Gaming machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine capable of suitably outputting a signal relating to the result of a game.SOLUTION: A main side MPU sets a standby period by setting numerical information corresponding to a performance period in a bonus start performance or a bonus end performance to a standby counter 231 in a second arithmetic object area 111 on the basis of the occurrence of a prescribed trigger which is one of the case that a bonus state is started and the case that the bonus state is ended. When the standby period is set, the progress of the game based on the operation of the player is put on standby over the performance period in the bonus start performance or the bonus end performance. The main side MPU72 switches the state of externally outputting a first state signal to be used for making a device outside the game machine recognize that it is a bonus state at timing in the middle of the standby period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 120

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Pachinko machines and slot machines are known as gaming machines. For example, a pachinko machine has a tray storage section on the front of the machine that stores gaming balls awarded to a player. The gaming balls stored in the tray storage section are guided to a gaming ball launcher and launched toward a gaming area in response to the player's launch operation. When a gaming ball enters a ball entry section provided in the gaming area, for example, a lottery process is executed, or the gaming ball is paid out from a payout device to the tray storage section. In addition, a pachinko machine having a configuration including an upper tray storage section and a lower tray storage section as the tray storage section is also known. In this case, the gaming balls stored in the upper tray storage section are guided to the gaming ball launcher, and surplus gaming balls in the upper tray storage section are discharged to the lower tray storage section.

[0003] In addition, in a slot machine, when a start lever is operated to start a new game while medals have been bet, a lottery process is executed by a control means. When the lottery process is executed, the control means executes a rotation start control to start the reels, and when a stop button is operated during the rotation of the reels, the control means executes a rotation stop control to stop the rotation of the reels. If the stop result after the rotation of the reels has stopped corresponds to a winning combination in the lottery process, a bonus corresponding to the winning combination is awarded to the player (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-047286 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Here, in gaming machines such as those exemplified above, processing needs to be performed appropriately, and there is still room for improvement in this regard.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the circumstances exemplified above, and aims to provide a gaming machine that is capable of performing processing in an optimal manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 comprises a control means for executing various processes; a predetermined storage means for temporarily storing information when the various processes are executed by the control means; Equipped with The control means a first predetermined process execution means for executing a first predetermined process among the various processes; a second predetermined process execution means for executing a second predetermined process among the various processes; Equipped with The predetermined storage means a first storage area into which information is written when the first predetermined process is being executed, but into which information is not written when the second predetermined process is being executed; a second storage area into which information is written when the second predetermined process is being executed, but into which information is not written when the first predetermined process is being executed; a predetermined save area in which predetermined save correspondence information used to execute the first predetermined process is saved when a situation in which the first predetermined process is being executed changes to a situation in which the second predetermined process is being executed; Equipped with The first predetermined process is executed when a process at the start of supply of operating power is started, and the process is executed when a supply start process is started. the second predetermined processing execution means includes an abnormality identification execution means that executes, as the second predetermined processing in the processing at the start of supply, an abnormality identification processing for identifying whether or not the content of information in a specific target area in the specific storage means that does not include the specific save area has changed from the content at the time of the previous stop of supply of operating power, and identifying that an information abnormality has occurred if the content has changed; the predetermined save area is set as a storage area of ​​a first address in the predetermined storage means, or as a storage area of ​​a predetermined range of consecutive addresses from the first address so as to include the first address, the anomaly identification execution means is configured to identify whether or not the information anomaly has occurred in the specific target area without distinguishing between the information anomaly in an area of ​​the specific target area that corresponds to the first corresponding storage area and the information anomaly in an area of ​​the specific target area that corresponds to the second corresponding storage area, the first predetermined process execution means includes means for executing an information initialization process on the first corresponding storage area when the occurrence of the information abnormality is identified by the abnormality identification execution means, The second predetermined processing execution means is characterized by having a means for executing information initialization processing on the second corresponding storage area based on the abnormality identification execution means identifying that the information abnormality has occurred. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, processing can be performed preferably. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view of the slot machine with the front door open. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the arrangement of symbols on each reel. [Figure 5] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the symbols visible through the display window and the combination lines. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between winning modes and the benefits to be awarded. [Figure 7] FIG. 10A is a front view of the common display area, and FIG. 10B is an explanatory diagram for explaining the contents of information corresponding to the stop order displayed on the common display section. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the relationship between the notification content of the stop order in the image display device and the display content of the stop order in the multi-purpose display unit. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an electrical configuration diagram of the slot machine. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining how programs and data are set in a main ROM. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a main RAM. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the setting mode of each area in the main RAM. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing main processing executed by a main MPU. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing normal processing executed by the main MPU. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing the lottery process for determining winning combinations executed by the main MPU. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a lottery table for a normal mode. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the stopping order of the reels and the winning patterns that are achieved when the lottery table for the normal mode is selected. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a lottery table for the first RT mode. [Figure 21]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the stop order of the reels and the winning patterns that are achieved when the lottery table for the first RT mode is selected. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a lottery table for the second RT mode. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the stop order of the reels and the winning patterns that are achieved when the lottery table for the second RT mode is selected. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the lottery table for the internal RT state. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the reel stopping order and the winning patterns that are achieved when the internal RT state lottery table is selected. [Figure 26] 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the game states and game zones that exist in a slot machine. FIG. [Figure 27] 10 is a flowchart showing the first control processing of the gaming area executed by the main MPU. [Figure 28] 10 is a flowchart showing the response process executed by the main MPU when a game ends. [Figure 29] 10 is a flowchart showing the second control processing of the gaming area executed by the main MPU. [Figure 30] 10 is a flowchart showing an ending handling process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 31] 10 is a flowchart showing a preparation state process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 32] 10 is a flowchart showing the ART state processing executed by the main MPU. [Figure 33] 10 is a flowchart showing a bonus process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 34] 10 is a flowchart showing the bonus state processing executed by the main MPU. [Figure 35] This is a flowchart showing the advantageous termination processing executed by the main MPU. [Figure 36]This is a flowchart showing the initialization process of the favorable zone executed by the main MPU. [Figure 37] 10 is a flowchart showing a management process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 38] 10 is a flowchart showing a management execution process executed by a main MPU. [Figure 39] 10 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the main MPU during a power outage. [Figure 40] 10 is a flowchart showing a power restoration process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 41] 10 is a flowchart showing a backup abnormality confirmation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 42] 10(a) to 10(h) are time charts showing how data in the leading area and data in registers other than the program counter in the main MPU are saved, and how this data is restored. [Figure 43] 10 is a flowchart showing an all clear process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 44] 10 is a flowchart showing a clearing process for non-specific control executed by the main MPU. [Figure 45] 10A to 10F are time charts showing how the backup abnormality flag and the error state flag are released from a state in which they are set to "1." [Figure 46] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the types and combinations of bet notification sounds that are output as the number of gaming media bets increases. FIG. [Figure 47] (a) An explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of the production-side ROM for controlling the output of bet notification sounds, and (b) an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of the production-side RAM for controlling the output of bet notification sounds. [Figure 48] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of a work area for specific control for executing various processes. [Figure 49] 10 is a flowchart showing a start waiting process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 50]10 is a flowchart showing a bet response process executed by the master MPU. [Figure 51] 10 is a flowchart showing a bet command transmission process executed by the master MPU. [Figure 52] 10 is a flowchart showing a bet alarm sound setting process executed by the effect-side MPU. [Figure 53] 10 is a flowchart showing the process of receiving a third bet command executed by the production-side MPU. [Figure 54] 10 is a flowchart showing a bet notification sound output process executed by the effect-side MPU. [Figure 55] FIG. 10A is an explanatory diagram for explaining the display modes of the left and right segment displays in the setting confirmation display, and FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing the setting confirmation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 56] 10 is a flowchart showing a display unit control process executed by a main MPU. [Figure 57] 10(a) to 10(f) are time charts showing how the setting confirmation display is performed. [Figure 58] 10 is a flowchart showing a reel control process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 59] 10 is a flowchart showing a notification control process executed by a main MPU. [Figure 60] 10 is a flowchart showing a stepping motor control process executed by a main MPU. [Figure 61] 4 is a flowchart showing a motor control process executed by a main MPU. [Figure 62] 10 is a flowchart showing a stop order corresponding display start process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 63] 10 is a flowchart showing a step-out monitoring process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 64] 10 is a flowchart showing a step-out response process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 65]10(a) to 10(j) are time charts showing how stop order-based displays are made on the multi-purpose display unit. [Figure 66] 10 is a flowchart showing a lottery table selection process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 67] 10 is a flowchart showing a lottery mode control process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 68] 10 is a flowchart showing a partial clear process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 69] 10A to 10F are time charts showing transitions to the internal RT state. [Figure 70] (a) An explanatory diagram for explaining the display mode of the credit display section when the setting value is being updated, and (b) an explanatory diagram for explaining the display mode of the dual-purpose display section when the display for setting suggested actions is being performed. [Figure 71] 10 is a flowchart showing a setting value update process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 72] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for setting the start of a blinking display executed by the main MPU. [Figure 73] 10 is a flowchart showing an update process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 74] 10(a) to 10(c) are explanatory diagrams for explaining the winning probability of the suggestive action in the first to third suggestive action lottery tables. [Figure 75] 10 is a flowchart showing a first suggested operation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 76] 10A is a flowchart showing the automatic settlement process executed by the main MPU, and FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing the cancellation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 77] 10 is a flowchart showing a second suggested operation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 78] (a) to (g) are time charts showing how a hitting stop is performed as a suggestive action at the end of the BB state. [Figure 79](a)~(h) are time charts showing how a suggestive action is performed at the end of a favorable period when the setting is "5" or higher and at least one of the first ending flag and the second ending flag is set to "1." [Figure 80] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration for outputting various signals from a main MPU to a data counter. [Figure 81] 10 is a flowchart showing a setting process at the start executed by the main MPU. [Figure 82] 10 is a flowchart showing a data output process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 83] 10 is a flowchart showing a medium provision process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 84] 10 is a flowchart showing a dispensing signal control process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 85] 10 is a flowchart showing an external output setting process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 86] 10 is a time chart showing how signals rise and fall during states (a) to (g). [Figure 87] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a setting mode of each area of ​​the main RAM in the second embodiment. [Figure 88] 10 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the main MPU during a power outage. [Figure 89] 10 is a flowchart showing a backup abnormality confirmation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 90] 11 is a flowchart showing a power restoration process executed by a main MPU in the third embodiment. [Figure 91] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a main RAM in a fourth embodiment. [Figure 92] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the setting mode of each area in the main RAM. [Figure 93]10A is a flowchart showing a process executed by the main MPU during a power outage, and FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing a checksum process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 94] 10 is a flowchart showing a checksum calculation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 95] 10 is a flowchart showing a backup abnormality confirmation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 96] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a main RAM in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 97] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the setting mode of each area in the main RAM. [Figure 98] 10 is a flowchart showing a checksum process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 99] 10 is a flowchart showing a specific checksum calculation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 100] 10 is a flowchart showing a non-specific checksum calculation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 101] 10 is a flowchart showing a backup abnormality confirmation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 102] 13 is a flowchart showing a setting confirmation process executed by a main MPU in the sixth embodiment. [Figure 103] 13 is a flowchart showing a setting confirmation process executed by a main MPU in the seventh embodiment. [Figure 104] 13 is a flowchart showing a partial clear process executed by a main MPU in the eighth embodiment. [Figure 105] 10A to 10F are time charts showing transitions to the internal RT state. [Figure 106] 13 is a flowchart showing a second suggested operation process executed by the main MPU in the ninth embodiment. [Figure 107](a) An explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of a work area for non-specific control for displaying setting values ​​in the 10th embodiment, (b) an explanatory diagram for explaining the display mode of the ratio display when the setting confirmation display is being executed, and (c) an explanatory diagram for explaining the display mode of the ratio display when the setting value update display is being executed. [Figure 108] 10 is a flowchart showing a setting confirmation process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 109] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for setting the start of a blinking display executed by the main MPU. [Figure 110] 10 is a flowchart showing an update process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 111] 10 is a flowchart showing a management execution process executed by a main MPU. [Figure 112] 10 is a flowchart showing a setting value display process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 113] 10 is a flowchart showing a ratio display process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 114] 10 is a flowchart showing a ratio data output process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 115] 23 is a flowchart showing a setting process at the start executed by a main MPU in the eleventh embodiment. [Figure 116] 10A to 10E are time charts showing how output control of the in-state signal and the closing signal is performed. [Figure 117] 23 is a flowchart showing a dispensing signal control process executed by the main MPU in the twelfth embodiment. [Figure 118] 10 is a flowchart showing an external output setting process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 119] 10(a) to 10(f) are time charts showing how the end timing of a game in which output control of a payout signal is performed is delayed. [Figure 120] FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of a second calculation target area in the thirteenth embodiment. [Figure 121] 10 is a flowchart showing a setting process at the start executed by the main MPU. [Figure 122] 10 is a flowchart showing a data output process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 123] 10 is a flowchart showing a standby setting process executed by the main MPU. [Figure 124] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for a signal during a state executed by the main MPU. [Figure 125] 10 is a flowchart showing normal processing executed by the main MPU. [Figure 126] 10(a) to 10(i) are time charts showing how output control of a payout signal, a deposit signal, and a first state signal is performed in a situation where the bonus state ends. [Figure 127] 10(a) to 10(i) are time charts showing how output control of a payout signal, a deposit signal, and a first state signal is performed in a situation where a bonus state is started. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention applied to a slot machine 10, which is a type of gaming machine, will be described in detail below 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 open, and Fig. 3 is a front view of the cabinet 11.

[0011] 2 and 3, the slot machine 10 has a housing 11 that forms its outer shell. The housing 11 is formed by fixing a plurality of wooden panels so that the overall shape is a box that is open to the front.

[0012] 1 and 2, a front door 12 is attached to the front side of the housing 11. The front door 12 is supported by the housing 11 around a pivot 15 provided on the left side of the housing 11 so as to be able to open and close the interior space of the housing 11. The front door 12 is locked so that it cannot be opened by a locking device 13 provided on the back side of the front door 12, and this locked state is released by an unlocking operation using a predetermined key in a key cylinder 14.

[0013] 1, a gaming panel 20 is provided near the upper center of the front door 12. Three vertically long display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R are formed side by side on the gaming panel 20. The display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R are made of a transparent or translucent material, and the interior of the slot machine 10 can be seen through each of the display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R.

[0014] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the interior of the housing 11 is divided into two sections, upper and lower, by a partition plate 11a, and a reel unit 31 is attached to the upper part of the partition plate 11a. The reel unit 31 includes a left reel 32L, a center reel 32M, and a right reel 32R, each of which is cylindrical. Each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R is rotatably supported so that its central axis coincides with the rotation axis of the reel 32L, 32M, and 32R. The rotation axes of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are arranged on the same axis extending substantially horizontally, and each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R corresponds one-to-one to each display window 21L, 21M, and 21R. Therefore, a portion of the surface of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R is visible through the corresponding display window 21L, 21M, and 21R. Furthermore, when the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R rotate forward, the surfaces of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are projected through the display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R as if they are moving from top to bottom.

[0015] 1, a start lever 41 that is operated to start the rotation of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is provided on the lower left side of the game panel 20. When the start lever 41 is operated when a predetermined number or more of game media, which are either medals or virtual medals, have been bet, each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R starts to rotate all at once.

[0016] Stop buttons 42, 43, and 44 are provided on the right side of the start lever 41. These stop buttons 42, 43, and 44 are operated to individually stop the spinning reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Each stop button 42, 43, and 44 is located directly below the display window 21L, 21M, and 21R corresponding to the reel 32L, 32M, and 32R to be stopped. Each stop button 42, 43, and 44 is ready to stop the left reel 32L after a predetermined time has elapsed since the reel started spinning.

[0017] One game (playing session) corresponds to the time when each reel 32L, 32M, 32R starts to rotate based on the operation of the start lever 41, and when each reel 32L, 32M, 32R stops to rotate based on the operation of each stop button 42, 43, 44, and when various processes such as the awarding of game media and management of the game status are completed.

[0018] A medal insertion slot 45 for inserting medals is provided on the right side below the display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R. As shown in Fig. 2, medals inserted through the medal insertion slot 45 are guided by a selector 52 provided on the back surface of the front door 12 to a hopper device 53 if reception is permitted, or are guided from a medal discharge slot 58 provided at the bottom front of the front door 12 to a medal tray 59 if reception is prohibited (see Fig. 1).

[0019] Hopper device 53 has the function of paying out medals stored in a storage tank to medal tray 59 through medal discharge port 58 when a winning event corresponding to the award of game media is established on main line ML (described later). Hopper device 53 is provided with a payout device for paying out medals stored in the storage tank toward medal discharge port 58 and a payout detection sensor for detecting medals paid out from the payout device. When it becomes necessary to pay out medals, the payout device is driven and controlled to pay out medals, and the paid-out medals are detected by the payout detection sensor. Then, when the number of medals detected by the payout detection sensor reaches the number of medals to be paid out, the payout of medals from the payout device is stopped. As shown in FIG. 1 , below medal insertion slot 45, there is provided a return button 46 that is pressed when medals inserted into medal insertion slot 45 become stuck in selector 52.

[0020] A credit insertion button 47 is provided below and to the left of the display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R for inserting the maximum number of credited virtual medals that can be bet at one time. In this slot machine 10, the specified number of gaming media (medals or virtual medals) that can be bet (i.e., bet setting) at one time is "3."

[0021] When the credit insertion button 47 is operated in a situation where the current number of bets is "0" and three or more virtual medals are stored and stored, the number of virtual medals decreases by three and the number of bets becomes "3." When the credit insertion button 47 is operated in a situation where the current number of bets is "1" and two or more virtual medals are stored and stored, the number of virtual medals decreases by two and the number of bets becomes "3." When the credit insertion button 47 is operated in a situation where the current number of bets is "2" and one or more virtual medals are stored and stored, the number of bets decreases by one virtual medal and the number of bets becomes "3."

[0022] If the credit insertion button 47 is operated when the number of stored virtual medals is less than the difference between the number of bets that can be made (specifically, "3") and the current number of bets, the number of bets will increase by the number of virtual medals, and the number of virtual medals will become zero.

[0023] A settlement button 51 is provided to the left of the start lever 41. This slot machine 10 has a credit function that stores and stores, as virtual medals, any surplus medals inserted up to a predetermined maximum value (equivalent to 50 medals) and medals paid out when a prize is won. When the settlement button 51 is operated while virtual medals are stored and stored, the virtual medals are paid out from the medal outlet 58 as real medals.

[0024] 2 and 3, a power supply unit 54 is provided inside the cabinet 11 to the left of the hopper unit 53. The power supply unit 54 is provided with a power switch 55 that is operated when powering on or off, a reset button 56 for resetting various states of the slot machine 10, and a setting key insertion hole 57 into which a setting key held by the amusement hall manager is inserted and operated to change the setting value of the slot machine 10 within the range of "1" to "6."

[0025] Next, the symbols on the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R will be described.

[0026] 4 shows the arrangement of symbols on the left reel 32L, center reel 32M, and right reel 32R. As shown in the figure, 21 symbols are arranged in a row on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Furthermore, numbers ranging from "0" to "20" are assigned to correspond to the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. However, these numbers are used by the main control device 70 (described later) to identify the symbols visible through the display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R, and are not actually assigned to the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. However, these numbers will be used in the following explanation.

[0027] There are seven types of symbols: "Bell" symbol (for example, the 20th symbol on the left reel 32L), "Replay" symbol (for example, the 19th symbol on the left reel 32L), "Watermelon" symbol (for example, the 18th symbol on the left reel 32L), "Red 7" symbol (for example, the 15th symbol on the left reel 32L), "BAR" symbol (for example, the 10th symbol on the left reel 32L), "Cherry" symbol (for example, the 9th symbol on the left reel 32L), and "White 7" symbol (for example, the 5th symbol on the left reel 32L). The number and arrangement order of each symbol differs on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

[0028] 5 is a front view of the display window portions 21L, 21M, and 21R. Each display window portion 21L, 21M, and 21R is formed so that only three of the 21 symbols on the corresponding reel 32L, 32M, and 32R are visible in their entirety. Therefore, when each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R is stopped, 3 x 3 = 9 symbols are visible through the display window portion 21L, 21M, and 21R.

[0029] In the slot machine 10, one main line ML is set so as to connect positions where symbols on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are visible. The main line ML is a line connecting the middle symbols on the left reel 32L, the middle symbols on the middle reel 32M, and the middle symbols on the right reel 32R. When a predetermined number of gaming media have been bet, the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R start to spin, and a winning combination is achieved on the main line ML, one of the following is awarded: a benefit in the form of gaming media, a benefit in the form of a replay, or a transition to a gaming state.

[0030] In other words, in the slot machine 10, only one main line ML is set as a line on which a win can be achieved. The main line ML is set as a line extending in a straight line. Therefore, even if a winning combination of symbols is achieved on a line extending in a straight line, such as a subline SL1 connecting the upper symbol on the left reel 32L, the middle symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the lower symbol on the right reel 32R, a subline SL2 connecting the upper symbol on the left reel 32L, the upper symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the upper symbol on the right reel 32R, a subline SL3 connecting the lower symbol on the left reel 32L, the lower symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the lower symbol on the right reel 32R, and a subline SL4 connecting the lower symbol on the left reel 32L, the middle symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the upper symbol on the right reel 32R, no winning combination will be achieved.

[0031] The following describes the relationship between winning symbol combinations and the benefits that will be awarded when a prize is won, with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between winning symbol combinations and the benefits that will be awarded when a prize is won.

[0032] The minor winning combinations that award gaming media include the first supplementary winning combination, the second supplementary winning combination, the third supplementary winning combination, the first bell winning combination, the second bell winning combination, the first watermelon winning combination, the second watermelon winning combination, and the cherry winning combination. Specifically, the first supplementary winning combination occurs when the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "watermelon" symbol, the stopped symbol on the center reel 32M is a "replay" symbol, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R is a "bell" symbol. The second supplementary winning combination occurs when the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "watermelon" symbol, the stopped symbol on the center reel 32M is a "bell" symbol, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R is a "bell" symbol. If the stopped symbols on the left reel 32L on the main line ML are a "replay" symbol, the stopped symbols on the center reel 32M are a "bell" symbol, and the stopped symbols on the right reel 32R are a "bell" symbol, the third supplementary win will be awarded. If any of the first to third supplementary wins is awarded, the number of gaming media to be awarded will be "1".

[0033] If the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L, the stopped symbol on the center reel 32M, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R on the main line ML are a "bell" symbol, a first bell win will occur. If the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L, the stopped symbol on the center reel 32M, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R are a "bell" symbol, a second bell win will occur. If either the first or second bell win occurs, the number of gaming media to be awarded will be "11".

[0034] If the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L, the stopped symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R on the main line ML are a "watermelon" symbol, the first watermelon win will be awarded. If the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L, the stopped symbol on the middle reel 32M, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R are a "watermelon" symbol on the main line ML, the second watermelon win will be awarded. If either the first or second watermelon win is awarded, the number of game media to be awarded will be "5". If the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "cherry" symbol, a cherry win will be awarded regardless of the stopped symbol on the middle reel 32M and the right reel 32R. If a cherry win is awarded, the number of game media to be awarded will be "2".

[0035] The winning combinations that grant the privilege of replay, which allows you to play the next game without betting gaming media, include the regular replay winning combination, the first RT replay winning combination, the second RT replay winning combination, the first fall replay winning combination, and the second fall replay winning combination. In detail, if the stopping pattern on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "replay" pattern, the stopping pattern on the middle reel 32M is a "replay" pattern, and the stopping pattern on the right reel 32R is a "replay" pattern, if the stopping pattern on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "bell" pattern, the stopping pattern on the middle reel 32M is a "cherry" pattern, and the stopping pattern on the right reel 32R is a "bell" pattern, or if the stopping pattern on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "watermelon" pattern, the stopping pattern on the middle reel 32M is a "cherry" pattern, and the stopping pattern on the right reel 32R is a "bell" pattern, a regular replay will be won.

[0036] If the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "bell" symbol, the stopped symbol on the middle reel 32M is a "replay" symbol, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R is a "replay" symbol, the first RT replay win will be awarded. If the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "watermelon" symbol, the stopped symbol on the middle reel 32M is a "replay" symbol, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R is a "replay" symbol, the second RT replay win will be awarded.

[0037] If the stopped symbols on the left reel 32L on the main line ML are "replay" symbols, the stopped symbols on the middle reel 32M are "cherry" symbols, and the stopped symbols on the right reel 32R are "replay" symbols, the first fall replay win will be awarded.If the stopped symbols on the left reel 32L on the main line ML are "replay" symbols, the stopped symbols on the middle reel 32M are "replay" symbols, and the stopped symbols on the right reel 32R are "bell" symbols, the second fall replay win will be awarded.

[0038] If any of the above replay wins are achieved, a replay benefit will be awarded, which will allow you to play the next game without having to bet any gaming media. Specifically, if any of the replay wins is achieved in a game where you bet "3" gaming media, you will be able to start playing the next game with "3" gaming media betted, without having to bet any gaming media.

[0039] The first RT replay win, second RT replay win, first fall replay win, and second fall replay win not only trigger the award of the replay win bonus, but also trigger a transition to a lottery mode. In this slot machine 10, multiple lottery modes are set in the role lottery process (Figure 17) so that the types of roles to be drawn and the winning probability of each role differ, and a transition between these lottery modes occurs when a replay win, which triggers a transition to a lottery mode, is achieved. The contents of each lottery mode and the conditions for transitioning to each lottery mode will be explained in detail later.

[0040] State transition winnings that only result in a transition of the game state include the 1st BB winning, the 2nd BB winning, the 3rd BB winning, the 4th BB winning, the 1st RB winning, and the 2nd RB winning. In detail, when the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L, the stopped symbol on the center reel 32M, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R on the main line ML are a "red 7" symbol, the 1st BB winning occurs. When the stopped symbol on the left reel 32L, the stopped symbol on the center reel 32M, and the stopped symbol on the right reel 32R on the main line ML are a "white 7" symbol, the 2nd BB winning occurs. If the stopping symbol on the left reel 32L is a "red 7" symbol, the stopping symbol on the middle reel 32M is a "red 7" symbol, and the stopping symbol on the right reel 32R is a "white 7" symbol on the main line ML, the third BB win will be awarded. If the stopping symbol on the left reel 32L is a "white 7" symbol, the stopping symbol on the middle reel 32M is a "white 7" symbol, and the stopping symbol on the right reel 32R is a "red 7" symbol on the main line ML, the first RB win will be awarded. If the stopping pattern on the left reel 32L on the main line ML is a "white 7" pattern, the stopping pattern on the middle reel 32M is a "white 7" pattern, and the stopping pattern on the right reel 32R is a "BAR" pattern, the second RB will be won.

[0041] When the first BB win, second BB win, third BB win, or fourth BB win is achieved, the game state transitions to the BB state. Furthermore, when the first RB win or second RB win is achieved, the game state transitions to the RB state. Both the BB state and the RB state are considered bonus states. The bonus state is a game state in which the expected number of game media awarded per unit game is higher than in game states other than the bonus state. Specifically, a combination that enables the first bell win is won with a higher probability (e.g., approximately 1 / 1.5) than in other game states, and when this combination is won, the first bell win is achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R and the timing of the stop operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44 relative to the rotation positions of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Meanwhile, the number of game media required to start one game in the bonus state is the same as in other game states. Therefore, in the bonus state, the expected net increase in gaming media per unit number of games is higher than in gaming states other than the bonus state. Note that the number of gaming media required to start one game in the bonus state may be configured to be smaller than in other gaming states, and the number of gaming media required to start one game in the bonus state may be configured to be greater than in other gaming states if the expected net increase in gaming media per unit number of games is higher in the bonus state than in gaming states other than the bonus state.

[0042] Among the bonus states, the BB state continues over multiple games and ends when a termination condition is met based on the occurrence of an event corresponding to the execution of the game. The termination condition is arbitrary, but in this slot machine 10, the termination condition is set to be that the total number of game media awarded since the start of the BB state is equal to or greater than the BB termination reference number (specifically, "350"). Note that the termination condition may also be met when the number of games executed in the BB state reaches the BB termination reference number.

[0043] Among the bonus states, the RB state continues over multiple games and ends when a termination condition is met based on the occurrence of an event corresponding to the execution of the game. The termination condition is arbitrary, but in the slot machine 10, the termination condition is set to be that the total number of gaming media awarded since the start of the RB state is equal to or greater than the RB termination reference number (specifically, "150"). This RB termination reference number is smaller than the BB termination reference number. Therefore, the BB state is a gaming state that is more advantageous to the player than the RB state. Alternatively, the termination condition may be met when the number of games executed in the RB state reaches the RB termination reference number. In this case, by setting the RB termination reference number to be smaller than the BB termination reference number, the BB state can be made a gaming state that is more advantageous to the player than the RB state.

[0044] Next, the devices for executing various notifications and various effects will be described.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 1 , an upper lamp 61 and a speaker 62 are provided on the upper part of the front door 12, as well as an image display device 63. When an abnormality occurs in the slot machine 10, the upper lamp 61 is controlled to emit light in a manner corresponding to the abnormality, and is also controlled to emit light in a manner corresponding to the winning result. Furthermore, the upper lamp 61 is controlled to emit light so as to produce a light-emitting effect corresponding to the display effect on the image display device 63. The speakers 62 are provided as a pair on the left and right, and are controlled to output sound or audio corresponding to the abnormality when an abnormality occurs in the slot machine 10, and are also controlled to output sound or audio corresponding to the winning result. Furthermore, the speakers 62 are controlled to output sound so as to produce a sound output effect corresponding to the display effect on the image display device 63.

[0046] The image display device 63 has a display surface and is configured as a liquid crystal display device equipped with a liquid crystal display, but is not limited to a liquid crystal display device and may be another display device having a display surface such as a plasma display device, an organic EL display device, or a CRT, or may be a dot matrix display device. If an abnormality occurs in the slot machine 10, display control is performed so that an image corresponding to the abnormality is displayed on the display surface. Furthermore, the image display device 63 is display controlled so that images corresponding to the winning combination results in the internal lottery and the winning results in each game are displayed on the display surface. In other words, a display effect is executed on the image display device 63.

[0047] The gaming panel 20 of the front door 12 is provided with a credit display 65 below the display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R. The credit display 65 displays the number of stored virtual medals and also displays the setting values ​​of the slot machine 10 when the setting values ​​are updated or confirmed. The dual-purpose display 66 displays the number of gaming media awarded when a small winning combination is achieved and also displays information corresponding to the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R when the image display device 63 notifies the player. The advantageous zone display 67 also displays information indicating whether the gaming zone is an advantageous zone. The credit display 65 includes a left-side segment display 65a and a right-side segment display 65b arranged horizontally. Each of the segment displays 65a and 65b is a 7-segment display, and each segment of the segment displays 65a and 65b uses a single-color LED, such as green.

[0048] Fig. 7(a) is a front view of a common display area 68 provided with a combined display unit 66 and a favorable zone display unit 67. In the common display area 68, as shown in Fig. 7(a), a combined display unit 66 in which a left-side segment display 66a and a right-side segment display 66b, which are seven-segment displays, are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, and a favorable zone display unit 67 consisting of one light-emitting element are aggregated.

[0049] When any of the small winning combinations (first to third supplementary winning combinations, first bell winning combination, second bell winning combination, first watermelon winning combination, second watermelon winning combination, or cherry winning combination) corresponding to the awarding of game media is achieved, the number of game media awarded corresponding to that small winning combination is displayed on the dual-purpose display unit 66 at the end of the game in which that small winning combination was achieved. Specifically, when any of the first to third supplementary winning combinations is achieved, the left segment display 66a becomes non-displayable and the right segment display 66b displays "1," thereby indicating that "1" game media has been awarded. When either the first bell winning combination or the second bell winning combination is achieved, the left segment display 66a and the right segment display 66b both display "1," thereby indicating that "11" game media have been awarded. Furthermore, when either the first watermelon winning or the second watermelon winning is achieved, the left segment display 66a becomes non-displaying and the right segment display 66b displays "5", thereby indicating that "5" gaming media have been awarded. Furthermore, when the cherry winning is achieved, the left segment display 66a becomes non-displaying and the right segment display 66b displays "2", thereby indicating that "2" gaming media have been awarded.

[0050] On the other hand, even if a win that does not award game media, such as any of the replay wins, any of the BB wins, and any of the RB wins, occurs, no display corresponding to that win is made on the dual-purpose display unit 66, and in this case the segment indicators 66a, 66b remain in a non-display state. The display of the number of awarded game media on the dual-purpose display unit 66 ends at the start of the game following the game in which that display was made, and the segment indicators 66a, 66b return to a non-display state at the start of the next game.

[0051] When the image display device 63 performs a stop order notification to notify the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R, a stop order corresponding display is performed on the combined display unit 66. In the stop order corresponding display, information corresponding to the stop order notified on the image display device 63 is displayed on the combined display unit 66. FIG. 7(b) is an explanatory diagram for explaining the contents of the information corresponding to the stop order displayed on the combined display unit 66. As shown in FIG. 7(b), in the slot machine 10, the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R notified by the image display device 63 includes the stop order in which the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the center reel 32M, and the third stop is the right reel 32R; the stop order in which the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the center reel 32M; the stop order in which the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the right reel 32R; and the stop order in which the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the right reel 32R. There are stop orders in which the second stop is on the right reel 32R and the third stop is on the left reel 32L, a stop order in which the first stop is on the right reel 32R, the second stop is on the left reel 32L and the third stop is on the center reel 32M, a stop order in which the first stop is on the right reel 32R, the second stop is on the center reel 32M and the third stop is on the left reel 32L, a stop order in which the first stop is on the left reel 32L and the rest are optional, a stop order in which the first stop is on the center reel 32M and the rest are optional, and a stop order in which the first stop is on the right reel 32R and the rest are optional.

[0052] The stop order notification on the image display device 63 can be executed when a combination including the first bell winning data is won in the combination lottery process, when a combination including the first RT replay winning data is won, when a combination including the second RT replay winning data is won, when a combination including the first fall replay winning data is won, or when a combination including the second fall replay winning data is won. Specifically, when a combination including the first bell winning data is won, the first bell winning is achieved if the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop in the stop order corresponding to the winning combination of the current combination among the above-mentioned stop orders. When the first bell winning is achieved, the game media "11" is awarded to the player, as already explained.

[0053] If a winning combination including the first RT replay winning data is achieved, the first RT replay winning combination will be achieved if the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop in the stopping order corresponding to the winning combination of the current combination among the above-mentioned stopping orders. If the first RT replay winning combination is achieved, the lottery mode will shift to the first RT mode, in which it is easier to win a combination including any of the replay winning data (i.e., it is easier to win any of the replay winning combinations) than in the normal mode. If a winning combination including the second RT replay winning data is achieved, the second RT replay winning combination will be achieved if the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop in the stopping order corresponding to the winning combination of the current combination among the above-mentioned stopping orders. If the second RT replay winning combination is achieved, the lottery mode will shift to the second RT mode, in which it is easier to win a combination including any of the replay winning data (i.e., it is easier to win any of the replay winning combinations) than in the first RT mode.

[0054] If a winning combination including the first fall replay winning data is achieved, the first fall replay winning is avoided if the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop in the stopping order corresponding to the winning combination among the above-mentioned winning sequences. If the first fall replay winning is achieved, the lottery mode transitions from the first replay time mode to the normal mode, but this transition can be avoided by avoiding the first fall replay winning. Also, if a winning combination including the second fall replay winning data is achieved, the second fall replay winning is avoided if the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop in the stopping order corresponding to the winning combination among the above-mentioned winning sequences. If the second fall replay winning is achieved, the lottery mode transitions from the second replay time mode to the first replay time mode, but this transition can be avoided by avoiding the second fall replay winning.

[0055] When any of the above stop orders is notified by the image display device 63, the left segment display 66a of the dual-purpose display unit 66 remains in a non-display state, while the right segment display 66b displays a stop order corresponding to the stop order of the notified object. This display content is as shown in Fig. 7(b), and the display content of the stop order on the dual-purpose display unit 66 is set in a one-to-one correspondence with the notification content of the stop order on the image display device 63. However, this is not limited to this, and a configuration may be adopted in which multiple types of display content on the dual-purpose display unit 66 are set in correspondence with some or all of the notification content of the stop order on the image display device 63.

[0056] The display content of the stop order on the dual-purpose display unit 66 is different from the display content that is displayed when a display corresponding to the awarding of game media is made on the dual-purpose display unit 66. This makes it easier to distinguish whether the content displayed on the dual-purpose display unit 66 corresponds to the number of game media awarded or the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

[0057] 8(a) and 8(b) are explanatory diagrams for explaining the relationship between the notification content of the stop order on the image display device 63 and the display content of the stop order on the multi-purpose display unit 66. FIG.

[0058] 8(a), when the image display device 63 notifies the stop order, the image display device 63 displays the same number of unit display images G1 to G3 as the number of stop operations required to end the game, and each of the unit display images G1 to G3 displays an image corresponding to the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Specifically, a left unit display image G1 corresponding to the left reel 32L, a middle unit display image G2 corresponding to the center reel 32M, and a right unit display image G3 corresponding to the right reel 32R are displayed. Figure 8(a) shows how the stop order is announced when the first stop is the middle reel 32M, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, so the left unit display image G1 displays an image of "2" corresponding to the stop order of the left reel 32L, the middle unit display image G2 displays an image of "1" corresponding to the stop order of the middle reel 32M, and the right unit display image G3 displays an image of "3" corresponding to the stop order of the right reel 32R.

[0059] As described above, the image display device 63 displays an image notifying the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, whereas the combined display unit 66 displays "L" corresponding to the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in FIG. 8(b). That is, the image display device 63 displays unit display images G1 to G3 corresponding to the number of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, and displays an image corresponding to the stop order of the corresponding reels 32L, 32M, and 32R in each unit display image G1 to G3, whereas the combined display unit 66 displays an image unrelated to the number of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. This makes it possible to draw the player's attention to the display content on the image display device 63, even if the combined display unit 66 displays a display corresponding to the notification content of the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

[0060] The display range of the dual-purpose display unit 66 is narrower than that of the image display unit 63. This also makes it possible to reduce the player's attention to the dual-purpose display unit 66 compared to the image display unit 63. Furthermore, the dual-purpose display unit 66 is located on the opposite side of the display windows 21L, 21M, and 21R, which allow the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R to be viewed, from the image display unit 63. This means that the dual-purpose display unit 66 is disposed at a distance from the image display unit 63, which also makes it possible to reduce the player's attention to the dual-purpose display unit 66.

[0061] When the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is to be notified, the image display device 63 starts notifying the stop order after a win / loss determination has been made. Thereafter, the stop order corresponding display on the combined display unit 66 starts at the timing when the stop operation for the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is validated. The stop order notification on the image display device 63 and the stop order corresponding display on the combined display unit 66 end when a stop command is issued for all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R in the game for which the stop order notification and the stop order corresponding display are executed. Note that the stop order notification on the image display device 63 and the stop order corresponding display on the combined display unit 66 may be configured to start simultaneously or approximately simultaneously, and the start order of the stop order notification and the stop order corresponding display may be reversed.

[0062] The dual-purpose display unit 66 is disposed in the center of the common display area 68, whereas the advantageous zone display unit 67 is disposed in a corner of the common display area 68. The advantageous zone display unit 67 is a display unit for notifying that the gaming zone is an advantageous zone between the normal zone and the advantageous zone. The advantageous zone is a zone in which the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is notified, which allows for the establishment of an advantageous winning for the player when the winning combination to be established is different depending on the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, and a zone in which the probability of transitioning to the ART state, which is a gaming state advantageous to the player, is higher than in the normal zone. On the other hand, the normal section is a section in which the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is not announced, which allows for a winning combination that is advantageous to the player when different winning combinations are achieved depending on the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, and is a section in which the probability of transitioning to the ART state, which is a game state that is advantageous to the player, is lower than in the advantageous section, or a section in which transition to the ART state does not occur.

[0063] When the conditions for transitioning to the advantageous zone are met in the normal zone and the game transitions to the advantageous zone, the advantageous zone display unit 67 turns on, thereby initiating notification that the game is in the advantageous zone. When the conditions for transitioning to the normal zone are met in the advantageous zone and the game transitions to the normal zone, the advantageous zone display unit 67 turns off, thereby ending notification that the game is in the advantageous zone. This makes it possible to notify the manager of the gaming hall, etc., that the game is in the advantageous zone. The dual-purpose display unit 66, which is provided in the common display area 68, turns on when a gaming medium is awarded and turns off when the next game starts, turns on when the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is displayed on the image display device 63, and turns off when a stop command is issued for all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R in that game. Therefore, in a configuration in which the advantageous zone display unit 67 is placed within the common display area 68 to prevent it from being too noticeable to players, it is possible to actively create a situation in which only the advantageous zone display unit 67 is lit in the common display area 68 when the advantageous zone is in a favorable zone, making it easier for the manager of the gaming hall to check the advantageous zone display unit 67.

[0064] In addition, instead of the configuration in which the advantageous zone display unit 67 is kept lit during the advantageous zone, the advantageous zone display unit 67 may be configured to flash at a predetermined cycle during the advantageous zone. Also, other displays such as a liquid crystal display device may be used as the combined display unit 66 and the advantageous zone display unit 67.

[0065] The slot machine 10 is provided with various control devices. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a main control device 70 is provided above the reel unit 31. The main control device 70 is attached to a back panel 11b that forms the back surface of the cabinet 11. The main control device 70 is configured by housing a main control board 71 in a board box 81. An MPU 72 and a ratio display 85 that displays information to notify the management results of game history are mounted on one of the board surfaces of the main control board 71, which is the element mounting surface. The board box 81 is formed transparently so that the MPU 72 and the ratio display 85 housed therein can be visually observed from outside the board box 81. Note that although the board box 81 is formed colorless and transparent, it may be formed colored and transparent as long as the MPU 72 and the ratio display 85 housed therein can be visually observed from outside the board box 81. The main control device 70 is mounted on the back plate 11b of the cabinet 11 so that an opposing wall 82 of the board box 81 that faces the element mounting surface of the main control board 71 faces the front of the slot machine 10. Therefore, by opening the front door 12 toward the front of the slot machine 10 relative to the cabinet 11 and exposing the internal space of the cabinet 11, it becomes possible to visually observe the opposing wall 82 of the board box 81, and also to visually observe the MPU 72 and the ratio display 85 through the opposing wall 82.

[0066] FIG. 9 is a front view of the ratio display 85. As shown in FIG. 9, an identifier display unit 86 and a ratio display unit 87 are arranged side by side on the display surface of the ratio display 85. The identifier display unit 86 includes a left segment display unit 86a and a right segment display unit 86b, which are seven-segment displays, and an auxiliary display unit 86c for the identifier. The ratio display unit 87 includes a left segment display unit 87a and a right segment display unit 87b, which are seven-segment displays, and an auxiliary display unit 87c for the ratio. Each of the segment displays 86a, 86b, 87a, and 87b displays not only the numbers "0" through "9" but also various characters, including alphabetic characters. In the slot machine 10, the ratio display 85 is used to notify the results of game history management; the details of this notification will be described later. The display of the game history management results on the display surface of the ratio display 85 is visible through the opposing wall 82 of the board box 81. The ratio display 85 may be a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 3 , the board box 81 is formed by combining multiple case bodies. These multiple case bodies are provided with connecting portions 83 that prevent separation of the case bodies and leave traces of separation. The connecting portions 83 are arranged side by side along one side of the roughly rectangular board box 81. As a result, even if some connecting portions 83 are used to prevent separation of the case bodies and some of the case bodies are separated by destroying those connecting portions 83, separation of the case bodies can be prevented again by subsequently connecting other connecting portions 83. Furthermore, because the connecting portions 83 are destroyed during separation of the case bodies and leave traces, visually inspecting the connecting portions 83 allows for the determination of whether the case bodies have been separated fraudulently. Furthermore, a sealing sticker 84 is affixed to another side of the board box 81, other than the side along which the connecting portions 83 are arranged, spanning the boundary between the case bodies. When the sealing sticker 84 is peeled off, its adhesive layer remains on the case body. This makes it possible to leave a trace if the sealing seal 84 is peeled off when the case body is separated.

[0068] As shown in Fig. 2, the slot machine 10 is provided with a performance control device 90 in addition to the main control device 70. The performance control device 90 is arranged behind the image display device 63 and stacked on the front door 12. The performance control device 90 controls the upper lamp 61, speaker 62, and image display device 63 based on commands received from the main control device 70. Like the main control device 70, the performance control device 90 is configured by housing a control board in a board box.

[0069] Next, the electrical configuration of the slot machine 10 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

[0070] As already explained, the main control board 71 of the main control device 70 is equipped with an MPU 72. The MPU 72 is provided with a ROM 73 that stores various control programs and fixed value data executed by the MPU 72, a RAM 74 that is a memory for temporarily storing various data and the like when the control programs stored in the ROM 73 are executed, a random number circuit 75 that sequentially updates random numbers within a predetermined numerical range based on a clock signal output from a clock circuit, and a clock circuit that outputs a rectangular wave of a predetermined frequency. The MPU 72 also incorporates an interrupt circuit, a data input / output circuit, and the like. It is not essential that the ROM 73 and RAM 74 be integrated into a single chip for the MPU 72; they may each be integrated into a separate chip.

[0071] The MPU 72 is provided with an input port and an output port. Connected to the input side of the MPU 72 are various sensors, such as the reel unit 31, a start detection sensor 41a that detects operation of the start lever 41, stop detection sensors 42a, 43a, and 44a that individually detect operation of each stop button 42, 43, and 44, an inserted medal detection sensor 45a that detects medals inserted through the medal insertion slot 45, a credit insertion detection sensor 47a that individually detects operation of the credit insertion button 47, a door open detection sensor 48a that detects the open state of the front door 12, a settlement detection sensor 51a that detects operation of the settlement button 51, a payout detection sensor of the hopper device 53, a reset detection sensor that detects operation of the reset button 56 provided on the power supply device 54, and a setting key detection sensor that detects insertion of a setting key into the setting key insertion hole 57. Signals from each of these sensors are input to the MPU 72.

[0072] The output side of the MPU 72 is connected to the reel unit 31, the selector drive unit 52a provided in the selector 52, the payout motor of the hopper device 53, the credit display unit 65, the dual-purpose display unit 66, the advantageous zone display unit 67, the performance control device 90, and the like. In each game, the rotation drive control of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R of the reel unit 31 is performed by the MPU 72. The selector 52 has the function of detecting a medal inserted through the medal insertion slot 45 with the inserted medal detection sensor 45a and then guiding it to the hopper device 53 if acceptance is permitted, or discharging it to the medal tray 59 without being detected by the inserted medal detection sensor 45a if acceptance is prohibited. The selector drive unit 52a has the function of switching the state of the selector 52 between an acceptance permit state and an acceptance prohibit state, specifically by operating a path switching piece provided in the selector 52 between an acceptance permit position and an acceptance prohibit position. The MPU 72 switches the state of the selector 52 between an acceptance permission state and an acceptance prohibition state by switching between an output state and a stop state of the drive signal to the selector drive unit 52a.

[0073] The MPU 72 controls the drive of the hopper device 53 when a small winning combination is achieved and medals are paid out. The MPU 72 also controls the display of the credit display unit 65 to display the number of stored virtual medals. The MPU 72 also controls the display of the credit display unit 65 to display the setting value when the setting value of the slot machine 10 is updated or confirmed. The MPU 72 also controls the display of the dual-purpose display unit 66 to display the number of gaming media that have been awarded when gaming media are awarded. The MPU 72 also controls the display of the advantageous zone display unit 67 to notify players that the advantageous zone is in a beneficial zone when a notification start trigger occurs. The MPU 72 also transmits commands to the effect control device 90 at each timing of each game, and when transmitting a command to the effect control device 90 to notify the image display device 63 of the stop order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, the MPU 72 controls the display of the dual-purpose display unit 66 to display a display corresponding to the content of the notification. In this case, direct display control of the image display device 63 is performed by the effect control device 90, while direct display control of the dual-purpose display unit 66 is performed by the MPU 72. In other words, direct display control is performed by the effect control device 90 for the image display device 63, which is the target of relatively complex display control, and direct display control is performed by the MPU 72 for the dual-purpose display unit 66, which is the target of relatively simple display control. This makes it possible to perform both displays that emphasize increasing attention to the effect and displays that emphasize reliability, while reducing the processing load on the MPU 72. The MPU 72 controls the display of the ratio display 85 so that a display corresponding to the game management result is performed.

[0074] An external terminal board 95 that relays signal output from the MPU 72 to a data counter DC, which is an external device, is connected to the output side of the MPU 72. The MPU 72 outputs information regarding the number of gaming media inserted, the number of gaming media awarded, the gaming status, and the gaming section to the data counter DC via the external terminal board 95.

[0075] A power outage monitoring circuit (not shown) provided in the power supply 54 is connected to the input side of the MPU 72. The power supply 54 is equipped with a power supply unit and a power outage monitoring circuit that supply drive power to the main control unit 70 and other electronic devices in the slot machine 10. The power outage monitoring circuit monitors the voltage applied to the power supply unit from an external power source and outputs a power outage signal to the MPU 72 when the voltage drops below a reference voltage. The MPU 72 executes power outage processing upon receiving the power outage signal and enables the device to return to the processing state before the power outage after power is restored. The power supply 54 also includes a power outage power supply unit that supplies backup power to the RAM 74 as power during power outage when the supply of operating power from the external power source is interrupted. This allows data to be stored and maintained in the RAM 74 even when the supply of operating power from the external power source is interrupted as long as the power outage power supply unit can supply backup power (e.g., for one or two days).

[0076] The performance control device 90 is equipped with a performance control board 91 for controlling the execution of various notifications and various performances. The performance control board 91 is equipped with an MPU 92. The MPU 92 has built-in ROM 93 that stores various control programs and fixed value data executed by the MPU 92, and RAM 94, which is memory for temporarily storing various data when the control programs stored in the ROM 93 are executed, as well as a clock circuit that outputs a rectangular wave of a predetermined frequency, an interrupt circuit, a data input / output circuit, a random number generating circuit, and the like.

[0077] It is not essential that the ROM 93 and RAM 94 be integrated into a single chip for the MPU 92, and each may be integrated into a separate chip. Furthermore, although backup power is not supplied to the RAM 94 from the power-off power supply unit of the power supply device 54 when the supply of operating power from the external power source is cut off, backup power may be supplied to the RAM 94.

[0078] The MPU 92 is provided with an input port and an output port. As already explained, the MPU 72 of the main control device 70 is connected to the input side of the MPU 92, and various commands are received from the MPU 72. The upper lamp 61, the speaker 62, and the image display device 63 are connected to the output side of the MPU 92. Based on the commands received from the MPU 72 of the main control device 70, the MPU 92 controls the light emission of the upper lamp 61, the sound output of the speaker 62, and the display of the image display device 63, thereby enabling various notifications and various effects to be performed.

[0079] Although not shown, the performance control board 91 is equipped with a video display processor (VDP), character ROM, video RAM, and other components in addition to the MPU 92. The VDP is a type of drawing circuit that directly operates an image processing device (LCD driver) built into the image display device 63. The VDP is involved in reading and writing data from the video RAM and reads image data stored in the video RAM from the character ROM at predetermined timings to display it on the image display device 63. The character ROM serves as an image data library for storing character data such as designs to be displayed on the image display device 63. This character ROM stores bitmap image data of various display designs and a color palette table referenced when determining the color of each dot in the bitmap image. The video RAM is a memory for storing display data to be displayed on the image display device 63. When the MPU 92 determines the performance content based on commands received from the MPU 72 of the main control device 70, it outputs a drawing list to the VDP specifying the image content corresponding to each update timing in accordance with the determined performance content. The VDP reads image data from the character ROM according to the drawing list, and creates display data in the video RAM using the read image data. The VDP then outputs an image signal corresponding to the created display data to the image display device 63, causing the image display device 63 to display an image corresponding to the display data.

[0080] For the sake of convenience, in the following explanation, the MPU 72, ROM 73 and RAM 74 of the main control device 70 will be referred to as the main MPU 72, main ROM 73 and main RAM 74, respectively, and the MPU 92, ROM 93 and RAM 94 of the performance control device 90 will be referred to as the performance MPU 92, performance ROM 93 and performance RAM 94, respectively.

[0081] Next, before describing the processing executed by the main MPU 72, we will explain the specific control and non-specific control executed by the main MPU 72. The main MPU 72 executes various controls by distinguishing between specific control and non-specific control. Specifically, non-specific control includes control related to management of game history, control for checking whether or not there are any abnormalities in the data stored in the main RAM 74 after power-on, and control for initializing an area in the main RAM 74 where data for executing non-specific control is stored, and control other than non-specific control, including control for progressing the game based on game operations by the player, is considered specific control.

[0082] Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining how programs and data are set in the main ROM 73. In response to the distinction between specific control and non-specific control in the control executed by the main MPU 72, as shown in Fig. 11, in the main ROM 73, the addresses of the areas storing the programs and data for specific control and the programs and data for non-specific control are clearly distinguished.

[0083] Specifically, specific control programs are collectively stored in the area of ​​successive addresses within the range of addresses X(1) to X(k+2). Addresses X(k+3) to X(k+5) successive to addresses X(1) to X(k+2) are unused addresses where no data is stored, followed by successive addresses within the range of addresses X(k+6) to X(m+2) where specific control data are collectively stored. Addresses X(m+3) to X(m+5) successive to addresses X(k+6) to X(m+2) are unused addresses where no data is stored, followed by successive addresses within the range of addresses X(m+6) to X(n+2) where non-specific control programs are collectively stored. Furthermore, addresses X(n+3) to X(n+5) consecutive to addresses X(m+6) to X(n+2) are addresses of unused areas where no data is stored, and non-specific control data is collectively stored in the areas of consecutive addresses within the range of addresses X(n+6) to X(p+2). The relationship between the programs and data and addresses as described above is set both in terms of physical addresses in the main ROM 73 and logical addresses on the memory map recognized by the main MPU 72.

[0084] As described above, the programs and data for specific control and the programs and data for non-specific control are stored in different address ranges regardless of the execution order of the processes for executing the corresponding controls. Therefore, for example, when checking only the programs and data for specific control, it is sufficient to check only the address range area in which these programs and data for specific control are stored. For example, when checking only the programs and data for non-specific control, it is sufficient to check only the address range area in which these programs and data for non-specific control are stored. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently check programs and data for specific control and non-specific control separately. This also makes it possible to efficiently correct programs and data for specific control and non-specific control separately.

[0085] By setting an address range of an unused area in which no data is stored between the address range of the area in which the program for specific control and the data for specific control are stored and the address range of the area in which the program for non-specific control and the data for non-specific control are stored, it becomes easier to grasp the boundary between the address range for specific control and the address range for non-specific control when performing a check.

[0086] In each of the address ranges for specific control and the address range for non-specific control, programs and data are stored in areas with different ranges of addresses, regardless of the execution order of the processes for executing the corresponding controls, which makes it possible to efficiently perform work when checking programs and data separately.Furthermore, by setting an address range of an unused area in which no data is stored between the address range of the area in which the program is stored and the address range of the area in which the data is stored, it becomes easier to grasp the boundary between the address range of the program and the address range of the data when checking.

[0087] Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the main RAM 74. As shown in Fig. 12, the main RAM 74 is provided with a stack area 101 for specific control, a work area 102 for non-specific control, a work area 103 for specific control, and a stack area 104 for non-specific control.

[0088] Figure 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the setting of each area in the main RAM 74. In response to the distinction between specific control and non-specific control in the control executed by the main MPU 72, as shown in Figure 13, the address range of the stack area 101 for specific control, the address range of the work area 103 for specific control, the address range of the work area 102 for non-specific control, and the address range of the stack area 104 for non-specific control are also clearly distinguished in the main RAM 74.

[0089] Specifically, the area of ​​successive addresses within the range of addresses Y(1) to Y(r+1) is set as a specific control stack area 101. Furthermore, addresses Y(r+2) to Y(r+4) successive to addresses Y(1) to Y(r+1) are addresses of an unused first unused area 105, and the area of ​​successive addresses following thereafter within the range of addresses Y(r+5) to Y(s+1) is set as a non-specific control work area 102. Furthermore, addresses Y(s+2) to Y(s+4) successive to addresses Y(r+5) to Y(s+1) are addresses of an unused second unused area 106, and the area of ​​successive addresses following thereafter within the range of addresses Y(s+5) to Y(t+3) is set as a specific control work area 103. Furthermore, addresses Y(t+4) to Y(t+6) consecutive to addresses Y(s+5) to Y(t+3) are addresses in the unused third unused area 107, and the areas of consecutive addresses within the range of addresses Y(t+7) to Y(u+1) are set as the non-specific control stack area 104. The areas corresponding to each address Y(1) to Y(u+1) are storage areas consisting of 1 byte. The relationship between each area and address as described above is set both in terms of physical addresses in the primary RAM 74 and logical addresses on the memory map recognized by the primary MPU 72.

[0090] As described above, by separately setting the work area 103 for specific control and the work area 102 for non-specific control, different areas of the main RAM 74 are used when executing various calculations, etc., when the main MPU 72 executes specific control and when it executes non-specific control. This makes it less likely that information in the main RAM 74 required for executing one of the specific control and non-specific control will be erased. Incidentally, when writing information to each work area 102, 103 and reading information from each work area 102, 103, a load command is issued by the main MPU 72.

[0091] By separately defining the stack area 101 for specific control and the stack area 104 for non-specific control, different areas of the main RAM 74 are used to save information stored in the registers of the main MPU 72 and to store program return address information when the main MPU 72 executes specific control and non-specific control. This makes it less likely that information used in the other control will be erased when saving information stored in the registers of the main MPU 72 or storing program return address information while one of the specific control and non-specific control is being executed. Incidentally, the main MPU 72 issues a push command to write information to each stack area 101, 104, and a pop command to read information from each stack area 101, 104. Furthermore, when reading information from each stack area 101, 104, the write order to the stack area 101, 104 is such that the last information is read first.

[0092] Here, when the main MPU 72 executes processing corresponding to specific control, the main MPU 72 can write information to the work area 103 for specific control and the stack area 101 for specific control, and can read information from the work area 103 for specific control and the stack area 101 for specific control. On the other hand, when the main MPU 72 executes processing corresponding to specific control, the main MPU 72 can read information from the work area 102 for non-specific control and the stack area 104 for non-specific control, but cannot write information to the work area 102 for non-specific control and the stack area 104 for non-specific control. This makes it possible to prevent information used in processing corresponding to non-specific control from being accidentally erased when processing corresponding to specific control is being executed.

[0093] Furthermore, when the main MPU 72 executes processing corresponding to non-specific control, the main MPU 72 can write information to the work area 102 for non-specific control and the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and can read information from the work area 102 for non-specific control and the stack area 104 for non-specific control. On the other hand, when the main MPU 72 executes processing corresponding to non-specific control, the main MPU 72 can read information from the work area 103 for specific control and the stack area 101 for specific control, but cannot write information to the work area 103 for specific control and the stack area 101 for specific control. This makes it possible to prevent information used in processing corresponding to specific control from being accidentally erased when processing corresponding to non-specific control is being executed.

[0094] Note that backup power is supplied to the main RAM 74 even after the power supply to the slot machine 10 is cut off, and this backup power is supplied to all of the work area 103 for specific control, the stack area 101 for specific control, the work area 102 for non-specific control, and the stack area 104 for non-specific control. As a result, the information stored in the work area 103 for specific control, the stack area 101 for specific control, the work area 102 for non-specific control, and the stack area 104 for non-specific control is retained as long as backup power is being supplied, even after the power supply to the slot machine 10 is cut off.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 12, the stack area 101 for specific control in the main RAM 74 includes a leading area 108 that is excluded from the calculation range of the checksum calculated before power is shut off and after power is restored, and a first calculation target area 109 that is included in the calculation range of the checksum. As shown in FIG. 13, the leading area 108 is a storage area of ​​three consecutive bytes (first three bytes) from the leading address (Y(1)) in the stack area 101 for specific control. Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the work area 103 for specific control includes a second calculation target area 111 that is included in the calculation range of the checksum, and a second non-calculation target area 112 that is excluded from the calculation range of the checksum. The leading area 108, first calculation target area 109, second calculation target area 111, and second non-calculation target area 112 will be described in detail later.

[0096] Next, the processing executed by the main MPU 72 will be described. First, the main processing executed by the main MPU 72 when the supply of operating power to the main MPU 72 is started will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 14. In the main processing (Fig. 14), the processing other than the power recovery processing (step S103) is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control. In addition, in the power recovery processing (step S103), the processing other than the backup abnormality confirmation processing (Fig. 41) described later is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control, while the backup abnormality confirmation processing (Fig. 41) is executed using a program for non-specific control and data for non-specific control.

[0097] In the main processing, an initialization process is first executed (step S101). In the initialization process, various initial settings are made to the registers in the main MPU 72, the I / O devices, etc. Then, it is determined whether the power is turned on with the setting key inserted into the setting key insertion hole 57 and turned on (step S102). If the setting key has not been turned on (step S102: NO), a power recovery process is executed (step S103) that enables the processing state before the power outage to be restored. The power recovery process will be described in detail later.

[0098] If the power is turned on after the setting key is turned on during the main processing (step S102: YES), it is determined whether an error state flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 in the specific control work area 103 is set to "1" (step S104). The error state flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to determine the occurrence of one or more of the following error states: an error state in which a checksum calculated after power is turned on using a portion of the storage area in the main RAM 74 as the calculation target range does not match the checksum calculated and stored for the same calculation target range before power is turned off; an error state in which the setting value of the slot machine 10 is outside the normal setting value range ("Setting 1" to "Setting 6"); and an error state corresponding to the failure of the power failure process (FIG. 39) described below to be performed normally before power is turned off. As will be described in detail later, the error state flag is set to "1" when the occurrence of any of the above three error states is identified during the power recovery process (FIG. 40) in step S103.

[0099] If the error state flag in the second calculation target area 111 is not set to "1" (step S104: NO), it is determined whether the reset button 56 was pressed when the power was turned on (step S105). If a negative determination is made in step S105, a partial clear process (step S106) is executed to initialize some of the storage areas in the main RAM 74. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S104 or if a positive determination is made in step S105, a full clear process (step S107) is executed to initialize all of the storage areas in the main RAM 74. The partial clear process (step S106) and the full clear process (step S107) will be described in detail later.

[0100] If the partial clear process is executed in step S106, or if the full clear process is executed in step S107, an interrupt permission process is executed to permit an interrupt by the timer interrupt process (step S108). After that, a setting value update process is executed to update the setting value of the slot machine 10 (step S109). The setting value update process will be described in detail later. After that, the process proceeds to normal processing (step S110). The normal processing will be described in detail later.

[0101] Next, the timer interrupt processing executed by the main MPU 72 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 15. The timer interrupt processing is initiated, for example, every 1.49 milliseconds when interrupts by the timer interrupt processing are permitted. Of the various types of processing in the timer interrupt processing, processing other than the management processing (step S214) is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control. Furthermore, processing other than the management execution processing (Fig. 38) described below is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control, while the management execution processing (Fig. 38) is executed using a program for non-specific control and data for non-specific control.

[0102] In the timer interrupt processing, first, a register save processing is executed (step S201). In the register save processing, information of the various registers provided in the main MPU 72, except for the program counter, is saved to the second calculation target area 111 in the specific control work area 103 of the main RAM 74. The program counter is a register for storing address information of the main ROM 73 in which instructions to be executed by the main MPU 72 are stored. The program counter stores two bytes of address information. In the register save processing, information of the various general-purpose registers, auxiliary registers, and index registers provided in the main MPU 72 is saved to the second calculation target area 111. Details of the register save processing (step S201) will be described later.

[0103] Thereafter, it is determined whether the power outage flag is set to "1" (step S202). The power outage flag is set when a power outage signal from the power outage monitoring circuit of the power supply device 54 is input to the main-side MPU 72. If the power outage flag is set to "1" (step S202: YES), it is determined whether command transmission has ended (step S203). If command transmission has not ended (step S203: NO), the processing from step S205 onwards is executed to end command transmission. On the other hand, if command transmission has ended (step S203: YES), a power outage process described below is executed (step S204).

[0104] If it is determined in step S202 that the power outage flag is not set to "1," or if it is determined in step S203 that command transmission has not ended, various processes from step S205 onward are performed. In step S205, a watchdog timer clear process is performed to initialize the value of a watchdog timer that monitors for malfunctions. In step S206, an interrupt end declaration process is performed to enable the master MPU 72 itself to set the next timer interrupt. In step S207, a stepping motor control process is performed to drive the stepping motors provided on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R to spin the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Details of the stepping motor control process will be described later.

[0105] In step S208, a sensor monitoring process is performed to read the status of various sensors connected to the input ports and monitor whether the read results are normal. In step S209, a timer subtraction process is performed to subtract values ​​from each counter and timer. In step S210, a display control process is performed to control the display of the credit display unit 65 and the dual-purpose display unit 66. In step S211, a data output process is performed to output the count results of the number of medals bet and the number of medals paid out to the outside. The display control process (step S210) and the data output process (step S211) will be described in detail later. In step S212, a command output process is performed to send various commands to the production-side MPU 92. In step S213, a port output process is performed to output data corresponding to the I / O device from the input / output port. In step S214, a management process is performed to manage the game history and display details corresponding to the management results on the ratio display 85. The management process will be described in detail later.

[0106] In step S215, the values ​​of each register saved in the second calculation target area 111 of the specific control work area 103 in the previous step S201 are restored to the corresponding register in the main MPU 72. This restores all registers in the main MPU 72 to the state before the start of the current timer interrupt process (FIG. 15), allowing a return to normal processing, which will be described later. Details of the register restoration process (step S215) will be described later. Thereafter, in step S216, an interrupt permission process is performed to permit the next timer interrupt, and this series of timer interrupt processes is terminated.

[0107] Next, the normal processing executed by the main MPU 72 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 16. The normal processing is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0108] In the normal process, first, an interrupt permission process is performed to permit the next timer interrupt (step S301). After that, a start waiting process is performed (step S302), and a setting confirmation process is performed (step S303). Details of the start waiting process (step S302) and the setting confirmation process (step S303) will be described later.

[0109] Thereafter, it is determined whether the number of bets on gaming media has reached a specified number (specifically, "3") (step S304), and if the number of bets has not reached the specified number (step S304: NO), the process returns to the start waiting process (step S302). If the number of bets has reached the specified number (step S304: YES), it is determined whether the start lever 41 has been operated and a start command has been issued (step S305), and if the start command has not been issued (step S305: NO), the process returns to the start waiting process (step S302).

[0110] On the other hand, if a start command is issued (step S305: YES), the main line ML is enabled and then the acceptance prohibition process is executed (step S306). By executing the acceptance prohibition process, even if a medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot 45, the medal is discharged into the medal tray 59 without being detected by the inserted medal detection sensor 45a.

[0111] Thereafter, in step S307, a start setting process is executed to perform various settings when the game is started. As will be described in detail later, in the start setting process (step S307), the in-game flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control is set to "1". The in-game flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to know that a game is being executed. The in-game flag is cleared to "0" in step S313, which will be described later. The start setting process (step S307) will be described in detail later.

[0112] Then, in step S308, a lottery process for drawing a winning combination for the current game is executed. Then, in step S309, a reel control process for controlling the drive of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R in a manner corresponding to the result of the lottery process for the current winning combination is executed, and in step S310, a medium awarding process is executed. In the medium awarding process, if a small winning combination or a replay winning combination is achieved in the current game, a process corresponding to the achievement of the small winning combination or the replay winning combination is executed. Details of the lottery process for drawing a winning combination (step S308), the reel control process (step S309), and the medium awarding process (step S310) will be described later.

[0113] Then, a response process at the end of the game is executed to enable the setting of the game state and game zone corresponding to the result of the current game (step S311). Then, an external output setting process is executed (step S312). In the external output setting process, a process is executed to output a first state signal indicating that the game state is a bonus state, a second state signal indicating that the game zone is an advantageous zone, and a third state signal indicating that the game state is an ART state to the data counter DC, which is an external device. In addition, in the external output setting process, a process is executed to output information regarding the state of the slot machine 10 to the management computer of the gaming hall, which is an external device. The response process at the end of the game (step S311) and the external output setting process (step S312) will be described in detail later.

[0114] Then, the value of the game in progress flag in the second calculation target area 111 is cleared to "0" (step S313). This allows the main MPU 72 to know that the game has ended. Then, an acceptance permission process is executed (step S314). In the acceptance permission process, the number of stored virtual medals is determined based on the value of the credit counter provided in the second calculation target area 111, and it is determined whether the determined number of stored medals is the maximum number of stored medals (specifically, "50"). If the number of stored virtual medals is less than the maximum number of stored medals, the selector 52 is switched to a state where acceptance is permitted. The credit counter is a counter that allows the main MPU 72 to know the number of stored virtual medals. Numerical information of any one of "0" to "50" is set in the credit counter. When the selector 52 is switched to the acceptance permission state, medals inserted through the medal insertion slot 45 are detected by the inserted medal detection sensor 45a and then collected by the hopper device 53. In the acceptance permission process in step S314, if the number of stored virtual medals is the maximum number (specifically, "50"), it is determined whether a replay win has been achieved in the currently completed game by checking whether the replay occurrence flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1." If a replay win has not been achieved, the selector 52 is switched to the acceptance permission state. On the other hand, if the number of stored virtual medals is the maximum number and a replay win has been achieved in the currently completed game, the acceptance prohibition state is maintained. The replay occurrence flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to determine that a bet on gaming media should be automatically placed without reducing the number of gaming media owned by the player in the start waiting process (step S302) that is first performed after a replay win has been achieved. If a replay win has been achieved, the replay occurrence flag is set to "1" in the reel control process (step S309).

[0115] Next, the lottery process for the winning combination executed in step S308 of the normal process (Fig. 16) will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 17. The lottery process for the winning combination is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0116] In step S401, a random number used to determine whether a winning combination has been achieved is acquired. In this slot machine 10, when the start lever 41 is operated, the random number at that time is latched from the random number circuit 75 (FIG. 10) in the main MPU 72. The random number circuit 75 generates a random number between "0" and "65535." When the main MPU 72 confirms the operation of the start lever 41, it stores the value latched in the random number circuit 75 in the main RAM 74. This configuration makes it possible to quickly acquire a random number when the start lever 41 is operated, thereby avoiding problems such as synchronization. The random number circuit 75 is configured to latch the value of the free-running counter each time the start lever 41 is operated.

[0117] After obtaining the random number, a lottery table selection process is executed (step S402). In the lottery table selection process, a lottery table for determining whether a winning combination is successful is read from the main ROM 73. The slot machine 10 has six levels of winning probabilities, from "Setting 1" to "Setting 6," pre-set. By inserting a setting key into the setting key insertion hole 57, turning it ON, and performing a predetermined operation, the player can select which winning probability to use for the lottery process for the winning combination. "Setting n+1" offers a more advantageous winning probability to the player than "Setting n." Specifically, "Setting n+1" offers a higher winning probability for the combination that triggers a transition to the BB state than "Setting n." Furthermore, there are three types of lottery modes—normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode—that use different lottery tables in the main MPU 72 even when the setting value is the same. In addition to the state of each lottery mode, there are also an internal RT state and a bonus state (BB state and RB state) as game states. In the lottery table selection process in step S402, a lottery table corresponding to the combination of the current setting value, the current lottery mode, and the current game state is selected.

[0118] Taking "setting 3" as an example, we will explain the lottery tables corresponding to the normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode in the non-internal RT state and non-bonus state. First, we will explain the lottery table for normal mode selected in the normal mode. Figure 18 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the lottery table for normal mode. In the following explanation, the explanatory diagram of Figure 19 will be referred to as appropriate.

[0119] In the normal mode lottery table, as shown in Fig. 18, index values ​​IV are set, and each index value IV is associated with a winning combination and a point value PV is set. The point value PV determines the winning probability of the corresponding lottery combination in relation to the maximum value of the free run counter ("65535").

[0120] Specifically, the first bell winning data and the first supplementary winning data are set for the index value IV = 1. When a win occurs with the index value IV = 1, as shown in Fig. 19, if the first stop (the reel on which the stop command was first issued) is the left reel 32L, the first bell winning will definitely occur regardless of the types of the second and third stop targets, 32L, 32M, 32R, and the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, and otherwise the first supplementary winning will definitely occur.

[0121] In the slot machine 10, reel control is performed on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, allowing up to four symbols to slide after the stop buttons 42-44 are operated. In other words, reel control is performed on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, allowing the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R to stop within a specified time (190 milliseconds) after the stop buttons 42-44 are operated. This reel control makes it easier to achieve a winning combination corresponding to a winning symbol and prevents a winning combination corresponding to a non-winning symbol from being achieved. However, because the amount of rotation of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that can slide is limited as described above, if there are five or more symbols among the symbols that constitute a winning combination on one of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, depending on the timing of the operation of the corresponding stop button 42-44, the symbols may not stop on the main line ML (this phenomenon is also known as a "missed win"). The first to third supplementary wins, the first bell win, the second bell win and various replay wins are winning patterns that will not result in a miss if the reels 32L, 32M and 32R are stopped in the corresponding order, while the first watermelon win, the second watermelon win, the cherry win, the first BB win, the second BB win, the third BB win, the fourth BB win, the first RB win and the second RB win are winning patterns that may result in a miss depending on the timing of the stop operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44 relative to the rotation position of the reels 32L, 32M and 32R.

[0122] As shown in Fig. 18, the first bell winning data and the second supplementary winning data are set for the index value IV=2. When a win occurs with the index value IV=2, as shown in Fig. 19, if the first stop is the center reel 32M, the first bell winning is surely achieved regardless of the types of the second and third stop targets, 32L, 32M, 32R, and the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, and in other cases the second supplementary winning is surely achieved.

[0123] As shown in Fig. 18, the first bell winning data and the third supplementary winning data are set for the index value IV=3. When a win occurs with the index value IV=3, as shown in Fig. 19, if the first stop is the right reel 32R, the first bell winning is surely achieved regardless of the types of the second and third stop targets, 32L, 32M, 32R, and the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, and in other cases the third supplementary winning is surely achieved.

[0124] As shown in Fig. 18, only the first bell winning data is set for index value IV=4. When a win occurs with index value IV=4, the first bell winning is surely achieved regardless of the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R and the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, as shown in Fig. 19. When a win occurs with index value IV=16, the second bell winning data is surely set for index value IV=16, as shown in Fig. 18. When a win occurs with index value IV=16, the second bell winning is surely achieved regardless of the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R and the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, as shown in Fig. 19.

[0125] As shown in FIG. 18, only the first watermelon winning data is set for index value IV=5. If a win occurs with index value IV=5, the first watermelon winning can be achieved regardless of the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in FIG. 19. However, depending on the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, there is a possibility that the first watermelon winning will not be achieved. As shown in FIG. 18, only the second watermelon winning data is set for index value IV=17. If a win occurs with index value IV=17, the second watermelon winning can be achieved regardless of the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in FIG. 19. However, depending on the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, there is a possibility that the second watermelon winning will not be achieved.

[0126] As shown in Figure 18, only cherry winning data is set for index value IV=6. When a win occurs with index value IV=6, a cherry winning can be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in Figure 19. However, depending on the operation timing of the left stop button 42 relative to the rotation position of the left reel 32L, a cherry winning may not be achieved.

[0127] As shown in FIG. 18, only the third BB winning data is set for index value IV=7. When a win occurs with index value IV=7, the third BB winning can be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in FIG. 19. However, depending on the operation timing of the stop buttons 42 to 44, the third BB winning may not be achieved. Also, as shown in FIG. 18, only the fourth BB winning data is set for index value IV=8. When a win occurs with index value IV=8, the fourth BB winning may be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in FIG. 19. However, depending on the operation timing of the stop buttons 42 to 44, the fourth BB winning may not be achieved. Also, as shown in FIG. 18, only the first RB winning data is set for index value IV=9. When a win occurs with index value IV=9, the first RB win can be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in Figure 19. However, depending on the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, the first RB win may not be achieved.

[0128] As shown in FIG. 18, only the first BB winning data is set for index value IV=18. When a win occurs with index value IV=18, the first BB winning can be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in FIG. 19. However, depending on the operation timing of the stop buttons 42 to 44, the first BB winning may not be achieved. Also, as shown in FIG. 18, only the second BB winning data is set for index value IV=19. When a win occurs with index value IV=19, the second BB winning may be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in FIG. 19. However, depending on the operation timing of the stop buttons 42 to 44, the second BB winning may not be achieved. Also, as shown in FIG. 18, only the second RB winning data is set for index value IV=20. When a win occurs with index value IV=20, the second RB win can be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, as shown in Figure 19. However, depending on the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, the second RB win may not be achieved.

[0129] Here, winning data other than the bonus winning data including the first to fourth BB winning data and the first to second RB winning data is erased in the game in which a win occurs, regardless of whether a win is achieved or not, and is not carried over to games following the game in which a win occurs. In contrast, the bonus winning data is stored and held until a corresponding bonus win is achieved, even in games following the game in which a win occurs, except when the all-clear process (step S107 of the main process (FIG. 14)) is performed. In this case, in games in which the bonus winning data is carried over, the index values ​​IV corresponding to all the bonus winning data are excluded from the lottery. This makes it possible to prevent new bonus winning data from being stored even when bonus winning data is already stored and held, and to prevent multiple bonus winning data from being accumulated and stored.

[0130] As shown in Fig. 18, normal replay winning data and 1st RT replay winning data are set for index values ​​IV = 10 to 15. In this case, if a win occurs with index value IV = 10, as shown in Fig. 19, if the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop (the reel on which the second stop command was issued) is the center reel 32M, and the third stop (the reel on which the last stop command was issued) is the right reel 32R, the 1st RT replay winning is surely achieved regardless of the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay winning is surely achieved regardless of the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=11, and the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the center reel 32M, then the first RT replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=12, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, then the first RT replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=13, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, then the first RT replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=14, and the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the center reel 32M, then the first RT replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44.Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=15, if the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the middle reel 32M, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, the first RT replay win will be achieved regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in all other cases, a normal replay win will be achieved regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44.

[0131] When the normal mode lottery table of FIG. 18 is selected, the probability of winning when the index value IV=1, the probability of winning when the index value IV=2, and the probability of winning when the index value IV=3 are each approximately 1 / 6.6. The probability of winning when the index value IV=4 is approximately 1 / 13.1. The probability of winning when the index value IV=5 is approximately 1 / 164. The probability of winning when the index value IV=6 is approximately 1 / 423. The probability of winning when the index value IV=7 and the probability of winning when the index value IV=8 are each approximately 1 / 437. The probability of winning when the index value IV=9 is approximately 1 / 328. Furthermore, the probability of winning when the index value IV=10, the probability of winning when the index value IV=11, the probability of winning when the index value IV=12, the probability of winning when the index value IV=13, the probability of winning when the index value IV=14, and the probability of winning when the index value IV=15 are each approximately 1 / 41. Furthermore, the probability of winning when the index value IV=16 is approximately 1 / 16.4. Furthermore, the probability of winning when the index value IV=17 is approximately 1 / 146. Furthermore, the probability of winning when the index value IV=18 and the probability of winning when the index value IV=19 are each approximately 1 / 437. Furthermore, the probability of winning when the index value IV=20 is approximately 1 / 328.

[0132] Here, as already explained, in the lottery table for the normal mode, in addition to the normal replay winning data, first RT replay winning data is set as winning data for index values ​​IV = 10 to 15. The probability of winning any of these index values ​​IV = 10 to 15 is approximately 1 / 41. When a win occurs with any of the index values ​​IV = 10 to 15, if the stop order of the first, second, and third stops of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R corresponds to the winning combination, a first RT replay win is achieved, and the lottery mode shifts from the normal mode to the first RT mode. When the lottery mode shifts to the first RT mode, the lottery table referred to in the lottery process for the winning combination (FIG. 17) becomes the lottery table for the first RT mode.

[0133] Next, the lottery table for the first RT mode that is selected when the first RT mode is in "setting 3" will be described. Figures 20 and 21 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the lottery table for the first RT mode.

[0134] In the lottery table for the first RT mode, as shown in Fig. 20, the winning data set for each of the index values ​​IV = 1 to 9 and the winning probabilities of each index value IV are the same as those in the lottery table for the normal mode (Fig. 18). Also, the winning data set for each of the index values ​​IV = 22 to 26 in the lottery table for the first RT mode and the winning probabilities of each index value IV are the same as those for the index values ​​IV = 16 to 20 in the lottery table for the normal mode.

[0135] In this case, the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 22 to 23 are set to roles that allow the award of gaming media, and the winning data and winning probabilities set for each of the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 22 to 23 are the same as those for the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 16 to 17 in the lottery table for normal mode, so the types of roles that allow the award of gaming media and the winning probabilities of those roles are mutually identical in both normal mode and first RT mode.

[0136] In addition, the index values ​​IV=7-9, 24-26 in the lottery table for the first RT mode are set with bonus winning data in the same way as the index values ​​IV=7-9, 18-20 in the lottery table for the normal mode, and the winning probability is the same as that of the lottery table for the normal mode. In other words, the probability of winning each bonus role is the same in the normal mode and the first RT mode.

[0137] The winning combination data set for index value IV = 10 to 21 is different from that in the normal mode. In detail, in the lottery table for the first RT mode, as shown in Fig. 20, second RT replay winning data is set as winning data for index value IV = 10 to 15 in addition to normal replay winning data. The probability of winning any of these index values ​​IV = 10 to 15 is approximately 1 / 6.8.

[0138] 21, if a win occurs with index value IV=10, and the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the center reel 32M, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, the second RT replay prize is surely won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay prize is surely won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Also, if a win occurs with index value IV=11, and the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the center reel 32M, the second RT replay prize is surely won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay prize is surely won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=12, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, then the 2nd RT Replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal Replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=13, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, then the 2nd RT Replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal Replay win is surely achieved regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=14, if the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the center reel 32M, the second RT replay win will be sure to be achieved regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay win will be sure to be achieved regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44.Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=15, if the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the middle reel 32M, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, the second RT replay win will be sure to be achieved regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in all other cases, the normal replay win will be sure to be achieved regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44.

[0139] In the first RT mode, if a win occurs with index value IV = 10 to 15 and the first, second and third stops of reels 32L, 32M and 32R are in the order of stops corresponding to the winning combination, a second RT replay win is established and the lottery mode shifts from the first RT mode to the second RT mode. When the mode shifts to the second RT mode, the lottery table referred to in the lottery process for the combination (Fig. 17) becomes the lottery table for the second RT mode.

[0140] In the lottery table for the first RT mode, as shown in Fig. 20, in addition to the normal replay winning data, the first fall replay winning data is set as the winning data for the index value IV = 16 to 21. The probability of winning any of these index values ​​IV = 16 to 21 is approximately 1 / 10.9.

[0141] 21, if the winning combination is index value IV=16 in the lottery table for the first RT mode, when the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the center reel 32M, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, the normal replay prize will be won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases the first fall replay prize will be won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Also, if the winning combination is index value IV=17, when the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the center reel 32M, the normal replay prize will be won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in all other cases the first fall replay prize will be won regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=18, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, a normal replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in any other cases, a first fall replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=19, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, a normal replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in any other cases, a first fall replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=20, if the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the middle reel 32M, a normal replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in any other cases, a first fall replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44.Also, if a win occurs with index value IV=21, and the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the center reel 32M, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, a normal replay win will occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42-44, and in all other cases, a first fall replay win will occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42-44. If a first fall replay win is achieved, the lottery mode will transition to normal mode. When transitioning to normal mode, the lottery table referenced in the role lottery process (Figure 17) will be the normal mode lottery table.

[0142] In the lottery table for the first RT mode, combinations that enable the establishment of a replay win are set for index values ​​IV = 10 to 21. The winning probabilities of these combinations are set to the probabilities already explained, so the winning probability of combinations that enable the establishment of a replay win in the first RT mode (hereinafter also referred to as the replay probability) is approximately 1 / 4.2. In contrast, the replay probability in normal mode is approximately 1 / 6.8. In other words, the first RT mode is a lottery mode with a higher replay probability than normal mode.

[0143] Next, the lottery table for the second RT mode that is selected when the "setting 3" is the second RT mode will be described. Figures 22 and 23 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the lottery table for the second RT mode.

[0144] In the lottery table for the second RT mode, as shown in Fig. 22, the winning data set for each of the index values ​​IV = 1 to 9 and the winning probabilities of each index value IV are the same as those in the lottery table for the normal mode (Fig. 18) and the lottery table for the first RT mode (Fig. 20). Also, the winning data set for each of the index values ​​IV = 17 to 21 in the lottery table for the second RT mode and the winning probabilities of each index value IV are the same as those for the index values ​​IV = 16 to 20 in the lottery table for the normal mode and the index values ​​IV = 22 to 26 in the lottery table for the second RT mode.

[0145] In this case, the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 17 to 18 are set to roles that allow the award of game media, and the winning data and winning probabilities set for each of the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 17 to 18 are the same as those for the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 16 to 17 in the lottery table for the normal mode, and are also the same as those for the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 22 to 23 in the lottery table for the first RT mode.As a result, the types of roles that allow the award of game media and the winning probabilities of those roles are the same in each of the normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode.

[0146] In addition, the index values ​​IV=7-9, 19-21 in the lottery table for the second RT mode are set with bonus winning data in the same way as the index values ​​IV=7-9, 18-20 in the lottery table for the normal mode and the index values ​​IV=7-9, 24-26 in the lottery table for the first RT mode, and the winning probability is the same as in the lottery table for the normal mode and the lottery table for the first RT mode. In other words, the probability of winning each bonus role is the same in the normal mode, the first RT mode and the second RT mode.

[0147] The winning combination data set for index value IV=10 to 15 is different from that in the normal mode and the first RT mode. In detail, in the lottery table for the second RT mode, as shown in Fig. 22, second fall replay winning data is set as winning data for index value IV=10 to 15 in addition to normal replay winning data. The probability of winning any of these index values ​​IV=10 to 15 is approximately 1 / 6.8.

[0148] 23, if the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the center reel 32M, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, the normal replay prize will be sure to occur regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in any other cases the second fall replay prize will be sure to occur regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Also, if the first stop is the left reel 32L, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the center reel 32M, the normal replay prize will be sure to occur regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44, and in any other cases the second fall replay prize will be sure to occur regardless of the timing of operation of the stop buttons 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=12, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the right reel 32R, a normal replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in any other cases, a second fall replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=13, and the first stop is the center reel 32M, the second stop is the right reel 32R, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, a normal replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in any other cases, a second fall replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44. Furthermore, if a win occurs with index value IV=14, if the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the left reel 32L, and the third stop is the middle reel 32M, a normal replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44, and in any other cases, a second fall replay win will definitely occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42 to 44.Also, if a win occurs with index value IV=15, and the first stop is the right reel 32R, the second stop is the center reel 32M, and the third stop is the left reel 32L, a normal replay win will occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42-44, and in all other cases, a second fall replay win will occur regardless of the timing of operation of each stop button 42-44. If a second fall replay win is achieved, the lottery mode will shift to the first RT mode. When the lottery mode is shifted to the first RT mode, the lottery table referenced in the winning combination lottery process (FIG. 17) will be the lottery table for the first RT mode.

[0149] In the lottery table for the second RT mode, only normal replay winning data is set for index value IV=16. The probability of winning at index value IV=16 is set higher than the probability of winning other roles, specifically, the winning rate is approximately 1 in 5.5. If a win occurs at index value IV=16, a normal replay win will be achieved regardless of the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R and the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44.

[0150] In the lottery table for the second RT mode, combinations that enable the realization of a replay win are set for index values ​​IV = 10 to 16. Since the winning probabilities of these combinations are set as already described, the winning probability of combinations that enable the realization of a replay win in the second RT mode (hereinafter also referred to as the replay probability) is approximately 1 / 3.0. In contrast, the replay probability in the normal mode is approximately 1 / 6.8, and the replay probability in the first RT mode is approximately 1 / 4.2. Therefore, the second RT mode is a lottery mode with a higher replay probability than the normal mode and the first RT mode. However, this is not limited to this, and the replay probability may be the same in the first RT mode and the second RT mode, or may be approximately the same but slightly different in the first RT mode and the second RT mode.

[0151] In addition to the lottery table for the normal mode (Figure 18), the lottery table for the first RT mode (Figure 20), and the lottery table for the second RT mode (Figure 22), the main ROM 73 also stores a lottery table for bonuses that is referenced in the lottery process for winning combinations (Figure 17) when in the BB state or the RB state, and also stores a lottery table for internal RT states that is referenced in the lottery process for winning combinations (Figure 17) when a bonus combination is won but the corresponding bonus win is not achieved.

[0152] On the bonus lottery table, the odds of winning a combination that allows the first bell win are approximately 1 / 1.5, and if such a combination is won, the first bell win will be achieved regardless of the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R and the timing of stopping the stop buttons 42-44 relative to the spinning positions of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Also, on the bonus lottery table, the odds of winning a combination that allows the first watermelon win are approximately 1 / 6.6, and the odds of winning a combination that allows the cherry win are approximately 1 / 7.8. The first watermelon win and cherry win will not be achieved depending on the timing of stopping the stop buttons 42-44 relative to the spinning positions of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. With the bonus lottery table set as described above, in each game in the BB or RB state, the first bell win generally results in the award of "11" game media. However, the first watermelon or cherry win may also occur. When the first watermelon win is achieved, "5" game media is awarded, and when the cherry win is achieved, "2" game media is awarded. The BB state ends when the total number of game media awarded since the start of the BB state reaches or exceeds the BB termination reference number (e.g., "350"), and the RB state ends when the total number of game media awarded since the start of the RB state reaches or exceeds the RB termination reference number (e.g., "150"). Therefore, the number of games required to end the BB or RB state varies depending on the results of the lottery process (FIG. 17) and whether or not a miss occurs. The bonus lottery table is common to the setting values ​​"1" to "6" that change the advantage of the slot machine 10.

[0153] Next, we will explain the lottery table for the internal RT state that is selected when the gaming state is the internal RT state. Figures 24 and 25 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the lottery table for the internal RT state. Note that, although details will be described later, in the internal RT state, the lottery table for the internal RT state is selected regardless of whether the lottery mode is the normal mode, the first RT mode, or the second RT mode.

[0154] In the lottery table for the internal RT state, as shown in Figure 24, the winning data set for each of the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 8 to 9 and the winning probability for each index value IV are the same as those for the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 16 to 17 in the lottery table for the normal mode (Figure 18), the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 22 to 23 in the lottery table for the first RT mode (Figure 20), and the index values ​​IV = 1 to 6, 17 to 18 in the lottery table for the second RT mode (Figure 22).

[0155] In the internal RT state lottery table, only normal replay winning data is set for index value IV=7. The winning probability for index value IV=7 is set to be the sum of the winning probability for index values ​​IV=10 to 16 in the second RT mode lottery table, specifically, approximately 1 / 3.0. If a win occurs with index value IV=7, a normal replay win is achieved regardless of the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R and the operation timing of each stop button 42 to 44. Therefore, in the internal RT state, the winning combinations that can award game media and the winning probability of such combinations are the same as in the normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode, and the replay probability is higher than in the normal mode and first RT mode but is the same as in the second RT mode. In addition, in the internal RT state, bonus combinations are not won, and combinations that trigger transitions to the normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode are not won. Details of the lottery table selection process (step S402) will be described later.

[0156] Returning to the explanation of the lottery process for winning combinations (FIG. 17), after executing the lottery table selection process in step S402, the index value IV is set to "1" (step S403), and a judgment value DV used when determining whether the combination is a winning combination is set (step S404). In this judgment value setting process, the point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV is added to the current judgment value DV to set a new judgment value DV. Note that in the first judgment value setting process, the value of the random number acquired in step S401 is set as the current judgment value DV, and the point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV (index value IV=1) is added to this random number value to set a new judgment value DV.

[0157] Then, a win / loss determination is made for the combination corresponding to the index value IV (step S405). In the win / loss determination, it is determined whether the determination value DV exceeds "65535." If it exceeds "65535" (step S405: YES), a winning data acquisition process is executed to set the winning data corresponding to the index value IV at that time in the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control (step S406). If any bonus win occurs, the bonus winning data is set in the second calculation target area 111 in the winning data acquisition process (step S406). The bonus winning data set in the second calculation target area 111 is stored and held until the corresponding bonus win is achieved, even in games following the game in which the bonus win occurred, except when the all-clear process (step S107 of the main process (FIG. 14)) is performed. On the other hand, winning data other than the bonus winning data set in the second calculation target area 111 is cleared in the corresponding process (FIG. 28) at the end of the game in step S311 of the normal process (FIG. 16).

[0158] If the judgment value DV does not exceed "65535" (step S405: NO), it means that the hand corresponding to the index value IV has not been obtained. In such a case, after incrementing the index value IV by 1 (step S407), it is determined whether or not there is a hand corresponding to the index value IV, i.e., whether or not there is a target for judgment of whether or not there is a winning combination (step S408). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the index value IV incremented by 1 exceeds the maximum value of the index value IV set in the lottery table. If there is a target for judgment of whether or not there is a winning combination, the process returns to step S404, and the judgment of whether or not the hand is a winning combination continues. At this time, in step S404, the point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV is added to the judgment value DV used for judgment of whether or not the previous hand is a winning combination (i.e., the current judgment value DV) to obtain a new judgment value DV, and in step S405, the winning combination is judged based on the judgment value DV.

[0159] When the process of step S406 is executed, or when a negative determination is made in step S408, it means that the determination of whether the winning combination has been achieved has been completed. In this case, in step S409, a first stop information setting process is executed to set stop information for reel stop control in the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control. Thereafter, in step S410, a performance content determination process is executed. In the performance content determination process, a process is executed to determine the outline of the content of the performance to be executed in the upper lamp 61, speaker 62, and image display device 63 in the current game.

[0160] Thereafter, in step S411, a first control process for the gaming section, which will be described later, is executed, in step S412 an additional process is executed, and in step S413 an announcement control process is executed. In the announcement control process, when announcing the stop order of reels 32L, 32M, 32R, a process is executed so that the announcement of the stop order to be announced is executed on image display device 63, and a process is executed to set information that enables stop order corresponding display to be executed on dual-purpose display unit 66.

[0161] Thereafter, a process for transmitting a game start command is executed (step S414), and the lottery process for the main role is terminated. In the process for transmitting the game start command, information corresponding to the current game state and information corresponding to the processing results of steps S410 to S412 are set in the game start command, and the game start command is transmitted to the production-side MPU 92. If any role is won in the lottery process for the current role (FIG. 17), in addition to this information, information corresponding to the winning role is also set in the game start command. The game start command is a command for making the production-side MPU 92 recognize that a new game has started, and is a command for making the production-side MPU 92 recognize various information determined by the main-side MPU 72.

[0162] When the production-side MPU 92 receives a game start command, it ascertains various information about the current game from the game start command.The production-side MPU 92 then determines the content of the presentation in accordance with the various information it has ascertained.The production-side MPU 92 then controls the illumination of the upper lamp 61, the sound output of the speaker 62, and the display of the image display device 63 based on the determined content of the presentation.

[0163] <About game status and game area> Next, the gaming states and gaming intervals will be explained. Figure 26 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the gaming states and gaming intervals that exist in the slot machine 10.

[0164] In the slot machine 10, there are a normal gaming state ST1, an internal RT state ST2, a BB state ST3, an RB state ST4, a preparation state ST5, and an ART state ST6 as gaming states. These gaming states ST1 to ST6 do not occur overlapping with each other.

[0165] The normal gaming state ST1 is a gaming state that is entered by executing the all-clear process in step S107 of the main processing (FIG. 14). Furthermore, if the BB state ST3 ends without transitioning to the ready state ST5, if the RB state ST4 ends without transitioning to the ready state ST5, or if the ART state ST6 ends without being triggered by a transition to the BB state ST3 or RB state ST4, the gaming state becomes the normal gaming state ST1. The normal gaming state ST1 is a gaming state with a lower advantage in terms of the expected value of game media awarded in one game than the internal RT state ST2, BB state ST3, RB state ST4, ready state ST5, and ART state ST6. As already explained, there are three lottery modes: normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode. In the normal gaming state ST1, any of these lottery modes can be entered. Note that if the all-clear process (step S107) is executed, the normal gaming state ST1 is entered as the normal mode.

[0166] The internal RT state ST2 is a game state in which a game in which any bonus winning data is set in the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control remains if a bonus win corresponding to that bonus winning data is not achieved, and is a game state that ends if a bonus win corresponding to that bonus winning data is achieved. In the internal RT state ST2, as already explained, the internal RT state lottery table is referenced in the winning combination lottery process (FIG. 17). In this case, since the winning combination (i.e., index value IV) that transitions the lottery mode is not set in the internal RT state lottery table, a transition to the lottery mode does not occur in the internal RT state ST2. The replay probability in the internal RT state ST2 is the same as when the second RT mode lottery table (FIG. 22) is referenced. However, without being limited thereto, the replay probability in the internal RT state ST2 may be configured to be lower than that in the second RT mode, for example, may be configured to be the same as the replay probability in the first RT mode, or may be configured to be a replay probability between the normal mode and the first RT mode. Also, the replay probability in the internal RT state ST2 may be higher than in the second RT mode.

[0167] The contents of the BB state ST3 and the RB state ST4 are as already explained. In the BB state ST3 and the RB state ST4, a transition to the lottery mode does not occur.

[0168] The preparation state ST5 is a gaming state that is entered before transitioning to the ART state ST6, and can be entered from the normal gaming state ST1, the BB state ST3, and the RB state ST4. As explained above, there are three lottery modes: normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode. In the preparation state ST5, any of these lottery modes can be entered. In the preparation state ST5, if winning data for index values ​​IV = 1 to 3 is set in the normal mode lottery table (FIG. 18), the first RT mode lottery table (FIG. 20), and the second RT mode lottery table (FIG. 22), the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that allows the first bell win is announced. Then, if the first bell win is achieved, "11" gaming media are awarded. This increases the expected number of gaming media awarded in one game in the preparation state ST5. Furthermore, in the preparation state ST5, if winning data of index value IV = 10 to 15 in the lottery table for the normal mode (Fig. 18) is set, the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R that will allow the first RT replay win is announced, if winning data of index value IV = 10 to 15 in the lottery table for the first RT mode (Fig. 20) is set, the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R that will allow the second RT replay win is announced, and if winning data of index value IV = 16 to 21 in the lottery table for the first RT mode (Fig. 20) is set, the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, 32R that will prevent the first fall replay win is announced. When the second RT replay win is achieved in the preparation state ST5, the lottery mode transitions to the second RT mode, and the gaming state transitions to the ART state ST6. In addition, a transition to the preparation state ST5 may occur when the lottery mode is the second RT mode, in which case the lottery mode will transition to the first RT mode, and if a transition to the second RT mode occurs afterwards, the game will transition to the ART state ST6.

[0169] As mentioned above, the ART state ST6 is a game state that is entered when a second RT replay win is achieved in the preparation state ST5. The ART state ST6 ends when the number of remaining games to be played in the ART state ST6 becomes "0." In this case, the game state becomes the normal game state ST1. Also, if a bonus is won during the ART state ST6, the game state will transition to the internal RT state ST2, BB state ST3, or RB state ST4. In this case, after the BB state ST3 or RB state ST4 ends, the game state will transition to the preparation state ST5, and finally return to the ART state ST6.

[0170] As explained above, there are three lottery modes: normal mode, first RT mode, and second RT mode. In the ART state ST6, any of these lottery modes can be selected. In the ART state ST6, if winning data for index values ​​IV = 1 to 3 is set in the normal mode lottery table (FIG. 18), the first RT mode lottery table (FIG. 20), and the second RT mode lottery table (FIG. 22), the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are notified in a stopping order that allows the first bell to be won. Then, when the first bell is won, 11 game media are awarded. This increases the expected number of game media awarded in one game in the ART state ST6. In addition, in the ART state ST6, if winning data of index value IV = 10 to 15 in the lottery table for the normal mode (Fig. 18) is set, the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that allows the first RT replay winning to be achieved is announced, and if winning data of index value IV = 10 to 15 in the lottery table for the first RT mode (Fig. 20) is set, the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that allows the second RT replay winning to be achieved is announced. When the winning data for the index value IV = 16 to 21 in the lottery table for the first RT mode (FIG. 20) is set, the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that prevents the first drop replay win is announced. When the winning data for the index value IV = 10 to 15 in the lottery table for the second RT mode (FIG. 22) is set, the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that prevents the second drop replay win is announced. As a result, in the ART state ST6, the lottery mode is basically maintained in the second RT mode. The second RT mode has a higher replay probability than the normal mode and the first RT mode. In other words, the ART state ST6 is a gaming state in which the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that allows the first bell win is announced, and the replay probability is basically maintained high. Therefore, it is possible to increase the expected net increase in the number of gaming media in the ART state ST6.In addition, even if the lottery mode changes from the second RT mode to the first RT mode or from the first RT mode to the normal mode in the ART state ST6, the remaining number of continuing games in the ART state ST6 will be subtracted even if the ART state ST6 is maintained and the game is not in the second RT mode.

[0171] In the configuration in which various game states ST1 to ST6 exist as described above, a game zone is set in addition to these game states ST1 to ST6. A normal zone SC1 and an advantageous zone SC2 are set as game zones. In other words, in this slot machine 10, the factors that determine the game situation are the setting values ​​"1" to "6", the lottery modes of the normal mode, the first RT mode, and the second RT mode, the various game states ST1 to ST6, and the game zones of the normal zone SC1 and the advantageous zone SC2.

[0172] The normal section SC1 is a section in which the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is not announced, allowing for advantageous winnings for the player when different winning combinations are achieved depending on the stopping order of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. This section is also in which the probability of achieving the transition conditions to the ART state ST6, which is a gaming state advantageous to the player, is lower than that of the advantageous section SC2. More specifically, the transition conditions to the ART state ST6 are not achieved in the normal section SC1. When the all-clear process (step S107) is executed in the main process (FIG. 14), the normal gaming state ST1 and normal mode are reached, resulting in the normal section SC1. The normal section SC1 also occurs when the initialization process for the advantageous section SC2 is executed in the advantageous section SC2. The normal section SC1 ends when a transition trigger to the advantageous section SC2 occurs, and the player transitions to the advantageous section SC2.

[0173] The advantageous section SC2 is a section that corresponds to at least one of the following: a section in which the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is announced, which allows the player to win a prize that is advantageous to the player if the winning combination that is the target of the prize varies depending on the stopping order of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R; and a section in which the probability of transitioning to ART state ST6, which is a game state that is advantageous to the player, is higher than that of normal section SC1.

[0174] The advantageous section SC2 can end when the ART state ST6 ends and the game transitions to the normal gaming state ST1. When the advantageous section SC2 ends, the game transitions to the normal section SC1. The ending conditions for the advantageous section SC2 are set as follows: the total number of games played reaches the upper limit (specifically, 1,500 games) as the advantageous section SC2 continues without transitioning to the normal section SC1; or the limited total net increase in the number of game media reaches the upper limit (specifically, 2,400) as the advantageous section SC2 continues without transitioning to the normal section SC1. The limited total net increase in the number of gaming media is the increase in the specified difference from the specified reference value, where the specified difference is the minimum value of the specified difference, calculated by subtracting the total number of gaming media consumed to play games while the advantageous zone SC2 is continuing (0 when no gaming media is being played) from the total number of gaming media awarded through games played while the advantageous zone SC2 is continuing (0 when no gaming media is being awarded).

[0175] In other words, if the advantageous section SC2 continues and the limited total net increase in gaming media since the start of the advantageous section SC2 reaches the upper limit, the advantageous section SC2 ends and transitions to the normal section SC1. Also, if the advantageous section SC2 continues and the number of games played since the start of the advantageous section SC2 reaches the upper limit, the advantageous section SC2 ends and transitions to the normal section SC1. If either of these ending conditions is met, even if the game is in the middle of the preparation state ST5 or the ART state ST6, the preparation state ST5 or the ART state ST6 ends in the game where the ending condition was met, and the advantageous section SC2 ends, transitioning to the normal section SC1 and the normal game state ST1. This makes it possible to prevent the advantageous section SC2 from continuing excessively.

[0176] As shown in Figure 26, the normal game state ST1, internal RT state ST2, BB state ST3 and RB state ST4 can be stayed in either the normal section SC1 or the advantageous section SC2. On the other hand, the preparation state ST5 and ART state ST6 are not stayed in the normal section SC1, but only in the advantageous section SC2.

[0177] Next, a specific processing configuration that enables the setting of the game states ST1 to ST6 and game sections SC1 and SC2 as described above will be described. Figure 27 is a flowchart showing the first control processing of the game section executed by the main MPU 72. The first control processing of the game section is executed in step S411 in the lottery processing of the winning combination (Figure 17). The processing of this step S411 is executed after the winning / losing combination has been determined at the start of the game. The first control processing of the game section is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0178] In the first control process of the game section, first, it is determined whether the current game state is the internal RT state ST2, the bonus state (BB state ST3, RB state ST4), the preparation state ST5 or the ART state ST6 (step S501). If the negative determination is made in step S501, the process from step S502 onwards is executed.

[0179] In step S502, it is determined whether or not the advantageous zone flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 of the work area 103 for specific control is set to "1." The advantageous zone flag is a flag for the main MPU 72 to identify whether or not the gaming zone is the advantageous zone SC2, and when the advantageous zone flag is set to "1," it is the advantageous zone SC2, and when the value of the advantageous zone flag is "0," it is the normal zone SC1.

[0180] If the gaming zone is the normal zone SC1 (step S502: NO), it is determined whether or not winning data that is the target of the advantageous transition lottery has been set in the lottery process for the current role (Fig. 17) (step S503). In step S503, a positive determination is made when winning data of any of the index values ​​IV=4 to 6 in the lottery table for the normal mode (Fig. 18), the lottery table for the first RT mode (Fig. 20), or the lottery table for the second RT mode (Fig. 22) is set in the second calculation target area 111. If a positive determination is made in step S503, an advantageous transition lottery process is executed to determine whether or not a transition to the advantageous zone SC2 will occur (step S504).

[0181] In the advantageous transition lottery process (step S504), first, the advantageous transition table corresponding to the winning data set in the lottery process for the current winning combination (FIG. 17) is read from the main ROM 73. In this case, the advantageous transition table is set so that winning data with a lower winning probability has a higher probability of winning a transition to the advantageous zone SC2. Incidentally, the advantageous transition table is common regardless of the set values ​​"1" to "6." This fact that the table is common regardless of the set value applies to all lottery processes other than the lottery process for the winning combination (FIG. 17). After that, the numerical information of the random number counter, which is periodically updated in the second calculation target area 111, is read, and the read numerical information is compared with the read advantageous transition table. This determines whether or not a transition to the advantageous zone SC2 has been won.

[0182] If the transfer to the advantageous zone SC2 is successful (step S505: YES), the advantageous transfer winning flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 (Fig. 12) is set to "1" (step S506), and the first control process for this game zone is terminated. The advantageous transfer winning flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to grasp that the transfer to the advantageous zone SC2 has been successful in the advantageous transfer lottery process (step S504). By setting the advantageous transfer winning flag to "1", a process for transferring the game zone to the advantageous zone SC2 is executed in the second control process for the game zone (Fig. 29) described later.

[0183] If a positive judgment is made in step S502, it is determined whether or not winning data that is the subject of the ART transition lottery is set in the lottery processing for this role (Fig. 17) (step S507). In step S507, a positive judgment is made when winning data of any of the index values ​​IV = 4 to 6 in the lottery table for normal mode (Fig. 18), the lottery table for first RT mode (Fig. 20) or the lottery table for second RT mode (Fig. 22) is set in the second calculation target area 111. If a positive judgment is made in step S507, an ART transition lottery processing is executed to determine whether or not a transition to the ART state ST6 occurs (step S508).

[0184] In the ART transition lottery process (step S508), first, the ART transition table corresponding to the winning data set in the current role lottery process (Fig. 17) is read from the main ROM 73. In this case, the advantageous transition table is set so that winning data with a lower winning probability has a higher probability of winning the transition to ART state ST6. In addition, the ART transition table is common regardless of the set value of "1" to "6". After that, the numerical information of the random number counter, which is periodically updated in the second calculation target area 111, is read, and the read numerical information is compared with the read ART transition table. This determines whether or not the transition to ART state ST6 has been won.

[0185] If the transition to the ART state ST6 is successful (step S509: YES), the ART win flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 (Fig. 12) is set to "1" (step S510), and the first control process of this game section is terminated. The ART win flag is a flag for the main MPU 72 to identify that it is necessary to transition to the ready state ST5. By setting the ART win flag to "1", the process of transitioning the game state to the ready state ST5 is executed in the normal process (step S605 in the corresponding process at the end of the game (Fig. 28)) described later.

[0186] Next, the response process at the end of a game, which is executed by the main MPU 72, will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 28. The response process at the end of a game is executed in step S311 of the normal process (Fig. 16). This process of step S311 is executed after the reel control process (step S309), and therefore is executed after all rotations of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R in one game have stopped. The response process at the end of a game is executed using a program and data for specific control.

[0187] In the response process at the end of a game, first, a bonus process is executed to control the transition and progress of the BB state ST3 or the RB state ST4 (step S601). The bonus process will be described in detail later. Then, on the condition that the state is not the internal RT state ST2, the BB state ST3, or the RB state ST4 (step S602: NO), a lottery mode control process is executed (step S603). In the lottery mode control process, a process to transition to the lottery mode is executed when any RT replay win or any fall replay win is established. Also, in a game in which bonus winning data is set in the second calculation target area 111 of the work area 103 for specific control, a process to transition the game state to the internal RT state ST2 is executed when a bonus winning corresponding to the bonus winning data is not established. The lottery mode control process will be described in detail later.

[0188] Then, jump to the process corresponding to the current gaming state (step S604). In step S604, if the gaming state is the normal gaming state ST1, execute the normal processing (step S605). In the normal processing (step S605), if the number of games continuously played in the normal gaming state ST1 in the advantageous zone SC2 reaches the normal gaming upper limit game number (specifically, "1000"), or if a transition to the ART state ST6 is won in the ART transition lottery processing (step S508 of the first control processing of the gaming zone (FIG. 27)), execute the processing to transition to the ready state ST5 as a preliminary step to transition to the ART state ST6. In step S604, if the gaming state is the ready state ST5, execute the ready state processing (step S606), and if the gaming state is the ART state ST6, execute the ART state processing (step S607). Details of the normal processing (step S605), the ready state processing (step S606), and the ART state processing (step S607) will be described later.

[0189] If a positive determination is made in step S602, or if any of the processes in steps S605 to S607 is executed, the second control process for the gaming area is executed (step S608). In addition, the second control process for the gaming area is also executed (step S608) after executing the process of step S1210 of the bonus state process (FIG. 34) described later. In the second control process for the gaming area, a process for transitioning the gaming area is executed. Thereafter, a winning data clearing process is executed (step S609), and the corresponding process at the end of this game is terminated. In the winning data clearing process (step S609), the winning data other than the bonus winning data among the winning data set in the second calculation target area 111 is cleared.

[0190] 29 is a flowchart showing the second control process for the gaming area. As described above, the response process at the end of a game is executed after all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped spinning in one game. Therefore, the second control process for the gaming area is also executed after all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped spinning in one game. The second control process for the gaming area is executed using a specific control program and specific control data.

[0191] In the second control process of the gaming zone, if the advantageous transition winning flag of the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control is set to "1" (step S701: YES), the advantageous zone flag of the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1", and the advantageous continuation counter and the total winning number counter provided in the second calculation target area 111 are each cleared to "0" (step S702). By setting the advantageous zone flag to "1", the gaming zone transitions to the advantageous zone SC2. In this way, if a transition to the advantageous zone SC2 is won in the advantageous transition lottery process, the gaming zone transitions to the advantageous zone SC2 at the end of the game in which the transition winning occurred.

[0192] The advantageous continuation counter is a counter for specifying the number of games played from the start of the advantageous section SC2 when the advantageous section SC2 continues without an intervening normal section SC1 in the main MPU 72. When the value of the advantageous continuation counter in the advantageous section SC2 reaches a value corresponding to the upper limit number of games (specifically, 1500 games), the advantageous section SC2 ends with the game that has been reached, even if it is in the middle of the preparation state ST5 or the ART state ST6, and the state transitions to the normal section SC1 and the normal gaming state ST1.

[0193] The total acquisition counter is a counter for specifying the limited total net increase in game media from the start of the advantageous zone SC2 when the advantageous zone SC2 continues without an intervening normal zone SC1 in the main MPU 72. As already explained, the limited total net increase in game media is the increase in the predetermined difference from the predetermined reference value, where the minimum value of the predetermined difference is the predetermined reference value, and the difference is calculated by subtracting the total number of game media consumed to play games when the advantageous zone SC2 continues (0 when no games are being played) from the total number of game media awarded by games played when the advantageous zone SC2 continues (0 when no game media is awarded). If the value of the total winnings counter in the advantageous zone SC2 reaches a value corresponding to the upper limit net increase (specifically, 2,400 coins), even if the game is in the preparation state ST5 or ART state ST6, the advantageous zone SC2 ends in the game in which it is reached, and the game transitions to the normal zone SC1, which is the normal game state ST1.

[0194] Thereafter, the second start-up preparation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S703). The second start-up preparation flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to grasp that the second state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, is in a state of waiting for processing to be raised from a LOW state to a HI state. As already explained, the second state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming zone is the advantageous zone SC2. Details of the second state signal will be described later. Thereafter, the advantageous transition winning flag is cleared to "0" (step S704), and the second control processing for this gaming zone is terminated.

[0195] If a negative determination is made in step S701, it is determined whether the game zone is an advantageous zone SC2 by determining whether the advantageous zone flag of the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S705). If the advantageous zone flag is set to "1" (step S705: YES), the value of the advantageous continuation counter of the second calculation target area 111 is incremented by 1 (step S706), and it is determined whether the value of the advantageous continuation counter after the increment is equal to or greater than the upper limit game number of "1500" (step S707).

[0196] If a negative determination is made in step S707, it is determined whether any of the replay wins, i.e., the first RT replay win, the second RT replay win, the first fall replay win, and the second fall replay win, has been achieved in this game (step S708). If none of the replay wins has been achieved (step S708: NO), the number of bets in this game (specifically, "3") is subtracted from the total win counter in the second calculation target area 111 (step S709).

[0197] Thereafter, it is determined whether any of the minor winning combinations (first to third supplementary winning combinations, first bell winning combination, second bell winning combination, first watermelon winning combination, second watermelon winning combination, and cherry winning combination) that will result in the awarding of game media in the current game has been achieved (step S710). If the determination in step S710 is affirmative, the number of game media awarded in the current game is added to the total winning number counter in the second calculation area 111 (step S711).

[0198] If a negative determination is made in step S710, or if the processing of step S711 is executed, it is determined whether the value of the total acquisition number counter of the second calculation target area 111 is equal to or greater than 0 (step S712). If the value of the total acquisition number counter is less than 0 (step S712: NO), the total acquisition number counter is cleared to "0" (step S713).

[0199] As described above, since the number of bets for the current game is subtracted from the total win counter in step S709, if, for example, no small wins are achieved in a game in normal gaming state ST1 immediately after transition to advantageous zone SC2, the value of the total win counter will be less than 0. In this case, a negative determination is made in step S712, and the total win counter is cleared to "0" in step S713. As a result, if the value obtained by subtracting the "total number of game media consumed to play games while advantageous zone SC2 is continuing ("0" when no games are being played)" from the "total number of game media awarded by games played while advantageous zone SC2 is continuing ("0" when no game media is being awarded)" is set as the predetermined difference, the minimum value of the predetermined difference can be used as a predetermined reference value to measure the limited total net increase in game media, which is the increase in the predetermined difference from the predetermined reference value, using the total win counter.

[0200] If a positive determination is made in step S708, if a positive determination is made in step S712, or if the processing of step S713 is performed, it is determined whether the value of the total acquisition number counter in the second calculation target area 111 is equal to or greater than the upper limit net increase number of "2400" (step S714). If the value of the total acquisition number counter is equal to or greater than "2400" (step S714: YES), this means that the ending condition of the advantageous zone SC2 is met. Also, if it is determined in step S707 that the value of the advantageous continuation counter in the second calculation target area 111 is equal to or greater than the upper limit number of games of "1500", this also means that the ending condition of the advantageous zone SC2 is met. If a positive determination is made in step S707 or if a positive determination is made in step S714, processing for ending the advantageous zone SC2 (processing of steps S715 and S716) is executed. Specifically, the advantageous termination process described below is executed (step S715), the initialization process for the advantageous section SC2 described below is executed (step S716), and the second control process for this game section is terminated.

[0201] If a negative determination is made in step S714, an ending-related process is executed (step S717). Fig. 30 is a flowchart showing the ending-related process. The ending-related process is executed using a program and data for specific control.

[0202] In the ending processing, first, it is determined whether or not the first ending flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S801). The first ending flag is a flag for the main MPU 72 to identify that the number of games executed in the advantageous section SC2 measured using the advantageous continuation counter is likely to reach the upper limit number of games.

[0203] If the first ending flag is not set to "1" (step S801: NO), it is determined whether the sum of the value of the advantageous continuation counter in the second calculation target area 111 and the value of the ART game number counter provided in the second calculation target area 111 is equal to or greater than the upper limit number of games in the advantageous zone SC2 (step S802). The ART game number counter is a counter used by the main MPU 72 to determine the remaining number of continuing games in the ART state ST6. As already explained, the upper limit number of games in the advantageous zone SC2 is set to 1500 games. Note that the upper limit number of games in the advantageous zone SC2 is not limited to 1500 games, and may be less than 1500 games or more than 1500 games.

[0204] If a positive judgment is made in step S802, the first ending flag is set to "1" (step S803). When the first ending flag is set to "1", as will be described in detail later, the number of remaining games to be continued in the ART state ST6 will not be added in the preparation state ST5 and the ART state ST6, and when the preparation state ST5 or the ART state ST6 ends and the game transitions to the normal game state ST1, the advantageous section SC2 will end and the game transitions to the normal section SC1. This makes it possible to prevent the number of remaining games to be continued in the ART state ST6 from being added in a further way in a situation where the ending condition of the advantageous section SC2 is met.

[0205] In the bonus state (BB state ST3 and RB state ST4) in this embodiment, no additional lottery or the like is conducted to increase the remaining number of continued games in the ART state ST6, and the first ending flag is not referenced to determine whether or not to conduct such additional lottery or the like. Therefore, the condition for setting the first ending flag to "1" does not include the remaining number of continued games in the bonus state. In step S802, without adding the remaining number of continued games in the bonus state, it is determined whether the sum of the number of games continuously played in the advantageous zone SC2 and the remaining number of continued games in the ART state ST6 is equal to or greater than the upper limit number of games in the advantageous zone SC2, thereby determining whether or not the number of games played in the advantageous zone SC2 is likely to reach the upper limit number of games. In the bonus state in the advantageous zone SC2, the value of the advantageous continuation counter is incremented by 1 each time a game is played. If the sum of the value of the advantageous continuation counter after the increment and the value of the ART game number counter is equal to or greater than the upper limit number of games in the advantageous zone SC2, a positive determination is made in step S802, and the first ending flag is set to "1" in step S803.

[0206] Then, a first ending command is sent to the production-side MPU 92 (step S804). The first ending command includes information on the number of games required until the ending condition of the advantageous section SC2 is met, i.e., information corresponding to the difference between the upper limit number of games in the advantageous section SC2 and the value of the advantageous continuation counter.

[0207] By receiving the first ending command, the production-side MPU 92 can grasp that the first ending flag is set to "1" in the main-side MPU 72. If the production-side MPU 92 receives the first ending command when the production has not yet started in an execution mode corresponding to the ending period, and if the game state at that time is ART state ST6, the production-side MPU 92 uses the reception of the first ending command as a trigger to change the execution mode of the production in the upper lamp 61, speaker 62, and image display device 63 to the execution mode corresponding to the ending period. On the other hand, if the production-side MPU 92 receives the first ending command when the production has not yet started in an execution mode corresponding to the ending period and the game state is not ART state ST6, when the game state transitions to ART state ST6, the production-side MPU 92 changes the execution mode of the production in the upper lamp 61, speaker 62, and image display device 63 to the execution mode corresponding to the ending period. The situation in which the first ending flag is set to "1" is when the value of the ART game number counter is 1 or more, and is either the ART state ST6, a bonus state that occurs during the ART state ST6 (BB state ST3 or RB state ST4), or the preparation state ST5 after the bonus state that occurs during the ART state ST6 has ended.

[0208] If a positive determination is made in step S801, if a negative determination is made in step S802, or if the processing of step S804 is executed, it is determined whether or not the second ending flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S805). The second ending flag is a flag for the main MPU 72 to identify that there is a high possibility that the limited total net increase in the number of gaming media measured using the total acquisition counter in the second calculation target area 111 will reach the upper limit net increase.

[0209] If the second ending flag is not set to "1" (step S805: NO), it is determined whether the result of adding the value of the total acquisition counter obtained by multiplying the value of the ART game number counter by the expected acquisition value of the gaming media in the ART state ST6 is equal to or greater than the upper limit net increase number of the advantageous section SC2 (step S806). As already explained, the upper limit net increase number of the advantageous section SC2 is set to "2400". Note that the upper limit net increase number of the advantageous section SC2 is not limited to "2400", and may be a number less than "2400" or a number greater than "2400".

[0210] If a positive judgment is made in step S806, the second ending flag is set to "1" (step S807). When the second ending flag is set to "1", as will be described in detail later, the number of remaining games to be continued in the ART state ST6 will not be added in the preparation state ST5 and the ART state ST6, and when the preparation state ST5 or the ART state ST6 ends and the game transitions to the normal game state ST1, the advantageous section SC2 will end and the game transitions to the normal section SC1. This makes it possible to prevent the number of remaining games to be continued in the ART state ST6 from being added in a further way in a situation where the ending condition of the advantageous section SC2 is met.

[0211] In the bonus state (BB state ST3 and RB state ST4) in this embodiment, no additional lottery or the like is conducted to increase the remaining number of continued games in the ART state ST6, and the second ending flag is not referenced to determine whether or not to conduct such additional lottery or the like. Therefore, the condition for setting the second ending flag to "1" does not include the remaining number of continued games in the bonus state. In step S806, without considering the remaining number of games in the bonus state, the value of the ART game number counter is multiplied by the expected acquisition value of gaming media in the ART state ST6, and the result of adding the value of the total acquisition counter is determined to be equal to or greater than the upper limit net increase of the advantageous zone SC2, thereby determining whether or not there is a high possibility that the limited total net increase of gaming media measured using the total acquisition counter is likely to reach the upper limit net increase. In the bonus state in the advantageous zone SC2, each time a small winning combination is achieved, the number of gaming media awarded corresponding to that small winning combination is added to the value of the total winning number counter, and if the result of multiplying the value of the ART game number counter by the expected value of gaming media to be won in the ART state ST6 and adding it to the value of the total winning number counter after said addition is equal to or greater than the upper limit net increase number for the advantageous zone SC2, a positive judgment is made in step S806 and the second ending flag is set to "1" in step S807.

[0212] Then, a second ending command is sent to the production-side MPU 92 (step S808), and this ending processing is terminated. The second ending command includes information on the limited total net increase in the number of game media required until the ending condition of the advantageous section SC2 is met, i.e., information corresponding to the difference between the upper limit net increase in the advantageous section SC2 and the value of the total acquisition number counter.

[0213] By receiving the second ending command, the production-side MPU 92 can grasp that the second ending flag is set to "1" in the main-side MPU 72. If the production-side MPU 92 receives the second ending command when the production has not yet started in an execution mode corresponding to the ending period, and if the game state at that time is ART state ST6, the production-side MPU 92 uses the reception of the first ending command as a trigger to change the execution mode of the production in the upper lamp 61, speaker 62, and image display device 63 to the execution mode corresponding to the ending period. On the other hand, if the production-side MPU 92 receives the second ending command when the production has not yet started in an execution mode corresponding to the ending period and the game state is not ART state ST6, when the game state transitions to ART state ST6, the production-side MPU 92 changes the execution mode of the production in the upper lamp 61, speaker 62, and image display device 63 to the execution mode corresponding to the ending period. The situation in which the second ending flag is set to "1" is when the value of the ART game number counter is 1 or more, and the situation is either ART state ST6, a bonus state that occurs during ART state ST6 (BB state ST3 or RB state ST4), or the preparation state ST5 after the bonus state that occurs during ART state ST6 has ended.

[0214] Returning to the explanation of the second control process of the gaming zone (FIG. 29), after executing the ending corresponding process in step S717, it is determined whether the gaming state is the normal gaming state ST1 and the value of the advantage maintenance counter provided in the second calculation target area 111 is "0" (step S718). The advantage maintenance counter is a counter for the main MPU 72 to specify the number of remaining games in the advantage maintenance game count when the ART state ST6 ends and the gaming state transitions to the normal gaming state ST1, and the advantage maintenance game count is maintained for the advantage maintenance game count even after transitioning to the normal gaming state ST1. The advantage maintenance counter is set to "10" if the advantage maintenance lottery held at the end of the ART state ST6 is won. Details of the advantage maintenance lottery will be described later.

[0215] If a negative determination is made in step S718, the second control process for this game section is terminated. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S718, the initialization process for the advantageous section (described later) is executed (step S719) in the same manner as in step S716, and the second control process for this game section is terminated.

[0216] As described above, if any replay win is achieved, a positive determination is made in step S708, and the processes of steps S709 to S713 are not executed. In a game in which a replay win is achieved, the gaming media owned by the player at the start of the game are used to set a bet, but as a benefit from the replay win, the player can replay a new game with the same number of bets as the number of bets made in the game in which the replay win was achieved. In other words, the number of gaming media owned by the player does not change in a game in which a replay win is achieved. In this case, by not executing the processes of steps S708 to S713 in a game in which a replay win is achieved, it is possible to omit the execution of the process to change the value of the total win counter in a game in which the number of gaming media owned by the player does not change, thereby eliminating the execution of unnecessary processes.

[0217] On the other hand, even in a game in which a replay win is established, in step S714, it is determined whether the value of the total wins counter is equal to or greater than the upper limit net increase of 2400. As a result, even if the value of the total wins counter has already reached the upper limit net increase of 2400 in a game prior to the game in which a replay win is established, but the initialization process for the advantageous section SC2 has not been executed due to noise or other reasons, it is possible to determine that the value of the total wins counter has reached the upper limit net increase of 2400 in the game in which a replay win is established thereafter, and it becomes possible to execute the initialization process for the advantageous section SC2.

[0218] Next, the normal processing executed in step S605 of the response processing at the time of game end (FIG. 28) will be described. The normal processing is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0219] In the normal processing, when the current gaming zone is the advantageous zone SC2, the value of the normal game game number counter provided in the second calculation target area 111 is incremented by 1, and it is determined whether the value of the normal game game number counter after the increment of 1 has reached the upper limit number of normal game games (specifically, "1000"). The normal game game number counter is a counter that enables the main MPU 72 to grasp the number of games that have been continuously executed in the normal gaming state ST1 in the advantageous zone SC2. Numerical information in the range of "0" to "1000" is set in the normal game game number counter. The upper limit number of normal game games is the same for each of the setting values ​​"Setting 1" to "Setting 6". When the value of the normal game game number counter has reached the upper limit number of normal game games (specifically, "1000"), the value of the normal game game number counter is cleared to "0". In the normal processing, when it is determined that the value of the normal game game number counter has reached the normal game upper limit number of games (specifically, "1000") and the value of the normal game game number counter is cleared to "0," or when the ART win flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1," the number of continued games in the ART state ST6 is set to "50," and the ART win flag is cleared to "0." As already explained, the ART win flag is set to "1" when a win to transition to the ART state ST6 occurs in the ART transition lottery processing (step S508 of the first control processing of the game section (FIG. 27)). After that, information is set in the second calculation target area 111 to transition the game state to the ready state ST5, and the game state is transitioned to the ready state ST5. As a result, the ready state processing of step S606 will be executed in the next and subsequent processing times of the response processing at the time of game end (FIG. 28). After that, a preparation start command is sent to the production-side MPU 92. The preparation start command is a command for making the production-side MPU 92 recognize that the preparation state ST5 is about to begin. When the production-side MPU 92 receives the preparation start command, it causes the production corresponding to the preparation state ST5 to begin. Also, in the normal processing, if the value of the advantage maintenance counter in the second calculation target area 111 is "1" or greater, the value of the advantage maintenance counter is decremented by 1.

[0220] In this way, if a transition to the ART state ST6 is selected in the ART transition lottery process (step S508 of the first control process of the gaming area (FIG. 27)), the game will transition to the preparation state ST5 as a preliminary step before transitioning to the ART state ST6. Also, if the number of games continuously played in the normal gaming state ST1 in the advantageous area SC2 reaches the normal gaming upper limit number of games (specifically, "1000"), the game will transition to the preparation state ST5 as a preliminary step before transitioning to the ART state ST6. This makes it possible to compensate for the normal gaming state ST1 continuing in the advantageous area SC2 until it reaches the normal gaming upper limit number of games. Also, by making the normal gaming upper limit number of games the same between the setting values ​​of "Setting 1" to "Setting 6", it becomes possible to prevent an advantage or disadvantage from arising depending on the setting value regarding the normal gaming upper limit number of games.

[0221] Next, prior to explaining the preparation state process (FIG. 31) executed in step S606 of the response process at the end of the game (FIG. 28), we will explain the additional process executed in step S412 of the lottery process for winning combinations (FIG. 17). The additional process is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0222] In the process for adding on, when the game state is the preparation state ST5 or the ART state ST6 and the winning data to be the target of the adding on lottery process is set in the lottery process for this role (Fig. 17), the adding on lottery process is executed on the condition that "1" is not set to the first ending flag and the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111. The winning data to be the target of the adding on lottery process are the winning data of index value IV=4 to 6, 16 to 17 in the lottery table for normal mode (Fig. 18), the winning data of index value IV=4 to 6, 22 to 23 in the lottery table for first RT mode (Fig. 20), and the winning data of index value IV=4 to 6, 17 to 18 in the lottery table for second RT mode (Fig. 22).

[0223] In the bonus lottery process, first, the bonus table corresponding to the winning data set in the current role lottery process (FIG. 17) is read from the main ROM 73. Then, the numerical information of the random number counter, which is periodically updated in the second calculation target area 111, is read, and the read numerical information is compared with the read bonus table. This determines whether or not a bonus win has occurred. If a bonus win has occurred, it is determined whether or not the gaming state is in the ART state ST6. If the gaming state is in the ART state ST6, "50" is added to the ART game number counter in the second calculation target area 111. As already explained, the ART game number counter is a counter used by the main MPU 72 to determine the remaining number of continued games in the ART state ST6. Then, the ART bonus flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1," and this bonus process is terminated. The ART bonus flag is a flag that allows the main MPU 72 to determine that a bonus win has occurred in the ART state ST6. On the other hand, if it is determined that the gaming state is not the ART state ST6, it means that the gaming state is the preparation state ST5, so "50" is added to the ART game number counter in the second calculation target area 111. After that, the preparation addition flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1", and this addition processing is terminated. The preparation addition flag is a flag that allows the main side MPU 72 to identify that an addition win has occurred in the preparation state ST5.

[0224] As described above, the additional lottery process is executed on the condition that the first ending flag and the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111 are not set to "1". Therefore, in a situation where the ending condition of the advantageous section SC2 is established, it is possible to prevent further addition of the remaining number of continuing games in the ART state ST6 from occurring.

[0225] Next, the preparation state process executed in step S606 in the response process at the end of a game (FIG. 28) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 31. The preparation state process is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0226] In the preparation state processing, first, the preparation addition corresponding processing is executed (step S901). In the preparation addition corresponding processing, if the preparation addition flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1", a preparation addition command is sent to the performance side MPU 92, and the preparation addition flag is cleared to "0". The preparation addition command is a command indicating that the number of continued games in the ART state ST6 has been added in the preparation state ST5. When the performance side MPU 92 receives the preparation addition command, it executes an addition effect indicating that the current number of added games set in the preparation addition command has been granted. As already explained, if at least one of the first ending flag and the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1", an addition win that adds the number of continued games in the ART state ST6 does not occur. Therefore, in a situation where the number of games played in the advantageous zone SC2 is likely to reach the upper limit of the number of games, or where the total net increase in the number of gaming media with restrictions is likely to reach the upper limit of the net increase, the number of remaining continuing games in the ART state ST6 will not increase.

[0227] After that, if the second RT replay winning is established in this game (step S902: YES), it means that an opportunity to transition from the preparation state ST5 to the ART state ST6 has occurred, so the ART start processing is executed (step S903). In the ART start processing, the information in the second calculation target area 111 for transitioning the game state to the ART state ST6 is set, and the game state is transitioned to the ART state ST6. As a result, the ART state processing of step S607 will be executed in the next and subsequent processing times in the corresponding processing at the end of the game (Figure 28).

[0228] In addition, in the ART start processing (step S903), if the gaming state before the start of the preparation state ST5 is the bonus state and the gaming state immediately before the bonus state is the ART state ST6, this means that a return to the ART state ST6 has occurred, so settings are made to return to the gaming state in the ART state ST6 immediately before the transition to the bonus state. Also, if an additional win has occurred in the preparation state ST5 for the remaining number of continued games in the ART state ST6, the ART state ST6 will be started with the number of continued games awarded as a result of the additional win. In the ART start processing (step S903), an ART start command indicating that a transition to the ART state ST6 has occurred is sent to the production-side MPU 92. The ART start command contains information indicating whether or not the transition to the ART state ST6 this time corresponds to a return to the ART state ST6, and if it does not correspond to a return to the ART state ST6, it contains information indicating that 50 games have been awarded as the number of start games in the ART state ST6.

[0229] Then, the third start-up preparation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S904), and this preparation state processing is terminated. The third start-up preparation flag is a flag that allows the main MPU 72 to grasp that the processing of raising the third state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, from a LOW state to a HI state is waiting. As already explained, the third state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming state is the ART state ST6. Details of the third state signal will be described later.

[0230] Next, the ART state processing executed in step S607 in the corresponding processing at the end of the game (Fig. 28) will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 32. Note that the ART state processing is executed using the program for specific control and the data for specific control.

[0231] In the ART state processing, the ART-time addition processing is first executed (step S1001). In the ART-time addition processing, if the ART-time addition flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1," an ART-time addition command is sent to the production-side MPU 92, and the ART-time addition flag is cleared to "0." The ART-time addition command is a command indicating that the number of continued games in the ART state ST6 has been added in the ART state ST6. When the production-side MPU 92 receives the ART-time addition command, it executes an addition effect indicating that the current number of added games set in the ART-time addition command has been added. As already explained, if at least one of the first ending flag and the second ending flag is set to "1," an addition win that adds to the number of continued games in the ART state ST6 does not occur. Therefore, in situations where the number of games played in the advantageous zone SC2 is likely to reach the upper limit number of games, or where the total net increase in the number of limited gaming media is likely to reach the upper limit net increase number, the remaining number of continued games in the ART state ST6 does not increase.

[0232] After that, the value of the ART game number counter in the second calculation target area 111 is subtracted by 1 (step S1002), and if the value of the ART game number counter after subtracting 1 is "0" (step S1003: YES), the end processing of the ART state ST6 is executed (step S1004). In this end processing, information is set in the second calculation target area 111 to transition the gaming state from the ART state ST6 to the normal gaming state ST1, and the gaming state is transitioned to the normal gaming state ST1. As a result, for example, the normal processing of step S605 will be executed in the next and subsequent processing times in the corresponding processing at the end of the game (Fig. 28).

[0233] Then, the third drop preparation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1005). The third drop preparation flag is a flag that allows the main MPU 72 to grasp that the third state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, is in a waiting state for processing to drop from HI state to LOW state. As already explained, the third state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming state is the ART state ST6. The details of the third state signal will be described later.

[0234] Thereafter, if neither the first ending flag nor the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1006: NO), an advantage maintenance lottery process is executed (step S1007). In the advantage maintenance lottery process, first, an advantage maintenance lottery table is read from the main ROM 73. A winning value corresponding to an advantage maintenance win is set in the advantage maintenance lottery table. Then, numerical information of a random number counter that is periodically updated in the second calculation target area 111 is read, and the read numerical information is compared with the read advantage maintenance lottery table to determine whether or not an advantage maintenance win has occurred.

[0235] If an advantageous maintenance win is obtained (step S1008: YES), the advantageous maintenance counter in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "10," which is the number of advantageous maintenance games (step S1009). As a result, even after the ART state ST6 ends, the gaming zone is maintained in the advantageous zone SC2 until the advantageous maintenance number of games is consumed. After that, an advantageous maintenance command is sent to the production-side MPU 92 (step S1010), and this ART state processing ends. The advantageous maintenance command is a command for the production-side MPU 92 to recognize that the ART state ST6 has ended and that the advantageous maintenance zone will continue for 10 games even after the end of the ART state ST6 due to the occurrence of an advantageous maintenance win. By receiving the advantageous maintenance command, the production-side MPU 92 executes a performance corresponding to the end of the ART state ST6, and executes a performance corresponding to the normal gaming state ST1 and the advantageous zone SC2 after the performance ends.

[0236] When the ART state ST6 ends with at least one of the first ending flag and the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111 set to "1" (step S1006: YES), or when the advantageous maintenance lottery process (step S1007) results in a loss (step S1008: NO), an ART end command is sent to the performance-side MPU 92 (step S1011). The ART end command is a command for causing the performance-side MPU 92 to recognize that the ART state ST6 has ended. By receiving the ART end command, the performance-side MPU 92 executes a performance corresponding to the end of the ART state ST6, and after the end of the performance, executes a performance corresponding to the normal game state ST1 and the normal section SC1. Thereafter, an initialization process for the advantageous section SC2 is executed to end the advantageous section SC2 (step S1012), and this ART state process ends. In this way, when the ART state ST6 ends with at least one of the first ending flag and the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111 set to "1" (step S1006: YES), the initialization process (step S1012) of the advantageous zone SC2 is executed without executing the advantageous maintenance lottery process (step S1007). Details of the initialization process of the advantageous zone SC2 will be described later.

[0237] Next, the bonus process executed in step S601 of the response process at the end of a game (FIG. 28) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 33. The bonus process is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0238] In the bonus process, when a BB win corresponding to the BB winning data stored in the second calculation target area 111 (FIG. 12) in the work area 103 for specific control is achieved (step S1101: YES), the BB flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1102). The BB flag is a flag for the main MPU 72 to identify that the game is in the BB state ST3.

[0239] If the BB winning that has been achieved this time is the third BB winning or the fourth BB winning (step S1103: YES), advantageous zone start processing is executed (step S1104). In the advantageous zone start processing, the advantageous zone flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" to transition the game zone to advantageous zone SC2, and an advantageous zone start command is sent to the presentation side MPU 92. The advantageous zone start command is a command for making the presentation side MPU 92 recognize that a transition to advantageous zone SC2 has occurred. In addition, in the advantageous zone start processing (step S1104), lighting processing of the advantageous zone display unit 67 is executed. In this lighting processing, the advantageous zone display unit 67 is switched from an off state to an on state.

[0240] In this way, when the third BB winning or the fourth BB winning is achieved, even if the game section before the BB state ST3 was the normal section SC1, it will be set to the advantageous section SC2. Therefore, it is possible to make the BB state ST3 corresponding to the third BB role and the fourth BB role more advantageous than the BB state ST3 corresponding to the first BB role and the second BB role.

[0241] Thereafter, the second start-up preparation flag of the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1105). As already explained, the second state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming zone is the advantageous zone SC2, and the second start-up preparation flag is a flag that enables the main side MPU 72 to grasp that the second state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, is in a waiting state for processing to be raised from a LOW state to a HI state. The second state signal will be described in detail later.

[0242] On the other hand, if an RB win corresponding to the RB winning data stored in the second calculation target area 111 is established (step S1101: NO, step S1106: YES), the RB flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1107). The RB flag is a flag for the main MPU 72 to identify that it is in the RB state ST4.

[0243] Furthermore, if the RB winning that has been achieved this time is the first RB winning (step S1108: YES), similar to step S1104, advantageous zone start processing is executed (step S1109). As already explained, in the advantageous zone start processing, the advantageous zone flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" to transition the gaming zone to advantageous zone SC2, and an advantageous zone start command is sent to the production side MPU 92. The advantageous zone start command is a command for making the production side MPU 92 recognize that a transition to advantageous zone SC2 has occurred. Furthermore, in the advantageous zone start processing (step S1109), lighting processing of the advantageous zone display unit 67 is executed. In this lighting processing, the advantageous zone display unit 67 is switched from an off state to a lighting state.

[0244] In this way, when the first RB win is established, even if the gaming zone before the RB state ST4 was the normal zone SC1, it will be set to the advantageous zone SC2. Therefore, the RB state ST4 corresponding to the first RB role can be set to a more advantageous RB state ST4 than the RB state ST4 corresponding to the second RB role. Thereafter, as in step S1105, the second start-up preparation flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1110). This allows the main MPU 72 to understand that the second-state signal output to the external device, the data counter DC, is waiting for processing to be raised from a LOW state to a HI state. As already explained, the second-state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming zone is the advantageous zone SC2. Details of the second-state signal will be described later.

[0245] If a negative determination is made in step S1103, if the processing of step S1105 is performed, if a negative determination is made in step S1108, or if the processing of step S1110 is performed, the bonus winning data set in the second calculation target area 111 is cleared (step S1111). In this way, the bonus winning data set in the second calculation target area 111 is cleared when a bonus win corresponding to the bonus winning data is achieved. Thereafter, a first start-up preparation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1112). The first start-up preparation flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to grasp that the processing for raising the first-state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, from a LOW state to a HI state is waiting. As already explained, the first-state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming state is a bonus state. The first-state signal will be described in detail later.

[0246] Then, the value of the total payout counter provided in the second calculation target area 111 is cleared to "0" (step S1113). The total payout counter is a counter that allows the main MPU 72 to grasp the total number of gaming media awarded in the bonus state. Then, a bonus start command is sent to the performance-side MPU 92 (step S1114), and the bonus processing is terminated. The bonus start command contains information indicating the type of bonus state that will be started this time (1st BB win, 2nd BB win, 3rd BB win, 4th BB win, 1st RB win, or 2nd RB win). When the performance-side MPU 92 receives the bonus start command, it executes a performance corresponding to the type of bonus state that will be started.

[0247] If a negative determination is made in step S1106, it is determined whether the BB flag or the RB flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1115). If a positive determination is made in step S1115, a bonus state process for controlling the progress of the BB state ST3 or the RB state ST4 is executed (step S1116), and this bonus state process is terminated. Figure 34 is a flowchart showing the bonus state process. The bonus state process is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0248] In the bonus state process, if game media have been awarded in the current game (step S1201: YES), an increment process of the total payout counter is executed (step S1202). In the increment process of the total payout counter, a value corresponding to the number of game media awarded this time is added to the total payout counter in the second calculation target area 111. Thereafter, it is determined whether the value of the total payout counter after the increment process of the total payout counter (step S1202) is equal to or greater than the termination reference number corresponding to the current bonus state (step S1203). Specifically, if the current bonus state is the BB state ST3, it is determined whether the value is equal to or greater than the BB termination reference number (for example, "350"), and if the current bonus state is the RB state ST4, it is determined whether the value is equal to or greater than the RB termination reference number (for example, "150").

[0249] If a positive determination is made in step S1203, it is determined whether the gaming state at the time when the bonus combination that triggered the current bonus state was won was in the ready state ST5 or the ART state ST6 (step S1204). If a positive determination is made in step S1204, a setting process for the ready state ST5 is executed (step S1205). In this setting process, information in the second calculation target area 111 for transitioning the gaming state to the ready state ST5 is set, and the gaming state is transitioned to the ready state ST5. As a result, the ready state process of step S606 will be executed in the next and subsequent processing times in the response process at the time of game end (FIG. 28).

[0250] If a negative determination is made in step S1204, a setting process for the normal gaming state ST1 is executed (step S1206). In this setting process, information in the second calculation target area 111 for transitioning the gaming state to the normal gaming state ST1 is set, and the gaming state is transitioned to the normal gaming state ST1. As a result, the normal processing in step S605 is executed in the next and subsequent processing times of the response process at the time of game end (FIG. 28).

[0251] When the process of step S1205 or step S1206 is executed, a bonus end command indicating that the bonus state will end is sent to the presentation-side MPU 92 (step S1207). The bonus end command contains information indicating whether the gaming state after the bonus state ends will be the normal gaming state ST1 or the preparation state ST5. By receiving the bonus end command, the presentation-side MPU 92 starts a presentation indicating that the bonus state will end, and after the presentation ends, starts a presentation corresponding to the gaming state after the bonus state ends.

[0252] Then, the bonus end initialization flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1208), and the first suggestive action process described later is executed (step S1209). The bonus end initialization flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to recognize that the first suggestive action process (step S1209) is being executed at the end of the bonus. Then, the first drop preparation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1210), and the process proceeds to step S608 of the setting process at the end of the game (FIG. 28), and the processes of steps S608 to S609 are executed. The first drop preparation flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to recognize that the first state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, is in a waiting state for processing to drop from a HI state to a LOW state. As already explained, the first state signal is a signal that indicates that the game state is a bonus state. The first state signal will be described in detail later.

[0253] Next, the advantageous end processing executed by the main MPU 72 will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 35. The advantageous end processing is executed in step S715 when any ending condition is met in the second control processing (Figure 29) of the gaming area (when a positive determination is made in step S707 or when a positive determination is made in step S714). The advantageous end processing is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0254] In the advantageous end process, first, it is determined whether the BB state flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" to determine whether the gaming state is the BB state ST3 (step S1301).

[0255] If a positive determination is made in step S1301, it is determined whether the total number of game media awarded in the BB state ST3 is less than the midway termination reference number for the BB state ST3 (step S1302). In step S1302, the total number of game media awarded in the BB state ST3 is determined based on the value of the total payout counter in the second calculation target area 111. As already explained, the BB termination reference number is "350". In contrast, the midway termination reference number for the BB state ST3 is set to "200". If a positive determination is made in step S1302, the bonus continuation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1303), and this advantageous termination processing is terminated. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S1302, this advantageous termination processing is terminated without setting the bonus continuation flag to "1". The bonus continuation flag is a flag that allows the main MPU72 to determine that when the ending conditions of the advantageous section SC2 are met in the middle of the bonus state, the advantageous section SC2 will end in the game in which the ending conditions are met, while the bonus state will continue.

[0256] If the ending condition for the advantageous section SC2 is met when the total number of game media awarded in the BB state ST3 is less than 200, the BB state ST3 termination reference number, the advantageous section SC2 ends in the game in which the ending condition was met, while the BB state ST3 continues even after the advantageous section SC2 ends until the total number of game media awarded reaches or exceeds the BB state ST3 termination reference number of 350. This prevents the BB state ST3 from ending before the total number of game media awarded to the player in the BB state ST3 meets the termination reference number. On the other hand, if the ending condition for the advantageous section SC2 is met when the total number of game media awarded in the BB state ST3 is greater than or equal to 200, the BB state ST3 termination reference number, the advantageous section SC2 ends in the game in which the ending condition was met, and the BB state ST3 also ends.

[0257] If it is determined in step S1301 that the gaming state is not the BB state ST3, it is determined whether or not the gaming state is the RB state ST4 (step S1304). If the gaming state is the RB state ST4 (step S1304: YES), it is determined whether or not the total number of gaming media awarded in the RB state ST4 is less than the midway termination reference number for the RB state ST4 (step S1305). In step S1305, the total number of gaming media awarded in the RB state ST4 is determined based on the value of the total payout counter in the second calculation target area 111. As already explained, the RB termination reference number is "150". In contrast, the midway termination reference number for the RB state ST4 is set to "100". If a positive determination is made in step S1305, the bonus continuation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1303), and the advantageous termination processing is terminated. On the other hand, if a negative judgment is made in step S1305, the advantageous end processing is terminated without setting the bonus continuation flag to "1".

[0258] If the ending condition for the advantageous section SC2 is met when the total number of game media awarded in the RB state ST4 is less than 100, the RB state ST4 termination reference number, the advantageous section SC2 ends in the game in which the ending condition was met, while the RB state ST4 continues even after the advantageous section SC2 ends until the total number of game media awarded reaches or exceeds 150, the RB state ST4 termination reference number. This prevents the RB state ST4 from ending before the total number of game media awarded to the player in the RB state ST4 meets the termination reference number. On the other hand, if the ending condition for the advantageous section SC2 is met when the total number of game media awarded in the RB state ST4 is greater than or equal to 100, the RB state ST4 termination reference number, the advantageous section SC2 ends in the game in which the ending condition was met, and the RB state ST4 also ends.

[0259] Next, the initialization process of the advantageous section SC2 executed by the main MPU72 will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 36. The initialization process of the advantageous section SC2 is executed in step S716 when any of the ending conditions is met in the second control process of the game section (Figure 29), and is also executed in step S719 when the value of the advantageous maintenance counter becomes "0" in the normal game state ST1. The initialization process of the advantageous section SC2 is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0260] In the initialization process for the advantageous zone SC2, the advantageous zone flag in the second calculation target area 111 is cleared to "0" (step S1401). This causes the game zone to transition from the advantageous zone SC2 to the normal zone SC1. After that, the advantageous zone display unit 67 is switched from a lit state to an unlit state (step S1402). This ends the notification in the advantageous zone display unit 67 that it is the advantageous zone SC2. After that, a advantageous zone end command is sent to the production side MPU 92 (step S1403). The advantageous zone end command is a command for making the production side MPU 92 recognize that the advantageous zone SC2 has ended.

[0261] Thereafter, the second drop preparation flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1404). The second drop preparation flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to grasp that the second state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, is in a state of waiting for processing to drop from a HI state to a LOW state. As already explained, the second state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming zone is the advantageous zone SC2. Details of the second state signal will be described later.

[0262] Thereafter, the advantageous end initialization flag provided in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1405), and the first suggested action process described later is executed (step S1406). The advantageous end initialization flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to grasp that the first suggested action process (step S1406) is being executed at the end of the advantageous section SC2.

[0263] Then, it is determined whether at least one of the first ending flag and the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1407). If a positive determination is made in step S1407, it is determined whether the gaming state is the ART state ST6 (step S1408). If it is the ART state ST6 (step S1408: YES), the third drop preparation flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1409). As already explained, the third state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming state is the ART state ST6, and the third drop preparation flag is a flag that allows the main MPU 72 to grasp that the processing of dropping the third state signal output to the external device, the data counter DC, from the HI state to the LOW state is waiting. In this way, if the ending condition of the advantageous section SC2 is established and the ART state ST6 also ends when the advantageous section SC2 ends, the third drop preparation flag is set to "1". The third state signal will be described in detail later.

[0264] If a negative determination is made in step S1407, if a negative determination is made in step S1408, or if the processing of step S1409 is performed, it is determined whether or not the bonus continuation flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1410). If the bonus continuation flag is not set to "1" (step S1410: NO), it is determined whether or not the gaming state is a bonus state (step S1411), and if it is a bonus state (step S1411: YES), the first drop preparation flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1412). As already explained, the first state signal is a signal indicating that the gaming state is a bonus state, and the first drop preparation flag is a flag that enables the main-side MPU 72 to grasp that the first state signal output to the data counter DC, which is an external device, is in a standby state for processing to drop the first state signal from a HI state to a LOW state. In this way, when the ending condition of the advantageous section SC2 is met and the bonus state ends when the advantageous section SC2 ends, the first termination preparation flag is set to "1." Details of the first state signal will be described later.

[0265] If a negative determination is made in step S1411 or if the processing of step S1412 is performed, a clearing process for ending the bonus is executed (step S1413). In the clearing process for ending the bonus, even if the player is in the bonus state, various data indicating the bonus state, including the total payout counter in the second calculation target area 111, are cleared. Also, even if the player is in either the ready state ST5 or the ART state ST6, various data indicating the game state (the ready state ST5 or the ART state ST6), including the counter for storing the number of games continued in that game state (the ready state ST5 or the ART state ST6), are cleared, and the game state is shifted to the normal game state ST1.

[0266] On the other hand, if the bonus continuation flag is set to "1" (step S1410: YES), a clear process for bonus continuation is executed (step S1414). In the clear process for bonus continuation, even if the player is in either the ready state ST5 or the ART state ST6, various data indicating the game state (the ready state ST5 or the ART state ST6) are cleared, including the counter for storing the number of games continued in that game state (the ready state ST5 or the ART state ST6). In the clear process for bonus continuation (step S1414), various data indicating the bonus state, including the total payout counter in the second calculation target area 111, are not cleared. Therefore, the bonus state continues even after the advantageous section SC2 ends, and when the bonus state ends, the game state transitions to the normal game state ST1.

[0267] When the processing of step S1413 or step S1414 is performed, the ending flag is cleared (step S1415) to terminate the initialization processing of this advantageous section SC2. In the ending flag clearing processing (step S1415), the first ending flag and the second ending flag in the second calculation target area 111 are cleared to "0".

[0268] Next, the management processing executed by the main MPU 72 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 37. The management processing is executed in step S214 of the timer interrupt processing (Fig. 15). Of the management processing, processing other than the management execution processing (step S1503) is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control, while the management execution processing (step S1503) is executed using a program for non-specific control and data for non-specific control.

[0269] In the management process, first, interrupt prohibition is set to prohibit the occurrence of timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) (step S1501). This makes it possible to prevent the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15), which is processing corresponding to specific control, from interrupting and starting up during a management execution process (described later), which is processing corresponding to non-specific control.

[0270] Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the information in the flag register of the main MPU 72 to the stack area 101 for specific control (step S1502). The flag register includes a carry flag, a zero flag, a P / V flag, a sign flag, a half carry flag, etc., and the information in the flag register changes depending on the execution results of an arithmetic instruction, a rotate instruction, an input / output instruction, etc. By saving such flag register information before the program of a subroutine corresponding to the management execution process is started, it becomes possible to save the flag register information in the state before it changes after the call of the subroutine or the start of the subroutine to the stack area 101 for specific control. The amount of information in the flag register is 1 byte.

[0271] Thereafter, a call instruction is used to read out a subroutine program corresponding to the management execution process set in the program for non-specific control, thereby starting the management execution process (step S1503). In this case, information for specifying the return address of the management process after the management execution process is executed is written into the stack area 101 for specific control by a push instruction. The return address information written into the stack area 101 for specific control is address information of the program corresponding to the process next to the process executed immediately before the management execution process was read out by the call instruction (the process of step S1504). When the management execution process is completed, information for specifying the return address is read out by a pop instruction, and control returns to the program for the management process indicated by the return address.

[0272] When returning to the management processing program after the management execution processing is executed, the flag register information saved in the stack area 101 for specific control in step S1502 is restored to the flag register of the main MPU 72 by a pop command (step S1504). This restores the flag register information of the main MPU 72 to the information at the time step S1502 was executed. In other words, the flag register information of the main MPU 72 is restored to the information for executing specific control.

[0273] After that, the interrupt permission process is executed (step S1505), and this management process is terminated. In the interrupt permission process, the state in which the occurrence of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 15) is prohibited is switched to the state in which it is permitted. This allows a new execution of the timer interrupt process.

[0274] Next, the management execution process executed by the main MPU 72 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 38. The management execution process is executed in step S1503 in the management process (Fig. 37). The management execution process is executed using a program for non-specific control and data for non-specific control.

[0275] In the management execution process, first, the data of the stack pointer provided in the primary MPU 72 is saved to a non-specific stack pointer save area provided in the work area 102 for non-specific control by a load command (step S1601). The non-specific stack pointer save area is a storage area for saving the data of the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 at the start of non-specific control, and consists of 2 bytes. The stack pointer is an area where address information is set to specify, in the stack areas 101, 104, the storage area into which information is to be written in response to a push command. In the primary MPU 72, the stack pointer information is updated to the address information of the storage area into which the next data is to be written each time a push command is executed, and the stack pointer information is updated to the address information of the storage area into which the previous data is to be written each time a pop command is executed. When the stack area 101 for specific control is used, the information to be stored is stored starting from the storage area of ​​the last address (Y(r+1)) in the stack area 101 for specific control, and each time information to be stored is added, the storage area of ​​the storage destination is changed toward the first address (Y(1)) in the stack area 101 for specific control. Also, when the stack area 104 for non-specific control is used, as with the case of using the stack area 101 for specific control, the information to be stored is stored starting from the storage area of ​​the last address (Y(u+1)) in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and each time information to be stored is added, the storage area of ​​the storage destination is changed toward the first address (Y(t+7)) in the stack area 104 for non-specific control. By saving the data of the stack pointer at the start of non-specific control, after executing the processes of steps S1601 to S1618, it is possible to restore the data to the stack pointer and return the data of the stack pointer to the data at the start of non-specific control.

[0276] Incidentally, for both the specific control stack area 101 and the non-specific control stack area 104, if an additional push command is executed even though information has been set in all storage areas, all areas of the main RAM 74 are cleared to "0" as an abnormality has occurred in the storage process. This makes it possible to prevent the game from continuing as is despite the occurrence of an abnormality in the storage process.

[0277] After executing the process of step S1601, a load command is used to set the stack pointer of the main MPU 72 to Y(u+1), the last address in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, as a fixed address at the start of non-specific control (step S1602). Then, a process is executed to save information in the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register, which are some of the various general-purpose registers, auxiliary registers, and index registers provided in the main MPU 72, to the stack area 104 for non-specific control (step S1603). The information capacity of the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register is each 2 bytes.

[0278] In step S1603, first, a push command is used to save the information in the WA register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 is updated to information about the address of the storage area to be written to next. In this case, in step S1602, the information in the WA register is written to storage areas corresponding to the fixed address (Y(u+1)) set in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 and the address (Y(u)) next to that fixed address, and the information in the address set in the stack pointer is updated to Y(u-1). Thereafter, a push command is used to save the information in the BC register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 is updated to information about the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the information in the DE register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and to update the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the information in the HL register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and to update the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the information in the IX register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and to update the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written to next.Then, by using a push command, the information in the IY register of the main MPU 72 is saved to a memory area in the non-specific control stack area 104 corresponding to the current stack pointer information of the main MPU 72, and the stack pointer information of the main MPU 72 is updated to the address information of the memory area to be written to next.

[0279] These WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register are registers used in the processing of steps S1604 to S1617. By saving the information set in these registers to the stack area 104 for non-specific control prior to the execution of the processing of steps S1604 to S1617, it is possible to save the information in these registers used during specific control before the non-specific control is started. Therefore, even if these registers are overwritten during non-specific control, by restoring the information saved in the stack area 104 for non-specific control to these registers when the non-specific control is terminated, it is possible to restore the states of these registers to the states corresponding to specific control before the non-specific control was executed.

[0280] Furthermore, instead of saving all information in the various general-purpose registers, auxiliary registers, and index registers to the stack area 104 for non-specific control, information in the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register to be used in the processing of steps S1604 to S1617 is selectively saved to the stack area 104 for non-specific control, thereby reducing the capacity required to save register information in the stack area 104 for non-specific control. Thus, it is possible to save the above-mentioned register information while ensuring a large capacity for the stack area 104 for non-specific control that is available for the processing of steps S1604 to S1617. Naturally, for the various general-purpose registers, auxiliary registers, and index registers in the main MPU 72 other than the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register, information set before the processing corresponding to the non-specific control is started is stored and held until the processing corresponding to the non-specific control is completed and the processing corresponding to the specific control is resumed.

[0281] Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the game execution grasp flag provided in the work area 102 for non-specific control is set to "1" (step S1604). The game execution grasp flag is a flag that enables the master MPU 72 to grasp that one game has ended in the processing for non-specific control. In step S1609 (described later), the master MPU 72 sets the game execution grasp flag to a value equal to the value of the in-game flag in the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control. As already explained, the value of the in-game flag is "1" when a game is being executed, and is "0" when a game is not being executed. If one game has ended between the end of the previous processing round of the management execution processing (FIG. 38) and the end of the current processing round, the value of the game execution grasp flag is "1" and the value of the game execution flag is "0." When this state occurs, the master MPU 72 grasps that one game has been executed.

[0282] If the game execution grasp flag is set to "1" (step S1604: YES), it is determined whether the value of the game in progress flag is "0" (step S1605). A positive determination in step S1605 means that one game has ended. In this case, the value of the total game number counter provided in the non-specific control work area 102 is incremented by 1 (step S1606). The total game number counter is a counter for measuring the number of games played regardless of the game status or game section. The total game number counter consists of 3 bytes and can measure the number of games up to the upper limit of 256 cubed minus 1. Furthermore, the value of the total game number counter is not cleared to "0" unless the all-clear process in step S107 is executed in the main process (FIG. 14). Therefore, it is possible to measure the cumulative number of games played at an amusement hall over multiple business days.

[0283] Thereafter, it is determined whether the gaming zone is the advantageous zone SC2 based on the state of the advantageous zone flag in the second calculation target area 111 of the work area 103 for specific control (step S1607). In step S1607, if the advantageous zone flag is set to "1," it is determined that it is the advantageous zone SC2. If it is the advantageous zone SC2 (step S1607: YES), not only is the value of the total game number counter incremented by 1, but also the value of the advantageous game number counter provided in the work area 102 for non-specific control incremented by 1 (step S1608). The advantageous game number counter is a counter that allows the master MPU 72 to grasp the cumulative number of games played in the advantageous zone SC2. The advantageous game number counter is provided separately from the advantageous continuation counter in the master RAM 74, and the advantageous game number counter is not cleared to "0" even if the initialization process for the advantageous zone SC2 (FIG. 36) is executed. Therefore, if advantageous zones SC2 occur multiple times with normal zones SC1 in between, the total number of games played in those multiple advantageous zones SC2 can be measured using the advantageous game number counter. The advantageous game number counter consists of 3 bytes and can measure the number of games up to a maximum value of 256 cubed minus 1. Furthermore, the value of the advantageous game number counter is not cleared to "0" unless the all-clear process of step S107 is executed in the main process (Figure 14). Therefore, it is possible to measure the cumulative number of games played in advantageous zones SC2 over multiple business days at the gaming hall.

[0284] If a negative determination is made in step S1604, if a negative determination is made in step S1605, if a negative determination is made in step S1607, or if the processing of step S1608 is performed, the value of the in-game flag in the second calculation target area 111 of the work area 103 for specific control is determined, and the determined value is set to the game execution determination flag in the work area 102 for non-specific control (step S1609). In step S1609, if the value of the in-game flag is "1," the game execution determination flag is set to "1," and if the value of the in-game flag is "0," the game execution determination flag is cleared to "0." This makes it possible for the main MPU 72, which is in the middle of executing processing for non-specific control, to determine that the game has ended.

[0285] Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the management display flag provided in the work area 102 for non-specific control is set to "1" (step S1610). The management display flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to recognize that a display instruction for displaying the gaming history management results on the ratio display 85 has been issued. If the management display flag is not set to "1" (step S1610: NO), it is determined whether or not a display instruction for the gaming history management results has been issued (step S1611). Specifically, in a state where operating power is being supplied to the slot machine 10 and the setting value update process (FIG. 71) in step S109 of the main process (FIG. 14) is not being executed, it is determined whether or not the front door 12 is in an open state and the reset button 56 provided on the power supply device 54 has been continuously pressed for three seconds or more. As already explained, when the supply of operating power to the slot machine 10 is started while the setting key insertion hole 57 is turned on and the reset button 56 is being pressed, the all clear process of step S107 is executed in the main process (FIG. 14). Also, as will be described in detail later, in the setting value update process (FIG. 71) in step S109 of the main process (FIG. 14), the reset button 56 is operated to update the setting values ​​of the slot machine 10. Furthermore, when a play stop state notification (described later) is being performed, the reset button 56 is operated to release that state. In this slot machine 10, when the reset button 56 is continuously pressed for three seconds or more while the operating power to the slot machine 10 is being supplied and the setting value update process (FIG. 71) is not being executed, an instruction to display the game history management results is generated.

[0286] If it is determined that an instruction to display the management result of the gaming history has been issued (step S1611: YES), the ratio of the value of the advantageous game number counter to the value of the total game number counter is calculated (step S1612). That is, the calculation is performed so that the calculation result = "value of the advantageous game number counter" / "value of the total game number counter".

[0287] Thereafter, a management display start process is executed (step S1613). In the management display start process, the display of the calculation result of step S1612 on the ratio display 85 (FIG. 9) is started. In this case, the identifier "7U." indicating that the value displayed on the ratio display unit 87 is the favorable zone stay ratio is displayed on the identifier display unit 86. Specifically, the display of the identifier display unit 86 is controlled so that "7" is displayed on the left segment indicator 86a of the identifier display unit 86, "U" is displayed on the right segment indicator 86b of the identifier display unit 86, and the auxiliary indicator 86c for the identifier is lit. In addition, the display of the ratio display unit 87 is controlled so that the tens digit of the value obtained by multiplying the calculation result of step S1612 by 100 is displayed on the left segment indicator 87a of the ratio display unit 87, and the ones digit is displayed on the right segment indicator 87b. The calculation result is notified as a percentage. Specifically, if the value obtained by multiplying the above calculation result by 100 is "35", the left segment indicator 87a of the ratio display unit 87 will display "3", and the right segment indicator 87b will display "5".

[0288] However, when the ratio display unit 87 uses only the two segment indicators 87a and 87b to display the result, the display content of the ratio display unit 87 will be the same whether the result obtained by multiplying the result of the calculation by 100 is "100" or "0." Therefore, when the result obtained by multiplying the result of the calculation by 100 is "100," not only will "0" be displayed on each of the left and right segment indicators 87a and 87b in the ratio display unit 87, but the auxiliary display unit 87c will be turned on. Conversely, when the result obtained by multiplying the result of the calculation by 100 is "0," not only will "0" be displayed on each of the left and right segment indicators 87a and 87b in the ratio display unit 87, but the auxiliary display unit 87c will be turned off. Thereafter, the management display flag in the work area 102 for non-specific control is set to "1" (step S1614).

[0289] If it is determined that the management display flag is set to "1" (step S1610: YES), a management display process is executed to continue displaying the calculation result of step S1612 on the ratio display 85 (FIG. 9) (step S1615). After that, it is determined whether an end operation has been performed to end the display of the management result (step S1616). Specifically, it is determined whether an ON signal has been received from any of the start detection sensor 41a, stop detection sensors 42a-44a, inserted medal detection sensor 45a, credit inserted detection sensor 47a, and settlement detection sensor 51a, and if it is determined that an ON signal has been received from any of the detection sensors 41a-45a, 47a, it is determined that an end operation has been performed. An affirmative determination is made in step S1616 when an ON signal indicating that the start lever 41 is being pressed is received from the start detection sensor 41a, when an ON signal indicating that any of the stop buttons 42-44 is being pressed is received from one of the stop detection sensors 42a-44a, when an ON signal indicating that a medal has been inserted is received from the inserted medal detection sensor 45a, when an ON signal indicating that the credit insertion button 47 is being pressed is received from the credit insertion detection sensor 47a, or when an ON signal indicating that the settlement button 51 is being pressed is received from the settlement detection sensor 51a. In these cases, an affirmative determination is made in step S1616 regardless of whether or not each ON signal has occurred during the valid period.

[0290] That is, a positive determination is made in step S1616 regardless of whether the reception of an ON signal from the start detection sensor 41a triggers the start of rotation of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. A positive determination is also made in step S1616 regardless of whether the reception of an ON signal from the stop detection sensors 42a-44a triggers the stop of rotation of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. A positive determination is also made in step S1616 regardless of whether the reception of an ON signal from the inserted medal detection sensor 45a triggers bet setting or credit increase. A positive determination is also made in step S1616 regardless of whether the reception of an ON signal from the credit inserted detection sensor 47a triggers bet setting. A positive determination is also made in step S1616 regardless of whether the reception of an ON signal from the settlement detection sensor 51a triggers the settlement of credited virtual medals.

[0291] If a positive determination is made in step S1616, the management display flag is cleared to "0" (step S1617). By clearing the management display flag to "0", a negative determination will be made in step S1610 in the next and subsequent processing of the management execution process (FIG. 38), and the display of the advantageous zone stay ratio (the above calculation result) on the ratio display 85 will end.

[0292] If a negative judgment is made in step S1611, if the processing of step S1614 is performed, if a negative judgment is made in step S1616, or if the processing of step S1617 is performed, processing is executed to restore the data saved in the stack area 104 for non-specific control in step S1603 to the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register of the main MPU 72 in the reverse order (IY register → IX register → HL register → DE register → BC register → WA register) of the order in step S1603 (WA register → BC register → DE register → HL register → IX register → IY register) (step S1618).

[0293] In step S1618, a pop command is used to overwrite the IY register of the primary MPU 72 with information saved in a storage area corresponding to the information of the previous order relative to the current stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and to update the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written in the previous order. Thereafter, a pop command is used to overwrite the IX register of the primary MPU 72 with information saved in a storage area corresponding to the information of the previous order relative to the current stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and to update the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written in the previous order. Thereafter, a pop command is used to overwrite the HL register of the primary MPU 72 with information saved in a storage area corresponding to the information of the previous order relative to the current stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and to update the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written in the previous order. Thereafter, a pop command is issued to overwrite the DE register of the primary MPU 72 with the information saved in the storage area corresponding to the information of the previous order relative to the current stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and to update the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 to the address information of the storage area to be written in the previous order. Thereafter, a pop command is issued to overwrite the BC register of the primary MPU 72 with the information saved in the storage area corresponding to the information of the previous order relative to the current stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and to update the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 to the address information of the storage area to be written in the previous order. Thereafter, a pop command is issued to overwrite the WA register of the primary MPU 72 with the information saved in the storage area corresponding to the information of the previous order relative to the current stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 in the stack area 104 for non-specific control, and to update the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 to the address information of the storage area to be written in the previous order.By executing the processing of step S1618, it is possible to restore the information in the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register of the main MPU 72 to the information corresponding to specific control immediately before processing corresponding to non-specific control was started.

[0294] Thereafter, the data saved in the non-specific stack pointer save area in the work area 102 for non-specific control in step S1601 is restored to the stack pointer of the main MPU 72 (step S1619), and this management execution process is terminated. By restoring the data saved in the non-specific stack pointer save area in step S1601 to the stack pointer of the main MPU 72, the data of the stack pointer of the main MPU 72 can be restored to the data at the start of non-specific control. As a result, the return address information (address information for returning to the process of step S1504) written to the stack area 101 for specific control by the push instruction in step S1503 of the management process (FIG. 37) can be read by the pop instruction, and the process can return to the program of the management process (FIG. 37) indicated by the return address.

[0295] <Configuration for checking data for abnormalities after power recovery> Next, a configuration for checking for abnormalities in data stored in a portion of the storage area in the main RAM 74 after power is restored will be described.

[0296] When the main MPU 72 determines that a power outage has occurred, it executes power outage processing in step S204 of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15). In the power outage processing, a checksum is calculated for data stored in some storage areas in the main RAM 74. As shown in FIG. 13, the range of checksum calculation is the first calculation target area 109 in the stack area 101 for specific control, the work area 102 for non-specific control, the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control, the first unused area 105, and the second unused area 106.

[0297] The first calculation target area 109 is used to save register information of the main MPU 72 and to store return address information in the program corresponding to the specific control. By including the first calculation target area 109 in the checksum calculation range, it is possible to prevent a game from proceeding while an abnormality exists in the register information of the main MPU 72 saved in the first calculation target area 109 or in the return address information in the program corresponding to the specific control stored in the first calculation target area 109. As already explained, the work area 102 for non-specific control is provided with a total game number counter, an advantageous game number counter, etc., and stores gaming machine management information in the work area 102 for non-specific control. By including the work area 102 for non-specific control in the checksum calculation range, it is possible to prevent a game from proceeding while an abnormality exists in the gaming machine management information stored in the work area 102 for non-specific control. The second calculation target area 111 stores information necessary for a game to proceed. By including the second calculation target area 111 in the calculation target range of the checksum, it is possible to prevent the game from proceeding while an abnormality has occurred in the information necessary to proceed with the game stored in the second calculation target area 111.

[0298] 13, the address range of the storage area in the main RAM 74 that is the target of checksum calculation is the continuous address range Y(4) to Y(t+1). This simplifies the process for specifying the address range of the storage area that is the target of checksum calculation in the process configuration for calculating the checksum. As already explained, in the main RAM 74, the address range (Y(r+2) to Y(r+4)) of the first unused area 105 exists between the address range (Y(4) to Y(r+1)) of the first calculation target area 109 and the address range (Y(r+5) to Y(s+1)) of the non-specific control work area 102, and the address range (Y(s+2) to Y(s+4)) of the second unused area 106 exists between the address range (Y(r+5) to Y(s+1)) of the non-specific control work area 102 and the address range (Y(s+5) to Y(t+1)) of the second calculation target area 111. By including the first unused area 105 and the second unused area 106 in the range of checksum calculation, the address range of the storage areas in the main RAM 74 that are the target of checksum calculation can be made a continuous address range. On the other hand, the address range (Y(t+4) to Y(t+6)) of the third unused area 107 is not continuous with the first calculation target area 109, the work area 102 for non-specific control, or the second calculation target area 111. Therefore, by excluding the third unused area 107 from the range of checksum calculation, it is possible to prevent the address range of the storage areas in the main RAM 74 that are the target of checksum calculation from being dispersed. As already explained, the third unused area 107 is an area that is not used in either specific control or non-specific control, and a checksum is not calculated for the third unused area 107.

[0299] If the supply of operating power starts without the setting key insertion hole 57 being turned on, the power recovery process (step S103) is executed in the main process (FIG. 14). As will be described in detail later, in the power recovery process (step S103), a checksum is calculated for the same calculation target range as the checksum calculated before power was cut off in the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41) in step S1804, which will be described later. If the checksum calculated after power is restored for the same calculation target range in the main RAM 74 matches the checksum calculated before power was cut off, the main MPU 72 verifies that no abnormality has occurred in the data stored in that calculation target range.

[0300] Any method for calculating the checksum can be used, but one example is to add up all the numerical values ​​in the storage areas included in the range of the checksum calculation. Specifically, first, the master MPU 72 allocates a BC register as a register for calculating the checksum and clears the BC register to "0." As previously explained, the BC register consists of two bytes. As shown in Figure 13, the range of the checksum calculation includes storage areas corresponding to addresses Y(4) to Y(t+1). As previously explained, these storage areas consist of one byte. To calculate the checksum, first, the 1-byte storage area corresponding to Y(4), the start address of the range of the calculation, is set as the sum area. Next, the data stored in the sum area is added to the BC register as one-byte numerical information, and "1" is added to the current address of the sum area (Y(4)) to update the address of the sum area to Y(5). This updates the sum area to a 1-byte storage area corresponding to the address of Y(5). In the checksum calculation, one byte of numerical information stored in the area to be added is added to the BC register, and the address of the area to be added is incremented by one and updated repeatedly until the address of the area to be added reaches Y(t+2), the end address of the calculation. During each addition, if a carry occurs that causes the result of the addition to exceed the most significant bit of the BC register, the carry is ignored. As a result, the BC register contains the sum of the one-byte numerical information stored in the storage areas corresponding to all addresses (Y(4) to Y(t+1)) included in the range to be calculated for the checksum. This sum is two bytes of numerical information. In this embodiment, the sum calculated in the BC register is used as the checksum value, and it is confirmed whether the checksum value calculated after power is restored matches the checksum value calculated and stored before power was shut off. The method for calculating this checksum is the same when calculating the checksum during power outage processing (step S204 of the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15)) before power is cut off, and when calculating the checksum during the backup abnormality confirmation processing (Figure 41) described below after power is restored.The register reserved for checksum calculation in the main MPU 72 is not limited to the BC register, but may be the DE register or the HL register.

[0301] As shown in FIG. 12 , in the specific control work area 103, a second non-calculation area 112, which is provided separately from the second calculation target area 111, includes a checksum area 114 for storing a 2-byte checksum calculated before power is cut off. The checksum area 114 consists of 2 bytes. In a configuration in which a checksum is calculated for the same calculation target range in the main RAM 74 before power is cut off and after power is restored, the checksum calculated before power is cut off is stored in a storage area in the main RAM 74 that is excluded from the calculation target range. This allows the checksum calculated before power is cut off to be stored in the specific control work area 103 while preventing changes to the data stored in the calculation target range. When the main MPU 72 detects the occurrence of a power outage, it calculates a checksum and stores the calculated checksum in the checksum area 114. This allows the power to be cut off while the checksums corresponding to the data stored in the first calculation target area 109, the work area 102 for non-specific control, the second calculation target area 111, the first unused area 105 and the second unused area 106 are stored in the checksum area 114.

[0302] The stack area 101 for specific control is provided with a head area 108. As shown in Fig. 13, the head area 108 is a 3-byte storage area corresponding to addresses Y(1) to Y(3) in the stack area 101 for specific control. The head area 108 is excluded from the range to be calculated for the checksum.

[0303] As already explained, in the main processing (FIG. 14), the processing other than the power recovery processing (step S103) is executed using a program and data for specific control. Furthermore, in the power recovery processing (step S103), the processing other than the backup abnormality confirmation processing (FIG. 41), which will be described later, is executed using a program and data for specific control, while the backup abnormality confirmation processing (FIG. 41) is executed using a program and data for non-specific control. The leading area 108 in the stack area 101 for specific control is used to save data (1 byte) in the flag register of the main MPU 72 when the backup abnormality confirmation processing (FIG. 41), which is a processing for non-specific control, is started while the processing for specific control is being executed, and is also used to store return address information (2 bytes) for returning to the power recovery processing (FIG. 40) after the backup abnormality confirmation processing (FIG. 41) is completed.

[0304] For this reason, if the start area 108 were included in the range of checksum calculation, the data stored in the start area 108 would be rewritten before the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41) is executed after power is restored, and the checksum would never match. In contrast, by excluding the start area 108 from the range of checksum calculation, the checksum value is prevented from differing from the value before power was cut off, as a result of the data stored in the start area 108 being rewritten in order to execute the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41).

[0305] When the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41), which is a process for non-specific control, is started while the power restoration process (FIG. 40), which is a process for specific control, is being executed, return address information is stored in the head area 108, so that it is possible to return to the power restoration process (FIG. 40) based on the return address information when the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41) is completed. When the power restoration process (FIG. 40), which is a process for specific control, is being executed while the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41), which is a process for non-specific control, is started, data (1 byte) of the flag register of the primary MPU 72 is saved in the head area 108. The data saved in the head area 108 can be restored to the flag register of the primary MPU 72 when the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41), which is a process for non-specific control, is completed. This restores the flag register of the primary MPU 72 to the state it was in at the start of the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41), which is a process for non-specific control, and it is possible to return to the power restoration process (FIG. 40), which is a process for specific control.

[0306] As will be described in detail later, at the start of the backup abnormality confirmation process ( FIG. 41 ), a process is executed to save data in some registers of the primary MPU 72 to the stack area 104 for non-specific control. As shown in FIG. 13 , the stack area 104 for non-specific control is excluded from the range of the checksum calculation. This makes it possible to save data in some registers of the primary MPU 72 to the stack area 104 for non-specific control while preventing data stored in the calculation range from being changed after power is restored and before a checksum is calculated for the same calculation range as before the power was shut off. At the end of the backup abnormality confirmation process ( FIG. 41 ), a process is executed to restore the data saved in the stack area 104 for non-specific control to the registers of the primary MPU 72. This makes it possible to use the registers of the primary MPU 72 in the backup abnormality confirmation process ( FIG. 41 ), which is a process for non-specific control, while restoring the data in the registers to the data at the start of the backup abnormality confirmation process ( FIG. 41 ), and to return to the process for specific control. Furthermore, by excluding the stack area 104 for non-specific control from the range of checksum calculation, the range of checksum calculation is reduced, which reduces the amount of processing that must be performed from the time a power outage is identified until the power is cut off and the operation of the main MPU 72 stops.

[0307] By configuring the backup abnormality confirmation process to be executed using a program for non-specific control and data for non-specific control, it is possible to provide more storage capacity for the memory area in the main ROM 73 that stores the program for specific control and data for specific control, compared to a configuration in which the backup abnormality confirmation process is executed using a program for specific control and data for specific control.

[0308] Next, before explaining the power outage processing (Figure 39) executed in step S204 of the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15), we will explain the movement of information in various registers provided in the main MPU 72 at the start, during execution, and end of the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15).

[0309] First, the start of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 15) will be described. When the time comes for an interrupt due to the timer interrupt process (FIG. 15) to occur while a process for specific control is being executed in the main MPU 72, address information corresponding to the process following the process being executed in the main MPU 72 is saved as 2-byte return address information in the stack area 101 for specific control by a push command. The most significant byte of the return address information is saved in a storage area in the stack area 101 for specific control corresponding to the information of the current stack pointer of the main MPU 72, and the least significant byte of the return address information is saved in a storage area in the stack area 101 for specific control corresponding to the information of the next order after the information of the current stack pointer of the main MPU 72. In addition, the stack pointer information of the main MPU 72 is updated by subtracting "2". As a result, when the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) ends, the pop command reads the information of the return address saved in the stack area 101 for specific control, and it becomes possible to return to the processing next to the processing that was being executed immediately before the start of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15).

[0310] Next, the register save processing (step S201) will be described. In the register save processing, a load instruction is issued to save information about the stack pointer of the main MPU 72 to a stack pointer save area 116 provided in the second calculation target area 111. As a result, the stack pointer information at the start of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) is saved in the stack pointer save area 116. The stack pointer save area 116 is a storage area provided in the second calculation target area 111 for saving data about the stack pointer of the main MPU 72. In the register save processing, after saving the stack pointer information of the main MPU 72, information about registers other than the program counter and stack pointer among the various registers provided in the main MPU 72 is saved to a register save area 117 provided in the second calculation target area 111. The register save area 117 is a storage area for saving information about registers other than the program counter and stack pointer among the various registers provided in the main MPU 72. Register save area 117 is provided with register save buffers such as a WA register save buffer, a BC register save buffer, a DE register save buffer, an IX register save buffer and an IY register save buffer, each of which corresponds one-to-one to each of the registers such as the WA register, BC register, DE register, IX register and IY register, and the information in each of these registers such as the WA register, BC register, DE register, IX register and IY register is saved to the corresponding register save buffer by a load instruction. As a result, the information in these registers is saved in register save area 117 at the start of timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15).

[0311] Next, the register restore process (step S215) will be described. In the register restore process, information stored in each register save buffer in the register save area 117 is restored to a register corresponding to the register save buffer in the main MPU 72. The information stored in each register save buffer is restored to the corresponding register by executing a load command for that register save buffer. In the register restore process, after the information stored in each register save buffer in the register save area 117 is restored to the registers of the main MPU 72, the information stored in the stack pointer save area 116 is restored to the stack pointer of the main MPU 72 by a load command. This allows the various registers in the main MPU 72, excluding the program counter, to be restored to the state at the start of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 15).

[0312] Next, the end of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) will be described. After the various registers of the main MPU 72, except for the program counter, are returned to the state they were in when the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) started, the information saved in the stack area 101 for specific control is set in the program counter of the main MPU 72 by a pop instruction when the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) ends. This ends the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15), and makes it possible to return to the processing following the processing that was being executed immediately before the interrupt due to the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) occurred.

[0313] In this way, various registers of the main MPU 72 are available during execution of the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15), and after the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15) is completed, all registers of the main MPU 72, including the program counter, are restored to the state they were in at the start of the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15), and the next processing can be started after the processing that was being executed immediately before the interrupt due to the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15) occurred.

[0314] Next, the power failure processing executed by the main MPU 72 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 39. As already explained, the power failure processing is executed in step S204 when it is determined in the timer interrupt processing (Fig. 15) that the power failure flag is set to "1" (step S202: YES) and when it is determined that command transmission has ended (step S203: YES). The power failure processing is executed using a program and data for specific control.

[0315] In the power failure processing, first, the data stored in the head area 108 in the stack area 101 for specific control is stored in a head save area 115 provided in the second calculation target area 111 in the work area 103 for specific control (step S1701). The head save area 115 is a storage area provided in the second calculation target area 111 for saving the data in the head area 108. By saving the data stored in the head area 108 in the head save area 115 in step S1701, the head area 108 can be used to execute the backup abnormality confirmation processing (FIG. 41), which is a processing for non-specific control, after power is restored. At the same time, when it is confirmed that no abnormality has occurred in the data stored in the checksum calculation target range, the data stored in the head save area 115 can be restored to the head area 108. This restores the data in the head area 108 to the data stored in the head area 108 at the start of the power failure processing (FIG. 39), thereby restoring the processing state before the power was shut off. Furthermore, by configuring the system so that the checksum before power is cut off and the checksum after power is restored are calculated while the data in the head area 108 is being saved to the head save area 115, it is possible to confirm that no abnormalities have occurred in the data saved to the head save area 115 by confirming that the checksum calculated after power is restored matches the checksum stored before power was cut off.

[0316] Thereafter, the output state of the output port of the main MPU 72 is cleared (step S1702), and all actuators (not shown) are turned off (step S1703). Then, a checksum is calculated to determine whether the data in the main RAM 74 is normal when the power outage is resolved, and the calculated checksum is stored in the checksum area 114 of the second calculation target area 111 (steps S1704 to S1711). In the checksum storage process, the checksum area 114 of the second non-calculation target area 112 in the specific control work area 103 is first cleared to "0" (step S1704). Then, the BC register of the main MPU 72 is reserved for checksum calculation, and the BC register is cleared to "0" (step S1705). As explained above, the BC register is a 2-byte storage area.

[0317] Then, "Y(4)," the start address of the calculation range, is set as the address of the area to be added for the checksum (step S1706). Then, data stored in the memory area corresponding to the address of the area to be added in the main RAM 74 is read (step S1707), and the read data is added as one byte of numerical information to the BC register reserved for the checksum calculation in the main MPU 72 (step S1708). In step S1708, if a carry occurs that causes the result of the addition to exceed the most significant bit of the BC register, the carry is ignored. Then, "1" is added to the address of the area to be added, and the address of the area to be added is updated (step S1709). In step S1709, the address of the area to be added is updated in the order of Y(4) → Y(5) → Y(6) → ... → Y(t+1) → Y(t+2).

[0318] Then, it is determined whether the address of the area to be added is Y(t+2), which is the end address of the checksum calculation (step S1710). If a negative determination is made in step S1710, the process returns to step S1707, and steps S1707 to S1710 are repeatedly executed until a positive determination is made in step S1710. As a result, the BC register reserved for checksum calculation in the main MPU 72 is filled with the sum of the one-byte numerical information stored in the storage area corresponding to the checksum calculation range (Y(4) to Y(t+1)) in the main RAM 74 as the checksum calculation result. As explained above, this sum is two bytes of numerical information. Then, the checksum calculated in the BC register is stored in the checksum area 114 of the second non-calculation area 112 (step S1711).

[0319] In step S1711, the checksum calculated before power was cut off is stored in the checksum area 114, and then access to the main RAM 74 is prohibited (step S1712). After the above processing is performed, an infinite loop is entered in preparation for the possibility that power will be completely cut off and processing will no longer be possible.

[0320] The power failure processing (FIG. 39) is executed in step S204 after the register save processing in step S201 is executed in the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15). When the power failure processing (FIG. 39) is executed, the power is cut off without executing the register restore processing in step S215. At the timing when the power is cut off and the operation of the main MPU 72 stops, the data stored in the specific control stack area 101 at the start of the processing round of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) in which the occurrence of the power failure was identified is stored in the first calculation target area 109 of the specific control stack area 101 and the leading save area 115 of the second calculation target area 111, including information on the return address corresponding to the processing next to the processing being executed immediately before the interrupt by the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) occurred. Furthermore, at the timing when the power supply is cut off and the operation of the main MPU 72 stops, the data stored in registers other than the program counter in the main MPU 72 at the start of the processing round of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) in which the occurrence of the power outage was identified is stored in the stack pointer save area 116 and the register save area 117 in the second calculation target area 111. In this way, the power supply is cut off with information for restoring the processing state immediately before the start of the processing round of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) in which the occurrence of the power outage was identified stored in the first calculation target area 109 and the second calculation target area 111. Therefore, after the power supply is restored, the information stored in the first calculation target area 109 and the second calculation target area 111 can be used to restore the processing state immediately before the start of the processing round of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) in which the occurrence of the power outage was identified.

[0321] At the time when the power is cut off, the first calculation target area 109 and the second calculation target area 111, which store information for restoring the processing state to the state immediately before the start of the processing round of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) in which the occurrence of the power outage was identified, are included in the range of the checksum calculation. Therefore, before restoring the processing state to the state immediately before the start of the processing round of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) in which the occurrence of the power outage was identified after the power is restored, by confirming that the checksum calculated after the power is restored matches the checksum calculated and stored before the power is cut off, it is possible to confirm that no abnormality has occurred in the information for restoring the processing state to the state immediately before the start of the processing round of the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 15) in which the occurrence of the power outage was identified. This makes it possible to prevent the processing state from being restored based on data in which an abnormality has occurred.

[0322] Next, the power recovery process executed by the main MPU 72 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 40. The power recovery process is executed in step S103 of the main process (Fig. 14) when the supply of operating power starts without the setting key insertion hole 57 being turned on. Note that the processes in the power recovery process other than the backup abnormality confirmation process (step S1804) are executed using a program and data for specific control, while the backup abnormality confirmation process (step S1804) is executed using a program and data for non-specific control.

[0323] In the power recovery process, first, it is determined whether the error state flag in the second calculation target area 111 is set to "1" (step S1801). As already explained, the error state flag is a flag that enables the main MPU 72 to grasp the occurrence of one or more error states among an error state in which a checksum calculated after power is turned on using a portion of the storage area in the main RAM 74 as the calculation target range does not match the checksum calculated and stored for the same calculation target range before power is turned off, an error state in which the setting value of the slot machine 10 is outside the normal setting value range ("Setting 1" to "Setting 6"), and an error state corresponding to the power outage process (FIG. 39) not being performed normally before power is turned off. The error state flag is set to "1" in step S1819, which will be described later.

[0324] If a negative determination is made in step S1801, a load command is issued to set "Y(3)", which is address information corresponding to the last storage area of ​​the start area 108 in the stack area 101 for specific control, as a fixed address at the start of the power recovery process (FIG. 40) in the stack pointer of the main MPU 72 (step S1802). As a result, the last storage area of ​​the start area 108 is set as the storage area to which information is written in response to a push command in the stack area 101 for specific control.

[0325] Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the flag register information of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the specific control stack area 101 corresponding to the current stack pointer information ("Y(3)") of the primary MPU 72, and update the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 to the address information ("Y(2)") of the storage area to be written next (step S1803). As previously explained, the flag register includes a carry flag, a zero flag, a P / V flag, a sign flag, a half carry flag, and the like, and the flag register information changes depending on the execution results of an arithmetic instruction, a rotate instruction, an input / output instruction, and the like. By saving such flag register information before the start of the subroutine program corresponding to the backup abnormality confirmation process (step S1804), it is possible to save the flag register information in the state before it changes after the subroutine is called or started in the head area 108. The amount of information in the flag register of the primary MPU 72 is 1 byte. As previously explained, the head area 108 is a storage area capable of storing 3 bytes of information.

[0326] Thereafter, a call instruction is issued to read out a subroutine program corresponding to the backup abnormality confirmation process set in the program for non-specific control, thereby starting the backup abnormality confirmation process (step S1804). In this case, information (2 bytes) for specifying a return address for returning to the process of step S1805 after the backup abnormality confirmation process is completed is saved as return address information in the stack area 101 for specific control by a push instruction. The most significant byte of the return address information is stored in a storage area in the stack area 101 for specific control corresponding to the current stack pointer information ("Y(2)") of the primary MPU 72, and the least significant byte of the return address information is stored in a storage area corresponding to the next stack pointer information ("Y(1)"). The stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 is then updated to the address information ("Y(0)") of the storage area to be written to next. The head area 108 is now stored with flag register information (1 byte) of the primary MPU 72 and return address information (2 bytes).

[0327] Figure 41 is a flowchart showing the backup abnormality confirmation process. The backup abnormality confirmation process is executed using a program and data for non-specific control. The backup abnormality confirmation process is executed after the supply of operating power to the main MPU 72 has started and before the timer interrupt process (Figure 15) is permitted to generate an interrupt. This prevents the timer interrupt process (Figure 15), which is a process corresponding to specific control, from interrupting and starting up during the backup abnormality confirmation process, which is a process corresponding to non-specific control.

[0328] In the backup abnormality confirmation process, steps S1901 and S1902 are the same as steps S1602 and S1603 of the management execution process (FIG. 38). Specifically, a load command is first used to set the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 to "Y(u+1)," the last address in the non-specific control stack area 104, as a fixed address at the start of the backup abnormality confirmation process (FIG. 41) (step S1901). Then, a process is executed to save information in the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register, which are some of the various general-purpose registers, auxiliary registers, and index registers provided in the primary MPU 72, to the non-specific control stack area 104 (step S1902). As already explained, the information capacity of the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register is each 2 bytes.

[0329] In step S1902, first, a push command is used to save the information in the WA register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 is updated to information about the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is used to save the information in the BC register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 is updated to information about the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is used to save the information in the DE register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and the stack pointer information of the primary MPU 72 is updated to information about the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the information in the HL register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and to update the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the information in the IX register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and to update the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written to next. Thereafter, a push command is issued to save the information in the IY register of the primary MPU 72 to a storage area in the non-specific control stack area 104 that corresponds to the information in the current stack pointer of the primary MPU 72, and to update the information in the stack pointer of the primary MPU 72 to information on the address of the storage area to be written to next.

[0330] These WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register are registers used in the processing of steps S1903 to S1910. By saving the information set in these registers to the stack area 104 for non-specific control prior to the execution of the processing of steps S1903 to S1910, it is possible to save the information in these registers used during specific control before the non-specific control is started. Therefore, even if these registers are overwritten during non-specific control, by restoring the information saved in the stack area 104 for non-specific control to these registers when the non-specific control is terminated, it is possible to restore the states of these registers to the states corresponding to specific control before the non-specific control was executed.

[0331] As already explained, the non-specific control stack area 104 that saves the information of these WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register is excluded from the range of the checksum calculation. Therefore, after the power is restored but before the checksum is calculated, the information of these registers can be saved to the non-specific control stack area 104 while preventing the data stored in the range of the checksum calculation from changing.

[0332] Instead of saving all information in the various general-purpose registers, auxiliary registers, and index registers to the stack area 104 for non-specific control, the information in the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register to be used in the processing of steps S1903 to S1910 is selectively saved to the stack area 104 for non-specific control, thereby reducing the capacity required to save register information in the stack area 104 for non-specific control. This makes it possible to save the register information described above while ensuring a large capacity for the stack area 104 for non-specific control that is available for the processing of steps S1903 to S1910. Naturally, for the various general-purpose registers, auxiliary registers, and index registers in the main MPU 72 other than the WA register, BC register, DE register, HL register, IX register, and IY register, information set before the processing corresponding to the non-specific control is started is stored and held until the processing corresponding to the non-specific control is completed and the processing corresponding to the specific control is resumed.

[0333] After performing the process of step S1902, the master MPU 72 allocates a BC register for the checksum calculation and clears the BC register to "0" (step S1903). Then, "Y(4)," the start address of the calculation range, is set as the address of the area to be added for the checksum (step S1904). Then, data stored in the memory area corresponding to the address of the area to be added in the master RAM 74 is read (step S1905), and the read data is added as 1-byte numerical information to the BC register allocated for the checksum calculation in the master MPU 72 (step S1906). In step S1906, if a carry occurs that causes the result of the addition to exceed the most significant bit of the BC register, the carry is ignored. Then, "1" is added to the address of the area to be added, updating the address of the area to be added (step S1907). In step S1907, the addresses of the areas to be added are updated in the order Y(4) → Y(5) →...

Claims

[Claim 1] A control means for executing various processes; a predetermined storage means for temporarily storing information when the various processes are executed by the control means; Equipped with The control means a first predetermined process execution means for executing a first predetermined process among the various processes; a second predetermined process execution means for executing a second predetermined process among the various processes; Equipped with The predetermined storage means a first corresponding storage area into which information is written when the first predetermined process is being executed, but into which information is not written when the second predetermined process is being executed; a second corresponding storage area into which information is written when the second predetermined process is being executed, but into which information is not written when the first predetermined process is being executed; a predetermined save area in which predetermined save correspondence information used to execute the first predetermined process is saved when a situation in which the first predetermined process is being executed changes to a situation in which the second predetermined process is being executed; Equipped with The first predetermined process is executed when a process at the start of supply of operating power is started, the process being executed when the supply of operating power is started; the second predetermined processing execution means includes an abnormality identification execution means that executes, as the second predetermined processing in the processing at the start of supply, an abnormality identification processing for identifying whether or not the content of information in a specific target area in the specific storage means that does not include the specific save area has changed from the content at the time of the previous stop of supply of operating power, and identifying that an information abnormality has occurred if the content has changed; the predetermined save area is set as a storage area of ​​a first address in the predetermined storage means, or as a storage area of ​​a predetermined range of consecutive addresses from the first address so as to include the first address, the abnormality identification execution means is configured to identify whether or not the information abnormality has occurred in the specific target area without distinguishing between the information abnormality in an area of ​​the specific target area that corresponds to the first corresponding storage area and the information abnormality in an area of ​​the specific target area that corresponds to the second corresponding storage area, the first predetermined process execution means includes means for executing an information initialization process on the first corresponding storage area when the occurrence of the information abnormality is identified by the abnormality identification execution means, The gaming machine is characterized in that the second predetermined processing execution means is provided with a means for executing information initialization processing for the second corresponding memory area based on the abnormality identification execution means identifying that an information abnormality has occurred.

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