrangements of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R will be briefly described. In this slot machine 10, in a gaming state other than the CB state (3-bet game), the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R can be stopped after being slid by up to four symbols from the timing of the operation of the stop switches 42 to 44, and only the downward-sloping line L4 is set as the effective line. For this reason, when the intervals between symbols of the same type on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are arranged to be four symbols or less, the winning symbol can be stopped on the effective line when it becomes the winning symbol regardless of the operation timing of the stop switch 43. On the other hand, for symbols arranged so that an interval of five or more symbols is formed, when stopping on the effective line, the player needs to operate the stop switches 42 to 44 aiming at the symbols.

[0130] Taking the case where the medium-push bell 1 wins and the left stop switch 42 → the middle stop switch 43 → the right stop switch 44 are operated in this order as an example for explanation. In such a case, stop control of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is performed to establish a second minor winning combination, a seventh minor winning combination, or a ninth minor winning combination.

[0131] The second minor winning symbols on the left reel 32L are the "red bell" symbol and the "white bell" symbol. Also, the "red bell" symbol and the "white bell" symbol also have the function as the seventh minor winning symbols and the function as the ninth minor winning symbols. On the left reel 32L, the intervals between the second minor winning symbols (the seventh minor winning symbols, the ninth minor winning symbols) are arranged to be four symbols or less. For this reason, when the left stop switch 42 is operated first, the "red bell" symbol or the "white bell" symbol stops in the upper row regardless of the operation timing. For example, when the left stop switch 42 is operated at the timing when the "cherry" symbol at the fourth position of the left reel 32L reaches the middle row, as shown in Fig. 20(a), the "red bell" symbol at the seventh position stops in the upper row. As a result, there remains a possibility of establishing a second minor winning combination, a seventh minor winning combination, or a ninth minor winning combination on the downward-sloping line L4.

[0132] The second minor winning symbol on the middle reel 32M is the "White BAR" symbol. On the middle reel 32M, the "White BAR" symbol is arranged only at the 18th position. Also, the seventh minor winning symbol on the middle reel 32M is the "Red 7" symbol. On the middle reel 32M, the "Red 7" symbol is arranged only at the 14th position. And the ninth minor winning symbol on the middle reel 32M is the "Cherry" symbol. On the middle reel 32M, the "Cherry" symbol is arranged only at the 11th position. Therefore, depending on the operation timing of the middle stop switch 43, the second minor winning symbol, the seventh minor winning symbol, or the ninth minor winning symbol stops on the valid line, or none of the second minor winning symbol, the seventh minor winning symbol, and the ninth minor winning symbol stops on the valid line.

[0133] Specifically, when the middle stop switch 43 is operated at the timing when any one of the "First Replay" symbols from the 13th to the 17th reaches the lower stage, the "White BAR" symbol, which is the second minor winning symbol, stops in the middle stage. As a result, there remains a possibility of a second minor winning on the downward right line L4. When the middle stop switch 43 is operated at the timing when any one of the "Second Replay" symbols from the 9th to the 13th reaches the lower stage, as shown in Fig. 20(b), the "Red 7" symbol, which is the seventh minor winning symbol, stops in the middle stage. As a result, there remains a possibility of a seventh minor winning on the downward right line L4. When the middle stop switch 43 is operated at the timing when any one of the "White Bell" symbol from the 6th to the "Young Man" symbol from the 10th reaches the lower stage, the "Cherry" symbol, which is the ninth minor winning symbol, stops in the middle stage. When the middle stop switch 43 is operated at other timings, even if the middle reel 32M is stopped after being scrolled by four symbols, the second minor winning symbol, the seventh minor winning symbol, and the ninth minor winning symbol cannot be stopped in the middle stage. When the middle stop switch 43 is operated at such a timing, the "LUCKY" symbol at the 2nd or the "White Bell" symbol at the 6th stops in the middle stage.

[0134] When the seventh minor winning symbol on the middle reel 32M stops in the middle stage, in the stop information second setting process, the stop information is changed so that a seventh minor winning can be established.

[0135] The seventh minor winning symbol on the right reel 32R is the "White Bell" symbol. The "White Bell" symbol is arranged only at the 10th position on the right reel 32R. Therefore, depending on the operation timing of the right stop switch 44, the seventh minor winning symbol may or may not stop on the active line. Specifically, when the right stop switch 44 is operated at the timing when any of the symbols from the 6th "First Replay" symbol to the 10th "White Bell" symbol reaches the lower stage, as shown in Fig. 20(c), the "White Bell" symbol, which is the seventh minor winning symbol, stops at the lower stage. As a result, a seventh minor winning occurs on the downward-sloping line L4. In this case, as a privilege corresponding to the seventh minor winning in the 3-bet game, three medals are paid out. When the right stop switch 44 is operated at other timings, the "Watermelon" symbol or the "First Replay" symbol stops at the lower stage. For example, when the right stop switch 44 is operated at the timing when the 3rd "Second Replay" symbol reaches the lower stage, as shown in Fig. 20(d), the 4th "Watermelon" symbol stops at the lower stage. The combination of the "Red Bell" symbol, "Red 7" symbol, and "Watermelon" symbol from left to right is a transition outcome as shown in Fig. 11. However, since the said transition outcome does not correspond to a winning, when the transition outcome stops, none of the corresponding minor wins will result in a win. In this case, since the corresponding privilege is not granted, no medal payout is made (0 medals are paid out).

[0136] When the ninth minor winning symbol on the middle reel 32M stops in the middle stage, in the stop information second setting process, the stop information is changed so that the ninth minor winning can be established.

[0137] The ninth minor winning symbol on the right reel 32R is the "Young Man" symbol. The "Young Man" symbol is arranged at the 15th position on the right reel 32R. Therefore, depending on the operation timing of the right stop switch 44, the ninth minor winning symbol stops or does not stop on the effective line. Specifically, when the right stop switch 44 is operated at the timing when any of the symbols from the 11th "First Replay" symbol to the 15th "Young Man" symbol reaches the lower stage, the "Young Man" symbol, which is the ninth minor winning symbol, stops at the lower stage. As a result, a ninth minor winning occurs on the downward right line L4. In this case, as a privilege corresponding to the ninth minor winning in the 3-bet game, three medals are paid out. When the right stop switch 44 is operated at other timings, the "Watermelon" symbol or the "First Replay" symbol stops at the lower stage. The combination of the "White Bell" symbol ("Red Bell" symbol), "Cherry" symbol, "Watermelon" symbol ("First Replay" symbol) from left to right is a transition outcome as shown in Fig. 11. However, since the transition outcome does not correspond to a winning as described above, when the transition outcome stops, none of the corresponding minor wins will occur. In this case, since the corresponding privilege is not granted, no medal payout is made (0 medals are paid out).

[0138] When the second minor winning symbol on the middle reel 32M stops in the middle stage, in the stop information second setting process, the stop information is changed so that a second minor winning can occur.

[0139] The second minor winning symbol on the right reel 32R is the "White BAR" symbol. On the right reel 32R, the "White BAR" symbol is arranged at the 18th position. Therefore, depending on the operation timing of the right stop switch 44, the second minor winning symbol either stops or does not stop on the effective line. Specifically, when the right stop switch 44 is operated at the timing when any of the symbols from the 14th "Watermelon" symbol to the 18th "White BAR" symbol reaches the lower stage, the "White BAR" symbol, which is the second minor winning symbol, stops at the lower stage. As a result, a second minor winning is achieved on the downward right line L4. In this case, as a privilege corresponding to the second minor winning in the 3-bet game, three medals are paid out. When the right stop switch 44 is operated at other timings, the "Watermelon" symbol or the "First Replay" symbol stops at the lower stage. The combination of the "White Bell" symbol ("Red Bell" symbol), "White BAR" symbol, "Watermelon" symbol ("First Replay" symbol) from left to right is the transition outcome as shown in Fig. 11. However, since the transition outcome does not correspond to a winning as described above, when the transition outcome stops, none of the corresponding minor wins will occur. In this case, since the corresponding privilege is not granted, no medal payout is made (0 medals are paid out).

[0140] When the second minor winning symbol, the seventh minor winning symbol, and the ninth minor winning symbol on the middle reel 32M do not stop in the middle stage, that is, when the "LUCKY" symbol or the "White Bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M stops in the middle stage, in the stop information second setting process, the stop information is changed so that the "Watermelon" symbol or the "First Replay" symbol stops at the lower stage.

[0141] On the right reel 32R, the "Watermelon" symbol and the "First Replay" symbol are arranged such that the interval between them is 4 symbols or less. Therefore, when the right stop switch 44 is operated, regardless of the operation timing, the "Watermelon" symbol or the "First Replay" symbol stops in the lower row. The combination of the "White Bell" symbol ("Red Bell" symbol), "LUCKY" symbol ("White Bell" symbol), and "Watermelon" symbol ("First Replay" symbol) from the left is a transition outcome as shown in FIG. 11. However, since the transition outcome does not correspond to a winning combination as described above, when the transition outcome stops, none of the corresponding minor winning combinations will result in a win. In this case, since the corresponding bonus is not awarded, no medal payout is made (0 medals are paid out).

[0142] In this way, when winning on the center push bell 1 and the left stop switch 42 → center stop switch 43 → right stop switch 44 are operated in this order, it will be either the case where a second minor winning combination is achieved, the case where a seventh minor winning combination is achieved, the case where a ninth minor winning combination is achieved, or the case where the transition outcome stops and no minor winning combination is achieved and it results in a miss.

[0143] Next, taking as an example the case where winning on the center push bell 1 and the center stop switch 43 → left stop switch 42 → right stop switch 44 are operated in this order. In such a case, stop control of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is performed to achieve a first minor winning combination.

[0144] On the middle reel 32M, the "Red Bell" symbol, which is a first minor winning symbol, is arranged such that the interval between the "Red Bell" symbols is 4 symbols or less. Therefore, when the center stop switch 43 is operated first, the "Red Bell" symbol stops in the middle row regardless of the operation timing.

[0145] On the left reel 32L, the "red bell" symbol and the "white bell" symbol, which are the first minor winning symbols, are arranged such that the interval between the first minor winning symbols is 4 symbols or less. Therefore, when the left stop switch 42 is operated second, the "red bell" symbol or the "white bell" symbol stops in the upper row regardless of the operation timing.

[0146] On the right reel 32R, the "red bell" symbol and the "white bell" symbol, which are the first minor winning symbols, are arranged such that the interval between the first minor winning symbols is 4 symbols or less. Therefore, when the right stop switch 44 is operated third, the "red bell" symbol or the "white bell" symbol stops in the lower row regardless of the operation timing.

[0147] As described above, when winning on the center-push bell 1 and the stop switches 43 → 42 → 44 are operated in this order, the first minor winning is achieved regardless of the operation timing. In this case, as a privilege corresponding to the first minor winning in the 3-bet game, 9 medals are paid out.

[0148] When winning on the push-order bell, if the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in one or two predetermined operation orders, the first minor winning is achieved regardless of the operation timing. If the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in other operation orders, depending on the operation timing, a minor winning is achieved or a transition outcome stops on the valid line and is missed. Incidentally, when winning on the middle bell, the 38th minor winning is achieved regardless of the operation order and operation timing. When winning on the no-matter bell, the first minor winning is achieved regardless of the operation order and operation timing.

[0149] Returning to the description of the reel control process, if it is determined in step S411 that all the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped, the payout determination process is performed in step S413. The payout determination process is a process of setting the number of medals to be paid out on the condition that the combination of winning symbols is arranged on the valid line. In the payout determination process, the combination of symbols formed on the valid line is derived from the symbol numbers of the stop symbols stopped at the lower stage of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R, and it is determined whether or not a winning has been established on the valid line. If a winning has been established, it is further determined whether or not the winning combination corresponding to the winning flag set in the winning flag storage area 106a is in correspondence. If the winning combination corresponds to the winning flag, the winning combination and the payout number corresponding to the winning combination are set in the payout information storage area provided in the RAM 106. On the other hand, if the winning combination does not correspond to the winning flag, the slot machine 10 is set to an error state and an abnormal occurrence process for notifying the occurrence of an error is performed. Such an error state is maintained until the reset switch 72 is operated.

[0150] After performing the payout determination process, the winning result corresponding process is performed in step S414. In the winning result corresponding process, processes such as shifting the game state based on the winning result are performed. The winning result corresponding process will be described in detail later.

[0151] After performing the winning result corresponding process, the section display second process is executed in step S415. The section display second process is a process related to the display control of the instruction monitor 68, and this process will be described in detail later. Then, in step S416, a winning result command is set to cause the display control device 81 to grasp the winning combination in the current game, and the reel control process is terminated.

[0152] Next, an outline of the medal payout process in step S212 will be described.

[0153] In the medal payout process, it is determined whether the payout number set in the payout information storage area is 0. If the payout number is 0, it means that it was determined in the previous payout determination process that a minor winning did not occur. In such a case, based on the winning combination set in the payout determination process, it is determined whether any of the first to eighth replay winnings has occurred. If none of the replay winnings has occurred, the medal payout process is terminated as it is. If any of the replay winnings has occurred, a replay setting process is performed to set the game state to the replay state, and the medal payout process is terminated. Note that in the start wait process (step S204) described above, when it is determined that the current game state is the replay state, the automatic input process is performed.

[0154] On the other hand, if the payout number set in the payout information storage area is not 0, the same number of medals as the payout number is paid out, and the medal payout process is terminated. Specifically regarding the payout of medals, when the count value of the credit counter has not reached the upper limit (the number of stored medals is 50), the payout number is added to the count value of the credit counter, and the added value is displayed on the credit display unit 60. Also, when the count value of the credit counter has reached the upper limit, or when the count value reaches the upper limit during the addition of the payout number, the medal payout rotating plate is driven, and the medals are paid out from the hopper device 51 to the medal tray 50 via the medal discharge port 49. Note that in the medal payout process, a process of changing the payout number displayed on the payout number display unit 62 in accordance with the payout of medals is also performed. Also, when the current game state is the BB state, a process of subtracting the payout number from the value of the remaining payout number counter, which will be described later, and subtracting the remaining payout number displayed on the remaining payout number display unit 61 is performed.

[0155] Next, the RT state process in step S213 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 21.

[0156] In step S501, it is determined whether or not the transfer exit has stopped on the active line. If the transfer exit has stopped, the process proceeds to step S502, where it is determined whether the current game state is the normal game state. If the current game state is the normal game state, in step S503, the first RT setting flag is set in the state information storage area 106c of the RAM 106. Then, this process ends. If it is determined in step S502 that the game state in which the transfer exit has stopped is not the normal game state, the RT state is ended as it is. In this case, even if the transfer exit stops, no transition of the game state occurs.

[0157] If it is determined in step S501 that the transfer exit has not stopped on the active line, the process proceeds to step S504, where it is determined whether or not the second replay winning has been established based on the winning established combination set in the previous payout determination process. If the second replay winning has been established, in step S505, the RT setting flag set in the state information storage area 106c is cleared, and the first RT setting flag is set in step S503. Then, this process ends.

[0158] When the first RT setting flag is set in step S503, the game state transitions to the first RT state. Then, in step S302 of the lottery process, based on the fact that the first RT setting flag is set in the state information storage area 106c, it is determined that the current game state is the first RT state, and the first RT state lottery table is selected.

[0159] FIG. 22 is a lottery table for the first RT state selected in the "Setting 3". When the lottery table for the first RT state is compared with the lottery table for the normal game state (see FIG. 17), the point values PV for IV = 1 to 5 are different, and the same point values PV are set for other index values IV. Therefore, when the determination of winning or losing a role is made using such a lottery table, the probability of winning when IV = 6 to 58 is equal to the respective winning probabilities in the normal game state, the probability of winning when IV = 1 is about 1 / 67.0, and the probabilities of winning when IV = 2 to 5 are each about 1 / 32.8. The probability of a miss where no role is won is about 1 / 2.14.

[0160] Here, as shown in FIG. 22, when winning when IV = 1, it is a normal replay win, when winning when IV = 2, it is a first promotion replay 1 win, when winning when IV = 3, it is a first promotion replay 2 win, when winning when IV = 4, it is a first promotion replay 3 win, and when winning when IV = 5, it is a first promotion replay 4 win. The probability of winning when IV = 1 to 5 is about 1 / 7.30. The normal replay winning probability in the normal game state is also about 1 / 7.30. That is, when the game state shifts to the first RT state, while winning probabilities for small roles, replay games, and bonuses are the same as in the normal game state, the winning modes with replay game benefits change to those different from the normal game state. More specifically, in the normal game state, only the first replay win where the game state does not shift is established, and in the first RT state, in addition to the first replay win, the third replay win that shifts to the second RT state is established.

[0161] In the stop information second setting process (step S409), in addition to winning the push order bell described above, when winning the first promotion replay 1 to the first promotion replay 4, stop information is set to change the winning mode established by the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 that generated the stop command.

[0162] FIG. 23(a) is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the winning elected roles and the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 and the winning modes. When winning in the first promotion replay 1 to the first promotion replay 4, unlike when winning in the push order bell, regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44, the first replay winning or the third replay winning is always established. Among the first promotion replay 1 to the first promotion replay 4, the third replay is associated with one of the six operation orders, and the first replay is associated with the other operation orders.

[0163] In addition, in the first promotion replay 2 to 4, in addition to the first replay and the third replay, the sixth replay, the seventh replay, and the eighth replay are also allocated as winning elected roles. However, none of these six operation orders are associated with the sixth replay to the eighth replay. Therefore, even if winning in the first promotion replay 2 to 4, regardless of the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, no winning occurs.

[0164] More specifically, for the first promotion replay 1 to 4, respectively, the first promotion replay 1 has the first replay and the third replay allocated, the first promotion replay 2 has the sixth replay allocated in addition to the first replay and the third replay, the first promotion replay 3 has the seventh replay allocated in addition to the first replay and the third replay, and the first promotion replay 4 has the eighth replay allocated in addition to the first replay and the third replay. However, for any of the first promotion replay 1 to 4, the winning replay is either the first replay or the third replay. This is to make it difficult to understand the operation order for which the third replay winning is established. That is, for example, if there is only one type of first promotion replay, the operation order corresponding to the third replay winning will also be one type, and it may be possible to intentionally establish the third replay winning when winning in the first promotion replay. Note that this relationship is not limited to only the relationship of the first promotion replay 1 to 4, and the same can be said for other overlapping roles.

[0165] Returning to the description of the RT state process, if it is determined in step S504 that the second replay winning has not been established, the process proceeds to step S506, and based on the winning established combination set in the previous payout determination process, it is determined whether the third replay winning has been established. If the third replay winning has been established, in step S507, the RT setting flag set in the status information storage area 106c is cleared, and in step S508, the second RT setting flag is set, and this process ends.

[0166] When the second RT setting flag is set in step S508, the game state shifts to the second RT state. Then, in step S302 of the lottery process, based on the fact that the second RT setting flag is set in the status information storage area 106c, it is determined that the current game state is the second RT state, and the lottery table for the second RT state is selected.

[0167] FIG. 24 is the lottery table for the second RT state selected in the second RT state of "Setting 3". When the lottery table for the second RT state is compared with the lottery table for the first RT state (see FIG. 22), the point values PV for IV = 1 to 10 are different, and the same point values PV are set for other index values IV. Therefore, when determining the winning or losing of a combination using such a lottery table, the probability of winning when IV = 11 to 58 is equal to the respective winning probabilities in the first RT state, the probability of winning when IV = 1 is about 1 / 26.2, the probability of not winning when IV = 2 to 5, the probability of winning when IV = 6 to 8 is about 1 / 32.8 respectively, and the probability of winning when IV = 9, 10 is about 1 / 18.2 respectively. And the probability of a miss where no combination wins is about 1 / 2.74. That is, when shifting to the second RT state, the probability of a miss becomes lower compared to the normal game state and the first RT state, which is advantageous to the player. Also, in the second RT state, in addition to the first replay winning where the game state does not shift, the second replay winning that shifts to the first RT state, the fourth replay winning, and the fifth replay winning that shift to the third RT state are established.

[0168] In the stop information second setting process (step S409), in addition to the case where the first promotion replay 1 to the first promotion replay 4 described above are selected, when the fall replay 1 to the fall replay 3, the second promotion replay 1, or the second promotion replay 2 are selected, stop information is set to change the winning mode established by the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 that generated the stop command.

[0169] Figure 23(b) is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the winning combination, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, and the winning mode. When the fall replay 1 to the fall replay 3 are selected, the first replay winning or the second replay winning is always established regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. When the second promotion replay 1 is selected, any one of the first replay winning, the fourth replay winning, or the fifth replay winning is always established regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. When the second promotion replay 2 is selected, the first replay winning or the fourth replay winning is always established regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44.

[0170] In addition, when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the operation order corresponding to the fourth replay winning and the first replay winning, or when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the operation order corresponding to the fifth replay winning and the first replay winning, basically, stop control is performed to establish the fourth replay winning or the fifth replay winning. When it is not possible to establish these fourth replay winning or fifth replay winning, stop control is performed to establish the first replay winning.

[0171] Returning to the description of the RT state process, if it is determined in step S506 that the third replay winning has not been established, the process proceeds to step S509, and it is determined whether the fourth replay winning or the fifth replay winning has been established based on the winning combination established in the previous payout determination process. If the fourth replay winning or the fifth replay winning has been established, in step S510, the RT setting flag set in the state information storage area 106c is cleared, and in step S511, the third RT setting flag is set, and this process ends. Also, if it is determined in step S509 that neither the fourth replay winning nor the fifth replay winning has been established, this process ends as it is.

[0172] When the third RT setting flag is set in step S511, the game state shifts to the third RT state. Then, in step S302 of the lottery process, based on the fact that the third RT setting flag is set in the state information storage area 106c, it is determined that the current game state is the third RT state, and the lottery table for the third RT state is selected.

[0173] FIG. 25 is a lottery table for the third RT state selected in the "Setting 3". When the lottery table for the third RT state is compared with the lottery table for the second RT state (see FIG. 24), the point values PV for IV = 1, 6 to 14 are different, and the same point values PV are set for other index values IV. Therefore, when the lottery table is used to determine the success or failure of a role, the probability of winning when IV = 1 is about 1 / 11.0, the probability of winning when IV = 6 to 8 is about 1 / 15.4 each, the probability of not winning when IV = 9, 10 becomes zero, and the probability of winning when IV = 11, 12 is about 1 / 19.5 each. Also, in the third RT state, it becomes possible to win the specific replay 1 and specific replay 2 with IV = 14, 15, and the probability of winning when IV = 14, 15 is about 1 / 20.0 each. The probability of a miss where no role is won is about 1 / 140. That is, when the game state shifts to the third RT state, the probability of a miss becomes lower compared to the normal game state, the first RT state, and even the second RT state, which is advantageous to the player. Also, when shifting to the third RT state, the winning modes to which the privilege of a replay is given change to those different from the second RT state. More specifically, in the third RT state, in addition to the first replay win where the game state does not shift and the second replay win where the game state shifts to the first RT state, there are the sixth replay win, seventh replay win, eighth replay win where the game state does not shift, the third replay win where the game state shifts to the second RT state, the eleventh replay win as a cherry replay, and the twelfth replay win as a watermelon replay.

[0174] In the stop information second setting process (step S409), even when winning the BAR replay 1, BAR replay 2, specific replay 1, or specific replay 2, the stop information is set to change the winning mode established by the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 that generated the stop command.

[0175] FIG. 23(c) is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the winning combination and the winning modes that are established according to the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44. When winning on the BAR replay 1, any one of the first replay win, the seventh replay win, and the eighth replay win is always established regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. When winning on the BAR replay 2, any one of the first replay win, the sixth replay win, and the eighth replay win is always established regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44.

[0176] FIG. 23(d) is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the winning combination and the winning modes that are established according to the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44. When winning on the specific replay 1 and the specific replay 2, for any of the specific replays, any one of the first replay win, the eleventh replay win, and the twelfth replay win is always established regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. In this embodiment, for the third replay win in which the winning flag is set when winning on the specific replay 2, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is not associated, and when winning on the specific replay 2, the third replay win is not established regardless of the operation order. For the associated operation order, more specifically, when winning on the specific replay 1, if the left stop switch 42 is operated first, the eleventh replay win as a cherry replay is established, if the middle stop switch 43 is operated first, the twelfth replay win as a watermelon replay is established, and if the right stop switch 44 is operated first, the first replay win is established. On the other hand, when winning on the specific replay 2, the operation order associated with the eleventh replay win and the twelfth replay win is reversed from that of the specific replay 1, and if the left stop switch 42 is operated first, the twelfth replay win is established, if the middle stop switch 43 is operated first, the eleventh replay win is established, and if the right stop switch 44 is operated first, the first replay win is established.

[0177] Next, the bonus state process in step S214 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 26.

[0178] First, in step S601, it is determined whether the current gaming state is a bonus state, that is, whether the current gaming state is the BB state or the CB state. If it is not in the bonus state, the bonus determination process shown in steps S602 to S613 is performed.

[0179] In the bonus determination process, in step S602, it is determined whether any one of the first BB winning flag, the second BB winning flag, and the CB winning flag is set. If any of the winning flags is set, the process proceeds to step S603, and based on the winning combination established in the previous payout determination process, it is determined whether a CB win has been established. If a CB win has been established, in step S604, the CB setting flag is set in the status information storage area 106c. In step S605, 15 is set in the remaining payout counter for counting the remaining number of medals that can be paid out during the bonus state provided in the status information storage area 106c. By performing the processes of steps S604 to S605, the gaming state shifts to the CB state.

[0180] Here, a brief explanation of CB and the CB state will be given.

[0181] When the "red bell" symbol or the "white bell" symbol on the left reel 32L, the "red bell" symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the "watermelon" symbol, the "first replay" symbol, or the "black BAR" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on the active line, a CB win occurs. On each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, the CB symbols are arranged such that the interval between the CB symbols is 4 symbols or less. For this reason, when winning on CB, a CB win is established regardless of the operation order and operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44.

[0182] When the CB setting flag is set in the state information storage area 106c, the main control device 101 determines that the gaming state is the CB state. Then, in step S205 of the normal process, it determines whether the number of bet medals has reached "2" instead of "3". In the valid line setting process (step S209), the lower line L3 and the downward right line L4 are set as valid lines.

[0183] In step S302 of the lottery process, a lottery table for the CB state is selected. Although the illustration of the lottery table for the CB state is omitted, in the lottery table for the CB state, "0" is set as the point value PV for IV = 1 to 52, and "16384" is set as the point value for IV = 55 to 58 (see FIG. 17 etc. for the correspondence between IV and winning combinations). Therefore, in the CB state, the probability of winning the CB minor combination 1 (the probability of winning when IV = 55) is about 1 / 4.00, the probability of winning the CB minor combination 2 (the probability of winning when IV = 56) is about 1 / 4.00, the probability of winning the CB minor combination 3 (the probability of winning when IV = 57) is about 1 / 4.00, and the probability of winning the CB minor combination 4 (the probability of winning when IV = 58) is about 1 / 4.00. An event of not winning does not occur.

[0184] FIG. 27(a) is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the winning combination, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, and the winning modes that are established. Although detailed explanations are omitted, in any case of winning the CB minor combination 1 to CB minor combination 4, some minor combination wins are always established regardless of the operation order and operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. Since the CB state is a 2-bet game, when the first minor combination win, the 27th minor combination win, the 31st minor combination win, or the 36th minor combination win to the 38th minor combination win is established, 15 medals are paid out. When the 2nd minor combination win to the 26th minor combination win, the 28th minor combination win to the 30th minor combination win, or the 32nd minor combination win to the 35th minor combination win is established, 14 medals are paid out. That is, when the CB state is entered, 14 or 15 medals are always paid out.

[0185] In addition to the CB as the winning combination and the CB state as the game state, a single bonus (SB) that can execute a one-game play (JAC game) as the winning combination, and an SB state that transitions based on the single bonus winning (winning a prize) may be provided.

[0186] Returning to the explanation of the bonus state process, if it is determined in step S603 that the CB win has not been established, it means that a bonus winning flag other than CB is set. In such a case, the RT setting flag set in the state information storage area 106c is cleared in step S608, and it is determined in step S609 whether the first BB win or the second BB win has been established.

[0187] If any of the BB wins is established, the BB winning flag set in the winning flag storage area 106a of the RAM 106 is cleared in step S610, and the BB setting flag is set in the state information storage area 106c in step S611. Thereafter, in step S612, 216 is set in the remaining payout count counter, and a process of displaying 216 on the remaining payout number display unit 61 is performed. The numerical value set in step S612 is a numerical value corresponding to the upper limit payout number in the BB state, and the BB state ends on the condition that medals are paid out in an amount equal to or more than the numerical value in the BB state.

[0188] By performing the processes of steps S610 to S612, the game state transitions to the BB state. And in step S302 of the lottery process, based on the BB setting flag being set in the state information storage area 106c, it is determined that the current game state is the BB state, and the corresponding lottery table for the BB state is selected.

[0189] Figure 28 shows together the lottery table for the first BB state selected in the first BB state that transitions due to winning the first BB and the lottery table for the second BB state selected in the second BB state that transitions due to winning the second BB. For the lottery table for the first BB state and the lottery table for the second BB state, "0" is set as the point value PV for IV = 1 to 14, 22 to 30, 34 to 58. Therefore, in neither the first BB state nor the second BB state will a win occur for these IV = 1 to 14, 22 to 30, 34 to 58. Also, in the lottery table for the first BB state and the lottery table for the second BB state, the point values for IV = 19 to 21, 31 to 33 are set as common point values for both lottery tables. In both the first BB state and the second BB state, the probability of winning the chance A for IV = 19 is about 1 in 65.5, the probability of winning the chance B for IV = 20 is about 1 in 65.5, the probability of winning the middle bell for IV = 21 is about 1 in 1310, the probability of winning the first role in BB for IV = 31 is about 1 in 2.12, the probability of winning the second role in BB for IV = 32 is about 1 in 13.1, and the probability of winning the third role in BB for IV = 33 is about 1 in 13.1.

[0190] On the other hand, in the lottery table for the first BB state and the lottery table for the second BB state, different point values are set for the point values of IV = 15 to 18. The probability of winning the strong cherry for IV = 15 is about 1 in 21.8 in the first BB state, while it is about 1 in 93.6 in the second BB state, and it is easier to win the strong cherry in the first BB state than in the second BB state. Also, the probability of winning the weak cherry for IV = 16 is about 1 in 6.56 in the first BB state, while it is about 1 in 26.2 in the second BB state, and it is easier to win the weak cherry in the first BB state than in the second BB state.

[0191] The probability of winning the strong watermelon when IV = 17 is about 1 in 93.6 in the first BB state, while it is about 1 in 21.8 in the second BB state. It is easier to win the strong watermelon in the second BB state than in the first BB state. Also, the probability of winning the weak cherry when IV = 18 is about 1 in 26.2 in the first BB state, while it is about 1 in 6.56 in the second BB state. It is easier to win the weak watermelon in the second BB state than in the first BB state.

[0192] That is, in the first BB state and the second BB state, the winning probabilities of lottery results called so-called rare roles such as strong cherries and strong watermelons are higher than those in the normal gaming state and other states such as the first RT state to the third RT state. Also, when comparing the first BB state and the second BB state, it is set so that it is easier to win the strong cherry or the weak cherry in the first BB state than in the second BB state, and it is easier to win the strong watermelon or the weak watermelon in the second BB state than in the first BB state.

[0193] Note that for strong cherries, weak cherries, strong watermelons, weak watermelons, etc., winning is established depending on the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. If they are operated at a timing that does not correspond to winning, winning is not established and it will be missed.

[0194] FIG. 27(b) is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the winning candidates, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, and the winning modes that are established. As described above, the first minor winning is a winning mode that can be established regardless of the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. Therefore, when winning the first place during BB, any one of the first minor winning, the 39th minor winning, and the 40th minor winning will surely be established regardless of the operation order and operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. On the other hand, for the second place during BB and the third place during BB, the first minor winning is associated with 4 out of 6 operation orders, and the 40th minor winning or the 41st minor winning is associated with 2 operation orders. That is, for the second place during BB and the third place during BB, if the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 matches the first minor winning, the first minor winning is established, and if it matches the 40th minor winning or the 41st minor winning, the 40th minor winning or the 41st minor winning other than the first minor winning is established. In the 3-bet game in the BB state, when the first minor winning or the 40th minor winning is established, 9 medals are paid out, and when the 41st minor winning is established, 3 medals are paid out. That is, when winning the first place during BB, the first minor winning is established regardless of the operation order and 9 medals are paid out. When winning the second place during BB, the first minor winning or the 40th minor winning is established depending on the operation order and 9 medals are paid out. And when winning the third place during BB, the first minor winning or the 41st minor winning is established depending on the operation order. When the first minor winning is established, 9 medals are paid out, and when the 41st minor winning is established, 3 medals are paid out. That is, for the third place during BB, the number of medals paid out varies depending on the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44.

[0195] If a negative determination is made in step S609 and any BB winning is established, then in step S613, a carry-over command is set. The carry-over command is a command transmitted to the display control device 81 to indicate that the bonus winning did not occur in the bonus winning game and that a so-called carry-over state has occurred. Such a carry-over command is output to the display control device 81 in the command output process of the timer interrupt process (step S110).

[0196] As already explained, in the game conducted in the carry-over state, winning other bonuses is restricted. More specifically, in the lottery table for the normal game state (Fig. 17), when winning a duplicate combination such as a bonus with IV = 34 to 51 (the first BB, the second BB, CB), the winning flag corresponding to these bonuses is not set. Therefore, for example, when winning a duplicate combination with each small combination or replay with IV = 34 to 51, although the winning flags for these small combinations and replays are set, the winning flag corresponding to the bonus is not set, and only the small combination winning is valid. That is to say, the carry-over state can also be said to be a state where the bonus lottery is restricted.

[0197] When the game state transitions to the CB state or the BB state, an affirmative determination is made in step S601, and an end determination process is performed in step S614. In the end determination process, it is determined whether the value of the remaining payout count counter has become 0, and if it has become 0, the CB setting flag or the BB setting flag is cleared. Also, in the end determination process, when the BB setting flag is cleared, an end flag indicating that the BB state has ended in this game is set.

[0198] As shown in steps S602 to S614, when winning on the CB and the CB win is established, the CB setting flag is set without clearing the RT setting flag. Therefore, when the CB setting flag is cleared, that is, when the CB state ends, the game state at the time when the CB win was established is restored. For example, when the CB win is established in the normal game state, the game returns to the normal game state after the end of the CB state, and when the CB win is established in the third RT state, the game returns to the third RT state after the end of the CB state. On the other hand, when winning on the first BB or the second BB, the RT setting flag is cleared in step S608 regardless of whether the corresponding BB win is established. Therefore, when the BB setting flag is cleared, that is, when the BB state ends, even if the first BB win is established in the second RT state, the game shifts to the normal game state. When shifting to the CB state, the player can expect an increase of 13 (= 15 - 2) or 25 (= 14 - 2 + 15 - 2) medals until the end of the CB state. When shifting to the BB state, the player can expect a maximum increase of 144 (= 9 × 24 - 3 × 24) medals until the end of the BB state.

[0199] As described above, when winning on a strong cherry or a strong watermelon etc. in the BB state, depending on the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44, the win may not be established, and if the win is not established, no medal payout occurs in that game. Also, when winning on the third role during the BB, depending on the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, a medal payout of 9 or 3 medals occurs. That is, when the upper limit payout number is set in the BB state (216) and a payout of 9 medals occurs per game, as described above, a maximum increase of 144 medals can be expected, and although the BB state ends in 24 games, depending on the lottery result of each game in the BB state, the operation timing and operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 in that game, the number of medals increased when reaching the upper limit payout number can be less than the above maximum number, and the number of games until reaching the upper limit payout number can be set to be more.

[0200] When none of the first BB winning flag, the second BB winning flag, and the CB winning flag are set (when step S602 is NO), when none of the first BB winning, the second BB winning, and the CB winning are established and a carry-over command is set (when the process of step S613 is executed), when a predetermined value is set in the remaining payout counter in step S605 or step S612, and when an end determination process is performed in step S614, the process proceeds to step S606 to set a status command. Here, the status command is a command transmitted to the display control device 81 to grasp the game state at the end of the game (i.e., the game state of the next game). In step S606, the status command corresponding to the setting flag set in the status information storage area 106c is set. After setting the status command, in step S607, an external signal setting process for setting an external signal output from the external concentrator terminal board 121 to the outside of the slot machine 10 is performed. Then, this process ends.

[0201] <Overview of Game State Transition and Display Mode> Here, the transition of the game state will be described with reference to FIG. 29. Note that the CB state is not shown in the figure.

[0202] When the game state is the BB state, when the number of medal payouts in the BB state reaches 216, the BB state ends and the game state transitions to the normal game state.

[0203] When the game state is the normal game state, when the transition outcome stops on the valid line, the game state transitions to the first RT state, and when the BB winning is established, the game state transitions to the BB state. The transition outcome stops on the valid line when a miss occurs in the game where the push order bell wins. In the lottery process using the normal game state lottery table, the first promotion replay 1 to 4 that trigger the transition to the second RT state and the second promotion replay 1 and 2 that trigger the transition to the third RT state are not won, so the game state does not transition from the normal game state to the second RT state to the third RT state (see FIG. 17).

[0204] When the game state is the first RT state, the game state transitions to the second RT state by the establishment of the third replay winning. The third replay winning is established when any one of the first promotion replay 1 to the first promotion replay 4 is won and the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in a predetermined operation sequence (see FIG. 23(a)). In the lottery process using the lottery table for the first RT state, the second promotion replays 1 and 2, which are the trigger for transition to the third RT state, are not won, so the game does not transition from the first RT state to the third RT state. Also, in the first RT state, if the corresponding BB winning is not established in the game in which each BB winning flag is set, that is, if the BB winning flag is carried over, the game state transitions to the normal game state, and if the corresponding BB winning is established in the game in which each 1 BB winning flag is set, the game state transitions to the BB state. In addition, in the first RT state, even if a miss occurs in a game in which the push order bell is won and the transition result stops, a transition in the game state does not occur.

[0205] When the game state is the second RT state, the game state transitions to the third RT state by the establishment of the fourth replay winning or the fifth replay winning. In addition, when the second replay winning is established, the game state transitions to the first RT state. The fourth replay winning and the fifth replay winning are established when the second promotion replay 1 or the second promotion replay 2 is won and the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in a predetermined operation sequence (see FIG. 23(b)). The second replay winning is established when any of the fall replays 1 to 3 is won and the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in a predetermined operation sequence (see FIG. 23(b)). In addition, when the corresponding BB winning is not established in the game in which each BB winning flag is set, that is, when the BB winning flag is carried over, the game state transitions to the normal game state, and when the corresponding BB winning is established in the game in which each BB winning flag is set, the game state transitions to the BB state. In addition, in the second RT state, even if a miss occurs in a game in which the push order bell is won and the transition result stops, a transition in the game state does not occur.

[0206] When the game state is in the third RT state and the second replay win is achieved, the game state transitions to the first RT state. The second replay win is achieved when winning any of the falling replays 1 to 3 and operating the stop switches 42 to 44 in a predetermined operation sequence (see Fig. 23(b)). In addition, when the corresponding BB win does not occur in the game where each winning flag is set, that is, when the BB winning flag is carried over, the game state transitions to the normal game state, and when the corresponding BB win occurs in the game where each BB winning flag is set, the game state transitions to the BB state. Note that in the third RT state, even if a miss occurs in the game where the bell pressing order is won and the outcome of the shift stops, the transition of the game state does not occur.

[0207] In this slot machine 10, the main control device 101 manages six types of game states: the normal game state, the first RT state, the second RT state, the third RT state, the BB state, and the CB state, and broadly manages four types of display modes: the normal mode, the CZ mode (Chance Zone mode), the AT mode (Assist Time mode), and the BB mode.

[0208] Fig. 30 is a diagram showing the transition of each display mode.

[0209] The BB mode is a display mode that transitions when the first BB win or the second BB win is achieved and ends when the BB state ends. That is, the BB mode is the display mode corresponding to the BB state. Therefore, when transitioning to the BB mode, the player can expect a maximum increase of 144 medals.

[0210] When transitioning from the normal mode to the BB mode, in that BB mode, a lottery for transitioning to the AT mode may be conducted. If winning the lottery for transitioning to the AT mode, it transitions to the AT mode after the end of the BB mode. If not winning the lottery for transitioning to the AT mode, it transitions to the normal mode after the end of the BB mode. When transitioning from the AT mode to the BB mode, it returns to the AT mode after the end of the BB mode.

[0211] The normal mode is a display mode in which the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 is not notified when the push-order bell is won and when the first promotion replay 1 to the first promotion replay 4, the fall replay 1 to the fall replay 3, the second promotion replay 1, the second promotion replay 2, the BAR replay 1, the BAR replay 2, the specific replay 1, and the specific replay 2 (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as the "push-order replay") are won. In the normal mode, a lottery for shifting to the CZ mode or the AT mode is conducted. When winning the lottery for shifting to the CZ mode or the AT mode, it shifts from the normal mode to the CZ mode or the AT mode. When shifting to the AT mode, the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 is notified when the above-mentioned push-order bell is won or when the push-order replay is won.

[0212] The normal mode corresponds to each game state of the normal game state, the first RT state, the second RT state, the third RT state, and the CB state. However, in the normal mode, since the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 is not notified when the push-order bell is won and when the push-order replay is won, it is rare to shift to the second RT state to the third RT state, and it almost corresponds to the normal game state or the first RT state. In the normal mode, when the game state at that time is the normal game state or the first RT state, it can be expected that about 0.92 medals will decrease every time one game is played. When the game state at that time is the second RT state, it can be expected that about 0.61 medals will decrease every time one game is played. When the game state at that time is the third RT state, it can be expected that about 0.45 medals will increase every time one game is played.

[0213] The CZ mode is a mode called a so-called chance zone where the winning probability of the lottery for shifting to the AT mode is higher than that in the normal mode. The CZ mode corresponds to each gaming state of the normal gaming state, the first RT state, the second RT state, the third RT state, and the CB state. However, in the CZ mode, since the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is not notified when the push-order bell wins or when the push-order replay wins, it is rare to shift to the second RT state or the third RT state, and it almost corresponds to the normal gaming state or the first RT state. The expected increase or decrease in the number of medals per game in the CZ mode is the same as that in the above normal mode. When it is in the normal gaming state or the first RT state, it can be expected that the number of medals will decrease by about 0.92 per game. When the gaming state at that time is the second RT state, it can be expected that the number of medals will decrease by about 0.61 per game. When the gaming state at that time is the third RT state, it can be expected that the number of medals will increase by about 0.45 per game. In the CZ mode, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 may be notified when the push-order bell wins or when the push-order replay wins. In this case, it is advisable to set the frequency of notification of the operation order, such as the number of times of notification of the operation order and the winning probability of the notification lottery, to be lower in the CZ mode than in the AT mode. As a configuration for notifying the operation order in the CZ mode, for example, the operation order may be notified only a predetermined number of times (once) when the push-order bell wins during stay, while the operation order is not notified when the push-order bell wins thereafter.

[0214] The AT mode is a display mode in which the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is notified both when the push-order bell wins and when the push-order replay wins. The AT mode is a mode that starts with a predetermined number of initial games (for example, 50 times). When the games are played for the predetermined number of times without adding extra games or when the games are played for the number of times including the added part, it shifts from the AT mode to the normal mode.

[0215] The AT mode corresponds to each of the game states of the normal game state, the first RT state, the second RT state, the third RT state, and the CB state. However, in the AT mode, since the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is notified both when the push-order bell is selected and when the push-order replay is selected, when the player operates the stop switches 42 to 44 in the notified operation order, it will correspond to the second RT state and the third RT state, and mainly correspond to the third RT state. More specifically, in the AT mode, since the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is notified even when the push-order replay is selected, a transition occurs from the first RT state to the second RT state and from the second RT state to the third RT state, and the player will stay in the third RT state. In the AT mode, when the game state at that time is the normal game state or the first RT state, it can be expected that about 0.52 medals will increase for each game played. When the game state at that time is the second RT state, it can be expected that about 0.82 medals will increase for each game played. When the game state at that time is the second RT state, it can be expected that about 1.90 medals will increase for each game played. Since the AT mode continues for at least 50 games after the game state transitions to the third RT state, when transitioning to the AT mode, the player can expect an increase of about 100 medals.

[0216] Regarding the transition of the display mode when the player's owned medals increase, the general flow is to transition from the normal mode to the AT mode and then back from the AT mode to the normal mode. The transition from the normal mode to the AT mode may or may not go through the CZ mode.

[0217] As described above, in this slot machine 10, in each display mode of the AT mode and the BB mode, a configuration is provided in which the player aims to increase the owned medals. Then, in conjunction with each display mode, a plurality of RT states and a plurality of states such as the BB state and the CB state come and go depending on winning a prize in each replay or stopping at a transition outcome. As described above, a corresponding replay winning prize is established or the transition outcome stops depending on the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 43 at the time of winning the push order replay or winning the push order bell. Further, in the AT mode, when winning the push order bell, an operation order that enables the establishment of the first minor winning prize is notified, so that an increase in the owned medals can be expected.

[0218] Here, when the display mode is the AT mode, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is notified at the time of winning the push order bell or winning the push order replay as described above. When it is the normal mode or the CZ mode, the operation order at the time of winning the push order bell or winning the push order replay is not notified. Therefore, from the viewpoint of whether or not the operation order at the time of winning the push order bell or winning the push order replay is notified, the AT mode is more advantageous to the player than the normal mode and the CZ mode. And from the viewpoint of the ease of transition to the AT mode, the CZ mode is more advantageous to the player than the normal mode. That is, the AT mode is included in the advantageous section which is a section where the winning rate of minor winning combinations and the like can be changed by notifying the operation order and the game can be advanced in a situation advantageous to the player. Also, the CZ mode with a high transition rate to the AT mode is included in the advantageous section. In this slot machine 10, a transition lottery to the AT mode is performed by transitioning to the advantageous section, and it is configured so that a transition to the AT mode can occur. In other words, it is configured so that a transition to the AT mode does not occur in the normal section which is not the advantageous section.

[0219] Hereinafter, the configuration regarding the display mode will be described.

[0220] <Lottery Result Corresponding Process> First, the process corresponding to the lottery result of the lottery process (Fig. 16) by the main control device 101 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 31.

[0221] In step S701, a process of grasping the current gaming state is performed. More specifically, it is grasped whether it is in the CB state or in other states (normal gaming state, each RT state, first BB state, second BB state). As already described, if it is in the CB state, the specified number of bets is set to 2, and if it is in other states, the specified number of bets is specified as 1 or 3. Then, in step S702, it is determined whether the number of bets in this game is one specified number (specific specified number) specified in the state grasped in step S701. More specifically, if it is in the CB state, since the specified number of bets is only 2, step S702 always makes an affirmative determination. If it is in a state other than the CB state, the specified number of bets is 1 and 3 as described above. In this embodiment, 3 is set as the specific specified number for states other than the CB state. When the number of bets is 3 in a state other than the CB state, an affirmative determination is made in step S702. In this case, the process for the display mode (process for the indicator) after step S703 is performed. On the other hand, when the number of bets is 1 in a state other than the CB state, a negative determination is made in step S702, and the lottery result corresponding process is terminated as it is. In this case, the process for the display mode after step S703 is not performed. Therefore, for example, when winning the first BB or the second BB and trying to establish a first BB winning or a second BB winning in a 1-bet game, the process for the display mode is not performed.

[0222] In step S703, it is determined whether the current game is in an advantageous section by determining whether an advantageous section flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d of the RAM 106. The advantageous section flag is a flag that is set based on winning the lottery for shifting to an advantageous section including the above AT mode and is cleared when the advantageous section ends. If the advantageous section flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S704, the advantageous section shift lottery process is executed, and then this lottery result corresponding process is terminated.

[0223] In the favorable interval transition lottery process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 32, first, in step S801, the lottery result of the current game is grasped. Then, in step S802, a favorable interval transition lottery table is obtained from the various table storage areas 105a of the ROM 105. As shown in FIG. 35, the favorable interval transition lottery table is set such that the transition rate to the favorable interval (the winning probability of the favorable interval transition lottery) varies according to the lottery result of each game. As the trigger for the lottery for transitioning to the favorable interval, all the results that can be won are set as the trigger for the lottery for transitioning to the favorable interval.

[0224] After obtaining the lottery table in step S802, in step S803, a process of obtaining a random number for the favorable interval transition lottery is executed. For the random number for the favorable interval transition lottery, a dedicated counter in the various counter areas 106e is used, and the dedicated counter is updated at a predetermined cycle. In step S803, the latest updated value of the counter is obtained. Then, in step S804, the favorable interval transition lottery is executed, and in step S805, it is determined whether or not the transition lottery is won. If not, this lottery process is terminated as it is. If the transition lottery is won, in step S806, a process of setting the above favorable interval flag is executed. By this process, it becomes possible to make an affirmative determination in step S703 of the lottery result corresponding process (FIG. 31) after the next game and subsequent games. In the subsequent step S807, a process of setting a favorable interval winning game flag in the various flag storage areas 106d is executed. The favorable interval winning game flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to grasp that the transition lottery to the favorable interval was won in the current game. After executing the process of step S807, this favorable interval transition lottery process is terminated.

[0225] In the lottery result corresponding process, if it is determined in step S703 that the advantageous section flag is set, that is, if the player has won the lottery for shifting to the advantageous section in a previous game, the process proceeds to step S705. In step S705, it is determined whether either the AT mode winning flag or the AT mode flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d of the RAM 106. The AT mode winning flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to identify that the player has won the lottery for shifting to the AT mode. It is set when the player wins the lottery for shifting to the AT mode and is cleared when shifting to the AT mode. The AT mode flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to identify that the display mode is the AT mode. It is set when shifting to the AT mode and is cleared when the AT mode finally ends. If a negative determination is made in step S705, the AT lottery process is executed in step S706. If an affirmative determination is made in step S705, the AT topping-up process is executed in step S707.

[0226] <AT lottery process> The AT lottery process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 33.

[0227] In the AT lottery process, mainly, a lottery for whether to shift the display mode to the AT mode is performed. That is, in step S901, the lottery result of the current game is grasped. Then, in step S902, it is determined whether the CZ mode flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d. The CZ mode flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to identify whether the current display mode is the CZ mode. It is set when shifting to the CZ mode and is cleared when the CZ mode ends. If the CZ mode flag is not set, in step S903, the AT mode shift lottery table for the normal mode is acquired from the various table storage areas 105a of the ROM 105. If the CZ mode flag is set, in step S904, the AT mode shift lottery table for the CZ mode is acquired from the various table storage areas 105a of the ROM 105.

[0228] These AT mode transition lottery tables have the transition probabilities to the AT mode set respectively according to the types of lottery results (winning roles), as shown in FIG. 35. For example, in the AT mode transition lottery table for the normal mode, generally, the lower the winning probability (appearance rate) as the lottery result of the game, the easier it is to win the AT mode transition lottery, such as stronger cherries being more likely to win the AT mode transition lottery than weaker cherries. Also, regarding normal replays and Chance A, the winning probability of the AT mode transition lottery differs depending on the set value set in the winning probability setting process, and the higher the set value set so that the payout rate increases (the higher the set value), the easier it is to win the AT mode transition lottery. When comparing the AT mode transition lottery table for normal use and the AT mode transition lottery table for CZ, even for the same lottery result, the CZ version is set to be more likely to win the AT mode transition lottery than the normal version. For example, the AT mode winning rate in Chance A during the CZ mode is twice that in Chance A during the normal mode.

[0229] Note that the game results triggering the AT mode transition lottery and their winning probabilities are not limited to the above. For example, the superiority of the CZ mode may be ensured by having different types of game results triggering the AT mode transition lottery between the normal mode and the CZ mode. In this case, it is advisable to have more types of game results triggering the AT mode transition lottery in the CZ mode. Furthermore, in this case, the winning probability itself of the AT mode transition lottery may be the same between the normal mode and the CZ mode. Multiple CZ modes may be provided, and different AT mode transition lottery tables may be set for each CZ mode, such as being more likely to win the AT mode transition lottery in Chance A in one CZ mode and being more likely to win the AT mode transition lottery in Chance B in another CZ mode.

[0230] In step S905, an AT mode transition lottery is executed using the lottery result of the current game grasped in step S901 and the AT mode transition lottery table acquired in step S903 or step S904. Note that also in the AT mode transition lottery, similar to the advantageous area transition lottery, a random number (counter) for lottery is acquired from various counter areas 106e, and the lottery is performed using the random number. Such a lottery configuration is the same for the following other lotteries, and the description thereof is omitted.

[0231] In step S906, it is determined whether or not the lottery for transitioning to the AT mode has been won. If the lottery for transitioning to the AT mode has been won, in step S907, a process of setting the AT mode winning flag is executed. Thereafter, in steps S908 to S910, a process for setting the preliminary mode is performed.

[0232] Here, in the present embodiment, when a situation where a transition to the AT mode can occur is reached, it is set to a preliminary mode that suggests the situation. In the preliminary mode, a suggestive effect indicating that the lottery for transitioning to the AT mode has been won is performed on the auxiliary display unit 65, the speaker 64, etc. When the number of games in the preliminary mode becomes 0, the transition to the AT mode is permitted, and a notification effect (AT mode winning notification effect) to that effect is performed.

[0233] In step S908, a process of determining the number of games in such a preliminary mode (preliminary game number) by lottery is performed. As the preliminary game number, for example, 0 to 32 games are set, and depending on the game result that became the winning opportunity for the AT mode, which preliminary game number is likely to be selected differs. For example, when winning the AT mode with a strong cherry, a preliminary mode of 0 to 10 games is likely to be selected, and when winning the AT mode with a weak cherry, 7 to 14 games are likely to be selected, and so on.

[0234] In step S909, a process is executed to input the number of omen games determined by the lottery in step S908 into the omen counter provided in the various counter areas 106e. The omen counter is a counter for the CPU 102 to grasp the remaining number of games in the omen mode. Then, in step S910, after executing the process of setting the omen flag in the various flag storage areas 106d and setting the omen command as an output target to the display control device 81, this AT lottery process ends. The omen flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to grasp that it is in the state set in the omen mode, and the omen command is a command for the display control device 81 to grasp that the omen mode has been set. The omen command includes information on the number of games in the omen mode.

[0235] If it is determined in step S906 that the lottery for AT mode transition is not won, the process proceeds to step S911. In step S911, it is determined whether the CZ mode flag is set. If the CZ mode flag is not set, a CZ mode transition lottery is performed in step S912. In the CZ mode transition lottery, the CZ mode transition lottery table (see FIG. 35) is acquired from the various table storage areas 105a, and a lottery counter for the lottery is acquired from the various counter areas 106e, and a lottery is performed to determine whether to transition to the CZ mode. In this embodiment, as triggers for the CZ mode transition lottery, strong cherry, weak cherry, strong watermelon, weak watermelon, chance A, chance B, and middle bell are set. However, the lottery may be performed triggered by other such roles, and the winning probability is not limited to that in FIG. 35.

[0236] Then, it is determined whether or not the lottery for CZ mode transition has been won in step S913. If the lottery has been won, the CZ mode flag is set in step S914, 10 as a predetermined value is input to the CZ counter provided in the various counter areas 106e, and further, the CZ start command is set as an output target to the display control device 81. By setting the CZ mode flag, an affirmative determination is made in step S902 described above, and it becomes possible to receive the lottery for AT mode transition using an advantageous lottery table. Further, the CZ counter is a counter for the CPU 102 to grasp the number of games in the CZ mode, and in the CZ mode, a subtraction process is performed by 1 each time one game is completed. Then, when the CZ counter becomes 0, the CZ mode flag is cleared and the CZ mode ends. The CZ start command is a command for causing the display control device 81 to recognize that the CZ mode has started. The display control device 81 that has received such a CZ start command controls the auxiliary display unit 65 and the speaker 64 so that an effect for starting the CZ mode is performed, and also controls the auxiliary display unit 65 and the speaker 64 so that an effect during the CZ mode is performed in each game during the CZ mode.

[0237] If the CZ mode flag is set in step S911, or if it is not selected in the CZ mode transition lottery in step S913, or if any of the above conditions are met after the process of step S914 is executed, then the process proceeds to step S915. In step S915, it is determined whether or not the pseudo-precursor flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d. In this embodiment, a pseudo-precursor mode (a mode in which a so-called false performance occurs) is set, in which although a suggestion performance similar to or the same as the precursor mode occurs, ultimately the performance mode ends without the AT mode winning notification performance that allows the transition to the AT mode being performed. The pseudo-precursor flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to recognize that it is such a pseudo-precursor mode. If the pseudo-precursor flag is not set, then in step S916, it is determined whether or not to set the pseudo-precursor mode, and the number of games in the pseudo-precursor mode when setting is determined by lottery. Regarding such a lottery, for example, the more difficult it is to win (the lower the appearance rate) as a lottery result of the game, the easier it is to win the lottery for the transition to the pseudo-precursor mode. Also, when winning the lottery for the transition to the pseudo-precursor mode with a result that is easy to win (high appearance rate) as a lottery result of the game, a pseudo-precursor mode with a relatively long number of games may be set. Then, in step S917, the process of inputting the number of games in the pseudo-precursor mode determined in step S916 into the pseudo-precursor counter is executed. Note that if not winning the lottery for the transition to the pseudo-precursor mode, the process of step S917 is not performed (input 0 to the pseudo-precursor counter). After that, in step S918, the pseudo-precursor flag is set and the process of setting the pseudo-precursor command as an output target to the display control device 81 is executed, and then this AT lottery process ends. The pseudo-precursor command is a command for making the display control device 81 recognize that the pseudo-precursor mode has been set, includes information on the remaining number of games in the pseudo-precursor mode, and the display control device 81 performs a lottery for the occurrence of a suggestion performance according to the remaining number of games in the pseudo-precursor mode. Note that if not winning the lottery for the transition to the pseudo-precursor mode in step S916, it is advisable to end the AT lottery process as it is without performing the process of step S918.

[0238] <AT Overlay Process> Next, the AT overlay process executed in step S707 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 34. As already described, the AT overlay process is a process executed in a situation where the AT mode winning flag or the AT mode flag is set, and is a process for overlaying, etc., the number of continuous games in the AT mode started with a predetermined number of games as the initial number of continuous games.

[0239] That is, in step S1001, the lottery result of the current game is grasped. Then, in step S1002, it is determined whether the lottery result of the current game is the lottery-time overlay result. Here, in the present embodiment, when overlaying the number of games in the AT mode, as the lottery result of the game, there are set a lottery-time overlay result in which an overlay lottery is performed according to the lottery result of the hand, and a notification-time overlay result in which an overlay lottery is performed according to the presence or absence of a predetermined push order notification, which is a part of the result that is the target of the push order notification among the lottery results of the hand. Regarding the notification-time overlay result in more detail, in the present embodiment, BAR replay 1, BAR replay 2, specific replay 1, and specific replay 2 are set as the notification-time overlay results. When winning BAR replay 1 or BAR replay 2, an overlay lottery is performed when the push order notification corresponding to the 7th replay game is performed, and when winning specific replay 1 or specific replay 2, an overlay lottery is performed when the push order notification corresponding to the 11th replay game or the 12th replay game is performed.

[0240] In step S1002, if it is not the notification-time overlay result but the lottery-time overlay result, a negative determination is made, and the overlay process after step S1003 is performed. In step S1003, the overlay lottery table is acquired from the various table storage areas 105a.

[0241] As shown in FIG. 36, the overlay lottery table in this embodiment has a normal table and a MY high-probability table. The acquisition process of the overlay lottery table will be described in detail later. Here, for the purpose of explaining the basic overlay process, first, an explanation will be given mainly using the normally acquired table. In the normal table, as shown in FIG. 36, the probability of winning the overlay lottery and the number of overlay games in the event of winning are set to be different according to the type of lottery result. For example, in the case of a strong cherry, an AT mode overlay of 20 to 200 games is performed, and the average number of overlay games is 40 games. Also, in the case of a weak cherry, an overlay of 5 to 300 games is performed, and the average number of overlay games is 20 games. Although there are cases where a larger number of games are selected for the weak cherry than for the strong cherry, the average value is set to be a larger number of games for the strong cherry.

[0242] In the subsequent step S1004, an overlay lottery is executed using the overlay lottery table acquired in step S1005 and the lottery counter in each counter area 106e. Then, it is determined whether or not the overlay lottery has been won in step S1005. If it is determined that the overlay has not been won, this AT overlay process is terminated as it is. If it is determined that the overlay lottery has been won, in step S1006, a value corresponding to the number of overlay games selected by step S1006 is added to the counter for managing the number of continuous games in the AT mode (more specifically, the AT mode continuation counter provided in each counter area 106e of the RAM 106). In the subsequent step S1007, a post-overlay lottery process is executed to determine whether or not to perform a post-overlay notification that notifies afterwards of winning the overlay lottery and the number of games.

[0243] In this slot machine 10, a plurality of modes for bonus notifications are set when a bonus is added to the number of continuous games in the AT mode. More specifically, as modes of bonus notifications, there are a plurality of modes in which the games in which the bonus notifications are made are different. When making a bonus notification in the game in which the bonus has occurred or in a series of games triggered by the game in which the bonus has occurred (hereinafter also referred to as "immediate bonus notification"), and when making a bonus notification in a notification game that is a game after the game in which the bonus has occurred and in which the notification game is determined retrospectively (hereinafter also referred to as "subsequent bonus notification") are set.

[0244] In the immediate bonus notification, a series of games triggered by the game in which the bonus has occurred, for example, indicates a case where a continuous effect occurs triggered by the game in which the bonus has occurred, and a game that can continue over a plurality of games from the game in which the bonus has occurred is referred to as a series of games. The series of games includes cases where no continuous effect occurs. For example, in the game in which the bonus has occurred, the corresponding effect does not occur, and a mode in which a bonus notification occurs in the next game or a plurality of games later is also considered to be a series of games including the game in which the bonus has occurred and the games until the bonus notification occurs, and such a mode of bonus notification is also included in the immediate bonus notification.

[0245] On the other hand, in the subsequent bonus notification, the notification game that is a game after the game in which the bonus has occurred and is determined retrospectively is not determined in the game in which the bonus has occurred. For example, in a game near the end of the AT mode, etc., the notification timing is determined retrospectively as the AT mode progresses, which is different from the series of games in the immediate bonus notification described above. In other words, the above notification game can also be said to be a game set without being triggered by the game in which the bonus has occurred.

[0246] The general outline of the display content of the auxiliary display unit 65 will be described with reference to FIG. 37 for the immediate bonus notification and the subsequent bonus notification.

[0247] As described above, the immediate boarding notification notifies a part of the remaining game count (remaining game count ZG in the advantageous section in the figure) in the AT mode or the like, and the delayed boarding notification notifies the remaining game count in the AT mode or the like later. If the game count of the side that notifies first is set as the display remaining count counter HG, and the game count of the side that notifies later is set as the delayed boarding counter BG, the remaining game count (remaining game count ZG in the advantageous section) in the AT mode or the like is equal to the total value of the display remaining count counter HG and the delayed boarding counter BG. The display remaining count counter HG is decremented by 1 each time a game is played, and the delayed boarding counter BG is not decremented unless a delayed boarding notification occurs even when a game is played.

[0248] As shown in FIG. 37, in this embodiment, when the remaining game count in the display (remaining game count display ZGP) displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65 reaches a predetermined number (1) during the digestion of the AT mode, that is, when the display remaining count counter HG reaches a predetermined number (1), a delayed boarding notification occurs. In the delayed boarding notification, it is notified that an increment corresponding to the game count (150 in the figure) of the delayed boarding counter BG has been performed. In this case, the delayed boarding counter BG is decremented by the notified amount (becomes 0 in the figure), and the display remaining count counter HG is updated by incrementing the notified amount by the delayed boarding notification, and the remaining game count display ZGP on the auxiliary display unit 65 also becomes a value corresponding to the display remaining count counter HG (1 game is digested and it becomes 150 in the figure).

[0249] In this way, when the delayed boarding notification is selected at the time of winning by increment, a difference may occur between the display remaining count counter HG and the actual remaining game count (remaining game count ZG in the advantageous section) in the AT mode or the like. On the other hand, when the immediate boarding notification is selected, no difference occurs between the display remaining count counter HG and the actual remaining game count (remaining game count ZG in the advantageous section) in the AT mode or the like.

[0250] In step S1007 described above, for example, based on the game result that triggered the current additional placement win and the current carry-on counter BG, it is determined whether to notify the current additional placement by immediate placement notification or by carry-on notification. For example, if the game result that triggered the current additional placement win is a result that is difficult to win the additional placement lottery, it is easier to select carry-on notification, which can increase the surprise of the carry-on notification. Also, if it is easier to select carry-on notification as the current carry-on counter BG is smaller, it is possible to suitably increase the opportunity for carry-on notification to be performed.

[0251] After executing the carry-on lottery process in step S1007, it is determined in step S1008 whether the carry-on lottery has been won. If the carry-on has not been won and immediate placement notification has been selected, in step S1009, the current additional placement win game is added to the display remaining count counter HG provided in the various counter areas 106e, and the current additional placement game number is temporarily stored in a register or the like. Then, in step S1010, a notification timing setting process is executed to set at which timing the additional placement notification is to be executed in the current game. The notification timing setting process is a process for setting at which timing in the current game the additional placement notification is to be performed.

[0252] In one game, the execution timing of the additional placement notification is set to be different according to the number of additional placement games. In the present embodiment, as the execution timing of the additional placement notification in the current game, if the first reel, the second reel, and the third reel are set in the order of the stop operation of each reel 32L, 32M, 32R, then at the time of the stop operation of the first reel, at the time of the stop operation of the second reel, and at the time of the stop operation of the third reel are set. And, among the stop operations of each reel, the timing when the stop ON operation, which is the pressing operation of the stop switches 42 to 44, is performed and the timing when the stop OFF operation, which is the completion of the pressing operation, is performed are set.

[0253] Here, a supplementary explanation will be given regarding the operation modes of the stop switches 42 to 44. The stop switches 42 to 44 are displaceable from the initial position arranged at the foremost side to the operation position arranged at the rearmost side. In the situation where they are arranged at the initial position, the detection signals from the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a are in the LOW state. By operating from the initial position to the operation position, the detection signals from the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a are switched from the LOW signal to the HI signal. Then, based on the fact that the detection signal has been switched from the LOW signal to the HI signal, the main control device 101 determines that a stop ON operation, assuming that the pressing operation of the stop switches 42 to 44 has been performed, has been carried out.

[0254] Also, the stop switches 42 to 44 are biased toward the initial position by a spring or the like. Therefore, if the hand is released from the stop switches 42 to 44 and no operating force (pressing force) is applied to push them toward the operation position, the stop switches 42 to 44 will return to the initial position due to the biasing force of the spring or the like. In this case, the detection signals from the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a are switched from the HI signal to the LOW signal. Then, based on the fact that the detection signal has been switched from the HI signal to the LOW signal, the main control device 101 determines that a stop OFF operation, assuming that the pressing operation of the stop switches 42 to 44 has ended, has been carried out.

[0255] The additional load notification is set to be able to occur either during the stop ON operation or the stop OFF operation as the stop operation of each of the stop switches 42 to 44. That is, in the game where the additional load notification occurs, not only at the timing when the stop switches 42 to 44 are pressed but also at the timing when the pressing operation ends, the additional load effect can occur.

[0256] In the notification timing setting process of step S1010, the notification timing is set so that it is easier for the additional credit notification to occur during the stop OFF operation than during the stop ON operation of each reel. Also, when comparing the first to third reels, the stop operation (ON operation, OFF operation) of the third reel is most likely to be selected, the stop operation of the second reel is next likely to be selected, and the stop operation of the first reel is least likely to be selected. Considering the relationship with the number of additional credit games, the higher the number of additional credit games, the more likely the timing during the stop OFF operation of the third reel is to be selected. That is, if it is known in advance that the additional credit notification will occur, if the additional credit notification does not occur by the time of the stop ON operation of the third reel, the player is considered to execute the stop OFF operation of the third reel while greatly expecting a large number of additional credit games to occur.

[0257] In step S1011, after setting an additional credit command including information on the occurrence of additional credit, the number of additional credit games, the information that immediate credit has been selected, and information regarding the execution timing of the additional credit notification in this game as the output target to the display control device 81, the AT additional credit process is terminated. In the display control device 81 that has received the additional credit command, based on this information, the setting of the additional credit notification effect is performed.

[0258] If it is determined in step S1008 that the player has won the later credit lottery, the process proceeds to step S1012. In step S1012, the process of adding the number of additional credit games in this time to the later credit counter BG provided in the various counter areas 106e is executed. Then, in step S1013, the process of setting the later credit flag in the various flag storage areas 106d is performed. After that, in step S1014, after setting an additional credit command including information on the occurrence of additional credit, the number of additional credit games, and the information that the later credit notification has been selected as the output target to the display control device 81, the AT additional credit process is terminated.

[0259] In step S1002, if the lottery result of the current game is not the lottery-time bonus result but the notification-time bonus result and is a BAR replay 1, BAR replay 2, specific replay 1, or specific replay 2, the process proceeds to step S1015. The processes from step S1015 to step S1021 are processes related to the winning probability of the button-pressing order notification in the notification-time bonus result, and such processes will be described in detail later.

[0260] Return to the explanation of the lottery result corresponding process (Figure 31). After executing the process of step S706 or step S707, in step S708, it is determined whether the result of the current lottery process is a winning of the button-pressing order replay or the button-pressing order role in the button-pressing bell. If it is a winning of the button-pressing order role, in step S709, it is determined whether the AT notification flag is set in the various flag storage area 106d. The AT notification flag is a flag set at the stage where, after winning the lottery for transitioning to the AT mode, the transition to the AT mode is allowed (at the stage where the number of precursor games becomes 0 and the AT mode winning notification is performed). If the AT notification flag is set, in step S710, the button-pressing order role process is executed, and then the lottery result corresponding process ends. If it is not a winning of the button-pressing order role in step S708 or the AT notification flag is not set in step S709, the lottery result corresponding process ends as it is.

[0261] <Overview of the button-pressing order notification effect> Prior to the explanation of the button-pressing order role process, the overview of the notification of the operation order (button-pressing order notification, button-pressing order notification effect, order notification, mode notification) when winning the button-pressing order role will be explained. The notification of the operation order is mainly performed on the auxiliary display unit 65 and the instruction monitor 68.

[0262] First, the configuration of the instruction monitor 68 will be explained with reference to Figure 38. Figure 38(a) is a front view of the instruction monitor 68, and Figure 38(b) is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the display mode and the display content of the instruction monitor 68.

[0263] As shown in Fig. 38(a), the indication monitor 68 is provided with eight display segments N1 to N8. Each of the display segments N1 to N8 has an individual light source composed of an LED, and by turning on and off these individual light sources, only any one of the display segments can be lit, and any combination of the display segments can be lit. Thereby, on the indication monitor 68, predetermined symbols (including alphabets and numbers) are individually displayed. Since all of the above individual light sources irradiate light of the same color, the same color is displayed in each of the display segments N1 to N8.

[0264] Regarding each of the display segments N1 to N8 in detail, the first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7 are all linear display segments, and these first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7 are arranged so as to be able to display at least the numbers "1" to "6". Also, the eighth display segment N8 is a circular display segment and is arranged horizontally in the lower right part of the area where the first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7 are provided. Therefore, on the indication monitor 68, at least "1" to "6", "1." to "6.", and "." can be displayed.

[0265] In the instruction monitor 68, if it is possible to individually display a plurality of patterns of symbols, the shapes and arrangement modes of the respective display segments N1 to N8 are arbitrary. Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which not eight segments but seven segments, nine segments, or the like are used. Also, it is not essential that the colors displayed in the respective display segments N1 to N8 are the same, and a configuration may be adopted in which the colors displayed in the respective display segments N1 to N8 can be appropriately changed. Also, a configuration for controlling the lighting or extinguishing of the respective display segments N1 to N8 by turning the light source on and off is not essential. If individual display control can be performed for the respective display segments N1 to N8, a segment display may be configured by a single backlight and a liquid crystal display. Furthermore, instead of applying segment display to each display area, a configuration may be adopted in which symbols are displayed by other types of display devices such as a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, a CRT, or a dot matrix.

[0266] The first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7 are display segments used for notifying the operation order of the push winning combination. For example, as shown in FIG. 38(b), when a stop operation is performed in the order of "left" → "center" → "right" as the operation order of each of the stop switches 42 to 44, a winning mode advantageous to the player is obtained, the sixth display segment N6 and the seventh display segment N7 are lit and "1" is displayed. Also, when a stop operation is performed in the order of "right" → "left" → "center" as the operation order of each of the stop switches 42 to 44, a winning mode advantageous to the player is obtained, the first display segment N1, the second display segment N2, the third display segment N3, the fifth display segment N5, and the sixth display segment N6 are lit and "5" is displayed. That is, the numbers (symbols) displayed in the respective display segments N1 to N7 are associated with the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 on a one-to-one basis. By performing a stop operation on the stop switches 42 to 44 based on the numbers (symbols) displayed in the display segments N1 to N7, it is possible to win in a mode advantageous to the player.

[0267] When a predetermined start condition including a notification condition in which the eighth display segment N8 shifts to the advantageous section and AT mode winning notification is performed to set the AT notification flag, etc., and a notification of the pressing order can occur is satisfied, it lights up in the game in which the start condition is satisfied. Further, it turns off when the AT mode ends and the game shifts from the advantageous section to the normal section.

[0268] That is, a navigation state (AT mode, high-frequency mode) that makes it easier for the player to win in a manner advantageous to the player by making it easier to notify the operation order of the push-order bell or push-order replay, a chance state (CZ mode, high-probability mode) that makes it easier to win the lottery for shifting to the navigation state, or a winning state (winning mode) that has won the lottery for shifting to the navigation state or chance state but has not shifted to these navigation states or chance states is defined as an advantageous section (specific game state, specific mode). The eighth display segment N8 serves as a section indicator (specific notification means) that lights up during a specific section in the advantageous section where benefits can be obtained by notification of the pressing order, and turns off during the normal section that is not the advantageous section or during a non-specific section that is the advantageous section but not the specific section.

[0269] As already described, the instruction monitor 68 having the first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7 as the push-order display and the eighth display segment N8 as the section indicator is arranged near the side of the payout number display section 62 on the game panel 25. That is, the instruction monitor 68 is arranged above the stop switches 42 to 44 and the like operated by the player. In other words, it is not arranged on the decorative panel that is the front part of the gaming machine below the position where the stop switches 42 to 44 and the like are provided. Therefore, it can be said that the eighth display segment N8 is less likely to be hidden by the hand or the like operating the stop switches 42 to 44 and the like and is arranged at a position where the player can easily view it. Also, since it is arranged near the payout number display section 62 that the player aiming to acquire medals is likely to pay attention to while advancing the game, it can be said that overlooking by the player is suppressed.

[0270] Furthermore, in the instruction monitor 68, especially for the eighth display segment N8, the brightness of the corresponding LED is determined so as to be higher than the brightness of the surrounding display parts (for example, the payout number display part 62 or the backlight of the game panel 25) (more specifically, so as to be twice the brightness of the surrounding display parts). Therefore, even when both the eighth display segment N8 and the surrounding display parts are under light emission control (when in the lit state), the eighth display segment N8 stands out prominently. Also, regarding the illuminance directed towards the front of the gaming machine, the illuminance of the corresponding LED is determined so that the eighth display segment N8 has a higher illuminance directed towards the front of the gaming machine than the surrounding display parts (more specifically, so as to be twice the illuminance of the surrounding display parts). From such a configuration as well, the visibility of the eighth display segment N8 is improved, and overlooking when the eighth display segment N8 is in the lit state is suppressed.

[0271] Next, regarding the pressing order notification effect in the auxiliary display part 65, a case where the operation order to be notified this time is "center → right → left" and the pressing order role is elected will be described as an example.

[0272] As shown in FIG. 39(a), in the auxiliary display part 65, among the three button displays arranged in parallel corresponding to the stop switches 42 to 44, the button display corresponding to the stop switch to be operated first (the middle button display corresponding to the middle stop switch 43 in the figure) is marked with the number 1 and is displayed larger than the other button displays. Also, each button display is displayed in the color corresponding to the winning role (yellow for bell, blue for replay game, etc.). Thereby, the player can recognize the role elected in this game and that the stop switch to be operated first is the middle stop switch 43. Also, in the auxiliary display part 65, the right button display is marked with the number 2 and displayed to indicate that the stop switch to be operated next is the right stop switch 44, and the left button display is marked with the number 3 and displayed to indicate that the stop switch to be operated last is the left stop switch 42.

[0273] When a player operates the middle stop switch 43, as shown in Fig. 39(b), in the auxiliary display section 65, the middle button display corresponding to the middle stop switch 43 disappears, and the right button display corresponding to the right stop switch 44 is prominently displayed. As a result, the player can confirm that the operation of the middle stop switch 43 has been completed and that the next stop switch to be operated is the right stop switch 44.

[0274] When a player operates the right stop switch 44, as shown in Fig. 39(c), in the auxiliary display section 65, the right button display corresponding to the right stop switch 44 disappears, and the left button display corresponding to the left stop switch 42 is prominently displayed. As a result, the player can confirm that the operation of the right stop switch 44 has been completed and that the next stop switch to be operated is the left stop switch 42.

[0275] Regarding the execution timing of the push order notification, it is set to be executed during the invalid period of the stop switches 42 to 44 from the start of the rotation of each reel 32L, 32M, 32R until it reaches a constant speed rotation after passing through the acceleration period. By adopting such a configuration that the push order notification is executed at a timing earlier than when the operations of the stop switches 42 to 44 become valid, it becomes possible to make the player operate the stop switches 42 to 44 after recognizing the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44, and the game can proceed smoothly.

[0276] <Push order role processing> Next, the push order role processing executed in step S710 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 40.

[0277] In step S1101, it is determined whether the current lottery result is any one of the first promotion replays 1 to 4. A positive determination in step S1101 means that in accordance with the operation order of the current game, the first replay or the third replay wins. In this case, the process proceeds to step S1102, and as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, control is performed so that the push order notification for the third replay is given on the instruction monitor 68. Specifically, among the first replay and the third replay, the operation order corresponding to the winning of the third replay is notified (see Fig. 23(a)). Then, in step S1103, after performing the process of setting the push order notification command as the output target to the display control device 81 which is the sub-control device, this push order role process ends. The push order notification command includes the information on the current display mode and the information on the lottery result. The process on the display control device 81 side based on receiving the push order notification command will be described in detail later.

[0278] Note that the case of notifying the operation order corresponding to the winning of the third replay in step S1102 is basically after winning the transition lottery to the AT mode and after the winning notification of the AT mode is given through the precursor mode, and it is assumed before the transition to the AT mode. That is, in the lottery tables in the second RT state and the third RT state, the first promotion replays 1 to 4 do not win, and only in the first RT state do the first promotion replays 1 to 4 win. However, even during the AT mode, there may be cases where the game state drops from the second RT state or the third RT state to the first RT state due to incorrect operations or the like. Even in such cases, by winning the first promotion replays 1 to 4, it is possible to quickly return to the third RT state.

[0279] If a negative determination is made in step S1101, in step S1104, it is determined whether the current lottery result is any one of the fall replays 1 to 3. A positive determination in step S1104 means that, depending on the operation order of the current game, the first replay or the second replay wins. In this case, in step S1105, as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, control is performed so that the push order notification for the first replay is given by the instruction monitor 68. Specifically, among the first replay and the second replay, the operation order corresponding to the first replay win is notified (see Fig. 23(b)). After that, in step S1106, after performing the process of setting the push order notification command, this push order role process ends.

[0280] In this way, when winning the first promotion replays 1 to 4 in the situation of winning the lottery for shifting to the AT mode, by notifying the operation order corresponding to the third replay win, it becomes possible to shift the game state to the second RT state. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S709 above, since the process for the push order role is not performed, no push order notification occurs. Therefore, for example, in the first RT state, even if winning the first promotion replays 1 to 4 without winning the AT mode, there are cases where the first replay win is established and cases where the third replay win is established.

[0281] Also, when winning the fall replays 1 to 3 in the situation where the AT notification flag is set, by notifying the operation order corresponding to the first replay win, it becomes possible not to shift the game state to the first RT state. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S709 above, since no push order notification occurs, for example, when the AT mode ends, the AT notification flag is cleared, and the display mode shifts to the normal mode, there may be cases where the second replay win is established due to winning the fall replays 1 to 3, and the RT state shifts from the second RT state or the third RT state to the first RT state.

[0282] Also, for example, in the first RT state, if the player wins the first promotion replays 1 to 4 without winning the AT mode, and by chance the operation order happens to correspond to the third replay win and the third replay win is achieved (even if the second RT state is entered), the second replay win can be achieved by winning the fall replays 1 to 3. Therefore, as described above, even if the player accidentally enters the second RT state without winning the AT mode, the player will quickly enter the first RT state thereafter.

[0283] If a negative determination is made in step S1104, in step S1107, it is determined whether the current lottery result is either the second promotion replay 1 or 2. A positive determination in step S1107 means that the first replay, the fourth replay, or the fifth replay wins according to the operation order of the current game. In this case, in step S1108, as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, control is performed so that the push order notification for the fourth replay or the fifth replay is given by the instruction monitor 68. Specifically, among the first replay, the fourth replay, and the fifth replay, the operation order corresponding to the fourth replay win or the fifth replay win is notified (see Fig. 23(b)). Thereafter, in step S1109, after performing the process of setting the push order notification command, this push order role process ends.

[0284] If a negative determination is made in step S1107, in step S1110, it is determined whether the current lottery result is either the BAR replay 1 or 2. A positive determination in step S1110 means that the first replay and any one of the sixth to eighth replays wins according to the operation order of the current game. As described above, for the bonus addition result including the BAR replays 1 and 2, no bonus lottery is performed in the AT bonus addition process. Therefore, in the case of the BAR replays 1 and 2, after performing a lottery on whether to perform the push order notification effect for the seventh replay win, which is the target of the bonus lottery, the AT bonus addition process is performed when the push order notification effect for the seventh replay win is to be performed.

[0285] That is, when the determination in step S1110 is affirmative, in step S1111, a BAR alignment lottery process is executed to determine whether to perform notification that enables winning of the seventh replay game as a BAR replay. The winning probability of the BAR alignment lottery is set to a relatively low probability, for example, about 1 / 1000. Note that the winning probability of the BAR alignment lottery may be set to be different depending on the set value.

[0286] In step S1112, it is determined whether the BAR alignment lottery has been won. If not, the process proceeds to step S1105, and control is performed so that the order-of-pressing notification for the first replay game is performed on the instruction monitor 68 as the order-of-pressing notification on the main control device 101 side. Then, after the process of setting the order-of-pressing notification command is performed in step S1106, this order-of-pressing combination process ends. If it is determined in step S1112 that the BAR alignment lottery has been won, in step S1113, a process of adding the additional game number to the AT mode continuation counter is executed. Here, when winning the BAR alignment lottery in step S1111, the additional lottery is won with a 100% probability as defined in the additional lottery table (normal table) of FIG. 36. Therefore, after winning the BAR alignment lottery, the additional lottery is omitted. Also, the additional game number when winning the BAR alignment lottery is set to 50 games as a predetermined single game number. That is, in step S1113, a process of adding 50 to the AT mode continuation counter is executed.

[0287] In the subsequent step S1114, a process of adding the above additional game number (50) to the display remaining number counter HG and temporarily storing the additional game number in a register is executed. Then, in step S1115, a notification timing setting process is performed. In this process, in the present embodiment, the notification timing is set so that the additional notification is performed at the time of the third stop OFF operation in the game in which the current BAR alignment occurs. Then, in step S1116, a process of outputting an additional command to the display control device 81 is executed.

[0288] In the subsequent step S1117, as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, control is performed so that the push order notification for the first replay is performed on the instruction monitor 68. Then, in step S1118, after setting the specific push order notification command as the output target to the display control device 81, this push order role-related process ends. The process on the display control device 81 side that receives the specific push order notification command will be described in detail later. When the specific push order notification command is received, the display control device 81 controls the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. so that a push order notification effect different from (a non-corresponding push order) the push order notification on the main control device 101 side is performed. In the case of the specific push order notification command in step S1118 above, the push order notification effect for the seventh replay will be performed on the auxiliary display unit 65.

[0289] That is, even in a situation where a win in the BAR alignment lottery is won as described above and a win in the seventh replay is established, on the instruction monitor 68, the push order notification for the first replay is performed as the push order notification, and on the display control device 81 side, a push order notification effect corresponding to the win in the seventh replay is performed. Among the push order roles where the winning result differs depending on the operation order, for results such as the above-mentioned upgraded replay and fallen replay, whether the game state transitions or not depending on the winning result, it can be said that the player's profit differs depending on the push order. On the other hand, for the BAR replays 1 and 2, no matter which of the first replay and the sixth to eighth replays wins, the game state does not transition, and all are given a replay, and the player's profit does not differ depending on the push order. Therefore, for those where the player's profit differs, different push order notifications are performed as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, while for those where the player's profit does not differ, a common push order notification is performed as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side. By doing so, the processing load is reduced.

[0290] If a negative determination is made in step S1110, in step S1119, it is determined whether the current lottery result is any one of specific replays 1 and 2. A positive determination in step S1119 means that, depending on the operation order of the current game, any one of the first replay, the eleventh replay, and the twelfth replay wins a prize. As described above, for specific replays 1 and 2 as well, it is a bonus result at the time of notification like BAR replays 1 and 2, and no bonus lottery is performed in the AT bonus process. Therefore, in the case of specific replays 1 and 2, after performing a lottery on whether to perform the push order notification performance for the eleventh replay win or the twelfth replay win that is the target of the bonus lottery, when performing the push order notification performance for the eleventh replay win or the twelfth replay win, the process for AT bonus is performed.

[0291] That is, if a positive determination is made in step S1119, in step S1120, a specific replay navigation lottery process is executed to determine whether to perform a notification that enables the winning of the eleventh replay as a cherry replay or the twelfth replay as a watermelon replay. Details of the specific replay navigation lottery process will be described later, but in this embodiment, the probability of the push order notification performance for the cherry replay or the watermelon replay varies depending on the game state. Also, when specific replays 1 and 2 are won, since any of the specific replays 1 and 2 wins overlappingly with the eleventh replay as a cherry replay and the twelfth replay as a watermelon replay, in the specific replay navigation lottery process, it is determined by lottery whether to perform a notification that enables the winning of either the cherry replay or the watermelon replay.

[0292] In step S1121, it is determined whether the lottery was won in the specific replay navigation lottery process of step S1120. If not, the process proceeds to step S1105, and control is performed so that the push order notification for the first replay is given by the instruction monitor 68 as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side. Then, after performing the process of setting the push order notification command in step S1106, this push order role process ends.

[0293] In step S1121, if it is determined that the player has won the special replay navigation lottery, after performing the additional lottery for the special replay navigation win in steps S1122 to S1123, the additional processing in steps S1124 to S1128 and the processing for notifying the pressing order in steps S1129 and S1130 are performed.

[0294] That is, in step S1122, the process of acquiring the additional lottery table is executed. Such processing is the same as the processing in step S1003 in the above-mentioned AT additional processing. Here, the case where the normal table is acquired from the additional lottery table shown in FIG. 36 will be described.

[0295] As shown in FIG. 36, in the normal table, the winning probability in the additional lottery when winning the notification for the cherry replay or watermelon replay in the special replays 1 and 2 is different between the case of winning the notification for the cherry replay and the case of winning the notification for the watermelon replay. More specifically, the probability of winning the additional lottery is higher when winning the notification for the watermelon replay than when winning the notification for the cherry replay, and the average number of additional games at the time of winning is also set to be larger. Also, unlike the case of the above-mentioned BAR replays 1 and 2, even when winning the notification for the cherry replay or the watermelon replay, there may be a case where the additional lottery is not won. In this case, even if the winning of the cherry replay or the watermelon replay is established, no additional play will occur.

[0296] In step S1123, an additional lottery is performed using the additional lottery table acquired in step S1122 and the lottery counter acquired from each counter area 106e. Then, in step S1124, it is determined whether or not the player has won the additional lottery. If the player has won, in step S1125, the process of adding the number of additional games to the AT mode continuation counter is executed.

[0297] In the subsequent step S1126, the additional game number (50) is added to the display remaining number counter HG, and a process of temporarily storing the additional game number in a register is executed. Then, in step S1127, a notification timing setting process is performed. In such a process, in the present embodiment, the notification timing is set so that an additional notification is performed at the time of the third stop OFF operation in a game in which the current cherry replay or watermelon replay winning is established. Then, in step S1128, a process of outputting an additional command to the display control device 81 is executed.

[0298] If it is determined in step S1124 that the additional lottery has not been won, and after the process of step S1128 is executed, the process proceeds to step S1129. In step S1129, as the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, control is performed so that the push order notification for the first replay is performed on the instruction monitor 68. Then, in step S1130, after setting the specific push order notification command as the output target to the display control device 81, the main push order role use process is terminated. As described above, when the specific push order notification command is received, the display control device 81 controls the auxiliary display unit 65 and the like so that a push order notification effect different from (a non-corresponding push order) the push order notification on the main control device 101 side is performed. In the case of the specific push order notification command in step S1130 above, the push order notification effect for the 11th replay or the push order notification effect for the 12th replay will be performed on the auxiliary display unit 65.

[0299] If a negative determination is made in step S1119, it is determined in step S1131 whether the lottery result of the current game is a winning number for the push order bell. If it is a winning number for the push order bell, the process proceeds to step S1132, and it is determined whether the AT mode flag is set. If a negative determination is made in step S1131 or step S1132, the push order role use process is terminated as it is. That is, even if the AT notification flag is set, if the AT mode flag is not set and it is in the preparation state before shifting to the AT mode, the push order notification at the time of winning the push order bell is not performed. If the AT mode flag is set in step S1132, after executing the bell notification process in step S1133, this push order notification process is terminated. The details of the bell notification process will be described later, but in such a process, basically, the push order notification corresponding to the winning of the first minor winning combination is performed by the instruction monitor 68 on the main control device 101 side, and the push order notification effect corresponding to the winning of the first minor winning combination is performed by the auxiliary display unit 65 on the display control device 81 side (FIG. 19).

[0300] <Winning result corresponding process> Next, the winning result corresponding process performed in the winning result corresponding process (step S414) in the reel control process (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 41.

[0301] In step S1201, a game number management process is executed. The game number management process is a process for managing the number of continuous games in the AT mode, CZ mode, precursor mode, etc.

[0302] That is, in the game count management process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 42, first, in steps S1301 and S1302, the same processes as steps S701 and S702 are performed. That is, in step S1301, a process of grasping the current gaming state is performed. More specifically, it is grasped whether it is in the CB state or in another state (normal gaming state, each RT state, first BB state, second BB state). Then, in step S1302, it is determined whether the bet number of the current game is a certain specified number (specific specified number) defined in the state grasped in step S1301. If an affirmative determination is made in step S1302, the process for the display mode after step S1303 is performed. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S1302, the game count management process is terminated as it is. In this case, the process for the display mode after step S1303 is not performed.

[0303] In step S1303, it is determined whether the first BB winning flag or the second BB winning flag is set and whether the current game is in a carry-over state before the transition to the first BB state or the second BB state. If it is in the carry-over state, then in step S1304, after erasing the CZ mode flag and the AT mode flag, this game count management process is terminated. In this case, the CZ mode and the AT mode end. However, for the AT mode, after the end of the BB state, due to the notification of the pressing order at the time of winning the pressing order replay, a transition to the third RT state occurs promptly. In this case, after the end of the BB state, after the transition to the third RT state occurs, the measurement of the game count of the AT mode resumes.

[0304] If it is determined in step S1303 that the first BB winning flag or the second BB winning flag is not set, then in step S1305, it is determined whether the CZ mode flag is set. If the CZ mode flag is set, then in step S1306, a process of decrementing the CZ counter by 1 is executed. Then, in step S1307, it is determined whether the CZ counter has become 0. If it has become 0, then in step S1308, the CZ mode flag is cleared and a process of setting the CZ mode end command as an output target to the display control device 81 is executed. By clearing the CZ mode flag, the CZ mode ends and the normal mode is entered. Also, the display control device 81 that has received the CZ mode end command controls the auxiliary display unit 65 and the speaker 64 so that notification that the CZ mode has ended (for example, character display such as "What a pity" and its sound effect) is performed.

[0305] If a negative determination is made in either step S1305 or step S1307, or after the process of step S1308 is executed, the process proceeds to step S1309. In step S1309, it is determined whether the precursor flag or the pseudo-precursor flag is set. If neither flag is set, the game number management process is terminated as it is. If either flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1310 and a process of decrementing the precursor counter or the pseudo-precursor counter by 1 is executed. That is, in step S1310, if it is the precursor mode, the precursor counter is decremented by 1, and if it is the pseudo-precursor mode, the pseudo-precursor counter is decremented by 1.

[0306] After executing the process of step S1310, it is determined at step S1311 whether the precursor flag is set and whether the precursor counter has become 0. That is, when the number of precursor games becomes 0 in the precursor mode, the process proceeds to step S1312, and the process of clearing the precursor flag is performed. Then, at step S1313, the process of setting the AT notification flag in the various flag storage areas 106d is executed. As described above, by setting the AT notification flag, it becomes possible to shift the RT state to the upper RT state when winning the push order replay, and it becomes possible not to shift to the lower RT state. Incidentally, in step S1304 above, the AT notification flag is not erased even during the AT mode. Therefore, after the end of the BB state, push order notification occurs when winning the push order replay, and it becomes possible to shift to the third RT state.

[0307] After executing the process of step S1313, at step S1314, the process of setting the AT mode winning notification command as an output target to the display control device 81 is executed. In the display control device 81 that has received the AT mode winning notification command, the auxiliary display unit 65 and the speaker 64 are controlled so that the AT mode winning notification effect indicating that the AT mode transition lottery has been won and the transition to the AT mode is permitted is performed. In the AT mode winning notification effect, for example, the auxiliary display unit 65 displays "Super lucky!!" and an effect sound for that is output from the speaker 64.

[0308] If at step S1311 the precursor counter is not 0 or, although it is 0, the pseudo-precursor flag is set instead of the precursor flag, the process proceeds to step S1315. At step S1315, it is determined whether the pseudo-precursor counter is 0 and whether the pseudo-precursor flag is set. If an affirmative determination is made at step S1315, after executing the process of clearing the pseudo-precursor flag at step S1316, the game number management process ends. As a result, the pseudo-precursor mode ends.

[0309] If a negative determination is made in either step S1309 or step S1315, or after executing the processing of either step S1314 or step S1316, the process proceeds to step S1317. In step S1317, it is determined whether the AT mode flag is set. If the AT mode flag is set, in step S1318, a subtraction process of the AT mode continuation counter is performed. Then, in step S1319, it is determined whether the AT mode continuation counter has become 0. If it has become 0, in step S1320, a process of clearing the AT mode flag and the AT notification flag is performed. After that, in step S1321, a process of setting the AT end flag in the various flag storage area 106d is executed. The AT end flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to grasp whether the state that is an advantageous section and not in the AT mode is the state after the transition to the AT mode.

[0310] In step S1322, a process of setting the AT mode end command as an output target to the display control device 81 is performed. The display control device 81 that has received the AT mode end command controls the auxiliary display unit 65 and the speaker 64 so that an AT mode end notification effect (for example, character display such as "END", display of the number of medals acquired during the AT mode, display of the number of continuous games in the AT mode, and its sound effect) indicating that the AT mode has ended is performed.

[0311] If a negative determination is made in step S1317 or step S1319, and after executing the process of step S1322, in step S1323, the navigation mode process is executed and then the game count management process ends. The navigation mode process will be described in detail later.

[0312] Returning to the description of the winning result corresponding process, after executing the process of step S1201, the process for informing of additional riding is executed in step S1202. The process for informing of additional riding is a process for performing the above-mentioned informing of additional riding, and based on the fact that the display remaining count counter HG has become a predetermined value (1) and the additional riding flag is set, the additional riding notification (notification of additional riding) corresponding to the additional riding counter BG is executed. Then, the value corresponding to the executed additional riding notification is added to the display remaining count counter HG and subtracted from the additional riding counter BG, and the additional riding flag is cleared on the condition that the additional riding counter BG is 0.

[0313] In the subsequent step S1203, it is determined whether or not the current stop result satisfies the fourth replay winning or the fifth replay winning. As described above, when the fourth replay winning or the fifth replay winning is satisfied, in the RT state process (FIG. 21), a process for shifting the game state to the third RT state is performed. In this case, in step S1204, it is determined whether or not the AT notification flag is set. The case where the AT notification flag is not set is a case where the fourth replay winning or the fifth replay winning is satisfied without the condition for shifting to the AT mode being satisfied, and in this case, the winning result corresponding process is terminated as it is without performing the process for starting the AT mode. When the AT notification flag is set, in step S1205, it is determined whether or not the current display mode is in the AT mode. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the AT mode flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d. As described above, the AT mode flag is a flag for the CPU 102 to identify that the display mode is the AT mode.

[0314] In step S1205, when the AT mode flag is set, since the display mode is already the AT mode, the current winning result corresponding process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, when the AT mode flag is not set, the process for starting the AT mode is performed in steps S1206 to S1208.

[0315] That is, in step S1206, the AT mode flag is set. In the subsequent step S1207, the AT mode start command is set as an output target to the display control device 81. The display control device 81 that has received the AT mode start command notifies, via the auxiliary display unit 65 or the like, that the AT mode will start from the next game. Thereafter, in step S1208, the counting of the AT mode continuation number is started. Specifically, the initial value (for example, 50) of the number of continuous games in the AT mode is set on the condition that the AT mode continuation counter provided in each counter area 106e of the RAM 106 is 0. After the process of step S1208 is executed, the winning result corresponding process ends. Note that the case where the AT mode continuation counter is not 0 in step S1208 is, for example, the case where the AT mode is restarted after the BB state, and in such a case, the AT mode continuation counter is carried over as it is and the measurement is restarted.

[0316] As described above, particularly, based on the winning of a role corresponding to shifting the gaming state to the third RT state as the main state of the AT mode, a process for shifting the display mode is performed separately from the RT state process (FIG. 21). This is to avoid the situation where, although not winning the display mode shift lottery, the AT mode or the like is started based on the winning of a role corresponding to shifting the gaming state by chance.

[0317] Also, when shifting the display mode, among those accompanied by a shift in the game state, when shifting to a higher mode, that is, when shifting from the normal mode to the AT mode, it is configured to shift based on the winning result of the corresponding combination. Therefore, the shift of the display mode and the shift of the game state are performed in a set in the same game. On the other hand, in the case of shifting to a lower mode, for example, when the game state shifts due to the stop of the second replay winning as a falling replay, the display mode is not shifted. In such a case of shifting to a lower mode, the game state is managed by the winning result (RT state processing), while the display mode is managed by the number of games. Therefore, when shifting to these lower modes, the shift of the game state and the shift of the display mode may be performed in separate games.

[0318] <Interval display first process> Next, as processing related to the lighting / extinguishing of the eighth display segment N8, the interval display first process and the interval display second process will be described.

[0319] The interval display first process is the process implemented in step S316 in the lottery process (Fig. 16). Based on the operation of the start lever 41, the lottery result of the game is determined, and it is implemented after the lottery for shifting the display mode etc. (lottery result corresponding process) is performed based on the lottery result.

[0320] As shown in Fig. 43, in step S1401, it is determined whether the eighth display segment N8 as the interval display is being displayed, more specifically, whether the eighth display segment N8 is lit. As described above, the case where the eighth display segment N8 is lit indicates a specific interval in the advantageous interval where at least the notification condition for generating the pressing order notification is satisfied. If a negative determination is made in step S1401 and it is determined that the eighth display segment N8 is extinguished, the process proceeds to step S1402.

[0321] In step S1402, it is determined whether an advantageous section flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d. As already explained, the advantageous section flag is a flag that is set when winning the transition lottery to the advantageous section in the advantageous section transition lottery process (FIG. 32). If the advantageous section flag is set, in step S1403, it is determined whether an advantageous section winning game flag is set. The advantageous section winning game flag is a flag that is set when winning the advantageous section transition lottery in the above-mentioned advantageous section transition lottery process, and it is a flag for the CPU 102 to identify that it is the winning game. If the advantageous section winning game flag is set, in step S1404, a process of clearing the advantageous section winning game flag is executed. If the advantageous section winning game flag is not set in step S1403, the process proceeds to step S1405.

[0322] In step S1405, it is determined whether the counting of the number of games in the advantageous section, more specifically, whether the measurement of the advantageous section game number AG in the various counter areas 106e has started. If the measurement of the advantageous section game number AG has not started, in step S1406, a process of starting the measurement of the advantageous section game number AG is performed. The advantageous section game number AG corresponds to a means for grasping the number of executed games in the advantageous section, and a process of adding 1 to each game in the advantageous section is executed.

[0323] If it is determined in step S1405 that the measurement has already started, or after the process of step S1406 is executed, the process proceeds to step S1407. In step S1407, it is determined whether the AT notification flag is set. As already explained, when the AT mode winning notification is performed and the AT notification flag is set, the push order notification at the time of winning the push order role can occur, and the above notification conditions are satisfied. If it is determined in step S1407 that the AT notification flag is set, in step S1408, the display of the section indicator is started by lighting the eighth display segment N8. In addition, when the main control device 101 starts the display with the eighth display segment N8 as the section indicator in the lit state, a sound output command is output to the display control device 81 so that a predetermined sound effect (for example, the sound "Gagok!" with a mechanical sound) is output from the speaker 64. The display control device 81 controls the speaker 64 based on the sound output command so that the predetermined sound effect is emitted. Note that when starting the display of the eighth display segment N8, it may be configured to generate an effect in the auxiliary display unit 65 and other display units. In this case, a corresponding command is output to the display control device 81, and the display control device 81 controls the auxiliary display unit 65 and the like so that the corresponding effect is performed.

[0324] If it is determined in step S1401 that the eighth display segment N8 as the section indicator is being displayed, in step S1409, a process of continuing the display during the advantageous section is executed. Specifically, for step S1409, a process for continuing the situation where the eighth display segment N8 is in the lit state is performed. That is, the process for ending the display of the section indicator is not performed in the first process of this section display.

[0325] When it is determined in step S1402 that the advantageous section flag is not set, when the advantageous section flag is set and it is a winning game (after the process of step S1404 is executed), and when it is not a winning game and it is not a situation where the order-of-push notification can occur (when it is determined in step S1407 that the AT use notification flag is not set), the process proceeds to step S1410. In step S1410, a process of adding 1 to the ratio first counter provided in the various counter area 106e is executed. The ratio first counter is a counter for counting the number of games in which the order-of-push notification does not occur, that is, the number of games in the normal section and the non-specific section.

[0326] Also, after the display start process of the section display is executed in step S1408 and after the display continuation process of step S1409 is executed, the process proceeds to step S1411. In step S1411, a process of adding 1 to the ratio second counter provided in the various counter area 106e is executed. The ratio second counter is a counter for counting the number of games in which the order-of-push notification can occur, that is, the number of games in the specific section.

[0327] After the process of step S1410 or step S1411 is executed, a ratio calculation process is executed in step S1412. In such a process, a process of dividing the value of the ratio second counter by the added value (total number of games) of the ratio first counter and the ratio second counter is performed. That is, the ratio calculation process is a process of calculating the ratio of the number of games in which the order-of-push notification can occur out of the total number of games. Then, in step S1413, a process for causing the calculation result of the arithmetic process in step S1412 to be displayed on the ratio monitor 77 is executed.

[0328] As shown in FIG. 5, the ratio monitor 77 has a plurality of 7-segment display units each consisting of seven display segments. Specifically, the ratio monitor 77 has a first display unit 77a, a second display unit 77b, a third display unit 77c, a fourth display unit 77d, and a fifth display unit 77e as the 7-segment display units. The display segments in the first display unit 77a to the fifth display unit 77e have individual light sources made of LEDs, similar to the display segments N1 to N7 of the instruction monitor 68. By controlling the on / off of these individual light sources, only any one display segment can be lit, and any combination of display segments can be lit. As a result, the ratio monitor 77 can display a predetermined symbol (including alphabets and numbers) individually, and in particular, the ratio monitor 77 can display five-digit numbers.

[0329] In step S1413, the result of the arithmetic processing in step S1412 is output to the ratio monitor 77, and the display control of each display unit 77a to 77e in the ratio monitor 77 is performed so that a four-digit number is displayed on the ratio monitor 77. Specifically, as the ratio of the number of games in which the push order notification can occur out of the total number of games, for example, a number smaller than 1 such as "0.5012", and the numbers up to four digits after the decimal point are displayed on the ratio monitor 77. After executing the process of step S1413, the first interval display process ends.

[0330] Note that, after performing the process of rounding the fifth digit after the decimal point in the arithmetic processing of step S1412, the display control of the ratio monitor 77 may be configured. Also, in the ratio monitor 77, since the first display unit 77a basically displays "0", it may be configured not to have the first display unit 77a, or the first display unit 77a may be configured to always display "0" by printing or the like. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a decimal point is displayed by printing or the like between the first display unit 77a and the second display unit 77b.

[0331] <Second Interval Display Process> Next, the second interval display process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 44. As already described, the second interval display process is a process executed in step S415 of the reel control process. It is executed after the medal payout (payout determination process) and the transition of the game state based on the winning result (winning result corresponding process) are performed at the end of one game.

[0332] In step S1501, it is determined whether the advantageous interval flag is set. If it is not set, the second interval display process is terminated as it is. If the advantageous interval flag is set, in step S1502, a process of counting the number of games in the advantageous interval is executed. Specifically, a process of adding 1 to the above-mentioned advantageous interval game number AG is performed. After executing the process of step S1502, in step S1503, an update process of the advantageous interval increase / decrease number MY provided in the various counter areas 106e is executed. The advantageous interval increase / decrease number MY is a counter for the CPU 102 to grasp the increase / decrease number of medals in the advantageous interval (the difference between the number of medals bet and the number of medals paid out in each game in the advantageous interval). In step S1503, based on the winning result of the current game (the winning result corresponding process and the payout determination process immediately before), the medal increase / decrease number of the current game (the number of medals paid out in the current game - the number of medals bet in the current game) is grasped, and a process of adding the medal increase / decrease number to the advantageous interval increase / decrease number MY is performed.

[0333] Specifically, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 45, in the MY update process of step S1503, in step S1601, it is determined whether the game result of the current game is any of the replay wins. If it is any of the replay wins, the update of the advantageous interval increase / decrease number MY is not performed, and the MY update process is terminated as it is. If it is not any of the replay wins, the process proceeds to step S1602.

[0334] In step S1602, a process is executed to subtract the number of inserted coins (betting number) from the number of paid-out coins based on the game result of the current game. Step S1602 is a process for grasping the increase or decrease in the number of medals by subtracting the medals used in the game from the obtained medals. For example, in a 3-bet game, when the first minor winning combination is established, since 3 coins are bet and 9 coins are paid out, a net increase of 6 coins occurs. Also, in a 3-bet game, when the second minor winning combination is established, since 3 coins are bet and 3 coins are paid out, a net increase (decrease) of 0 coins occurs. And when none of the minor winning combinations are established in a 3-bet game, since 3 coins are bet and 0 coins are paid out (because no medal payout occurs), a net decrease of 3 coins occurs.

[0335] In the subsequent step S1603, a process is performed to add the calculation result of step S1602 to the number of increases and decreases MY in the advantageous section. For example, if the calculation result of step S1602 is a net increase of 6 coins, a process of adding 6 to the number of increases and decreases MY in the advantageous section is executed. If the calculation result of step S1602 is a net decrease of 3 coins, a process of subtracting 3 from the number of increases and decreases MY in the advantageous section is executed. Then, in step S1604, it is determined whether the number of increases and decreases MY in the advantageous section is 0 or more. If the number of increases and decreases MY in the advantageous section is less than 0 and there is a situation where the number of medals has decreased without an increase in the advantageous section, then in step S1605, after performing a process of clearing the number of increases and decreases MY in the advantageous section to 0, the MY update process is terminated. If the number of increases and decreases MY in the advantageous section is 0 or more and there is a situation where the number of medals has increased in the advantageous section, then in step S1606, the process for high probability of MY is executed and then the MY update process is terminated. The process for high probability of MY will be described in detail later.

[0336] In the interval display second process, after executing the MY update process in step S1503, in step S1504, the remaining game count management process is executed, and in the subsequent step S1505, the remaining number management process is executed. The remaining game count management process is a process for managing whether or not the advantageous interval reaches the upper limit game count (1500 games) with the current remaining game count based on the remaining game count in the AT mode or the like. In the remaining game count management process, for example, when the remaining game count in the AT mode is 100 games and the advantageous interval game count AG is 1450, etc., even if the AT mode is continued as it is, it is determined whether or not it is a situation where the upper limit game count of the advantageous interval is reached before the end condition of the AT mode (remaining game count in the AT mode = 0). And if it is such a situation, as a flag for specifying the situation, the first excess flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d. Also, the remaining number management process is a process for managing whether or not the advantageous interval reaches the upper limit increase number (2400 pieces) with the current remaining game count based on the remaining game count in the AT mode or the like. In the remaining number management process, for example, when the remaining game count in the AT mode is 100 games and the advantageous interval increase / decrease number MY is 2300, etc., even if the AT mode is continued as it is, it is determined whether or not it is a situation where there is a high possibility of reaching the upper limit increase number of the advantageous interval before the end condition of the AT mode (remaining game count in the AT mode = 0). In this case, based on the expected increase / decrease number of medals per game in the AT mode, the remaining game count in the AT mode, and the current advantageous interval increase / decrease number MY, it is determined whether or not there is a high possibility of reaching the upper limit increase number of the advantageous interval. And if it is such a situation, as a flag for specifying the situation, the second excess flag is set in the various flag storage areas 106d.

[0337] When these first excess flags and second excess flags are set, subsequent AT mode overlays are no longer performed (or are restricted), and when winning the overlay lottery, benefits different from the overlay of the number of games (suggestion of set values, display of rare images, etc.) are performed. As a result, in a situation where there are many remaining games and it is highly likely that the upper limit number of games or the upper limit increase number has already been reached, further meaningless overlays are avoided, and even in such a situation, it becomes possible to enjoy the game.

[0338] After executing the process of step S1505, in step S1506, it is determined whether or not the advantageous section game number AG has reached the upper limit game number of 1500, or whether or not the advantageous section increase / decrease number MY has become 2400 or more, which is the upper limit increase number. If either of these forced termination conditions is satisfied, in step S1507, the advantageous section game number AG and the advantageous section increase / decrease number MY are cleared to 0. In the subsequent step S1508, a process of ending the display of the eighth display segment N8 as the section display is performed. Then, in step S1509, after performing a process of initializing parameters and information such as various flags and counters during the advantageous section, this second section display process is ended.

[0339] Regarding the data initialization process of step S1509, more specifically, it is a process of resetting the flags and counters set at the transition to the current advantageous section, and the flags and counters set during the current advantageous section to their initial values. For example, if a precursor flag, a pseudo-precursor flag, a CZ mode flag, an AT mode winning flag, an AT notification flag, an AT mode flag, etc. are set, these flags are cleared. Further, if counters for the number of continuous games such as the precursor mode and the AT mode are greater than 0, all of these counters are reset to 0. That is, in the initialization process, regarding the advantageous section as an advantageous state using the draw order notification, all variables or parameters affecting the performance related to the draw order notification are initialized, and it is a process of performing RAM clearing for such variables or parameters.

[0340] When it is determined in step S1506 that the number of advantageous interval games AG has not reached the upper limit, or when it is determined in step S1506 that the number of increases and decreases in the number of advantageous intervals MY has not reached the upper limit of increases, the process proceeds to step S1510 to determine whether the normal end condition of the advantageous interval is satisfied. More specifically, it is determined whether none of the CZ mode flag, the AT mode winning flag, and the AT mode flag are set, and whether the remaining number of continuous games such as the AT mode has become 0. When none of these flags are set, it is determined in step S1511 whether the AT end flag is set. The AT end flag is a flag that is set when the AT mode ends. When the AT end flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1507, and after performing the processing for ending the advantageous interval in steps S1507 to S1509, the second interval display process is terminated. When a negative determination is made in step S1510 or step S1511, the second interval display process is terminated as it is. In this case, the lighting display of the interval display (the eighth display segment N8) will continue. That is, not only during the AT mode, but also after the transition to the advantageous interval and in a state where the transition to the AT mode has not occurred, the advantageous interval does not end, and after the transition to the advantageous interval and the transition to the AT mode, the advantageous interval ends when the AT mode ends.

[0341] <Regarding the display of the pressing order display and the interval display and the progress of the game> The relationship between the start and end of the advantageous interval and the display of the eighth display segment N8 as the interval display will be described with reference to FIG. 46.

[0342] In this slot machine 10, as shown in FIG. 46, in the normal interval that is not the advantageous interval, the eighth display segment N8 as the interval display is turned off (not lit). In this normal interval, the pressing order notification is not performed. That is, the normal interval can be said to be an interval that does not have the performance related to the instruction function such as the pressing order notification compared to the advantageous interval that has the performance related to the instruction function. The situation where the display mode is the normal mode mainly corresponds to the normal interval.

[0343] In the normal section, for example, if one wins the lottery for shifting to the advantageous section by winning a weak watermelon role or the like, the measurement of the number of execution games in the advantageous section (counting the number of advantageous section games AG) starts from the next game of the game in which the game result that became the winning opportunity is established. Then, when one wins the lottery for shifting to the AT mode during the advantageous section and a situation where a push order notification can occur such as a winning notification and an AT use notification flag are set, it is assumed that the start condition of the display of the section indicator is satisfied, and the eighth display segment N8 lights up.

[0344] After that, in the situation where the eighth display segment N8 is lit, a push order notification using the first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7 occurs. In this case, as described above, the push order information ("1" to "6") is displayed by the first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7, and based on such push order information, the player can grasp the push order. In the push order notification, the push order information starts to be displayed when the start lever 41 is operated in the game, and the display ends when the third reel stop ON operation is performed in the game. If such a game is not the last game in the advantageous section, at the time of the third reel stop ON operation, only the display of the push order information by the first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7 ends, and the display of the advantageous section by the eighth display segment N8 continues. Then, when one wins the push order role again in the next game and subsequent games, the push order information corresponding to the push order role is displayed on the first display segment N1 to the seventh display segment N7.

[0345] When the number of consecutive games in the advantageous section reaches the upper limit, or the number of medals added in the advantageous section reaches the upper limit increase number, etc., and it becomes the final game in the advantageous section, the eighth display segment N8 also turns off, and the notification of the advantageous section ends. In the present embodiment, in the final game of the advantageous section, at the timing when medal payout ends (by the section display second process which is the process after the payout determination process), the eighth display segment N8 turns off. Note that when no medal payout is performed in the final game, the eighth display segment N8 turns off at the time of the third reel stop OFF operation. Thereby, the player can clearly recognize that the game was the final game in the advantageous section.

[0346] As described above, the counting of the number of games in the advantageous section is performed from the game next to the game that won the transition lottery to the advantageous section, while the push order notification occurs only during the period when the eighth display segment N8 is lit. In other words, even in the advantageous section, in the section where the eighth display segment N8 is turned off (non-specific section), the push order notification does not occur. That is, by checking the presence or absence of lighting of the eighth display segment N8 as the section display device, it becomes possible to clearly recognize that it is a situation (specific section, substantial increase section) in which at least the benefit by the push order notification can be enjoyed in the advantageous section. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a difference in the degree of advantage from occurring between a player who ends the game without knowing that it is a situation where the benefit by the push order notification can be enjoyed and a successor player who takes a seat later. In other words, in a situation where the eighth display segment N8 is not lit, since the push order notification does not occur, it is also possible to end the game cleanly.

[0347] <Processing related to the sub-side notification effect> Next, various notification processes performed by the sub-side display control device 81 will be described. As the various notification processes, there is provided an effect setting process that is executed at a predetermined cycle (1.49 msec cycle). The effect setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 47.

[0348] In the performance setting process, first, in step S1701, it is determined whether a new command has been received from the main control device 101. If a new command has been received, then in step S1702, a process of storing the received command in the RAM 183 is executed. The RAM 183 is provided with a command storage area, and the command storage area is configured as a ring buffer that can store a plurality of commands individually and can be read from the previously stored commands.

[0349] If a negative determination is made in step S1701, or after the process of step S1702 is executed, then in step S1703, it is determined whether the newly received command is a bet-time command. The bet-time command is a command output from the main control device 101 based on the occurrence of a bet operation, and there are bet commands set in step S207 of the normal process, etc. If it is a bet-time command, then in step S1704, a bet-time performance setting process is executed. In the bet-time performance setting process, a process for controlling the auxiliary display unit 65 and the speaker 64 is performed so that a performance based on the current bet operation is performed.

[0350] If a negative determination is made in step S1703, or after the process of step S1704 is executed, then in step S1705, it is determined whether the newly received command is a start-time command. The start-time command is a command output from the main control device 101 based on the operation of the start lever 41, and in addition to the lottery result command set in step S313 of the lottery process, there are also a precursor command, a bonus command, a push order notification command, a specific push order notification command, etc. set in the lottery result corresponding process. If it is one of these start-time commands, then in step S1706, a start-time performance setting process is executed.

[0351] If a negative determination is made in step S1705, or after the process of step S1706 is executed, in step S1707, it is determined whether the newly received command is a command at each stop operation. The command at each stop operation is a command output from the main control device 101 based on the fact that each stop operation of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R has been performed, and is a stop command set in step S405 of the reel control process (FIG. 18). If it is the stop command as such a command at each stop operation, in step S1708, the production setting process at each stop operation is executed.

[0352] If a negative determination is made in step S1707, or after the process of step S1708 is executed, in step S1709, it is determined whether the newly received command is a command at full stop. The command at full stop is a command output from the main control device 101 based on the fact that all the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped, and in addition to the winning result command set in step S411 of the reel control process (FIG. 18), there are an AT mode start command and an AT mode end command set in the winning result corresponding process. If it is these commands at full stop, in step S1710, the production setting process at full stop is executed.

[0353] If a negative determination is made in step S1709, or after the process of step S1710 is executed, in step S1711, other processes are executed and then the production setting process ends. In step S1711, settings for productions based on commands from the main control device 101 other than during betting, starting, and stopping (for example, productions based on the operation of the settlement switch 59), settings for productions based on signals from sensors (such as production switch detection sensors) connected without going through the main control device 101, settings for error notification, etc. are performed.

[0354] Hereinafter, the start production setting process, the production setting process at each stop operation, and the production setting process at full stop will be described.

[0355] <Start production setting process> Next, the start-up production setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 48.

[0356] In step S1801, display mode setting processing is performed. In such processing, it is determined which of the normal mode, CZ mode, AT mode, and BB mode is the display mode currently set on the main control device 101 side, and the display production of the auxiliary display unit 65 is set to be performed in the corresponding display mode. Specifically, in the various flag storage areas 183a of the RAM 183 on the display control device 81 side, there is also provided an area for setting the CZ mode flag, AT mode flag, and BB state mode flag as flags for grasping the display mode. When each mode starts, the corresponding flag is set, and when it ends, the corresponding flag is cleared. In step S1801, by grasping these various mode corresponding flags, the current display mode is specified, and the auxiliary display unit 65, speaker 64, upper lamp 63, etc. are controlled so that the corresponding production is performed.

[0357] In the subsequent step S1802, based on the received lottery result command, it is determined whether the lottery result of the game started this time is a winning order for the push order. If it is a winning order for the push order, in step S1803, push order notification processing is performed. Here, the push order notification processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 49.

[0358] In step S1901, it is determined whether the start command received this time includes a push order notification command or a specific push order notification command. If neither push order notification command is included, the main push order notification processing is terminated as it is. If any push order notification command is included, the process proceeds to step S1902.

[0359] In step S1902, it is determined whether the current lottery result is one of the first promotion replays 1 to 4. If it is one of the first promotion replays 1 to 4, in step S1903, the auxiliary display unit 65 and the like are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the third replay winning is established, and then the process for push order notification ends.

[0360] If it is determined in step S1902 that the first promotion replays 1 to 4 are not won, in step S1904, it is determined whether the current lottery result is one of the fall replays 1 to 3. If it is one of the fall replays 1 to 3, the process proceeds to step S1905, and the auxiliary display unit 65 and the like are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the first replay winning is established, and then the process for push order notification ends.

[0361] If it is determined in step S1904 that the fall replays 1 to 3 are not the case, in step S1906, it is determined whether the current lottery result is one of the second promotion replays 1 and 2. If it is one of the second promotion replays 1 and 2, in step S1907, the auxiliary display unit 65 and the like are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the fourth and fifth replay winnings are established, and then the process for push order notification ends.

[0362] If it is determined in step S1706 that the second promotion replays 1 and 2 are not the case, in step S1708, it is determined whether the current lottery result is one of the BAR replays 1 and 2. If it is one of the BAR replays 1 and 2, in step S1709, it is determined whether the push order notification command received this time is a specific push order command. As already described, the case where the specific push order command is output and set on the main control device 101 side is the case where the content of the push order notification on the main control device 101 side is different from the content of the push order notification effect on the display control device 81 side. If it is not the specific push order notification command, the process proceeds to step S1905, and the auxiliary display unit 65 and the like are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the first replay winning is established, and then the process for push order notification ends.

[0363] If it is determined in step S1909 that it is a specific push order notification command, the process proceeds to step S1910, and the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the seventh replay winning is established, and then the push order notification process ends. In this case, in the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, a notification corresponding to the first replay winning is performed, and in the push order notification effect on the display control device 81 side, a notification corresponding to the seventh replay winning is performed as an effect.

[0364] If it is determined in step S1908 that it is not BAR replay 1, 2, then in step S1911, it is determined whether the current lottery result is a specific replay 1, 2. If it is a specific replay 1, 2, then in step S1912, it is determined whether the push order notification command received this time is a specific push order command. If it is not a specific push order notification command, the process proceeds to step S1905, and the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the first replay winning is established, and then the push order notification process ends.

[0365] If it is determined in step S1912 that it is a specific push order notification command, the process proceeds to step S1913, and based on the current specific push order notification command, it is determined whether the operation order to be notified this time corresponds to the 11th replay winning which is a cherry replay. If it corresponds to the 11th replay winning, then in step S1914, the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the 11th replay winning is established, and then the push order notification process ends. In this case, in the push order notification on the main control device 101 side, a notification corresponding to the first replay winning is performed, and in the push order notification effect on the display control device 81 side, a notification corresponding to the 11th replay winning is performed as an effect.

[0366] In step S1913, when it is determined that the operation sequence to be notified this time does not correspond to the 11th replay prize which is a cherry replay, but corresponds to the 12th replay prize which is a watermelon replay, in step S1915, the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the 12th replay prize is established, and then the push order notification process is terminated. In this case, the push order notification on the main control device 101 side performs a notification corresponding to the 1st replay prize, and the push order notification effect on the display control device 81 side performs a notification corresponding to the 12th replay prize as an effect.

[0367] When it is determined in step S1911 that it is not a specific replay 1 or 2, in step S1916, it is determined whether the lottery result this time is a push order bell. If it is a push order bell, in step S1917, after executing the bell notification adjustment process, the push order notification process is terminated. In the bell notification adjustment process, basically, on the condition that a push order notification command is received, the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. are controlled to perform a push order notification effect in which the 1st small winning combination prize with 9 payouts is established.

[0368] Return to the explanation of the start effect setting process (Fig. 48). When it is determined in step S1802 that it is not a push order role selection, in step S1804, it is determined whether it is a transition trigger role selection. The transition trigger role is, for example, a so-called rare role with a low winning probability such as a strong cherry, a weak cherry, a strong watermelon, a weak watermelon, a strong cherry duplicate 1 or 2, a weak cherry duplicate 1 or 2, etc., and is a general term for results with expectations of transitioning to the AT mode, bonus state, etc. If it is a transition trigger role selection, in step S1805, the transition trigger role notification process is performed. In the transition trigger role notification process, based on the winning of the transition trigger role, a process for controlling the auxiliary display unit 65, the speaker 64, etc. so that a chance suggestion effect is performed as an effect indicating that a situation where some advantageous event is likely to occur, or a process for making a continuous effect be performed is carried out.

[0369] If a negative determination is made in step S1804, or after the processing of step S1803 or step S1805, the process proceeds to step S1806. In step S1806, it is determined whether a topping-up command is received as the current start command. If a topping-up command is received, in step S1807, a process is performed to set the topping-up effect so that the topping-up effect corresponding to the number of games of the topping-up command is executed at the time of stop. As the topping-up effect, for example, as shown in FIGS. 53(a) to 53(c), a numerical value corresponding to the number of topping-up games is displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65. In addition, in the topping-up effect, control is performed so that a corresponding sound effect (for example, the electronic sound "Kyu Kyu Kyu Kyu Kyu Kyu In!") is emitted from the speaker 64.

[0370] Details of the setting process of the topping-up effect in step S1807 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 50.

[0371] In step S2001, based on the topping-up command received this time, a process is performed to grasp the number of topping-up games to be notified. In the subsequent step S2002, a process is executed to grasp the notification timing. The notification timing is the timing at which the topping-up effect is executed, and the timing is determined by the processing on the main control device 101 side, and the information on the determined timing is set and output to the topping-up command. Therefore, on the display control device 81 side, it is possible to grasp the timing at which the topping-up effect should be executed by reading such a topping-up command. As the notification timing, the game for which the topping-up effect should be executed and the timing corresponding to the stop operation of each of the stop switches 42 to 44 are set.

[0372] In step S2002, after grasping the notification timing, in step S2003, it is determined whether the result grasped in step S2002 is for a bonus effect in this game. The case where no bonus notification is to be performed in this game is when a subsequent bonus notification is selected. In this case, the setting process for the bonus effect is simply terminated. If a bonus effect is to be performed in this game, in step S2004, it is determined whether, as the execution timing of the bonus effect in this game, it is when any of the reels stops and turns on. If it is when the reel stops and turns on, in step S2005, the target reel for generating the bonus effect is set, and it is set such that the bonus effect occurs when the target reel stops and turns on. Specifically, a process is performed to set any one of the first reel stop-on operation flag to the third reel stop-on operation flag in the various flag storage areas 183a. These flags are flags for the CPU 181 to grasp the bonus effect occurrence timing. Also, in step S2705, the effect data of the bonus effect corresponding to the number of bonus games to be generated at the time of such stop-on operation is read from the effect data storage area 182b, and a process is performed to temporarily store the data in a predetermined effect data setting area. When the CPU 181 grasps that the bonus effect will occur at the timing corresponding to the stop-on operation flag, the effect data temporarily stored in the effect data setting area is read, and the bonus effect is performed.

[0373] If a negative determination is made in step S2004, in step S2006, it is determined whether it is at the time of the stop OFF operation of the first reel or the second reel. If it is at the time of the stop OFF operation of these reels, in step S2007, the target reel for generating the additional presentation is set so that the additional presentation occurs at the time of the stop OFF operation of the target reel. Specifically, a process of setting either the first reel stop OFF operation flag or the second reel stop OFF operation flag in the various flag storage areas 183a is performed. These flags are also flags for the CPU 181 to grasp the additional presentation occurrence timing. Also, in step S2007, the presentation data of the additional presentation corresponding to the number of additional games is read from the presentation data storage area 182b, and the data is temporarily stored in a predetermined presentation data setting area.

[0374] If a negative determination is made in step S2006, in step S2008, it is set so that the current additional presentation occurs at the time of all reels stop (at the time of the stop OFF operation of the third reel). Specifically, a process of setting the third reel stop OFF operation flag in the various flag storage areas 183a is performed. Also, in step S2008, the temporary storage process of the presentation data of the additional presentation corresponding to the number of additional games is performed. After the process of step S2005, step S2007, or step S2008 is executed, the setting process of the additional presentation is terminated.

[0375] Returning to the description of the start-up performance setting process, if the superimposed command has not been received in step S1806, or after the process of step S1807 is executed, the bonus performance setting process is executed in step S1808, the continuous performance setting process is executed in step S1809, and then, in step S1810, other start-up performances are set, and then the start-up performance setting process ends. The bonus performance setting process is a process for assisting in displaying the bonus performance during the first BB state or the second BB state on the auxiliary display unit 65 or the like. In the bonus performance, for example, the content of each performance is set to be different so that the player can distinguish between the first BB state and the second BB state. Also, it is set that a performance corresponding to the lottery result during the first BB state or the second BB state is performed. Also, the continuous performance setting process is a process for performing a continuous performance in which a series of performances are set over a plurality of games. In the process of step S1810, for example, a performance suggesting the lottery result is set in response to the start of the game, or a process of turning off the lamps around the start lever 41 to notify that the operation has been received is performed.

[0376] <Performance Setting Process at Each Stop Operation> Next, the performance setting process at each stop operation implemented in step S1708 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 51.

[0377] In step S2101, it is determined whether the command received this time for each stop operation is a stop ON operation command. The stop ON operation command is a command output from the main control device 101 when a pressing operation of the stop switches 42 to 44 is performed among the stop operations of each reel.

[0378] If a positive determination is made in step S2101, the process proceeds to step S2802, where it is determined whether an effect is set for when the reels stop in the ON state as the effect for the current game. If no effect is set, the current setting process ends as is. If an effect is set, in step S2103, it is determined whether the stop ON operation command received this time is for the stop operation of the reel that is the target of the effect when the stop ON operation is set. If it is not the stop ON operation of the target reel, the current setting process ends as is. If it is the stop ON operation of the target reel, in step S2104, the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. is controlled so that the effect at the stop ON operation is performed, and then the current setting process ends.

[0379] For example, if a superimposed effect is set as the effect at the current stop ON operation, as shown in Fig. 53(a), a superimposed effect occurs on the auxiliary display unit 65 at the timing when the stop switches 42 to 44 are pressed (turned ON). Also in this case, a sound effect corresponding to the superimposed effect is emitted from the speaker 64.

[0380] Also, for example, if the current game is a push order role selection and a push order notification effect is set, when the corresponding reel stops based on each stop ON operation, the push order notification effect changes to an effect indicating the next reel to be the operation target. Specifically, if all the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are rotating before the stop ON operation effect, a display with the first reel as the operation target is shown as in Fig. 39(a). Then, when the corresponding reel (the middle reel 32M in the figure) stops due to the stop ON operation corresponding to the first reel, it changes to the effect shown in Fig. 39(b) indicating the next reel to be the operation target (the right reel 32R in the figure). Also, if two reels are rotating before the stop ON operation effect, a display with the second reel as the stop target is shown as in Fig. 39(b), and based on the second reel stopping due to the stop ON operation, it changes to the display with the third reel as the stop target (Fig. 39(c)).

[0381] If a negative determination is made in step S2101, the process proceeds to step S2105 to determine whether each stop operation command received this time is a stop OFF operation command. The stop OFF operation command is a command output from the main control device 101 when the pressing operations of the stop switches 42 to 44 among the stop operations of each reel are completed. If it is not the stop OFF command, this process is terminated as it is.

[0382] If an affirmative determination is made in step S2105, the process proceeds to step S2106 to determine whether an effect is set for when the reels are turned off during the production of the current game. If it is not set, this setting process is terminated as it is. If it is set, in step S2107, it is determined whether the stop OFF operation command received this time is for the stop operation of the reel that is the target of the effect when the stop OFF operation is set. If it is not the stop OFF operation of the target reel, this setting process is terminated as it is. If it is the stop OFF operation of the target reel, in step S2108, the auxiliary display unit 65 etc. is controlled so that the effect during the stop OFF operation is performed, and then this setting process is terminated.

[0383] For example, when a bonus effect is set as the effect during the current stop OFF operation, as shown in Fig. 53(b), when the pressing operations of the stop switches 42 to 44 are completed and the hands are released from the stop switches 42 to 44, a bonus effect occurs on the auxiliary display unit 65. Also in this case, a sound effect corresponding to the bonus effect is emitted from the speaker 64. If a negative determination is made in step S2105, this effect setting process is terminated as it is.

[0384] <All Stop Effect Setting Process> Next, the all stop effect setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 52.

[0385] First, in step S2201, it is determined whether the received stop command this time includes an AT mode start command. If the AT mode start command is included, then in step S2202, a process of setting an AT mode start effect is performed. In the AT mode start effect, for example, the characters "AT START!" are displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65. In addition, in the AT mode start effect, control is performed so that a corresponding sound effect (for example, a high-pitched female voice saying "Let's go!") is emitted from the speaker 64.

[0386] If the AT mode start command is not included in step S2201, then in step S2203, it is determined whether the received stop command this time includes an AT mode end command. If the AT mode end command is included, then in step S2204, a process of setting an AT mode end effect is performed. In the AT mode end effect, for example, the characters "AT END" are displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65, the number of continuous games in the current AT mode is displayed, and the total number of payout reels in the current AT mode is also displayed. In addition, in the AT mode end effect, control is performed so that a corresponding sound effect (for example, a high-pitched female voice saying "See you later") is emitted from the speaker 64.

[0387] After executing the process of either step S2202 or step S2204, or after making a negative determination in step S2203, the process proceeds to step S2205. In step S2205, if a bonus effect is set, the auxiliary display unit 65 and the like are controlled to execute the bonus effect. As already described, the setting of the bonus effect is performed in step S1807 in the start effect setting process. Specifically, in the bonus effect setting process (Figure 50), if the occurrence timing of the current bonus effect is set to when all stops, as shown in Figure 53(c), the bonus effect occurs on the auxiliary display unit 65 at the timing when all the respective reels 32L, 32M, 32R stop. Also in this case, a sound effect corresponding to the bonus effect is emitted from the speaker 64.

[0388] After that, in step S2206, after setting other stop performances, this performance setting process ends. In step S2206, for example, control is performed so that the upper lamp 63 lights up in a color corresponding to the winning combination, control is performed so that a sound effect corresponding to the payout number of the winning combination is emitted from the speaker 64, or control is performed so that a sound effect corresponding to the automatic bet during replay is emitted from the speaker 64.

[0389] As described above, in this slot machine 10, the rotation of each reel 32L, 32M, 32R is started based on the operation of the start lever 41, and the lottery for each game is performed on the main control device 101 side based on the operation of the start lever 41. Then, by operating each stop switch 42 to 44, each reel 32L, 32M, 32R stops. If the stop mode is a stop mode corresponding to the lottery result of the game, a predetermined number of medals are paid out as a winning of the lottery result. On the premise of such a configuration, further, a lottery is performed to improve the instruction function of the draw order notification such as the advantageous section and the transition lottery to the AT mode using the lottery result of each game, and the display control device 81 performs a notification performance regarding the content of the lottery. When winning the transition lottery to the AT mode, it becomes possible to establish a first result winning in which more medals are paid out due to the transition of the game state and the draw order bell winning by the draw order notification on the main control device 101 side and the draw order notification performance on the display control device 81 side. That is, in this embodiment, a lottery as to whether or not to improve the instruction function (notification information for performing the draw order notification) is performed based on the lottery result of the game. When winning the draw order combination in a situation where the instruction function has been improved (a situation where winning the AT mode, the AT mode), the draw order notification and the draw order notification performance are performed as the demonstration of the instruction function. Also, in a situation where the instruction function has been improved, a bonus lottery or the like is performed regarding the continuity of the situation. When winning the bonus lottery, the situation where the instruction function has been improved can continue for a longer time.

[0390] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as a configuration for changing the instruction function, it has a plurality of configurations such as a specific replay navigation mode and a MY high probability mode.

[0391] <Regarding the Specific Replay Navigation Mode> The specific replay navigation mode is a state in which the winning probability of the specific replay navigation lottery when specific replays 1 and 2 are selected is increased. By winning the specific replay navigation lottery, a push order notification effect corresponding to the 11th replay win or the 12th replay win is generated. Therefore, it can be said that the specific replay navigation mode is a state in which the 11th replay win or the 12th replay win is more likely to occur due to the improvement of the instruction function corresponding to the 11th replay win or the 12th replay win.

[0392] The transition to the specific replay navigation mode is made by winning the specific replay navigation mode lottery process (step S1015) performed in the AT bonus process in the process corresponding to the lottery result. The specific replay navigation mode lottery is performed in the AT bonus process when the game result of the current game is a BAR replay 1 or 2 or a specific replay 1 or 2 (step S1002: YES). The specific replay navigation mode lottery process will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 54(a).

[0393] In step S2301, the remaining number of games in the AT mode is grasped from the AT mode continuation counter, and it is determined whether the remaining number of games is more than a predetermined number (30) set in advance. The predetermined number determined in step S2301 is a number corresponding to the number of continuous games in the specific replay navigation mode, and the process of step S2301 can also be said to be a process for determining whether it is possible to shift to the specific replay navigation mode.

[0394] In the subsequent step S2302, the lottery result of the current game is grasped. This process is a process of reading out the lottery result grasped in step S1001 again. As described above, when this process is activated, the lottery result of the current game is a BAR replay 1 or 2 or a specific replay 1 or 2. These BAR replays 1 and 2 and specific replays 1 and 2 can be won in the 3rd RT state, but not in other game states. Therefore, it can be said that the specific replay navigation mode lottery is a process activated only in the 3rd RT state.

[0395] In the subsequent step S2303, a process of obtaining a navigation mode table from the various table storage areas 105a is executed. As shown in FIG. 54(b), the navigation mode table is set such that the winning probability of the navigation mode transition lottery varies depending on the lottery result of the game. In the present embodiment, Specific Replays 1 and 2 are set to be more likely to win the navigation mode transition lottery than BAR Replays 1 and 2. Further, in the present embodiment, as specific replay navigation modes, a Cherry Navigation Mod...

Claims

[Claim 1] A plurality of rotating bodies on which a plurality of types of patterns are attached in the circumferential direction; A display unit that allows some of the patterns on each of the rotating bodies to be visible; a start operation means for starting rotation of each of the rotating bodies when operated; a lottery means for holding a lottery to determine whether or not to award a special benefit to a player based on the operation of the start operation means; a stop operation means for stopping the rotation of each of the rotating bodies when operated; a drive control means for starting rotation of each of the rotating bodies when the start operation means is operated and for stopping rotation of each of the rotating bodies when the stop operation means is operated; an awarding means capable of awarding a game value corresponding to a result of the lottery by the lottery means; A gaming machine comprising: The lottery results by the lottery means include a first result that allows a prize to be won when the stop operation means is operated in a first operation mode, and a second result that allows a prize to be won when the stop operation means is operated in a second operation mode different from the first operation mode, a means for executing notification of an operation mode of the stop operation means, The game state includes a predetermined state and a specific state in which the mode notification is more likely to be executed than the predetermined state, As the specific state, a first specific state in which the expected number of game values ​​to be awarded by the awarding means becomes a first expected number as a result of the execution of the mode notification; a second specific state in which the expected number of game values ​​to be awarded by the awarding means becomes a second expected number as a result of the execution of the mode notification; It has the second expected number is greater than the first expected number, A special section is set in which the status notification can be performed, the predetermined state and the specific state are states included in the special section, In one of the special sections, the first specific state may occur after the second specific state, A means for grasping predetermined increase / decrease information including the number of game values ​​awarded in the special section; a means for satisfying a predetermined condition that allows transition to the second specific state when the predetermined increase / decrease information becomes specific information in the first specific state; A gaming machine characterized by comprising:

Images