Gaming machine

Abstract

We will provide gaming machines with improved performance. [Solution] In a predetermined game state (non-bonus game state), if the difference in the number of game media related to stopping play exceeds a specific value (19000), the game is stopped. Furthermore, if the difference in the number of game media related to stopping play exceeds a first difference (18900), a pre-notification image is displayed on the image display. In addition, a pre-notification image is displayed on the image display even when the difference exceeds the first difference but does not reach the second difference (18850). However, if the difference falls below the second difference, no pre-notification image is displayed on the image display.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Relates to a gaming machine.

Background Art

[0002] In a rotary gaming machine (slot machine), when a gaming start instruction device (start lever) is operated after a predetermined number of gaming medals are inserted, the game starts, and a plurality of reels on which a plurality of symbols are arranged on the outer periphery rotate. As a result of using a reel stop device (stop button) to stop the rotation operation and stopping the reel, when a predetermined combination of symbols (for example, a winning combination such as "777") is lined up on the effective line, a special gaming state in which the state is more profitable for the player than the normal gaming state (a gaming state in which the lottery probability of small winning combinations and the like is higher than normal) is generally a type that shifts. Here, in the rotary gaming machine, in addition to such basic games, various effects are performed to improve the overall appeal. In addition, in conjunction with the payout of gaming medals, an output of a payout sound, a display of the number of acquired medals, and a backlight effect are performed so that it can be recognized that the gaming medals have been appropriately paid out.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In this type of gaming machine, improvement of its performance is desired.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] Equipped with an image display means, ​ In the first situation, where the difference in the number of game media related to the stoppage is greater than the first difference (the first difference is smaller than a specific value), a pre-notification image can be displayed on the image display means. In a second situation where the difference in the number of game media related to the stoppage becomes greater than the first difference, and then the difference in the number of game media related to the stoppage becomes greater than the second difference (the second difference is smaller than the first difference), the pre-notification image can be displayed on the image display means. In a third situation where the difference in the number of gaming media related to the stoppage becomes larger than the first difference, and then smaller than the second difference, the pre-notification image is not displayed on the image display means. The difference between the first difference and the second difference is greater than the difference of the largest game medium in a single game. A gaming machine characterized by the following features. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, the performance of a gaming machine can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the exotropic view of the PS1 slot machine cabinet. [Figure 2] This is a diagram showing the back of the PS2 front panel. [Figure 3] This is a diagram showing the inside of a PS3 cabinet. [Figure 4] This is a diagram showing functional blocks. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the program startup process. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows the power outage process. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart showing timer interrupt handling. [Figure 8] This flowchart shows the power recovery process after a power outage. [Figure 9] This is a flowchart showing the main game progression. [Figure 10] This is a flowchart showing the process for changing settings. [Figure 11] It is a flowchart showing the favorable range clear counter management process. [Figure 12] It is a diagram for explaining the reel arrangement in this embodiment. [Figure 13] It is a diagram for explaining the symbol combination in this embodiment. [Figure 14] It is a diagram for explaining the symbol combination in this embodiment. [Figure 15] It is a diagram for explaining the symbol combination in this embodiment. [Figure 16] It is a diagram for explaining the symbol combination in this embodiment. [Figure 17] It is a diagram for explaining the symbol combination in this embodiment. [Figure 18] It is a diagram for explaining the symbol combination in this embodiment. [Figure 19] It is a diagram for explaining the condition device in this embodiment. [Figure 20] It is a diagram for explaining the internal extraction number in this embodiment. [Figure 21] It is a diagram for explaining the internal extraction number in this embodiment. [Figure 22] It is a diagram for explaining the internal extraction number in this embodiment. [Figure 23] It is an example of the push button effect. [Figure 24] It is an example of the display mode of the display device when the push button effect is executed. [Figure 25] It is an example of the step-up notice in the normal effect state. [Figure 26] It is an example of the dialogue notice in the normal effect state. [Figure 27] It is an example of the dialogue notice during continuous effects. [Figure 28] It is an example of the effect switch image in the situation where the front panel PS2 is open. [Figure 29] It is an example of the effect switch image in the demo screen. [Figure 30]This is an example of a switch image used for visual effects in a demo screen. [Figure 31] This diagram illustrates the case where the MAX bet switch is not used to insert a bet after the payout process is complete. [Figure 32] This diagram illustrates the case where a MAX bet switch is used to insert a bet after the payout process has finished. [Figure 33] This diagram illustrates the case where a settlement operation is performed using the settlement switch after the payout process is complete. [Figure 34] This diagram illustrates what happens if no game tokens are inserted after the settlement process is complete. [Figure 35] This diagram illustrates what happens when game tokens are inserted after the settlement process is complete. [Figure 36] This diagram illustrates a scenario where a payout is processed normally. [Figure 37] This diagram illustrates what happens when dispensing fails (when a hopper empty error occurs). [Figure 38] This diagram illustrates what happens when dispensing fails to occur properly (when a hopper congestion error occurs). [Figure 39] This figure shows an example of the display screen when a payout is performed successfully. [Figure 40] This figure shows an example of the display screen when dispensing fails (hopper empty error occurs). [Figure 41] This figure shows an example of the display screen that appears when dispensing fails (when a hopper congestion error occurs). [Figure 42] This diagram shows example programs that demonstrate interrupt disable and interrupt enable. [Figure 43] This figure shows a time chart for an 8-bit counter and timer interrupt handling. [Figure 44] This diagram shows the timing of timer interrupt processing. [Figure 45] This diagram shows an example of a stage change effect. [Figure 46] This is a diagram showing an example of the first sequence of events. [Figure 47]This diagram shows an example of a second consecutive performance sequence. [Figure 48] This figure shows an example of when text is displayed during a continuous performance. [Figure 49] This diagram shows an example of the process leading up to the display of the NEXT image in a continuous animation sequence. [Figure 50] This figure shows an example of the configuration of a button press order navigation image. [Figure 51] This figure shows an example of when the button press order navigation image is displayed on the LCD screen. [Figure 52] This figure shows an example of what happens when a predetermined error occurs while the button press order navigation image is being displayed. [Figure 53] This is a time chart showing the results when the MAX bet switch is not used after the payout process based on the winning combination of button presses has finished. [Figure 54] This is a time chart showing the process when the MAX bet switch is used to insert a bet after the payout process based on the winning combination has been completed. [Figure 55] This is a time chart showing the results when the MAX bet switch is not used after the payout process based on the cherry symbol win is completed. [Figure 56] This is a time chart showing the process when the MAX bet switch is used to insert a bet after the payout process based on the cherry symbol win has finished. [Figure 57] This is a time chart showing the case where no game tokens are inserted after the automatic token insertion process based on winning a replay has finished. [Figure 58] This is a time chart showing the process when inserting game tokens after the automatic token insertion process based on winning a replay has finished. [Figure 59] This is a time chart showing the process when a settlement operation is performed using the settlement switch after the payout process based on the winning combination of button presses has been completed. [Figure 60] This is a time chart showing the process when a settlement operation is performed using the settlement switch after the automatic payout process based on the winning of a replay role has finished. [Figure 61]This is a time chart for when the payout does not occur properly after the cherry symbol is won (when a hopper empty error occurs). [Figure 62] This is a time chart for when the payout does not occur properly after the cherry symbol is awarded (when a hopper congestion error occurs). [Figure 63] This diagram shows the reel arrangement used when explaining the correct operation challenge sequence. [Figure 64] This diagram shows a list of the conditional devices used when explaining the correct operation challenge sequence. [Figure 65] This diagram shows a list of symbol combinations used when explaining the correct operation challenge animation. [Figure 66] This diagram shows a list of symbol combinations used when explaining the correct operation challenge animation. [Figure 67] This diagram shows the correspondence between the conditional device and the symbol combination used when explaining the correct operation challenge sequence. [Figure 68] This diagram shows the correspondence between the conditional device and the symbol combination used when explaining the correct operation challenge sequence. [Figure 69] This diagram shows the correspondence between the conditional device and the symbol combination used when explaining the correct operation challenge sequence. [Figure 70] This figure shows examples of the game screen when the game is set to normal mode and when it is set to streaming mode. [Figure 71] This diagram shows the various memory regions stored in the main control ROM. [Figure 72] This diagram shows the interrupt initialization area and automatic allocation based on the priority of the interrupt initialization area. [Figure 73] This diagram shows the relationship between the interrupt vector addresses for power-on processing and timer interrupt processing. [Figure 74] This diagram shows the relationship between the interrupt vector addresses for power-on processing and timer interrupt processing and other programs. [Figure 75] This figure shows an example of payout specifications that span across advantageous periods. [Figure 76]This figure shows an example of payout specifications that span across advantageous periods. [Figure 77] This figure shows an example of payout specifications that span across advantageous periods. [Figure 78] This is a flowchart showing the management process for the advantageous interval clear counter corresponding to the difference counter. [Figure 79] This is a flowchart showing the management process for the advantageous interval clear counter corresponding to the difference counter. [Figure 80] This is a flowchart showing the process for monitoring and stopping operations. [Figure 81] This is a flowchart showing the process for monitoring and stopping operations. [Figure 82] This is a flowchart showing the process for monitoring and stopping operations. [Figure 83] This is a flowchart showing the process for monitoring and stopping operations. [Figure 84] This is a flowchart showing the process for monitoring and stopping operations. [Figure 85] This figure shows examples of the effects for the operation notification state and the stop notification state. [Figure 86] This diagram illustrates the reel arrangement in Specification 1. [Figure 87] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 1. [Figure 88] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 1. [Figure 89] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 1. [Figure 90] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 1. [Figure 91] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 1. [Figure 92] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 1. [Figure 93] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 1. [Figure 94] This is a diagram illustrating the conditional device in Specification 1. [Figure 95] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 1. [Figure 96] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 1. [Figure 97] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 1. [Figure 98] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 1. [Figure 99] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 1. [Figure 100] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 1. [Figure 101] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 1. [Figure 102] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 1. [Figure 103] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 1. [Figure 104] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 1. [Figure 105] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 1. [Figure 106] This is a diagram illustrating the reel arrangement in Specification 2. [Figure 107] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 2. [Figure 108] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 2. [Figure 109] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 2. [Figure 110] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 2. [Figure 111] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 2. [Figure 112] This diagram illustrates the pattern combinations in Specification 2. [Figure 113] This is a diagram illustrating the conditional device in Specification 2. [Figure 114] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 2. [Figure 115] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 2. [Figure 116] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 2. [Figure 117] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 2. [Figure 118] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 2. [Figure 119] This diagram illustrates the number of internal draw slots in Specification 2. [Figure 120] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 2. [Figure 121] This diagram illustrates the stop control for each game state in Specification 2. [Figure 122] This diagram illustrates the LCD screen during the implementation period in Specification 2. [Figure 123] This diagram illustrates the LCD screen during the implementation period in Specification 2. [Figure 124] This diagram illustrates other display modes of the LCD screen using a display switch. [Figure 125] This diagram illustrates other display modes of the LCD screen using a display switch. [Figure 126] This figure shows an example of the configuration related to the number of bets indicator lamp 25 and the payout indicator. [Figure 127] This figure shows an example of the configuration related to the number of bets indicator lamp 25 and the payout indicator. [Figure 128] This figure shows an example of the configuration related to the number of bets indicator lamp 25 and the payout indicator. [Figure 129] This diagram shows the positional relationship when the medal selector 34, the chute component, and the return component are attached to the back of the front panel PS2. [Figure 130] This diagram illustrates the gap between the medal selector 34 and the chute member. [Figure 131] This diagram illustrates the gap between the medal selector 34 and the chute member. [Figure 132] This diagram shows the gap between the medal selector 34 and the chute member, and the positional relationship with the hopper 44, when the front panel PS2 is closed. [Figure 133] This diagram shows the gap between the medal selector 34 and the chute member, and the positional relationship with the hopper 44, when the front panel PS2 is closed. [Figure 134] This diagram illustrates the position and dimensions of the locking parts (screws) that secure the chute member when the chute member's fixing portion is secured to the front panel PS2. [Figure 135] This diagram shows another configuration of the positional relationship when the medal selector 34, the chute member, and the return member are attached to the back of the front panel PS2. [Figure 136] This figure shows an example of an error history screen. [Figure 137] This figure shows an example of the error history screen when the front door is opened or closed while the error history screen is being displayed. [Figure 138] This figure shows an example of a time setting screen. [Figure 139] This is a list of error history display patterns for when multiple errors occur. [Figure 140] This diagram shows an example of the presentation when the notification state regarding the end of play is "normal state". [Figure 141] This diagram shows an example of a presentation when the notification state related to the end of operation is "operation notification state". [Figure 142] This figure shows an example of the presentation when the notification state related to the end of operation is "operation notification state". [Figure 143] This diagram illustrates the transitions in the notification state related to the termination of the service. [Figure 144] This diagram illustrates the relationship between the difference in the number of game media related to the stop-play state during bonus gameplay and the temporary stop-play flag. [Figure 145] This diagram illustrates the pre-notification image during bonus gameplay. [Figure 146] This diagram illustrates the notification state related to the shutdown when the power is cut off and then restored while the shutdown notification state is in the operation warning state. [Figure 147]This diagram illustrates the notification state related to the shutdown when the power is cut off and then restored while the shutdown notification state is in the operation warning state. [Figure 148] This diagram illustrates the notification state related to the shutdown when the power is cut off and then restored while the shutdown notification state is in the operation warning state. [Figure 149] This diagram illustrates the notification state related to the shutdown when the power is cut off and then restored while the shutdown notification state is in the operation warning state. [Figure 150] This diagram illustrates the notification state related to the shutdown when the power is cut off and then restored while the shutdown notification state is in the operation warning state. [Figure 151] This diagram illustrates the error image displayed when an error occurs during automatic payment. [Figure 152] This diagram illustrates the error image displayed when an error occurs during automatic payment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] <Explanation of Terms> "Medals (number of medals)", "game medium (number of game mediums)", and "game value" are synonymous. "Bet", "BET", and "insert" in relation to game medium are synonymous and all refer to the act of wagering (placing) game medium. When representing a hexadecimal number, it is written as "0x〇〇" or "〇〇h", and when representing a binary number, it is written as "〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇b" or "〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇B", and unless otherwise specified before or after the number, it is represented in decimal. "Reel" may be referred to as "spinning mechanism", and all are synonymous. "Memory means" may be referred to as "RWM", "RAM", or "memory area", and all are synonymous. "Granting" used in "granting game medium" or "granting points", etc., may be referred to as "payout" or "acquisition", and all are synonymous. The "setting / reset switch" may be referred to as the "setting change switch" or "reset switch" depending on its function, but in both cases it refers to the same switch. Note that the "setting change switch" and "reset switch" may be provided as separate switches. Depending on the operation, if a small win with a high payout or a small win with a low payout stops, the small win with a high payout may be called a "high-payout" (high-payout bell, high-payout small win are synonymous), and the small win with a low payout may be called a "low-payout" (low-payout bell, low-payout small win are synonymous). Note that if a combination of symbols that does not pay out stops in this case, it may be called a "missed combination" (missed combination is synonymous).

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this embodiment") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <Description of PS1 slot machine> The components of the slot machine PS1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

[0011] The PS1 slot machine is broadly divided into two parts: the front panel (PS2) and the cabinet (PS3), where the necessary components and circuit boards are mounted. The sides of the PS1 slot machine's front panel (PS2) and cabinet (PS3) are joined by hinge and locking mechanisms. A lock key is inserted into the locking mechanism on the front panel (PS2), and by rotating it in a specific direction, the locking mechanism can be opened. In other words, the front panel (PS2) functions as a door to the cabinet (PS3).

[0012] <Front Panel PS2> The front panel PS2 (also referred to as front door PS2, front panel PS2, or simply front door) is a plate-shaped component with a decorative design. The front side (player side) is equipped with a middle panel (including display window 4, operation instruction lamps 24, etc.), an operation panel 11 (including bet number display lamps 25, credit number display 26, acquired number display 27, etc.), a lower panel 5 (also referred to as lower panel 5), upper or side display lamps, etc. The back side is equipped with a medal selector 34 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "selector"), a display device 32, a sub-control board 1000, various circuit boards, etc., and a setting display LED (hereinafter sometimes referred to as setting value display LED, setting display, setting value display, setting display device).

[0013] <Display window 4> The display window 4 is an area located on the front panel PS2, allowing the symbols drawn on the reels to be seen when the front panel PS2 is closed. The symbols printed on the outer surface of the reel tapes fixed to the rims of the left reel 8a, middle reel 8b, and right reel 8c are configured to be visible from the front (player side) through the display window 4. When the reels are stopped, three consecutive symbols out of 21 symbols (the number can be freely designed to be 20, 16, etc., depending on the specifications) are visible. In other words, a total of 9 symbols (3 [symbols] x 3 [reels]) are visible through the display window 4. Here, of the stopping positions where the left reel 8a, middle reel 8b, and right reel 8c each stop three symbols, the uppermost stopping position is called the upper row, the middle stopping position is called the middle row, and the lowermost stopping position is called the lower row.

[0014] <Effective lines> The active lines are the symbol combination lines that are subject to the prize-winning determination process (described later) when the left reel 8a, middle reel 8b, and right reel 8c stop. In this embodiment, the active lines are visible from the display window 4 and consist of symbol combination lines (middle horizontal lines) that pass through the middle of each reel. When a symbol combination that stops on an active line is determined by the prize-winning determination process to correspond to any winning combination, processing is performed according to the stopped symbol combination. For example, when it is determined that a symbol combination corresponding to a minor winning combination such as a bell has stopped, the payout process for game tokens (hereinafter sometimes referred to as tokens, game medium, or game value) or the credit addition process is performed, and when it is determined that a symbol combination corresponding to a replay has stopped, the automatic bet process is performed.

[0015] Furthermore, depending on the PS1 slot machine, there may be five active lines: an upper horizontal line, a middle horizontal line, a lower horizontal line, an upward-sloping line, and a downward-sloping line. Alternatively, there may be six or more lines, including non-straight lines such as a roughly V-shape (left reel 8a lower, middle reel 8b upper, right reel 8c lower), a roughly Valley shape (left reel 8a upper, middle reel 8b lower, right reel 8c upper), and a roughly L-shape (left reel 8a upper, middle reel 8b lower, right reel 8c lower). The number of active lines may also change depending on the number of coins bet. The design can be freely adapted according to the specifications of the PS1 slot machine. In addition, straight lines other than the active lines may be referred to as invalid lines.

[0016] <Operation indicator lamp 24> The operation indicator lamps 24 are located around the display window 4 and instruct the player on the order in which to operate the stop switches 13 (described later) when the left reel 8a, middle reel 8b, and right reel 8c are rotating. Specifically, when the left operation indicator lamp 24a is lit (the middle operation indicator lamps 24b and right operation indicator lamps 24c are off), it indicates that the left stop switch 13a should be operated; when the middle operation indicator lamp 24b is lit (the left operation indicator lamps 24a and right operation indicator lamps 24c are off), it indicates that the middle stop switch 13b should be operated; and when the right operation indicator lamp 24c is lit (the left operation indicator lamps 24a and middle operation indicator lamps 24b are off), it indicates that the right stop switch 13c should be operated.

[0017] <Bed count indicator lamp 25> The bet count indicator lamp 25 (also referred to as the bet count indicator lamp 25, bet amount indicator lamp 25, number of bet indicator lamp 25, or number of bets indicator lamp 25) is located on the operation panel 11 and has the function of displaying the number of bets made by the player. It is composed of a 1-bet lamp 25a (not shown), a 2-bet lamp 25b (not shown), and a 3-bet lamp 25c (not shown). When one medal is bet, the 1-bet lamp 25a lights up. When a total of two medals are bet, the 1-bet lamp 25a and the 2-bet lamp 25b light up. When a total of three medals are bet, the 1-bet lamp 25a, the 2-bet lamp 25b, and the 3-bet lamp 25c light up. Although not shown, after a symbol combination related to a replay is displayed, when the automatic betting process is executed, the bet count indicator lamp 25 corresponding to the number of bets used in the game in which the replay was won lights up, and the replay lamp also lights up. The timing of the bet count indicator lamp 25 lighting up and the timing of the replay lamp lighting up may be simultaneous, or one of them may be configured to light up first.

[0018] <Credit count indicator 26> The credit count indicator 26 is located on the operation panel 11 and consists of a segment indicator 26a (not shown) which mainly displays the higher digits of the credit count and is composed of 7 segments and dot points (DP), and a segment indicator 26b (not shown) which mainly displays the lower digits of the credit count and is composed of 7 segments and dot points (DP). The credit count refers to the number of tokens that are stored (electrically) as credits in the slot machine PS1, and a maximum of 50 can be stored. In addition, when normal gameplay cannot proceed, such as when an error is detected, a display related to the error may be shown.

[0019] <Number of acquired tokens display unit 27> The acquired tokens display 27 (also referred to as the acquired tokens display, acquired tokens display, payout tokens display, or payout tokens display) is located on the operation panel 11 and consists of a segment display 27a (not shown) which mainly displays the higher digits of the acquired tokens, and a segment display 27b (not shown) which mainly displays the lower digits of the acquired tokens, both composed of 7 segments and dot points (DP). The acquired tokens refer to the number of tokens paid out to the player (including those stored in the credits display 26) according to the results of the game in the slot machine PS1. In addition, when normal gameplay cannot proceed, such as when an error is detected, a display related to the error may be shown.

[0020] The credit count indicator 26 and the acquired coins indicator 27 display their respective information using segment indicators 26a, 26b, 27a, and 27b. In addition, they may also display information different from the credit count information and acquired coins information depending on whether the DP is lit or not. For example, information indicating that the player is in a favorable section (described later) or information indicating that a predetermined external signal is being output may be notified by litting the DP of one of the segment indicators. The acquired coins indicator 27 may also have the capability to notify the button press order using the display section for the upper and lower digits. When the acquired coins indicator 27 is used to notify the button press order, the acquired coins indicator 27 may be referred to as an instruction monitor.

[0021] <Control Panel 11> The control panel 11 is located approximately in the center of the front panel PS2. The control panel 11 is provided in a stepped manner with a roughly horizontal section and a vertical section extending approximately vertically downward from the tip of the horizontal section. The vertical section is provided with a start switch 12 and a stop switch 13, which will be described later. The horizontal section is provided with a medal slot 17, multiple bet switches (MAX bet switch 18, 1 bet switch 19), a sub-switch 20, a sub-cross key switch 21, an eject switch 22, a settlement switch (not shown), and a display switch (not shown), which will be described later.

[0022] <Start Switch 12> The start switch (also called the start lever) 12 is located on the vertical part of the operation panel 11. It consists of a lever-shaped operating part, and when not in operation, the start switch sensor is ON. When the start switch is operated, the start switch sensor turns OFF, which is how the system determines that the start switch has been operated. The start switch 12 becomes active when the number of bets reaches a predetermined number, and upon receiving the operation of the start switch 12, it executes internal lottery processing, instruction function processing, or reel rotation processing, etc. In this embodiment, since the input signal is low-active, the start switch input signal is OFF when the start switch sensor is ON when not in operation, and the start switch input signal is ON when the start switch sensor changes from ON to OFF during operation. However, it is not limited to this, and the system may be configured so that the start switch input signal is ON when the start switch sensor is ON. In other words, the predetermined number refers to the number of bets required to start the game.

[0023] Hereafter, when we simply refer to "the start switch is ON" or "the start switch is operated," it means that the start switch sensor has changed from ON to OFF, and the start switch input signal has changed from OFF to ON.

[0024] <Stop switch 13> The stop switch 13 is located on the control panel 11. In this embodiment, the left stop switch 13a corresponds to the left reel 8a, the middle stop switch 13b to the middle reel 8b, and the right stop switch 13c to the right reel 8c. When the stop switch 13 is operational, the color of a lamp on the body of the stop switch 13, or a lamp around it, changes to indicate that the stop switch 13 is active. For example, the lamp may light up blue when the stop switch 13 is operational and light up red when it is not operational. Alternatively, the lamp may light up when the stop switch 13 is operational and turn off when it is not operational.

[0025] <Coin slot 17> The medal slot 17 is located on the control panel 11. It has an opening for inserting medals and restricts the insertion of medals larger than the standard size. Multiple types of medal slots 17 are manufactured to accommodate the standard sizes of multiple types of medals, but the mounting specifications for all types of medal slots 17 are the same so that they can be commonly attached to the control panel 11.

[0026] Regarding the introduction of gaming media, gaming media are not limited to the aforementioned medals, but for example, pachinko The game may involve the use of game balls (so-called parrots) in the game machine, or game medium information stored on an electrical storage medium such as a magnetic card or flash memory, which is then input into the game machine. Based on this input game medium information, the machine may then set the number of bets, add points upon winning, etc.

[0027] <Bet switches (MAX bet switch 18, 1 bet switch 19)> The bet switch is located on the control panel 11. When the bet switch is operated while there are stored tokens in the credit, a bet process is executed, and a bet amount setting process equivalent to inserting tokens into the token slot 17 is performed. However, if the bet switch is operated when there are no tokens stored in the credit, the bet process is invalid (the bet switch operation is not accepted). The MAX bet switch 18 consists of a pressable part operated by the player, a detection part that detects the operation of the pressable part, and a light-emitting part (also called the MAX bet lamp) that illuminates the pressable part. The 1 bet switch 19 consists of a pressable part operated by the player and a detection part that detects the operation of the pressable part (the 1 bet switch 19 does not have a light-emitting part).

[0028] The MAX bet lamp informs the player that betting is possible when the MAX bet switch is operated. Various notification methods are possible, such as lighting the MAX bet lamp in a predetermined color or flashing the MAX bet lamp at a predetermined interval. Conversely, when betting cannot be performed even when the MAX bet switch is operated, possible methods include lighting the MAX bet lamp in a specific color or not lighting the MAX bet lamp at all.

[0029] Furthermore, the slot machine PS1 is equipped with a MAX bet switch 18 that allows betting the maximum number of coins set for each machine (3 coins in this embodiment) and a 1 bet switch 19 that allows betting 1 coin. The system is configured to execute a MAX bet process when the MAX bet switch 18 is operated and to execute a 1 bet process when the 1 bet switch 19 is operated. The MAX bet process can be executed when the sum of the number of credits and the number of bets currently placed is 3 or more, and the number of bets currently placed is less than 3. The MAX bet process cannot be executed when the sum of the number of credits and the number of bets currently placed is less than 3 (in other words, when the number of bets will be less than 3 even if the MAX bet switch 18 is operated) or when 3 coins have already been bet. The 1 bet process can be executed when the number of credits is 1 or more and the number of bets currently placed is less than 3, and cannot be executed when 3 coins have already been bet.

[0030] Furthermore, each time the 1-bet switch 19 is operated, it performs a 1-bet process. If the 1-bet switch 19 is operated three times from a state where no bet has been placed, it becomes a 3-bet. Three operations of the 1-bet switch 19 are equivalent to one operation of the MAX-bet switch 18.

[0031] Furthermore, although an embodiment has been described in which the 1-bet switch 19 is disabled when 3 bets are made, it may also be configured so that when the 1-bet switch 19 is operated once while 3 bets are made, it returns to a 1-bet state and 2 credits are returned.

[0032] Furthermore, although we have described an embodiment in which the MAX bet process executed when the MAX bet switch 18 is operated is not executed when the number of bets is less than 3, it is also conceivable that a process bets the maximum number of bets currently available. In other words, it is conceivable that a process bet of 2 will be executed when the MAX bet switch 18 is operated while no bets have been made and the number of credits is 2.

[0033] Furthermore, the maximum number of coins that can be bet may be configured to differ depending on the game state. For example, the maximum number of coins that can be bet may be 3 during non-bonus periods and 2 during bonus periods.

[0034] <Sub-switch 20> The sub-switch 20 is located on the operation panel 11 and consists of a pressable part made of a translucent material for direct operation by the player, a detection part that detects when the pressable part is operated, and a sub-switch lamp that illuminates the pressable part of the sub-switch. This sub-switch 20 is mainly used to display a menu screen (sometimes called a user menu screen) on the display device 32, which will be described later. In addition to the sub-switch 20, the sub-control board 1000 also provides a sub-cross key switch 21 (up switch, down switch, left switch, right switch) and a performance switch (a switch that is operated using instructions during gameplay) as input means. The sub-switch 20 can also function as a trigger to activate the mobile terminal linkage system (hereinafter also referred to as the mobile terminal linkage system), which will be described later. Although the sub-switch 20 is used for the menu display function and the performance switch is used for operation during gameplay, they may be used as a common switch.

[0035] The menu screen displays items related to the role configuration, reel arrangement, volume adjustment, light intensity adjustment, and mobile phone linkage system. Operating the up or down switch on the sub-directional key switch 21 controls the cursor to move up or down depending on which item is selected. Furthermore, when the sub-switch 20 is operated while the cursor is on any of the items, the details of that item are displayed. For example, when the sub-switch 20 is operated while the cursor is on the volume adjustment item, the volume adjustment screen is displayed, and the volume can be adjusted using the left or right switch on the sub-directional key switch 21.

[0036] Furthermore, the menu screen can be displayed when the sub-switch 20 is operated after the game has ended and no bets have been placed. Regardless of the current game state—whether it is a normal game, a continuous game, an AT game, or a demo screen (a screen that appears 60 seconds after the game ends, displaying the manufacturer's name and a game description in video)—operating the sub-switch 20 will display the menu screen. However, this embodiment is not limited to this one, and the menu screen may not be displayed even if the sub-switch 20 is operated during a continuous game or an AT game.

[0037] <Switch for special effects> The performance switch is located on the control panel 11 and consists of a pressable part made of a translucent material for direct operation by the player, a detection part that detects when the pressable part is operated, and a performance switch lamp that illuminates the pressable part of the performance switch. When the performance switch is operated while the performance switch is in a state where operation is valid, a performance based on the operation is executed. For example, when a continuous performance is being executed on the display device (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "LCD") 32, and the final game of the continuous performance displays either a "success" display (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a success performance) indicating that a bonus has been awarded, or a "failure" display (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a failure performance) indicating that a bonus has not been awarded, the performance switch may be operated to display either "success" or "failure".

[0038] Furthermore, when the effect switch is activated, the effect switch lamp illuminates to inform the player that the effect switch is activated. Possible illumination patterns for the effect switch include the lamp remaining off when the effect switch is inactive and illuminating when the effect switch is activated. Alternatively, the lamp could repeatedly turn on and off at regular intervals when the effect switch is activated.

[0039] Furthermore, when the performance switch is operational, the system indicates that the performance switch is operational by displaying a symbol resembling the performance switch on the LCD. When displaying a symbol resembling the performance switch on the LCD, the display is based on a command received from the main control means 100. For example, the system may display a symbol resembling the performance switch based on a start switch acceptance command, or it may display a symbol resembling the performance switch based on a full reel stop command.

[0040] Furthermore, by pressing the performance switch, the object to be detected, which is attached to the performance switch, can be moved to a detection position (on position) where it is detected by the sensor attached to the performance switch. If the object to be detected is detected by the sensor, the object to be detected can be moved to a non-detection position (off position) where it is not detected by the sensor by releasing the performance switch (an operation that returns the spring attached to the performance switch to its natural length by the force of the spring extending).

[0041] Although the effect switch was described using a push-button switch, it is not limited to this; a jog dial switch may also be used. Furthermore, any other structure is acceptable as long as it can detect the ON and OFF positions.

[0042] <Settlement switch> The settlement switch is located on the operation panel 11. When operated after the game has ended, it executes a settlement process to pay out the number of game tokens that have been bet and the number of game tokens stored in the credits to the player. In this embodiment, when the settlement switch is operated while there are bets and game tokens stored in the credits, the bet game tokens are paid out first, followed by the game tokens stored in the credits. However, the system is not limited to this, and the system may also execute a process to pay out the game tokens stored in the credits only when the number of bet game tokens is 0. That is, when the settlement switch is operated while there are bets, only the bet game tokens are paid out, and then when the settlement switch is operated again, the game tokens stored in the credits are paid out.

[0043] <Lower panel 5> The lower panel 5 is located below the front panel PS2. It is composed of two pieces of transparent resin joined together, with a design sheet sandwiched between them. The design sheet is printed with features that represent the unique characteristics of each slot machine PS1.

[0044] <Medal payout outlet 45> The medal payout opening 45 is located below the lower panel 5. It is an outlet for releasing medals dispensed from the hopper 44 (also called a hopper), which will be described later, to the outside of the slot machine PS1 (into the receiving tray 28). It also serves as a return opening for releasing medals removed from the medal selector 34, which will be described later, to the outside of the slot machine PS1.

[0045] <Tray 28> The receiving tray 28 (also called the "lower tray") is located below the lower panel 5. It has a roughly concave structure to receive and store the medals dispensed from the medal payout opening 45, and it protrudes towards the player so that the player can check the stored medals.

[0046] Furthermore, the tray 28 also has other functions, including a cigarette ashtray 29 and a sticker storage section 30 that houses a resin sheet to which a union license sticker, a patent sticker, and a model sticker are attached, and has an opening for display to the player.

[0047] <Speaker S> Speaker S is located at the top and bottom of the PS2 front panel. It is connected to the sub-control board 1000 by a harness (not shown), and Speaker S outputs sound effects that match the performance, as well as error sounds and warning sounds to indicate when an error has occurred.

[0048] <Display device 32> The display device 32 is located above the front panel PS2. It is a device capable of displaying images, and various devices such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, organic EL displays, and projectors can be used. It is electrically connected to the sub-control board 1000 and displays various performance images, as well as game instruction images that indicate the order in which to press the stop switch 13 and the position to press it during gameplay (when only the order of pressing is displayed, it is called an order navigation image (also referred to as an order of pressing image, operation order image, or operation sequence image); when only the position to press is displayed, it is called a timing navigation image (also referred to as a timing image, operation position image); or when both the order of pressing and the position are displayed, or as a higher-level concept of the order of pressing and the position, it may be called an operation mode navigation image (also referred to as an operation mode image)), error images when an error occurs, etc. In addition, some slot machine PS1 models do not have a display device 32. In addition, some slot machine PS1 models have multiple display devices 32. Even when multiple display devices 32 are provided, unless otherwise specified, "display device 32" refers to any one of the multiple display devices 32, or to all of the multiple display devices 32.

[0049] <Dot display, movable props, and other performance devices> Other display devices, such as dot displays and movable parts, are installed at any position on the front panel PS2, such as around the display window 4, on the middle panel, or on the lower panel 5. These other display devices are electrically connected to the sub-control board 1000 and display various display images and actions, as well as game instruction images and actions that indicate the order in which to press the stop switch 13 and the position to press it during gameplay, and error images and actions when an error occurs. These other display devices are installed as appropriate according to the model of the slot machine PS1. In addition, various devices such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, organic EL displays, and projectors can also be used as other display devices. In particular, in a game machine that is equipped with a liquid crystal display as an auxiliary other display device, the display device 32 may be called the main display device, and the liquid crystal display device may be called the sub-display device. In this case, the main display device has a larger display area than the sub-display device.

[0050] <Medal Selector 34> The medal selector 34 is located inside the gaming machine on the rear side of the front panel PS2 and is installed in the flow passage below the medal slot 17. The medal selector 34 has a medal counting function that counts the number of medals inserted by the player using a sensor installed in the flow passage, a medal removal function that guides any non-standard medals to the receiving tray 28, an eject function that removes any medals jammed in the medal selector 34 when the eject switch installed on the front of the front panel PS2 is operated, and a blocker function that removes medals inserted at times other than when medals are being accepted from the flow passage using an electrically driven blocking member (also called a blocker). It has the following features. In addition, the medal selector 34 discharges the medal to the hopper 44 located downstream if the medal inserted at the time of medal acceptance is a legitimate medal.

[0051] The various sensors within the medal selector consist of a passage sensor, insertion sensor 1, insertion sensor 2, and chute sensor. The passage sensor is the first sensor to detect medals inserted from the medal slot and is provided to count the number of inserted and ejected medals. Insertion sensors 1 and 2 are located downstream of the passage sensor and blocker and are provided to determine whether the passage is normal or abnormal by judging the passage time of medals passing through insertion sensors 1 and 2. Note that insertion sensor 2 is located downstream of insertion sensor 1. The chute sensor is located downstream of insertion sensor 2 and is provided to count the number of inserted and ejected medals. Since the functions of the passage sensor and chute sensor overlap, only one of them may be provided.

[0052] The blocker in the medal selector, when ON, allows the passage of game medals, and when OFF, it prevents the passage of game medals. Allowing the passage of game medals means that game medals inserted from the medal slot are guided to the hopper 44, and preventing the passage of game medals means that game medals inserted from the medal slot are not guided to the hopper 44.

[0053] The following describes the components of the PS3 cabinet in the PS1 slot machine.

[0054] <PS3 Cabinet> The PS3 cabinet is constructed in a rectangular box shape with an opening on one side, and inside it is provided a reel unit 6, a hopper 44, an auxiliary tank 46, a setting key switch 37, a reset / setting switch 38 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the "reset switch" or "setting switch"), a power supply unit 39, a main control board 100, an external output terminal board 47, and the like.

[0055] <Main control board 100> The main control board 100 is housed in the internal space created when the main control board case body and the main control board case cover are joined together. The main control board case body and the main control board case cover are sealed together by crimping to prevent easy opening and closing. The main control board 100 is fixed to the main control board case bracket inside the PS3 cabinet.

[0056] <Reel Unit 6> The reel unit 6 mainly consists of a reel frame, a left reel 8a, a middle reel 8b, and a right reel 8c. The reel unit 6 is mounted on the reel base 7 inside the center of the cabinet PS3 and secured by locking members (screws or rivets).

[0057] Each reel (left reel 8a, middle reel 8b, right reel 8c) consists of a reel base, reel tapes with multiple patterns attached to the outer circumference of the reel base, a stepping motor pivotally supported by the reel base, and a motor fixing base that secures the stepping motor and is considered part of the reel unit. Each reel tape has a different pattern arrangement.

[0058] When the player operates the start switch 12, the reels are accelerated, and after reaching a constant speed (approximately 80 rotations / minute), a timer interrupt process (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as interrupt process) is executed once, and the stepping motor is moved one step each time to maintain a constant speed rotation state (constant speed rotation). Then, in response to the player's operation of the stop switch 13, the corresponding reel is moved at a constant speed to a stop position determined for each stop operation reception position, and after the reel has moved to the stop position, the brake is applied (a 4-phase excitation signal is output) to stop the rotation of the reel and terminate the excitation output.

[0059] Furthermore, each reel has an index on the spoke at its base, and an index sensor on the motor base of each reel detects the index to determine the position of the reference symbol (also called the initial symbol) during rotation for each revolution. In this embodiment, the stepping motor that drives the reels has 336 steps, and during constant-speed rotation, one revolution is completed in 336 timer interrupt processes. Also, during constant-speed rotation, a rotation failure detection counter is incremented every two timer interrupt processes, and a rotation failure is determined when the counter value of the rotation failure detection counter reaches 180. In other words, a rotation failure is determined if the reel does not complete one revolution even after 360 timer interrupt processes. The rotation failure detection counter is set to 0 when an index is detected, so that if the constant-speed rotation process is normal, the rotation failure detection counter will become 0 before reaching 180.

[0060] In this embodiment, a determination is made as to whether or not an index has been detected during constant-speed processing, but not as to whether or not an index has been detected during acceleration processing. However, the system is not limited to this configuration, and it is also possible to make a determination as to whether or not an index has been detected during both constant-speed processing and acceleration processing. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to make the system ready to accept stop requests from the player more quickly.

[0061] Furthermore, each reel's motor mounting base is equipped with a backlight unit, which is illuminated to highlight the stopped symbol after the reel has stopped, or to improve the visibility of the symbol while the reel is rotating.

[0062] <Hopper 44> The hopper 44 is a device primarily used to store tokens inserted by players. The hopper 44 is mounted on the bottom plate of the PS3 cabinet, engaging with rails, and is capable of sliding back and forth along the rails. The hopper 44 consists of a storage tank section that receives and stores tokens guided into the gaming machine from the token selector 34, a hopper motor that is driven by a drive signal input from the hopper drive means, a rotating disc pivotally supported by the hopper motor for aligning the tokens in the storage tank section, a token dispensing section equipped with a dispensing mechanism for dispensing tokens one by one into the receiving tray 28 by rotating the rotating disc, a token dispensing port from which tokens are dispensed by the token dispensing section, and a dispensing sensor that detects tokens being dispensed from the token dispensing port.

[0063] <Auxiliary Tank 46> The auxiliary tank 46 is configured to store medals, and medals stored in the hopper 44 exceeding its capacity are stored in the auxiliary tank 46 via a downward-sloping rail section provided in the storage tank section. The auxiliary tank 46 has a rectangular box structure, and when installed in the cabinet PS3, two full-capacity detection electrodes attached to the cabinet PS3 are exposed into the auxiliary tank 46 through through holes provided on at least one side. When a certain amount of medals are stored after being inserted through the medal slot, the two full-capacity detection electrodes become energized via the medals, and it is determined that the hopper 44 and the auxiliary tank 46 are full. Note that the number of full-capacity detection electrodes is not limited to two, and the number of electrodes may be changed to three, for example. Furthermore, the method of full-capacity detection is not limited to using full-capacity detection electrodes, and full-capacity detection may be enabled by a sensor provided at a predetermined location that detects medals.

[0064] <Setting key switch 37> The setting key switch 37 is located in a setting key switch unit with a front-opening door, which is installed inside the slot machine PS1. Access is possible by opening the front panel PS2 and then opening the door of the setting key switch unit. To turn on the setting key switch 37, insert the setting key and rotate it 90 degrees to the right. When the setting key switch 37 is turned on while the machine is capable of accepting tokens, the current setting value can be checked. If the power-on recovery process (also called the power-on process) determines that the setting key switch 37 is on, the setting change process (described later) is executed.

[0065] <Power supply device 39> The power supply unit 39 is located on the lower left side of the front of the PS3 cabinet. The power supply unit 39 has a rectangular box structure, with a power switch 40 on the outside and a power supply board that generates voltage inside. The power supply unit 39 is individually connected to the reel mechanism board and the sub-control board 1000 via harnesses (not shown), and is further connected to the main control board 100 via harnesses, supplying power to the main control board 100.

[0066] The power supply unit 39 is configured to, when the power switch 40 is turned on, take power from outside the slot machine PS1, generate predetermined voltages, and supply these predetermined voltages to the main control board 100 and the sub-control board 1000, respectively. When the power switch 40 is turned off, the power supply unit 39 is configured not to take power from outside the slot machine PS1.

[0067] <External output terminal board 47> The external output terminal board 47 (also called the external centralized terminal board 47) is generally installed inside the PS3 cabinet of the PS1 slot machine and converts signals related to the game results output from the main control board 100 into signals in a predetermined format and transmits them to the outside of the PS1 slot machine. The contents of the game results include the number of coins inserted, the number of coins paid out, the number of bonuses (number of big bonuses, number of regular bonuses), and the door open signal. Other conditions for transmitting signals to the outside can be set based on predetermined information controlled by the main control board 100, such as when the machine enters AT mode, when a specific symbol combination is displayed, or when the value of a game-related counter reaches a predetermined value.

[0068] <Functional Block Diagram> A functional block diagram of the slot machine PS1 according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figure 4.

[0069] <Main control board 100> In this embodiment, the slot machine PS1 enables data communication by electrically connecting the main control board 100 (also referred to as the main control means 100, main control board 100, or main control means 100), which governs the general flow of gameplay, to the sub-control board 1000 (also referred to as the sub-control means 1000, sub-control board 1000, or sub-control means 1000), the door relay board (also referred to as the central display board), the reel mechanism board, the reset / setting switch 38, the setting key switch, etc. However, bidirectional communication between the main control board 100 and the sub-control board 1000 is not possible, and data communication is enabled by unidirectional communication from the main control board 100 to the sub-control board 1000.

[0070] The main control board 100 is equipped with a main control chip. The main control chip has a main control CPU, main control ROM, main control RAM, etc., which can communicate with each other via a bus. The main control chip also has built-in main control registers, and these built-in main control registers and the main control CPU can communicate with each other via a bus. Furthermore, the main control chip has general-purpose registers that the main control CPU can use for calculations, etc. (e.g., A register, B register, C register, D register, E register, H register, L register), a PC register that stores the program (return address) after a return instruction (e.g., RET instruction) following the execution of a program by a call instruction (e.g., CALL instruction), and interrupt registers (e.g., IFF1 register, IFF2 register) that manage the enabled and disabled states of maskable interrupts.

[0071] The main control chip controls the selection of roles (also called internal selection), reel drive control (also called reel control), payout control, etc., and communicates data to various boards as needed. In addition, when the main control means 100 notifies the sub-control means of information regarding the display of the selection role (press order, operation timing) after the internal selection has resulted in a winning role (AT role, AT target role, push order role, timing role, operation procedure role including both push order role and timing role), the sub-control means also transmits selection role information (selection role group information, information regarding the display of the selection role), so that the sub-control means can also notify the information regarding the display of the selection role. Note that all processes related to AT, such as transition to AT, extension of the number of AT games, and push order notification, are sometimes referred to as processes related to the instruction function. Furthermore, a "press order" feature is a conditional device in which the combination of symbols that stop and the number of game tokens awarded to the player differ depending on the order in which the reels are stopped (press order), while a "timing" feature is a conditional device in which the combination of symbols that stop and the number of game tokens awarded to the player differ depending on the timing of the stop button operation.

[0072] The main control ROM mounted on the main control board 100 has a storage capacity of "16KB or less," and has a usable area of ​​"7.5KB or less" (also called the first program area) and the rest of the area outside the usable area (also called the second program area). The usable area has a control area of ​​"4.5KB or less" (also called the first control area) in which the program executed by the main control board 100 is stored, and a data area of ​​"3.0KB or less" (also called the first data area) in which only information other than the program (for example, internal lottery table information) is stored, or will be stored. The area outside the usable area has a control area (also called the second control area) and a data area (also called the second data area), similar to the usable area. The usable area stores programs related to the progress of the game, while the area outside the usable area stores programs related to anti-fraud measures and programs used for testing the gaming machine.

[0073] The main control RAM mounted on the main control board 100 has a memory capacity of "1024B or less," and consists of a usable area of ​​"512B or less" (also referred to as the first work area) and the remaining area outside the usable area (also referred to as the second work area). The first work area is a memory area that can be rewritten according to the progress of the game, and the second work area is a memory area that can be rewritten when executing programs for anti-fraud measures and game machine testing.

[0074] The main control RAM built into the main control chip has the following memory areas: a memory area for switch status flags indicating the on / off state of the stop switch and the on / off state of the automatic settlement switch; a memory area for setting value information indicating one of the values ​​from 1 to 6 to be set; a memory area for RT status information indicating which of the multiple RT states is currently in play; a memory area for specific condition devices indicating the winning state of specific condition devices such as bonuses; a memory area for game information where other information necessary for the game to proceed is stored; an unused memory area; a stack area where data saved from registers is stored; and a temporary stack area that is set when the power is turned on.

[0075] The main control RAM is initialized during the setting change process using the setting change mechanism, during the power off and on recovery process, and at the start of each game. The scope of the main control RAM memory area to be initialized differs depending on the case.

[0076] During the configuration change process, if power recovery fails or is impossible, the RAM area, excluding the switch status flag storage area, is set to data 0 (initialized). In other words, the only thing that is carried over from the state before the configuration change is the switch status flag; for example, the RT state and condition device flags are cleared and not carried over.

[0077] Furthermore, during the setting change process, if power recovery can be performed normally, or if recovery is not impossible, that is, if the setting change process is performed normally, data 0 is set in the RAM area excluding the area where the switch state flag storage area, the setting value information storage area, the RT state information storage area, and the specific condition device storage area are stored. In other words, the RT state, setting value data, and condition device flag are carried over so that the game can be played with the setting values ​​after the setting change while maintaining the game state before the setting change. The setting value data is carried over from the information before the setting change, and new setting values ​​are set in the subsequent setting change process, so it is used by the sub-control board 1000 to determine whether a setting change has been made.

[0078] Furthermore, during power-off recovery processing, data 0 is set to the unused memory area of ​​the RAM area at the start of each game, and to the memory area of ​​the stack area excluding the maximum usage area during RAM initialization at power-off recovery processing.

[0079] The main control built-in registers within the main control chip are used to configure the operation of various peripheral circuits (such as timer circuits) built into the main control chip and to control their functions.

[0080] For example, by writing data to a predetermined memory area of ​​the main control's built-in register using a program stored in the main control ROM (also referred to as setting or storing), it is possible to configure settings related to the maskable interrupt processing (e.g., timer interrupt processing), which is one of the programs stored in the main control ROM (settings for the timer circuit).

[0081] <Sub-control board 1000> The sub-control board 1000 is equipped with a sub-control chip. The sub-control chip includes a sub-control CPU, sub-control ROM, sub-control RAM, etc., which communicate with each other via a bus. The sub-control board 1000 can communicate bidirectionally with the performance control board and transmits data specifying the effects to be output to the speaker S, LED lamp, sub-switch 20, performance switches, etc. Information for the display device 32 is transmitted to the image control board. The sub-control board 1000 is also powered directly from the power supply board.

[0082] <Rodding mechanism circuit board> The reel mechanism board is a relay board that handles data communication between the reel motor, reel sensor, door switch, payout sensor, external output terminal board 47 (also called external centralized terminal board 47), etc., and the main control board 100. The reel motor controls the drive of the reels. The reel sensor is a sensor that determines whether the reels are operating normally, and transmits data to the reel mechanism board when a protruding piece (also called an index) passes through the sensor. The door switch is a sensor that determines whether the front door PS2 is open or not. The payout sensor is a sensor that determines whether the medals are passing through properly when they are dispensed from the hopper 44. The external centralized terminal board is a relay board for transmitting data to a hall computer outside the gaming machine. The reel mechanism board is also powered directly by the power supply board.

[0083] <Door relay board> The door relay board receives information from various sensors within the selector (insertion sensor 1, insertion sensor 2, aisle sensor, chute sensor), bet switch information, stop switch information, and payout switch information, and outputs information from blocker information, credit count information, bet count information, replay symbol combination display information, and payout amount information. The door relay board is electrically connected to the selector, bet switch, stop switch, payout switch, credit count indicator 26, payout amount indicator, replay lamp, 1-bet lamp, 2-bet lamp, 3-bet lamp, start lamp, medal insertion available lamp, and advantageous section lamp.

[0084] <Performance control board> The performance control board (also referred to as the performance control means) is electrically connected to the sub-switch 20, sub-cross key switch 21, performance switches, movable props, speaker S, backlight, LED lamps provided on the front panel PS2, and the image control board which controls the display content of the display device 32.

[0085] The performance control means is configured to enable bidirectional communication with the sub-control means 1000, and controls the output of performances to the performance device based on performance commands received from the sub-control means 1000.

[0086] The performance control means selects the performance content based on the result of the role draw by the internal lottery means. In this embodiment, multiple types of performance content are pre-defined, and the performance control means selects the performance content by lottery using software random numbers after the role draw by the internal lottery means is performed at the start of the game, etc.

[0087] Furthermore, the presentation content varies depending not only on the result of the role lottery but also on the result of the freeze lottery and the game state (RT state, freeze state), with multiple variations for each. Specifically, there are multiple types of presentation content for when a bonus is won, when a small role is won, when a replay is won, when no win occurs, etc.

[0088] The performance details specify what kind of performance (how the lamps light up, blink, or turn off, what kind of sound is output from speaker S, and what kind of image is displayed on display device 32, etc.) is output at what timing (when the start switch 12 is operated, when each stop switch 13 is operated, etc.) as the game progresses.

[0089] Furthermore, it is possible to configure the generation of effects output by the effects control means to be in response to operations by the player. For example, it is conceivable that the effects control means of the sub-control board 100 could generate effects based on sub-control commands transmitted from the main control board 100 in response to operation signals input to the main control board 100 from the start switch 12, stop switch 13, coin slot 17, bet switches (MAX bet switch 18, 1 bet switch 19), payout switch, etc. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the effects could be generated directly from the sub-control board 1000 in response to operation means such as sub-switches 20, sub-cross key switches 21, and effects switches, which are input to the sub-control board 1000. In addition, although the sub-control board 1000 and the effects control board are described as separate boards, they may also be configured as a single board. In that case, the sub-control board 1000 may be equipped with the functions and processing of the performance control board, and the sub-switch 20, sub-cross key switch 21, performance switches, movable props, speaker S, back lamp, LED lamp provided on the front panel PS2, and an image control board that controls the display content of the display device 32 may be electrically connected to the sub-control board 1000.

[0090] <Image control board> The image control board (also referred to as the image control means) is equipped with an image control ROM, a sound ROM, a cooling fan, etc., for specifically displaying the performance content on the display device 32.

[0091] <Supplementary information on circuit board configuration> The sub-control board and the performance control board may be configured on a single board, or the sub-control board, performance control board, and image control board may be configured on a single board. If the sub-control board and performance control board are configured on a single board, it may have two sub-control CPUs and performance control CPUs, or it may have just one CPU. The same applies when the sub-control board, performance control board, and image control board are configured on a single board.

[0092] <Power supply board> In this embodiment, the slot machine PS1 supplies power from the power supply board to the reel mechanism board and the sub-control board based on the operation of the power switch 40. The power supplied to the reel mechanism board then supplies power to the main control board 100 and the door relay board. The supplied power is then electrically connected to each component. The power supplied to the sub-control board 1000 then supplies power to the performance control board and then to the image control board. The supplied power is then electrically connected to each component.

[0093] Next, we will explain the control of the main control board 100 that controls the gameplay of the gaming machine.

[0094] <Error type> Errors can be broadly classified into recoverable errors and unrecoverable errors.

[0095] <Recoverable Error> A recoverable error refers to errors related to the selector (medal stagnation error, medal reverse flow error, medal passage time error), errors related to the hopper 44 (hopper stagnation error, hopper empty error, abnormality detection error), door open error, harness disconnection error, etc. When a recoverable error is set, after removing the cause of the various recoverable errors and accepting the operation of the reset switch, the game can be resumed without having to turn the power back on. During a recoverable error, the display device 32, payout display, and various lamps display information about the error that has occurred in order to inform the player of what kind of error has occurred.

[0096] If a recoverable error is detected during gameplay, the game may be stopped at the time of detection, or after the game in which the recoverable error was detected has ended. By stopping the game during a recoverable error, damage to the game hall manager can be minimized, even if the recoverable error is caused by fraud. The conditions for recovering from a recoverable error state may include being configured to automatically recover when the cause of the error is removed, and an error that can be recovered without restarting the power is referred to as a recoverable error.

[0097] <Unrecoverable Error> In the slot machine PS1 of this embodiment, when an irrecoverable error occurs, interrupts are disabled, the output of the output port is cleared, and the progress of the game is restricted. In addition, the credit count display 26 displays an indication of the type of error to notify the player that the machine is in an irrecoverable state.

[0098] Furthermore, if a recoverable error is set, the recoverable error will be cleared when the reset switch (not shown) is operated. However, once an unrecoverable error is set, the unrecoverable error will not be cleared by operating the reset switch or simply restarting the power. In this case, the system is configured to clear the unrecoverable error by performing a setting change process. When the power is restarted during an unrecoverable error, after executing part of the power-off recovery process, the system controls the system by repeatedly displaying the unrecoverable error to prevent further game processing.

[0099] Unrecoverable errors include: when the number of tokens bet is not the specified number during the draw for winning combinations; when the value is not within the normal range during the setting value error check; when it is determined that the power-off process was not performed correctly during power-off recovery (sometimes referred to as "RWM (RAM) abnormality" or "RWM (RAM) error"); when a random number anomaly is determined, such as when a frequency anomaly of the crystal oscillator is indicated; and when, during the winning combination determination process, the symbol combination corresponding to a winning combination that has not been won on an active line is stopped.

[0100] Furthermore, if an unrecoverable error occurs, the game will stop regardless of whether you are currently playing or waiting for the next game to start (after the current game has finished until the next game begins).

[0101] <How to play, game flow> To play the PS1 slot machine, first insert tokens into the token slot 17, or use the pre-stored tokens to bet (MAX bet switch 18, 1 bet switch 19) to set a predetermined number of tokens to bet (also called the specified number). In this embodiment, the specified number is set to 3 tokens. Once the number of tokens to bet is set, the active paylines are activated and the game becomes playable.

[0102] When the maximum number of tokens that can be bet is reached and tokens are inserted into a new token slot, the number of game tokens stored in the credits increases. The maximum number of tokens that can be stored in the credits is limited to 50. If tokens exceeding the maximum number of tokens bet (3 tokens) and the maximum number of tokens that can be stored (50 tokens) are inserted into the token slot (54th token), the token selector's blocker is turned off (preventing the tokens from being inserted into the game machine), and the tokens are returned to the tray. In other words, when the maximum number of tokens bet and the maximum number of tokens stored in the credits are reached, the blocker is turned off (the passage to the hopper 44 in the selector is no longer formed).

[0103] The number of tokens bet is increased when tokens are inserted if the number of tokens bet is less than 3 (less than the maximum number of tokens bet in the game state at the time of insertion). Furthermore, tokens can be stored in the credits when tokens are inserted if the number of tokens bet is 3 (the maximum number of tokens bet in the game state at the time of insertion) AND the number of credits is less than 50 (less than the maximum number of credits that can be stored). In other words, when the sum of the number of tokens bet and the number of credits stored is less than 53, tokens will be entered into the game machine when tokens are inserted into the token slot. In addition, another condition for tokens to be entered into the game machine when tokens are inserted is that the game is in standby mode (the period between the end of one game and the start of the next game). For example, even in standby mode after a replay symbol combination has been displayed and automatic betting has been executed, the requirement for token insertion is met. In this case, since 3 tokens have been bet by automatic betting, the requirement for token insertion is met if the number of credits stored is less than 50.

[0104] Next, upon receiving an operation of the start switch 12, an internal lottery process is executed. After determining the result of the internal lottery process (also referred to as the winning combination lottery result or condition device number), it is determined whether the minimum play time (also referred to as the wait time (period) or 4.1-second timer) has elapsed. If the wait time has elapsed, the rotation of each reel begins. If the wait time has not elapsed, the reels remain stationary until the wait time has elapsed.

[0105] Next, when an operation (stop operation) is received for any of the stop switches 13 (left stop switch 13a, middle stop switch 13b, right stop switch 13c), the reel corresponding to the operated stop switch 13 stops according to the result of the role lottery and the timing of the stop operation. When all reels have stopped (also called a complete stop), it is determined whether the stopped symbols determined at the time of stopping each reel are abnormal or not. If they are not abnormal, it is searched to find out which symbol combination the stopped symbols are, and according to the symbol combination found in the search results, processes such as paying out medals (including adding to credits), setting replays (automatic betting), setting bonus states, ending bonus states, setting RT states, and ending RT states are performed, and one game ends.

[0106] <Freeze processing> Freeze processing (also called freeze effect) which delays the progress of the game by temporarily pausing it for a predetermined period of time, includes, for example, temporarily pausing functions related to the progress of the game, such as receiving game media, receiving the operation of the bet switch to determine the number of tokens to bet for pre-credited game media, receiving the operation of the start switch 12 to start the game, or receiving the operation to stop the reels. The freeze processing (freeze effect) is controlled by the main control board 100.

[0107] As a freeze effect, all functions related to the progress of the game, as mentioned above, may be temporarily paused, or only some functions may be temporarily paused.

[0108] One way to temporarily suspend the game is to not perform control processing based on the player's operation (processing to form a passage for medals to be guided to the hopper 44 by blocker control, processing to set the number of medals to bet based on the operation of the bet switch, processing to rotate the reels or internal drawing based on the operation of the start switch 12, and processing to stop the reels based on the operation of the stop switch 13).

[0109] If an input signal based on the player's actions is issued during the period when the game is temporarily paused due to a freeze effect, the game will end later in a single game compared to when the freeze effect is not performed. This is achieved by either not performing control processing based on the input signal, not accepting the input signal, or delaying the transmission of the input signal until a predetermined period has elapsed.

[0110] Regarding the freeze effect performed based on the operation of the start switch 12, examples include cases where the reels do not rotate for a predetermined period when the start switch 12 is operated, and then rotate after the predetermined period has elapsed; cases where the internal lottery and reel rotation do not occur for a predetermined period when the start switch 12 is operated, and then perform the internal lottery and reel rotation after the predetermined period has elapsed; cases where the internal lottery is performed for a predetermined period when the start switch 12 is operated, but the reels do not rotate, and then rotate after the predetermined period has elapsed; cases where the start switch 12 is operated, the internal lottery is performed, and then a predetermined period is set during which the reels rotate or stop; and cases where the start switch 12 is operated, the internal lottery and reel rotation are performed, and then a predetermined period is set during which the stop acceptance of the stop switch 13 is disabled.

[0111] With regard to freeze effects performed based on the operation of the stop switch 13, the control processing for the freeze effect differs between a freeze effect performed based on the acceptance of the operation of the stop switch 13 and a freeze effect performed based on the fact that a specific symbol has stopped and is displayed on the reels as a result of the operation of the stop switch 13.

[0112] As a control process for the freeze effect performed based on the acceptance of operation of the stop switch 13, for example, if the left stop switch 13a is operated and a freeze occurs while all reels are rotating, the stop acceptance of the middle stop switch 13b and the right stop switch 13c is disabled after the left reel corresponding to the left stop switch 13a stops. As a result, for a predetermined period, the player will not be able to stop the rotating middle reel and the right reel, but since the stop acceptance of the middle stop switch 13b and the right stop switch 13c is enabled after the predetermined period has elapsed, the timing until the end of a game can be delayed.

[0113] As a result of accepting the operation of the stop switch 13, the freeze effect control process performed based on the fact that a specific symbol has stopped and is displayed on the reels may include, when a specific symbol has stopped and is displayed on each reel due to accepting the operation of a stop switch 13 other than the last stop switch 13, the acceptance of the stop of the last stop switch 13 may be invalidated, or, based on the fact that a specific symbol has stopped and is displayed on each reel due to accepting the operation of the last stop switch 13, the bet amount setting process based on the operation of the bet switch to start the next game, the insertion detection process of the game medium by the passage sensor, or the control process based on the automatic bet process performed when a replay stops on an active line may not be performed.

[0114] During the predetermined period in which the freeze effect is performed, game progress control based on the player's actions is temporarily suspended, but game machine operations that do not affect the progress of the game can still be performed. For example, even if stop control processing based on the operation of the stop switch 13 is not performed, the reel rotation pattern can be arbitrarily set to rotate in the normal rotation pattern, or to rotate at a slower or faster speed than normal.

[0115] Examples of reel rotation patterns during a predetermined period include rotating the reels in the opposite direction to normal rotation (so-called reverse rotation), rotating the reels a predetermined number of times and stopping a specific combination of symbols, stopping one of several reels and keeping the others rotating, changing the rotation speed of the reels, or changing the operation of the reels due to the player's actions.

[0116] The predetermined period during which the freeze effect is performed can be changed according to predetermined conditions. Here, predetermined conditions include the detection of signals based on the status of operation of various switches by the player (operation status of the start switch 12, bet switch, stop switch 13, or settlement switch, etc.) and the results of the freeze lottery. Furthermore, changing the conditions includes shortening or lengthening the predetermined period during which the freeze effect, in which the progress of the game is temporarily paused, or switching the rotation pattern of the reels.

[0117] Control processes to shorten the pause period include forcibly ending the pause period or rewriting it to a shorter period. Control processes to lengthen the pause period include adding another period after the pause period or rewriting the pause period to a longer period. Furthermore, the pause period based on the freeze effect does not need to have an upper limit, and may continue until a certain result is reached based on the result of the operation reception.

[0118] The pause period for the freeze animation may be set after the wait period has elapsed, or it may be set to include the wait period. If the wait period is included, the wait period and the freeze animation period are compared. If the freeze animation finishes during the wait period, the freeze animation is executed during the wait period. If the freeze animation does not finish during the wait period, the freeze animation period may be set to start after the wait period, or the remaining wait period may be restarted after the freeze animation finishes. Furthermore, if there is only a freeze animation period that is longer than the wait period, the process of comparing the wait period and the freeze animation period may be omitted, and the freeze animation may start after the start switch 12 is operated (after the internal lottery process).

[0119] As a freeze effect, it is also possible to perform a freeze effect (also called a simulated game) during the acceleration process, making it appear as if a normal game is in progress. In the simulated game, the start switch 12 is operated, and a simulated game period is set during the acceleration process of the reels after the internal lottery has been performed. During the simulated game period, the reel rotation is controlled as in a normal game (reel rotation is controlled based on the operation of the start switch based on the start of the simulated game), and the reel stop control is performed based on the operation of the stop switch 13. It is also possible to configure the system so that the reels rotate again when the start switch 12 is operated during the simulated game period. However, internal lottery processing based on the operation of the start switch 12 and winning determination processing or payout control processing based on the operation of the stop switch 13 are not performed.

[0120] Furthermore, in simulated gameplay, when the reels stop due to the operation of the stop switch 13, or when the reels stop automatically as part of a reel animation, the stopped reels are made to shake up and down (a so-called shaking motion). This allows the player to determine whether they are playing a normal game or a simulated game when they operate the stop switch 13.

[0121] <Pattern combinations that do not require technical skill> A symbol combination that does not require skill intervention refers to a symbol combination that, regardless of when the stop switch 13 is operated while the reels are spinning, will always stop on the active payline to display the winning combination. For example, when bell symbols are placed at intervals of 3 symbols on all reels, bell-bell-bell will always stop (100% pull-in rate), so this can be said to be a symbol combination that does not require skill intervention. Hereafter, a 100% pull-in rate will be referred to as PB=1, and a winning combination where the pull-in rate on all reels is 100% will be referred to as a PB=1 combination.

[0122] Conversely, PB≠1 means that, depending on the timing of the stop switch 13 while the reels are rotating, the winning combination of symbols may not stop. For example, if there is a section within the pull-in range where there are no symbols related to the winning combination (e.g., separated by 5 symbols), then PB≠1, and that winning combination may be referred to as a PB≠1 combination.

[0123] <Priority control for small wins, priority control for bonuses> Prioritizing small wins means that when a small win and a bonus are won simultaneously, or when a small win is won within a bonus, if it is possible to draw in both the symbols related to the small win and the symbols related to the bonus, the symbols related to the small win will be drawn in.

[0124] Bonus priority control means that when a small win and a bonus are simultaneously won, or when a small win is won during a bonus round, if it is possible to draw in both the symbols related to the small win and the symbols related to the bonus, the symbols related to the bonus will be drawn in.

[0125] Furthermore, since replays have the highest priority and cannot be missed, when the condition flags for replays and minor wins, or replays and bonuses, are turned on simultaneously, the machine is designed to always draw in symbols related to replays.

[0126] <Normal section> The "normal section" is a section in which processing related to the instruction function cannot be performed. When a button-press sequence win occurs in the normal section, the system executes a process to send masked information (performance group number) indicating which button press sequence was won to the sub-control means 1000. Furthermore, when a button-press sequence win occurs in the normal section, the button press sequence (both correct and incorrect) is not displayed on the instruction monitor. As a result, in the normal section, neither the main control means 100 nor the sub-control means 1000 announces the button press sequence even when a button-press sequence win occurs, so it is never clear whether the sequence is correct or incorrect when a button-press sequence win occurs in the normal section. In other words, it is a game section in which the AT state is not activated.

[0127] <Advantageous period> The advantageous section is a section in which processing related to the instruction function can be executed, and it is set up to suppress excessive medal acquisition through AT. If you win the advantageous section transition lottery, which is executed in the normal section, you can transition to the advantageous section. In the advantageous section, it is possible to conduct a lottery to transition to AT or to enter AT state, but in order to suppress the excessive medal acquisition mentioned above, the advantageous section is designed to end and transition back to the normal section based on certain conditions. Specifically, these conditions include: 1) when 1500 games have been played since the next game after transitioning to a first advantageous section, 2) when more than 2400 medals have been acquired since the next game after transitioning to a first advantageous section, and 3) when any arbitrary condition is met. These measures help to suppress excessive medal acquisition. Note that the 1500 games in 1) may be 3000 games, or the maximum value that can be stored in the 2-byte memory area, which is 65535 games, or the system may be configured so that the advantageous section does not end after a predetermined number of games. Also, the arbitrary condition in 3) may be, for example, when a first AT ends, or when a specific combination of symbols is displayed.

[0128] If it is a favorable period, information indicating that it is a favorable period (also referred to as the favorable period type) is stored in a predetermined RAM area. If the value stored in the RAM area is 0 (favorable period type is 0), it indicates that it is a normal period, and if the value stored in the RAM area is 1 (favorable period type is 1), it indicates that it is a favorable period.

[0129] <Advantageous Section Lamp> An advantageous zone lamp is provided on the main side to indicate whether the player is in an advantageous zone. This allows players to easily determine whether they are in an advantageous zone by checking whether the advantageous zone lamp is lit or not. Specifically, if the DP on the credit count indicator 26 is lit, it indicates that the player is in an advantageous zone, and if the DP on the credit count indicator 26 is not lit, it indicates that the player is not in an advantageous zone. The timing of when the advantageous zone lamp lights up includes after all reels have stopped, after the bet switch operation has been accepted, when the first coin inserted by manual insertion is detected, when the second coin inserted by manual insertion is detected, when the third coin inserted by manual insertion is detected, after the start switch has been accepted, or after a winning combination has been selected by internal lottery. In addition, the conditions under which the lamp will always light up include being in an advantageous zone, providing information on the operation procedure for a winning combination, and the payout rate (maximum payout rate) of the game being reported is greater than 1 (increases).

[0130] Furthermore, although the machine's specifications do not include a button-press sequence for small wins, resulting in a payout rate that does not exceed 1, the advantageous section lamp is configured to light up even when indicating the button-press sequence for transitioning to an RT (Replay Time) with a high replay probability. This is to inform the player that they are in an advantageous state using the advantageous section lamp, and to prevent players from suffering losses due to not understanding the specifications of the gaming machine.

[0131] Furthermore, if the conditions for lighting the advantageous section lamp as described above are not met, the timing of lighting the advantageous section lamp after transitioning to a new advantageous section can be left to the player's discretion.

[0132] Furthermore, once the advantageous period lamp is lit, it will remain lit until the advantageous period ends. The advantageous period lamp will then be turned off before the start switch operation is accepted for the next game after the advantageous period has ended (after all reels have stopped, after the bet switch operation is accepted, when the first coin inserted manually is detected, when the second coin inserted manually is detected, or when the third coin inserted manually is detected).

[0133] This configuration allows the game to be in an advantageous period even when the advantageous period lamp is not lit, giving players the expectation that processing related to the instruction function will be executed even when the advantageous period lamp is not lit. As a result, while conventional games simply involved waiting to transition to an advantageous period during a normal period, with the gaming machine of this embodiment, it is possible to maintain the player's motivation to play because there is a possibility that AT transition lotteries and other processes are being conducted even when the advantageous period lamp is not lit.

[0134] Furthermore, a favorable section type of 1 does not necessarily mean that the game is in a favorable section. This is because in a game that is in a normal section (favorable section type is 0) and the player wins the favorable section transition lottery, the favorable section type becomes 1, but the game state is still in a normal section because the transition to a favorable section has not yet occurred. When performing the process to send a test signal indicating whether the game is in a favorable section or a normal section, referring to the favorable section type would result in sending a signal for a favorable section even though the game is in a normal section, thus sending a signal that does not reflect the actual state.

[0135] To prevent this situation, when sending a test signal indicating whether it is a favorable section or a normal section, the system is configured to refer to the value of the favorable section clear counter. When the value of the favorable section clear counter is 0, the system executes a process to output a test signal indicating that it is a normal section. When the value of the favorable section clear counter is not 0 (the value of the favorable section clear counter is between 1 and 1500), the system executes a process to output a test signal indicating that it is a favorable section. With this configuration, the process for outputting the test signal only needs to determine whether the value of the favorable section clear counter is 0 or not, allowing the state to be accurately identified, thus relieving pressure on program capacity and improving program execution speed. Furthermore, even when the favorable section is terminated by an arbitrary termination condition, as mentioned above, the value of the favorable section clear counter is set to 1, so the process for outputting the test signal can accurately output that it is a favorable section even when the game ends in the favorable section. <at> "AT" is an abbreviation for "assist time" and is also referred to as the notification period. It is a period for facilitating the winning of the winning combination of the role that the player has won by role lottery (hereinafter referred to as "notification"). Generally, as means of notification during AT, there are the operation timing of the stop switch, the operation order of the stop switch, and the operation timing of the stop switch and the operation order of the stop switch, which are also referred to as operation procedures and operation modes.

[0136] <Sub-bonus> The sub-bonus is a type of AT and is different from the bonuses (1st type BB, 2nd type BB, RB, CB, SB described later) that can be won by internal lottery. Basically, it is the same as AT, but it is characterized in that at the start of the sub-bonus, the sub-bonus start symbol combination is stopped by reel production, pseudo-game, or push order, etc. It should be added that even when simply referred to as "AT", it is a concept that includes the sub-bonus.

[0137] <Grouping of Selectable Roles> When a selectable role is won during non-AT, the main control means 100 transmits the production group number indicating that the selectable role has been won to the sub-control means 1000. When a selectable role is won during AT, the production group number and operation procedure information are transmitted to the sub-control means 1000. In other words, during non-AT, since the operation procedure information is not transmitted to the sub-control means 1000, the sub-control means 1000 cannot notify the operation procedure. As a result, on the side of the sub-control means 1000, during non-AT, it is unclear which operation procedure will display a symbol combination advantageous to the player, and during AT, since the operation procedure information for displaying a symbol combination advantageous to the player is transmitted, the operation procedure can be notified by the liquid crystal display device or operation instruction lamp on the side of the sub-control means 1000. Thereby, the player can easily recognize the operation procedure, and furthermore, it is possible to suppress the illegal acquisition of the operation procedure information during non-AT.

[0138] <Processing Related to Instruction Function> The processing related to the instruction function is a concept that includes not only AT-related lotteries such as AT transition lottery, AT bonus lottery, updating of AT termination conditions (addition / subtraction of AT game count, addition / subtraction of AT execution notification count), and AT execution (notification of operation mode), but also processing related to the management of the AT state. This processing related to the instruction function can be executed at a predetermined number of bets for each game state, and if multiple bet counts are set as prescribed numbers for a given game state, the processing is configured to be executed only when one of the bet counts is selected. For example, if 2-coin and 3-coin bets are possible in the internal bonus state, the processing related to the instruction function can only be executed when playing with a 3-coin bet, and it cannot be executed when playing with a 2-coin bet. In other words, when playing with a 2-coin bet, even if an AT lottery target role is won, the AT lottery will not be conducted, and the number of AT game plays will not be updated according to the progress of the game. Furthermore, if the SB (Single Bonus) or CB, which ends in one game, is a game exclusively for 2-coin bets, and the game after the SB or CB ends is a 2-coin or 3-coin bet, then if the number of coins automatically bet when a replay is won in the SB or CB is 2, then the processing related to the instruction function will become impossible to execute in the game after the SB or CB ends (the processing related to the instruction function is possible with a 3-coin bet). Therefore, the number of coins automatically bet when a replay is won in the SB or CB is set to 3. In this way, the processing related to the instruction function can be executed even in the game after a replay is won in the SB or CB, thus eliminating games that are disadvantageous to the player. As mentioned above, the processing related to the advantageous period is configured to be executed regardless of the number of bets.

[0139] <Instruction Monitor> During AT mode, when providing information regarding the operation procedure for button press combinations, the acquired coin display may be used to provide this information. Specifically, for button press combination A (left, middle, right correct), "1" will be displayed on the instruction monitor; for button press combination B (left, right, middle correct), "2" will be displayed on the instruction monitor; for button press combination C (middle, left, right correct), "3" will be displayed on the instruction monitor; for button press combination D (middle, right, left correct), "4" will be displayed on the instruction monitor; for button press combination E (right, left, middle correct), "5" will be displayed on the instruction monitor; and for button press combination F (right, middle, left correct), "6" will be displayed on the instruction monitor.

[0140] With this configuration, players can find out the correct button sequence by checking the instruction monitor. Furthermore, since the instruction monitor is controlled by the main control board, it can accurately display the button sequence even if the sub-control board is illegally modified.

[0141] Furthermore, if the instruction monitor is used as both a display for the number of coins won and a display for the number of coins won, the lower digits may be the aforementioned numbers (1-6), and the upper digits may be the identifier "=". In this case, the identifier allows the player to determine whether the display for the number of coins won is showing the number of coins won or the button press order, thus avoiding interference with the player's understanding.

[0142] Furthermore, if the instruction monitor is configured as a dedicated display unit, a 3-digit 7-segment display may be used. The reason for using 3 digits is that it corresponds to the number of reels. Then, for button press combination A (left, middle, right correct), "123" is displayed on the instruction monitor; for button press combination B (left, right, middle correct), "132" is displayed; for button press combination C (middle, left, right correct), "213" is displayed; for button press combination D (middle, right, left correct), "312" is displayed; for button press combination E (right, left, middle correct), "231" is displayed; and for button press combination F (right, middle, left correct), "321" is displayed. With such a configuration, the button press order on the instruction monitor becomes easier to grasp intuitively, and players can easily understand the correspondence between the button press order and the display on the instruction monitor.

[0143] The timing for displaying the button press sequence on the instruction monitor is preferably at a point during the advantageous period, after a button press sequence has been awarded by an internal lottery based on the operation of the start switch, and before the stop switch becomes operable. With such a configuration, the button press sequence can be notified before the player operates the stop switch, thus preventing the player from stopping the machine with an incorrect sequence of buttons.

[0144] <Status display monitor (Ratio monitor)> The payout ratio monitor is a display device that switches between and displays the cumulative advantageous section ratio or cumulative payout ratio including instructions (selectable according to the specifications of the gaming machine; also called the payout ratio including instructions), the continuous payout ratio for the most recent 6000 games, the payout ratio for the most recent 6000 games, the cumulative continuous payout ratio, the cumulative payout ratio, and the cumulative payout state ratio every 4800ms. It uses four 7-segment LEDs (with DP) to display a four-digit number. The upper two digits of the four-digit number displayed by the four 7-segment LEDs are called the identification segment, and the lower two digits are called the ratio segment.

[0145] In the context of the bonus feature ratio, "bonus feature" refers to Type 1 special bonus features (so-called RB), Type 2 special bonus features (so-called CB), and regular bonus features (so-called SB). The "bonus feature ratio" is calculated as: Payouts during bonus feature operation ÷ Total payouts × 100. Payouts during the operation of Type 1 special bonus feature continuous operation devices (so-called BB) and Type 2 special bonus feature continuous operation devices (so-called MB) are included in "payouts during bonus feature operation," but payouts during general gameplay during BB or MB are not included. "Payouts" is a term that does not subtract the number of coins inserted; in the case of payouts minus number of coins inserted, it is called the difference in coins (difference). In addition, the concept of Type 1 special bonus feature continuous operation devices and Type 2 special bonus feature continuous operation devices is sometimes simply referred to as bonus feature continuous operation devices.

[0146] In the context of the continuous bonus ratio, "continuous bonus" refers to the Type 1 Special Bonus (so-called RB), and the "continuous bonus ratio" is calculated as: payouts during Type 1 Special Bonus operation ÷ total payouts × 100. Payouts during the operation of the Type 1 Special Bonus continuous operation device (so-called BB) are included in "payouts during bonus operation," but payouts from general gameplay during BB are not included in "payouts during bonus operation."

[0147] In the "Instruction-Included Bonus Ratio," "Instruction-Included Bonus" refers to the payouts from games where the instruction function is activated (so-called AT) in addition to the aforementioned "bonus," and the "Instruction-Included Bonus Ratio" is the ratio calculated as (payouts while the instruction function is active, or payouts while the bonus is active) ÷ total payouts × 100. Here, (payouts while the instruction function is active, or payouts while the bonus is active) does not refer to the payouts from games where both the instruction function and the bonus were active, but rather the sum of the payouts from games where the instruction function was active and the payouts from games where the bonus was active. If a game in which the instruction function was active was also a game in which a bonus was active, the payouts from that game will be (payouts while the instruction function is active, or payouts while the bonus is active), rather than the sum of the two payouts. Note that if a player makes a mistake in operating the stop switch during a game in which AT is active, they may not receive the maximum payout, but in this case, the calculation will be based on the actual payout.

[0148] The information displayed on the payout ratio monitor, specifically the information displayed on the identification segment, is used to identify which of the following ratios is being displayed: cumulative advantageous section ratio, cumulative bonus ratio including instructions, consecutive bonus ratio over the last 6000 games, bonus ratio over the last 6000 games, cumulative consecutive bonus ratio, cumulative bonus ratio, and cumulative bonus state ratio. These are displayed as "7U.", "7P.", "6Y.", "7Y.", "6A.", "7A.", and "5H." respectively. For example, if "7U." is displayed on the identification segment, it indicates the cumulative advantageous section ratio, and if "6Y." is displayed on the identification segment, it indicates the consecutive bonus ratio over the last 6000 games. The "." displayed on the payout ratio monitor refers to decimal points.

[0149] The information displayed on the ratio monitor, specifically the ratio segment, is intended to allow users to visually confirm the calculation results of various ratios. It is displayed as a two-digit number using two 7-segment LEDs. For example, if the calculation result is 70, "70" will be displayed on the ratio segment. The decimal part of the calculated result is truncated before display. If the calculation result is 100, "99" will be displayed. Furthermore, if the cumulative number of games played is less than 400, "00" will be displayed on the ratio segment.

[0150] The identification segment will flash if the cumulative number of games falls below the standard number of games. The standard number of games is determined according to various ratios: 175,000 games for the cumulative advantageous section ratio, 175,000 games for the cumulative bonus ratio including instructions, 6,000 games for the consecutive bonus ratio over the latest 6,000 games, 6,000 games for the bonus ratio over the latest 6,000 games, 17,500 games for the cumulative consecutive bonus ratio, 17,500 games for the cumulative bonus ratio, and 175,000 games for the cumulative bonus state ratio.

[0151] The ratio segment will flash if the displayed value is above the threshold. The threshold is determined according to the various ratios: it is 70 for the cumulative advantageous section ratio, 70 for the cumulative bonus ratio including instructions, 60 for the consecutive bonus ratio over the most recent 6000 games, 70 for the bonus ratio over the most recent 6000 games, 60 for the cumulative consecutive bonus ratio, 70 for the cumulative bonus ratio, and 50 for the cumulative bonus status ratio. If the cumulative number of games is less than 400 and the calculation result is above the threshold, but the ratio segment displays "00", the ratio segment will be displayed in a lit state.

[0152] To verify that the payout ratio monitor is functioning correctly, a test pattern is displayed on the identification segment and ratio segment for 4800ms after power is turned on and timer interrupt processing is initiated. The test pattern displays all segments (including DP) of the four 7-segment LEDs that make up the payout ratio monitor in a blinking pattern. For example, "8.8.8.8." can be displayed in a blinking pattern. In addition to being displayed after power-on, the test pattern may also be displayed during setting changes, setting verification, or RWM (RAM) error.

[0153] In the identification segment, if the cumulative number of games falls below the standard number of games, in the ratio segment, if the displayed value is above the threshold, and in the identification segment and ratio segment, if a test pattern is displayed, the segment is displayed in a blinking pattern. Specifically, the blinking pattern is displayed by switching between on and off every 300ms, such as on for 300ms → off for 300ms → on for 300ms → off for 300ms → ... Furthermore, when switching between various ratio information, the display starts from on, so that the display period of various ratio information does not become longer or shorter depending on the timing of on and blinking.

[0154] As mentioned above, the cumulative advantageous section ratio or cumulative bonus ratio including instructions, the continuous bonus ratio for the latest 6000 games, the bonus ratio for the latest 6000 games, the cumulative continuous bonus ratio, the cumulative bonus ratio, and the cumulative bonus state ratio displayed on the bonus ratio monitor are configured to switch display content every 4800ms. By setting this 4800ms to a multiple of 600ms, which is one set of on and flashing, it is possible to configure the system so that at least one of the 7-segment LEDs is always lit when switching between the various ratios displayed on the bonus ratio monitor, even when the display is in flashing mode.

[0155] By configuring it in this way, the display starts from a lit state even when various ratio information is switched, so it is possible to continuously display a natural-looking display without any shift in the blinking cycle.

[0156] Furthermore, since the display period for the test pattern after power-on is set to 4800ms, the 7-segment LED will turn off once the test pattern has finished displaying for 4800ms. In the next timer interrupt process, it will be possible to display information regarding the cumulative advantageous section ratio or the cumulative instruction-included bonus ratio by turning the LED back on.

[0157] Next, we will explain the control method for the flashing display in the role ratio monitor.

[0158] The performance ratio monitor has a memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) for managing the time it takes to switch between on and off to make the display blink. This memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) is a 2-byte memory area, and it is incremented by 1 each time a timer interrupt is executed. The memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) is initialized (stored as 0) when the power is turned on, and thereafter cycles through values ​​from 0 to 299 each time a timer interrupt is executed. In other words, the value after 299 is 0.

[0159] Example 1) When the memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) used to manage the time for switching between on and off is "0", an update operation is performed, and the memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) used to manage the time for switching between on and off becomes "1". At this time, the carry flag becomes 1 (because a carry occurs as a result of the calculation "0-299", the carry flag becomes 1).

[0160] Example 2) When the memory area for managing the time to switch between on and off (_TM_CHG_FLS) is "298" and an update is performed, the memory area for managing the time to switch between on and off (_TM_CHG_FLS) becomes "299". At this time, the carry flag becomes 1 (because a carry occurs as a result of the calculation "298-299").

[0161] Example 3) When the memory area for managing the time to switch between on and off (_TM_CHG_FLS) is "299" and an update operation is performed, the memory area for managing the time to switch between on and off (_TM_CHG_FLS) becomes "0". At this time, the carry flag becomes 0 (because the calculation "299-299" does not result in a carry-over, the carry flag becomes 0).

[0162] As mentioned above, if the memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) used to manage the time for switching between on and off is a value between 0 and 298, the carry flag will be 1, and if the memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) used to manage the time for switching between on and off is 299, the carry flag will be 0. In other words, the carry flag will be 0 every 300ms.

[0163] When the carry flag becomes 0, the system is configured to update the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS). The blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS) is initialized (stored as 0) when the power is turned on. When 0 is stored in the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS), the payout ratio monitor is turned on, and when 1 is stored in the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS), the payout ratio monitor is turned off. In other words, since the carry flag becomes 0 every 300ms, by repeatedly storing 0 and 1 in the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS) every 300ms, the display mode of the payout ratio monitor can repeatedly display (blink) between the on state and the off state every 300ms.

[0164] The ratio monitor is displayed in a blinking mode when the cumulative number of games in the identification segment is less than the standard number of games, when the displayed value in the ratio segment is above the threshold, or when a test pattern is displayed in the identification segment or the ratio segment. In all other cases, the display is set to a steady-on mode without referring to the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS). However, regardless of whether the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS) is referred to or not, the memory area (_TM_CHG_FLS) for managing the time to switch between on and off is updated with each timer interrupt process. Therefore, the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS) is also updated as needed, and even when switching from a state where the blinking toggle flag (_FL_CHG_FLS) is not referred to to a state where it is referred to, it is possible to display the lights without any discrepancies in the timing of on and off and the switching timing of various ratio displays.

[0165] <Program Startup Processing Flow> The program start process executed by the main control board 100 according to this embodiment will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 5.

[0166] When power is turned on, the main control board 100 performs initial settings related to the operation of the gaming machine. Specifically, it sets the interrupt mode, configures the functions of the main CPU, and performs a RAM check process to create power-off recovery data. The RAM check process determines whether the checksums of all RAM are normal or not. If the conditions are met, the power-off recovery data is determined to be normal; otherwise, the power-off recovery data is determined to be abnormal.

[0167] Next, the status of the setting key switch signal and the door open detection switch signal is checked to determine whether the setting key switch 37 and the door open detection switch are on or off.

[0168] When the setting key switch 37 and the door open detection switch are on, it is determined whether the power-off recovery data is normal or recoverable. If the power-off recovery data is normal or recoverable, a first initialization range to be initialized in the initialization process in the setting change process is set, and the process proceeds to the setting change process in FIG. 10. If the power-off recovery data is not normal or recoverable, a second initialization range to be initialized in the initialization process in the setting change process is set, and the process proceeds to the setting change process in FIG. 10. After the setting change process, the process proceeds to the main game progress in FIG. 9.

[0169] When the setting key switch 37 and the door open detection switch are not on, it is determined whether the power-off recovery data created in the RAM check process is normal. If the power-off recovery data is abnormal or non-recoverable, an unrecoverable error notification is performed, and the process proceeds to the unrecoverable error process that stops the progress of the game of the slot machine PS1. On the other hand, if the power-off recovery data is not abnormal or non-recoverable, the process proceeds to the power-off recovery process in FIG. 8. After the power-off recovery process, the process proceeds to the main game progress in FIG. 9. Note that after the power-off recovery process, in order to restore the state saved when a power-off is detected, the process is not always executed from the beginning of the main game progress.

[0170] In the unrecoverable error process, interrupts are prohibited, and the outputs of the output ports (output of sub-control commands, output of excitation signals to stepping motors, etc.) are cleared. Then, the error display (notification) is repeated on the acquired number display 27.

[0171] <Power-off process> The power-off process executed by the main control board 100 according to this embodiment will be described using the flowchart in FIG. 6.

[0172] In this embodiment, when the power switch 40 is turned off or an event occurs that interrupts the power supply, such as a power outage (also referred to as a power outage), the operating voltage for operating the slot machine PS1 drops. When this operating voltage falls below a threshold, the voltage monitoring circuit detects the power outage and generates a power outage detection signal, which is input to the input port of the main control chip. Then, in the timer interrupt processing, a determination process that determines whether or not the power outage detection signal has been input is executed when it is determined that the power outage detection signal has been input. Note that when determining whether or not the power outage detection signal has been input in the timer interrupt processing, the determination may be made in one timer interrupt processing or in two or more timer interrupt processing processes. In other words, when determining whether or not the power is out in multiple timer interrupt processing processes, even if it is determined in the first process that the power outage detection signal has been input, if it is determined in the second process that the power outage detection signal has not been input, the power outage processing will not be executed. This is to prevent the power outage processing from being executed in the event of noise or momentary interruption (a state in which the voltage briefly falls below the threshold but immediately rises above the threshold).

[0173] During power-off processing, output ports are cleared, periodic interrupts are disabled, and the interrupt disable / enable state at the time of power-off is saved. Next, the registers being used and the stack pointer are saved. Upon saving, a power-off processing flag is set to ON to indicate that power-off processing has been performed, and checksum data for all RAM areas is calculated and saved. Then, RAM writing is disabled, and the system waits for a reset. The address range of the saved stack pointer, the presence or absence of the power-off processing flag, and whether the checksums for all RAM areas are correct are determined during power-off recovery processing.

[0174] <Timer interrupt handling> The timer interrupt processing performed by the main control board 100 according to this embodiment will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 7.

[0175] In this embodiment, the timer interrupt process is configured to occur periodically every 2.235 ms (milliseconds).

[0176] When timer interrupt processing is initiated, the system compares the necessary data stored in the registers, executes power-off processing when a power-off detection signal is received, reads input ports to determine input from various sensors and operation switches, measures various timers (such as freeze period timers and wait period timers), and performs reel drive control, controlling and updating the drive state of each reel according to its driving state: accelerating, rotating at a constant speed, starting to decelerate, decelerating, or stopped. Next, it performs port output processing to create and output data to each output port (such as excitation signals to the stepping motors and drive signals for the hopper 44), and checks whether various abnormalities have occurred. These abnormalities include whether the current setting value is normal and whether the operation pattern of the insert / payout sensors is normal. Finally, it outputs external signals to set (control on / off) external signals such as bonus signals, ART signals, and security signals to be output to external systems such as the hall computer, as well as medal insertion signals and medal payout signals.

[0177] Next, in the control command transmission process, if there are set sub-control commands, the sub-control commands are output to the sub-control board 1000, control is performed regarding the lighting of various LEDs, notification data such as the sound of the stop switch being operated and the sound of inserting a medal are output to be sent to the sub-control board, signals related to the performance test are output, the registers are restored, and the timer interrupt process is terminated by saving the interrupt enable flag as ON.

[0178] The types of sub-control commands include a start command triggered by the operation of the start switch, a winning information command indicating the result of the internal lottery, a reel rotation start command triggered by the start of reel acceleration, and commands triggered by the operation of the respective stop switches to stop the reels while they are rotating, such as the left reel stop command, middle reel stop command, right reel stop command, and all reel stop command.

[0179] Alternatively, timer measurement processing may be performed within the timer interrupt handler. In timer measurement, control processing is performed to update the timer (time) information stored in the RWM (RAM). For example, processing is performed to update the value stored in the RWM memory area (hereinafter also referred to as Timer Area A) that monitors (manages) the minimum play time (4.1 seconds) (for example, by subtracting 1). Note that in addition to the RWM memory area that monitors the minimum play time, there may also be RWM memory areas related to multiple timers, such as the RWM memory area that monitors (manages) the insertion of game tokens by the insertion button (hereinafter also referred to as Timer Area B), and the RWM memory area that monitors (manages) the output time of external signals (hereinafter also referred to as Timer Area C). In this case, timer measurement executes processes to subtract 1 from the values ​​stored in the RWM's memory areas (hereinafter also referred to as timer areas) that store timer-related information, such as subtracting 1 from the value stored in timer area A, subtracting 1 from the value stored in timer area B, and subtracting 1 from the value stored in timer area C. Furthermore, if timer measurement is performed when the value stored in a certain timer area is "0", the system is configured so that the value stored in that timer area becomes "0".

[0180] As an example of a control process to update the timer information stored in the RWM, we have given the process of subtracting 1 from the value stored in the timer area, but it is also acceptable to add 1 to the value stored in the timer area.

[0181] Here, we will explain how the insertion of game tokens via the insertion button is monitored (managed). Monitoring (managing) the insertion of game tokens via the insertion button refers to a timer that starts counting from the time a bet process is executed based on the operation of the 1-bet switch 19, and the timer is designed so that the process of determining whether or not the next 1-bet switch 19 has been operated is not executed until the value of the timer becomes "0".

[0182] For example, under certain conditions where the number of credits is above a predetermined value (for example, when the number of bets is 0, the number of credits is 3, and betting is possible by operating the 1-bet switch 19), after the bet process based on the operation of the 1-bet switch 19 is executed, "20" is stored in timer area B. Subsequently, the value stored in timer area B is deducted by "1" by the timer measurement of the timer interrupt process. Then, when the timer interrupt process is executed 20 times, the value stored in timer area B becomes "0". Note that if the value stored in timer area B is not "0" (if the value stored in timer area B is any of "1" to "20"), the game progress main process does not determine whether or not the 1-bet switch 19 has been operated. In other words, even if the 1-bet switch 19 is operated when the value stored in timer area B is not "0", the bet process will not be executed. After the value stored in timer area B becomes "0", betting becomes possible when the 1-bet switch 19 is operated.

[0183] This configuration prevents multiple betting operations from being performed due to malfunction, even though the 1-bet switch 19 is operated only once. Furthermore, it prevents malicious players from repeatedly pressing the 1-bet switch 19, which would cause multiple betting operations based on the 1-bet switch 19 to be performed, and thus prevent commands based on the execution of betting operations from being continuously sent to the sub-control means 1000.

[0184] <Power outage recovery process> The power-off recovery process performed by the main control board 100 according to this embodiment will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 8.

[0185] In this embodiment, when the power is turned on by operating the power switch 40, the main control board 100 performs a power-off recovery process to restore various data to the state before the power was cut off.

[0186] In the power-off recovery process, the stack pointer is restored, and the output data related to the sub-control command transmitted to the sub-control board 1000 is restored. Then, it is determined whether the set set value data is within the normal range. As a result of the determination, in the case of an abnormality (the value is outside the defined range), the process proceeds to the non-restorable error process. On the other hand, in the case of normal (the value is within the defined range), the unused RAM area is initialized, an interrupt that is periodically executed is started, and the input port is read. Then, the power-off processed flag is cleared, the restoration of the used registers and the restoration of the interrupt disable / enable state at the time of power-off are performed, and the power-off recovery process is terminated. When the power-off recovery process is terminated, the state before the power-off occurs is restored. If it is not restored (when the settings are changed), the control process of the main game progress is performed from the beginning.

[0187] In this embodiment, an interrupt is started at a predetermined timing within the power-off recovery process, but the interrupt may be started after the power-off recovery process of the program start process.

[0188] <Explanation of the main game progress> The control process of the main game progress executed by the main control board 100 according to this embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 9.

[0189] The main control board 100 refers to the value of the freeze effect number saved before the previous game. When the saved freeze effect number corresponds to the number for which the freeze effect should be executed, the freeze effect is executed. When the saved freeze effect number does not correspond to the number for which the freeze effect should be executed, the process proceeds to the next process without executing the freeze effect. When the freeze effect is not executed, it may be configured not to save the freeze effect number. In that case, it may be configured to determine whether the freeze effect number is saved, and if it is not saved, proceed to the next process.

[0190] Next, when a game token is inserted into the token slot 17, the number of bets or credits is updated (game value input process). Next, it is determined whether the number of bets required to play the game has been placed. If it is determined that a bet has been placed, it is determined whether the start switch 12 has been operated. If it is determined that a bet has not been placed, it waits for game tokens to be inserted, or, if credits are stored, for the bet switch to be accepted (if credits are stored). If the number of bets required to play the game has been placed and the start switch 12 has been operated (the start switch signal is determined to be ON), an internal lottery process is performed. If the start switch 12 has not been operated (the start switch signal is not determined to be ON), it waits for the start switch 12 to be accepted.

[0191] In the internal lottery process, a random number for internal lottery is generated, and a predetermined calculation process is performed using the obtained random number to determine the winning combination (condition device number). After determining the winning combination, a stop control table corresponding to the stopping timing of each stop switch is created in advance, and preparations are made so that stop control can be executed even if the stop switch is operated immediately after permission to accept stop switch operation after the reel has rotated is granted.

[0192] The types of winning combinations available in PS1 slot machines can be broadly categorized into bonuses, minor wins, and replays.

[0193] A bonus refers to a special feature that activates under predetermined conditions. Generally, it activates when a combination of symbols such as "7-7-7" or "7-7-bar" is displayed on the active line in display window 4. The activation of the bonus feature changes the number of symbol combinations required for winning at each predetermined number of spins, or alters the activation probability of the conditional device for winning at each predetermined number of spins. Bonuses are divided into RB, BB, CB, MB, and SB.

[0194] RB is an abbreviation for Regular Bonus, also known as a Type 1 Special Bonus. Generally, RB is set to end when either 8 small wins are achieved or 12 game results are obtained. During RB, the probability of winning small wins is set higher than in the normal bonus draw table, and bonus draws are conducted using an RB bonus draw table.

[0195] BB is an abbreviation for Big Bonus, and is also called a continuous operation device related to a Type 1 special feature. The BB is terminated when a predetermined number of game tokens (for example, 269 tokens) related to winning a small role are paid out. During the BB, the role lottery is conducted using a BB role lottery table in which the probability of winning a small role (described later) is set higher than that of the normal role lottery table. Note that a BB role lottery table is not required during the BB. For example, a continuous operation of the RB role lottery table (described later) until the BB termination condition is met may be called a BB role lottery table.

[0196] CB is an abbreviation for Challenge Bonus, also known as a Type 2 Special Bonus. During a CB, it is possible to set the game so that at least all minor wins are guaranteed, regardless of the outcome of the prize draw. Furthermore, during a CB, predetermined reels are subject to a different stopping control than normal. For example, the left reel 8a can be controlled to stop within 75 milliseconds instead of 190 milliseconds.

[0197] As mentioned above, CB is a state where at least all minor roles have been won, so it is possible to configure it so that combinations of symbols that could be displayed according to the operating procedure cannot be displayed (also called missed symbols). For example, during CB, the left reel 8a may be controlled to stop within 75 milliseconds from 190 milliseconds, so that if it stops within 190 milliseconds, a specific symbol can be displayed on the active line at any operating timing, but if it stops within 75 milliseconds, a specific symbol may not be displayed at a certain operating timing.

[0198] MB is an abbreviation for Middle Bonus, and is also called a continuous activation device related to the second type of special feature. For example, MB is set to terminate when more than 153 medals are paid out for winning a small role, when an RB is won, or when an SB (Super Bonus) is won, as described later.

[0199] SB is an abbreviation for Single Bonus, also known as a regular bonus feature. The condition for ending an SB is that the result of one game is obtained. During an SB, the probability of winning a small prize is set higher than in the regular prize draw table, and prize draws are conducted using the SB prize draw table.

[0200] In this embodiment, the BB (Big Bonus) uses a BB-specific role lottery table to determine roles, but it is not limited to this. During the BB, the game may be played using a BB general role lottery table in which the probability of winning small roles is the same as the normal role lottery table, and the probability of winning an RB (Regular Bonus) is increased, as well as an RB-specific role lottery table in which the probability of winning small roles is set higher than the normal role lottery table. Even in this case, the BB still terminates when the payout exceeds a predetermined number of medals related to winning small roles. Furthermore, the means that control these bonuses are collectively referred to as special game control means.

[0201] A minor role is a role in which a combination of symbols based on a winning minor role is displayed on the active line, and when it is determined to be a win through the winning judgment process (described later), medals are paid out based on the displayed combination of symbols.

[0202] A replay (also called a re-play bonus) is a bonus that, when a winning combination of symbols based on a replay stops and is displayed on an active payline, and the winning judgment process determines that it is a win, grants a re-play (a game that allows you to play the next round automatically without inserting new tokens). Since a replay is never missed in the game in which it is won, the next game after a replay is won will always be a re-play.

[0203] In the draw for the winning combination, if the result is not a bonus, a minor win, or a replay, it is considered a miss, and the winning process described below will not be performed. When it is a miss, a combination of symbols that does not relate to any winning combination will be displayed on the active lines.

[0204] For BB, RB, and MB, which are drawn by the role lottery, if the winning combination does not stop on an active line in the game in which it was won, the winning flag can be carried over to the next game (special role carryover method). While the winning flag is being carried over, the role lottery may be conducted using the role lottery table from before the winning flag was carried over, or the role lottery may be conducted using the carryover role lottery table corresponding to the winning flag (also called the internal internal lottery table or internal role lottery table). When using the carryover role lottery table, if the winning combination based on BB, RB, or MB stops on an active line, it is determined that the conditions for transitioning to the role lottery table are met, and the game transitions from the carryover role lottery table to the role lottery table corresponding to the winning flag.

[0205] The winning probability table has defined probabilities for multiple types of winning combinations, and multiple types of winning combination tables are provided depending on the state of the game. For example, there is a winning combination table used during Big Bonus (BB) and a winning combination table used during Mystery Bonus (MB).

[0206] The winning combination table includes single winning combinations where one combination of symbols can stop and display on an active line, and overlapping winning combinations where multiple combinations of symbols can stop and display on one or more active lines, depending on the results of the winning combination lottery.

[0207] Multiple symbol combinations set as overlapping winning combinations may be configured so that all symbol combinations can be stopped and displayed according to the operation method, or some symbol combinations may be configured so that they cannot be stopped and displayed. Among these overlapping winning combinations, the combinations of symbols that cannot be stopped and displayed are sometimes called control combinations.

[0208] The role of the control mechanism is to control the game so that even when multiple winning combinations result in the same symbol combination being displayed on the active lines, the active lines on which the symbols are displayed differ depending on the type of control mechanism set as the winning combination.

[0209] The winning flag control means turns on the flag corresponding to the winning role when any role is won in the role lottery results. Then, when all stop switches 13 are operated by the player and the prize-winning process for the winning role is completed, the flag corresponding to the winning role is turned off.

[0210] Furthermore, regarding the BB, RB, and MB mentioned above, the flag is turned on in the game in which they are won. However, if the winning BB, RB, or MB symbol combination is not displayed on the active line when all stop switches 13 have been operated, the flag remains on for subsequent games. The carryover prize draw table is then set, and the flag corresponding to the BB, RB, or MB is turned off when the winning BB, RB, or MB symbol combination is displayed and the prize-winning process is completed.

[0211] In addition, the role lottery table will include an RT role lottery table. RT is a game state in which the probability of winning a replay in the role lottery is different from that of the normal role lottery table, and it is an abbreviation for Replay Time.

[0212] As a concrete example of using RT, one could replace the losing range in the normal role lottery table with replays to increase the probability of winning a replay, or replace the replay range in the normal role lottery table with losing ranges to decrease the probability of winning a replay. Furthermore, the normal role lottery table and the replay range may be the same, but the type of replay that can be won within the replay range may be different. The PS1 slot machine has multiple RT role lottery tables, and each is configured to transition to another RT state when predetermined transition conditions are met.

[0213] The transition conditions for the RT role lottery table are as follows: Transition condition 1 is when a specific symbol combination (symbol combination related to bonuses, RT transition symbol combination) is displayed; Transition condition 2 is when a bonus is won; Transition condition 3 is when a BB, RB, or MB bonus ends; Transition condition 4 is when a specified number of games have been played since a specific symbol combination (RT transition symbol combination) was displayed; Transition condition 5 is when a specified number of games have been played since a BB, RB, or MB ended. These transition conditions for the RT role lottery table can be set appropriately according to the gameplay.

[0214] The "placement number" refers to the number of winning entries for each draw result defined in the internal draw table generated by the internal draw mechanism. For example, if the total number of placements is 65536, dividing each placement number by 65536 gives the probability of winning. For example, the probability of winning a predetermined draw result with a placement number of 4 is 1 / 16384.

[0215] Furthermore, the number of replays can be changed if any of the transition conditions 1 to 5 of the RT role lottery table described above are met. For example, if the replay probability for RT1 is 1 / 7.3, the replay probability for RT2 may be changed to 1 / 1.5 when transitioning from RT1 to RT2. This can suppress the decrease in medals by transitioning to a state with a higher replay probability, and can add excitement to the gameplay.

[0216] Next, the system checks whether the minimum play time (equivalent to 4.1 seconds) set in the previous game has elapsed. If it is determined that the minimum play time has elapsed (i.e., the value of the minimum play time timer is determined to be 0), a new minimum play time is set. If it is not determined that the minimum play time has elapsed (i.e., the value of the minimum play time timer is not determined to be 0), the value of the minimum play time timer is decremented, and then it is checked whether the minimum play time has elapsed. This minimum play time check process is executed until it is determined that the minimum play time has elapsed, and the system is configured so that no other processes are executed between the minimum play time determination process and the process of setting a new minimum play time, as this is the main process for game progression. As a result, the minimum play time is not extended by other processes, allowing the game to start as quickly as possible. In other words, it is possible to prevent the game from being dragged out without making the player wait.

[0217] However, the system is not limited to this; it may also be configured to execute other processes as the main game progression process between the minimum play time determination process and the process of setting a new minimum play time. In this case, the other processes may include clearing the RWM address, storing other data in the RWM, or other short-running commands. These processes have extremely short execution times, so the user will not perceive an extension of the minimum play time. After setting a new minimum play time, the process for preparing to start reel rotation is executed.

[0218] In the reel rotation start preparation process, the data related to reel stopping saved from the previous game is initialized, the stop table to be used in the current game is set, the output for the start of rotation of all reels is requested, and a sub-control command (reel rotation start command) indicating the start of reel rotation is set.

[0219] The stop table is provided in correspondence with the symbol control number determined by the result of the role lottery by the internal lottery mechanism, and pre-determines the stopping position of the reels corresponding to the timing of operation of the stop switch 13.

[0220] After the reel rotation preparation process is complete, the process related to the freeze effect (for example, the reel animation before the reels start rotating) is executed. The freeze effect involves slightly moving the reels or reversing their rotation, mainly to indicate the likelihood of a winning combination.

[0221] If the freeze animation is not executed, or if the freeze animation is executed and then finishes, the process of rotating the reels (also called reel rotation process, reel rotation start process, or spinning start process) is executed. There are four states for reel rotation: accelerated state, constant speed rotation state, preparation for stopping state, and stopped state. When rotating the reels, the accelerated state is set. In the accelerated state, a timer interrupt process is executed to gradually rotate the stepping motor.

[0222] The acceleration process performed in the acceleration state is the process executed from when the reel rotation is stopped until the constant speed rotation process is performed. In the constant speed rotation process, the stepping motor is moved one step at each timer interrupt process. However, if the constant speed rotation process is performed abruptly while the reel is stopped, there will be insufficient torque, and the likelihood of losing steps increases. Therefore, acceleration processing is necessary to gradually rotate the reel. In this embodiment, the acceleration process first moves the stepping motor one step after 50 timer interrupt processes, then moves the stepping motor one step after 30 timer interrupt processes, then moves the stepping motor one step after 10 timer interrupt processes, then moves the stepping motor one step after 5 timer interrupt processes, then moves the stepping motor one step after 2 timer interrupt processes, and then moves the stepping motor one step after 1 timer interrupt process. After that, it is connected to the constant speed rotation process, in which the stepping motor is moved one step at each timer interrupt process.

[0223] When constant-speed rotation processing is being performed, the value of the rotation failure detection counter described above is incremented with each timer interrupt process to detect rotation failures. Note that the rotation failure detection counter is incremented with each timer interrupt process because its initial value is set to 0. However, if the initial value of the rotation failure detection counter is set to 180, the value of the rotation failure detection counter may be decremented with each timer interrupt process, and a rotation failure may be detected when the value becomes 0.

[0224] Furthermore, in constant-speed rotation mode, the system allows the player to press the stop switch and waits for the player to operate it. When the player is allowed to press the stop switch, the lamp on the stop switch lights up blue to inform the player that the stop switch is active (it lights up red when the player is not allowed to press the stop switch). The control of the illumination of this stop switch lamp may be handled by either the main control means 100 or the sub-control means 1000. In addition, when a push-order navigation is performed as part of the control of the illumination of the stop switch lamp, the system may be configured to make it easier for the player to recognize which stop switch to operate.

[0225] Furthermore, a command indicating that the reels have started to rotate is sent to the sub-control means 1000. When the sub-control means 1000 receives this command, it sets a reel rotation time timer to measure the rotation time of the reels and starts counting. When the value of the reel rotation time timer reaches a predetermined value (equivalent to 3 minutes), the message "Please stop the reels" (reel stop warning image) is displayed on the LCD screen to prompt the player to rotate the reels. The reel rotation time timer is initialized when the stop switch is operated (when the operation of the stop switch is accepted), and if there are still reels rotating, it starts counting again. In this way, the reel rotation time timer continues to update until all reels have stopped.

[0226] Furthermore, if the reel stop warning image is displayed at the same time as the push order navigation, it should be displayed in front of the push order navigation so that even if the display areas of the reel stop warning image and the push order navigation overlap, the visibility of the reel stop warning image is ensured, and the player can be clearly prompted to operate the stop switch. Also, in this case, there is a risk that the push order navigation may become difficult to see and the player may not know which reel to stop, so the reel stop warning image may be turned off (or the reel stop warning image may be made smaller or moved) by operating a sub-switch or a switch for effects, so that the push order navigation can be seen.

[0227] After enabling the acceptance of stop switch operations in the main game progression processing, the stop switch operation acceptance detection process (reel stop acceptance check process) is repeated until a stop switch is operated. If it is determined that any stop switch has been operated, the stop control (also called slide control) of the reel corresponding to the operated stop switch is executed. At this time, the reel corresponding to the operated stop switch transitions from a constant speed rotation state to a stop preparation state. In the stop preparation state, the reel rotates at a constant speed until it reaches the desired stopping position. When it reaches the desired stopping position, it transitions to a stop state, and all four phase excitations are turned ON to apply the brakes. Note that the slide control is performed within 190 milliseconds from the operation of stop switch 13. In this embodiment, when stop switch 13 is accepted, it is possible to pull in symbols up to four symbols ahead.

[0228] Here, the target stopping position is determined by whether the currently passing symbol number matches the symbol number stored as the stopping position. If they match, all four phases are energized ON to set the target stopping position. The currently passing symbol number is determined by setting the initial symbol number at the moment the index sensor detects an index (when the index signal rises), and then setting the next symbol number after the initial symbol number when the timer interrupt process moves one symbol unit from there.

[0229] After executing the reel stop acceptance check process, the system checks whether all reels have stopped. If all reels have stopped, the system executes the prize entry determination process followed by the prize entry process. If not all reels have stopped, the system waits for the stop switch corresponding to the spinning reel to accept the stop operation. After all reels have stopped, the system updates the display on the status display monitor and proceeds to the advantageous section clear counter management process. Finally, the system performs a game end check process to update the RT status, etc., and concludes the main sequence of events for game progression. Note that the software random number update process may be performed during the period from when the reels start spinning until the stop operation is accepted.

[0230] The prize-winning determination process determines whether or not a winning combination of symbols has stopped on an active payline. It determines whether the stopped symbols determined when the stop switch is pressed are abnormal, and does not actually determine the winning combination based on the symbols that stopped on the active payline. If the prize-winning determination process determines that a winning combination of symbols has stopped on an active payline, the prize-winning process is performed. If the prize-winning determination process does not determine that a winning combination of symbols has stopped on an active payline, the process based on a loss is performed.

[0231] The prize-winning process is the process of granting benefits to the player based on the combination of symbols that stop on the active payline. When a combination of symbols based on a minor win stops, the prize-winning process involves paying out medals based on the stopped symbol combination or transitioning the game state based on the stopped symbol combination. When a combination of symbols based on a replay stops, the prize-winning process involves granting the right to a replay or transitioning the game state based on the stopped symbol combination. When a combination of symbols based on a bonus stops, the prize-winning process involves transitioning the game state based on the stopped symbol combination. Note that no prize-winning process is performed in the case of a losing combination.

[0232] However, the process is not limited to this. When the result of the prize determination process is a loss, a prize-winning process based on the loss may be performed, and as a result of the prize-winning process, no benefits may be granted to the player. Furthermore, as a prize-winning process based on a loss, the game state may be transitioned according to the operation method at the time of the loss. For example, when all stop switches 13 are operated in a predetermined order at the time of the loss, the game state may be transitioned to a state with a different probability of winning a freeze. In addition, even in the case of a seemingly loss due to a missed small win, a prize-winning process may be performed without paying out, such as controlling the transition of the game state to an RT state. Furthermore, as a prize-winning process based on a bonus, the payout of medals or the right to a replay based on the stopped symbol combination may be added.

[0233] The process of transitioning between game states involves setting a prize draw table corresponding to the transitioning game state, setting reel control according to the transitioning game state, setting the probability of winning a freeze according to the transitioning game state, or a combination of these.

[0234] In the prize determination process, once the winning combination of symbols is determined, the winning combination information (stopped symbol information) displayed on the active line, and the winning combination lottery result information are transmitted to the sub-control board 1000. On the other hand, upon receiving this information, the sub-control board 1000 can output a display device 32, a lamp, or a speaker S that corresponds to the winning combination information and the winning combination lottery result information.

[0235] In the prize determination process, a prize is determined for all valid lines. If, as a result of the determination, multiple symbol combinations based on overlapping winning combinations are displayed on multiple valid lines, the prize determination process is performed for each of the displayed symbol combinations.

[0236] For example, when a small win with a payout of 2 coins and another small win with a payout of 10 coins are displayed on multiple active lines, the winning process involves adding the payout for the small win with 2 coins and the payout for the small win with 10 coins together to produce a payout of 12 coins.

[0237] Furthermore, an upper limit is set on the number of coins that can be paid out in a single spin. When a combination of symbols based on multiple winning combinations stops and is displayed on an active payline, if the number of coins exceeds the upper limit, the system will pay out the number of coins up to the upper limit.

[0238] For example, if the maximum payout is set to 15 coins, and a small win with a payout of 12 coins and another with a payout of 10 coins are displayed on multiple active lines, the winning process will be as follows: if the combined value of the 12-coin and 10-coin wins exceeds the maximum payout, the maximum payout of 15 coins will be performed.

[0239] In this embodiment, the system is set to pay out medals only for minor wins, but as a winning process based on a replay, the number of medals bet may be paid out, or as a winning process based on a bonus, a predetermined number of medals may be paid out.

[0240] <Management process for the advantageous section clear counter> Regarding the processes executed by the main game progression unit according to this embodiment, the advantageous section clear counter management process related to the management of the advantageous section will be explained with reference to Figure 11.

[0241] Set the RWM address of the advantageous period clear counter.

[0242] Next, a 2-byte subtraction operation is performed.

[0243] Next, it is determined whether the value of the advantageous section clear counter before subtraction is 0 or not. If the value of the advantageous section clear counter before subtraction is 0, the process moves on to determining whether the advantageous section type is 0 or not. If the value of the advantageous section clear counter before subtraction is not 0, it is determined whether the value of the advantageous section clear counter after subtraction is 0 or not. Note that an advantageous section type of 0 means that the section is not an advantageous section and is a normal section, while an advantageous section type of 1 means that it is an advantageous section.

[0244] Next, it is determined whether the value of the advantageous section clear counter after subtraction is 0 or not. If the value of the advantageous section clear counter after subtraction is 0, the process proceeds to RWM initialization. If the value of the advantageous section clear counter after subtraction is not 0, the process proceeds to obtain the value of the MY counter.

[0245] Next, in the process of obtaining the value of the MY counter, we obtain the current value of the MY counter.

[0246] Next, after executing the process to obtain the value of the MY counter, it is determined whether or not the re-play activation symbol has stopped. If it is determined that the re-play activation symbol has stopped, the process moves on to determining whether or not the value of the MY counter has exceeded the upper limit (2400). If it is determined that the re-play activation symbol has not stopped, the process moves on to obtaining the payout buffer data. The payout buffer data is data indicating the number of payouts for winning, and no payout (0 payout) in the case of a miss or a missed small win.

[0247] Next, in the process of obtaining data from the payout buffer, the number of payouts for the game in question is obtained.

[0248] Next, the process of adding the data from the acquired payout buffer (number of payouts) to the MY counter is executed.

[0249] Next, the process of obtaining the number of game tokens is executed. The number of game tokens data is data corresponding to the number of tokens inserted.

[0250] Next, the process of subtracting the number of inserted coins (IN) from the MY counter is executed.

[0251] Next, if subtracting the number of IN cards from the MY counter results in a value less than 0, the MY counter is reset to its initial value and saved. If subtracting the number of IN cards from the MY counter results in a value that is not less than 0, the value obtained by subtracting the number of IN cards from the MY counter is saved. The initial value of the MY counter is 0, and if the value of the MY counter becomes less than 0, it is corrected to 0. Whether the value of the MY counter is less than 0 is determined by whether the carry flag is 0 or not. The carry flag is a flag that is 1 if the result of the subtraction is a negative value, and 0 if the result of the subtraction is not a negative value. In the case of addition, if the upper limit (65535 in the case of 2 bytes) is exceeded, it is 1, and if the upper limit is not exceeded, it is 0.

[0252] Next, after saving the value of the MY counter, a process is executed to determine whether the value of the MY counter has exceeded the upper limit (2400). If the value of the MY counter has exceeded the upper limit (2400), the RWM initialization process is executed and the process moves to determining the type of advantageous section. In the process of determining the type of advantageous section, if the type of advantageous section is 0, the advantageous section clear counter management process is terminated. If the type of advantageous section is not 0, the initial value (1500) is set to the advantageous section clear counter and the advantageous section clear counter management process is terminated. Also, if the value of the MY counter does not exceed the upper limit (2400) in the process of determining whether the value of the MY counter has exceeded the upper limit (2400), the advantageous section clear counter management process is terminated.

[0253] The system determines whether the value of the advantageous section clear counter before deduction is 0 or not. If the value of the advantageous section clear counter before deduction is 0 and the advantageous section type is not 0, this process is executed at the start of the advantageous section; at any other time, this process is not executed. The value of 1500 stored in the advantageous section clear counter corresponds to the maximum number of games in which the advantageous section can be executed. After a maximum of 1500 games in the advantageous section, the normal section is set from the next game. This is to prevent excessive gambling, to curb a situation where medals continue to increase throughout the day, and to avoid excessively stimulating gambling tendencies.

[0254] The timing for setting the advantageous section type to 1 is during the advantageous section transition lottery process, which takes place between the start switch reception and the start of reel rotation. The advantageous section transition lottery process is run when a condition device number to be subject to the lottery is selected. If the advantageous section transition lottery is won, the advantageous section type is set to 1; if the advantageous section transition lottery is not won, the advantageous section type is set to 0 (normal section).

[0255] In the RWM initialization process, which is executed after the MY counter value exceeds its upper limit, all parameters that affect the performance of the instruction function are updated to 0. Parameters that affect the performance of the instruction function include the number of AT games and the game state related to AT. Then, by updating the advantageous section type to 0, it becomes a normal section, not an advantageous section, and if the MY counter value is 2400 or less, this process is terminated while maintaining the advantageous section. Note that if a replay is won in the advantageous section, the MY counter update process is not executed, but the process of determining whether the MY counter exceeds 2400 is still executed. In the case of a replay, the same number of coins as the number inserted are automatically bet, so OUT-IN is always 0. However, because the MY counter value may be updated at a different timing than the intended process due to noise or fraudulent activity, it is also determined whether the upper limit of the MY counter has been reached in the case of a replay.

[0256] Furthermore, the advantageous period can be terminated at any time in the game, in addition to the expiration of 1500 games or exceeding MY2400. For example, it can be terminated when a predetermined role is won in the termination lottery, or when a certain number of games (less than 1500 games) have been played. When terminating the advantageous period with such an arbitrary trigger, the value of the advantageous period clear counter is set to 1 before executing the advantageous period clear counter management process (preferably the AT-related process executed after all reels have stopped). This way, when the advantageous period clear counter management process is executed, the value of the advantageous period clear counter before subtraction is 1, the result of subtraction is 0, and the advantageous period can be terminated by the advantageous period clear counter management process. In other words, by setting the value of the advantageous period clear counter to 1 and then subtracting 1 from the counter value, the value of the advantageous period clear counter becomes 0 and the advantageous period can be terminated. This makes it possible to process the termination within the same module without using a separate advantageous period termination module when any termination condition is met.

[0257] Furthermore, the advantageous section clear counter decrement process in the advantageous section clear counter management process is configured to be executed regardless of the number of bets (if multiple predetermined numbers are set for the gaming machine) and regardless of the game state.

[0258] <Configuration Change Process> The setting change process performed by the main control board 100 according to this embodiment will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 10.

[0259] When the settings change mode is activated (the settings change process is executed), it is determined whether the current setting value is within the normal range. If it is within the normal range, the current setting value is retrieved. If it is outside the normal range, "1" is saved as the setting value, and the setting value "1" is retrieved.

[0260] After obtaining the set value, the set value display data is saved. After saving the set value display data, the lighting control is performed by dynamic lighting control, which is a timer interrupt process, by referring to the set value display data every 5 interrupts.

[0261] Next, it is determined whether the start switch 12 has changed from off to on. If it is determined that the start switch 12 has not changed from off to on, it is determined whether the setting switch has changed from off to on.

[0262] If it is determined that the setting switch has not moved from off to on, it is determined again whether the start switch 12 has moved from off to on. If it is determined that the setting switch has moved from off to on, it is determined whether the setting value is greater than or equal to the maximum setting value (setting 6).

[0263] If the set value is not greater than or equal to the maximum value, the current set value is incremented. If the set value is greater than or equal to the maximum value, the initial value (0) is saved to the current set value, and then the incrementing process is performed again. After incrementing the set value, the updated set value is displayed, and the process returns to determining whether the start switch 12 has changed from off to on.

[0264] Subsequently, when the start switch sensor detects a change and it is determined that the start switch 12 has changed from off to on, the setting value confirmation process is performed, and the system waits until it is determined that the setting key switch has changed from on to off. When it is determined that the setting key switch has changed from on to off, the determined setting value is saved to the main control RAM, the setting indicator LED is turned off, and the blocker provided in the medal selector 34 is turned on (forming a passage for medals to flow down to the hopper 44), thereby ending the setting change mode.

[0265] Here, the setting change mode is a means of determining one of the setting values ​​from 1 to 6 (displayed as setting values ​​1 to 6). Once a setting value is determined, the internal lottery table (also called the role lottery table) corresponding to the determined setting value remains set until the setting value is changed again using the setting change means. Note that a different role lottery table is provided for each setting value, with different probabilities of determining the lottery result (probability of winning a role) through the internal lottery.

[0266] The setting change means is configured such that, when the slot machine PS1 is not powered on, the setting key used for changing settings is rotated by the administrator of the gaming hall, and when the power to the slot machine PS1 is turned on while the setting key is held in the rotated position where the setting key switch signal is turned on, the setting key switch signal is turned on as a trigger for the power to be turned on of the slot machine PS1. In this embodiment, turning on the setting key switch signal means turning on the rising edge (off → on), and if the setting key was turned on before the power outage occurred, the rising edge will not be detected after the power is turned on, so the system is configured not to transition to setting change mode. However, the setting key switch signal turning on may be defined as turning on the level, and even if it was turned on before the power outage occurred, the system may be configured to transition to setting change mode if the setting key is turned on when the power is turned on again.

[0267] The setting change mechanism activates a setting change mode that allows the setting values ​​of the slot machine PS1 to be changed when it determines that the setting key switch signal is ON, the door open signal is ON, and the setting change enabled flag is ON.

[0268] The setting changeable flag is switched on and off depending on the game state. For example, the setting changeable flag may be turned off during the period from when the start switch 12 is operated until the game ends, and turned on during the rest of the time. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and the setting changeable flag may be turned off only when a specific bonus game starts or when a specific bonus is in progress, or the setting may be configured so that the setting can be changed in any state by not having a setting changeable flag.

[0269] When the settings change mode is activated, the blocker on the medal selector 34 is turned off, preventing the start of gameplay by inserting medals. There are six setting values ​​that can be changed in the settings change mode: "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", and "6". As the setting value increases, a prize draw table with a higher payout rate is set.

[0270] After activating the settings change mode, the setting indicator LED located on the back of the PS2 front panel lights up to indicate that the settings change mode is active. Then, setting value display data is set to display the set setting value, and the credit count indicator 26 located on the front of the PS2 front panel of the PS1 slot machine lights up, as well as the setting indicator LED (not shown) located on the back of the PS2 front panel of the PS1 slot machine, to display the setting value. If the setting value data is "1", the setting value display shows "1", if the setting value data is "2", the setting value display shows "2", if the setting value data is "3", the setting value display shows "3", if the setting value data is "4", the setting value display shows "4", if the setting value data is "5", the setting value display shows "5", and if the setting value data is "6", the setting value display shows "6".

[0271] Furthermore, when storing setting value data in the setting value data storage area in six levels from "0" to "5", the setting value display will show "1" when the setting value data is "0", "2" when the setting value data is "1", "3" when the setting value data is "3", "4" when the setting value data is "3", "5" when the setting value data is "4", and "6" when the setting value data is "5".

[0272] After activating the setting change mode, the system continuously checks whether the sensor signal of the start switch 12 is on or off. When the system determines that the start switch 12 has been operated and its sensor signal is on, it determines the setting value and displays the current setting value on the setting indicator LED. In other words, if the system determines that the sensor signal of the start switch 12 is on while in setting change mode, the setting value will not be changed even if the setting switch is operated.

[0273] On the other hand, if the sensor signal of the start switch 12 is not determined to be ON, but the setting switch signal is determined to be ON, the setting switch rising edge data is cleared, and it is determined whether the current setting value is greater than or equal to the maximum setting value (setting value data "6"). If it is determined that the current setting value is greater than or equal to the maximum setting value (setting value data "6"), the setting value data is cleared (the setting value data is set to "1"). If it is determined that the current setting value is less than the maximum setting value (setting value "1" to "5"), the current setting value is incremented. In the case of setting value data with 6 levels from 0 to 5, the processing for setting change mode is as follows: it is determined whether the current setting value is greater than or equal to the maximum setting value (setting value data "5"). If it is determined that the current setting value is greater than or equal to the maximum setting value (setting value data "5"), the setting value data is cleared (the setting value data is set to "0"). If it is determined that the current setting value is less than the maximum setting value (setting value "0" to "4"), the current setting value is incremented.

[0274] Furthermore, if the sensor signal of the start switch 12 is determined to be ON after activating the setting change mode, the setting value may be displayed on the setting indicator LED in a manner different from that displayed when the setting can be changed. For example, "0" may be displayed on the setting indicator LED to indicate that the setting value cannot be changed, or "_X" (where "X" is the confirmed setting value) may be displayed on the setting indicator LED.

[0275] <Gameplay using the advantageous period applicable to this embodiment> In this embodiment, the prescribed number for starting the game is only 3 coins. In other words, the game cannot be started with anything other than a 3-coin bet, and even when a bonus is activated, the game can only be started with a 3-coin bet.

[0276] In this embodiment, the active line consists of one line: the lower position of the left reel, the middle position of the middle reel, and the lower position of the right reel. Hereinafter, when a combination of symbols stops on the active line, it will simply be referred to as a "stop of a combination of symbols."

[0277] In this embodiment, there are 10 types of symbols. These are called Red Seven, Blue Seven, Bar, Gold Bar, Blank, Cherry, Watermelon, Bell A, Bell B, and Replay. Note that the names and types of symbols are merely examples and can be changed without any problem.

[0278] The reel arrangement of this embodiment will be explained using Figure 12. As shown in Figure 12, there are 20 symbols on one reel, and it comprises a first reel (left reel), a second reel (middle reel), and a third reel (right reel).

[0279] The symbol combinations in this embodiment are shown in Figures 13 to 18. The items "Winning Symbol / Activation Symbol / Pattern Symbol Name" in the figures indicate the name of the condition device corresponding to the symbol combination. In addition, "Specified Number and Game State" indicates the bonus granted when a specified number of symbol combinations stop. If "1 Type BB" is written in the "Specified Number and Game State" item, it indicates that a 1 Type BB will be granted when the symbol combination stops. If "Replay" is written, it indicates that a replay will be granted when the symbol combination stops. If a number is written, it indicates the number of coins to be paid out when the symbol combination stops. If "-" is written, it indicates that the symbol combination will not stop in the corresponding game state.

[0280] In this embodiment, the bonus is a type 1 BB, and its termination condition is the payout of more than 11 game tokens. Furthermore, this type 1 BB is a type in which RB operates continuously. RB ends when either two wins or two games are completed, and once the termination condition of RB is met, RB automatically operates until the termination condition of the type 1 BB (payout of more than 11 game tokens) is met.

[0281] As shown in Figure 13, there are eight possible symbol combinations for the Type 1 BB. Since the probability of a symbol being drawn in for a Type 1 BB symbol combination (the probability of a symbol related to a symbol combination stopping) on ​​each reel is not 100%, precise timing is required on each reel to display the Type 1 BB symbol combination.

[0282] In this embodiment, the RT transition starts from non-RT (also referred to as 1st type BB not internal), and if a 1st type BB is won during non-RT and the 1st type BB symbol combination does not stop, the transition to RT1 (also referred to as 1st type BB internal) starts from the next game (or at the end of that game). If the 1st type BB symbol combination stops during RT1, RT1 ends and 1st type BB is activated from the next game (also referred to as 1st type BB in progress), and when the operation of 1st type BB ends, the transition to non-RT starts from the next game. Also, since the transition starts from non-RT when the settings are changed, if the setting change device is activated during RT1 or 1st type BB operation, non-RT is set when the operation of the setting change device ends. Note that in the case of a power outage that does not involve the setting change device (sometimes referred to as a normal power outage), the RT state and 1st type BB operation state are not cleared, so when the power is restored, the transition starts from the state before the power outage. Specifically, if a power outage occurs during Type 1 BB operation and power is subsequently restored, the Type 1 BB operation state is still in Type 1 BB operation and in the RT1 state. If a power outage occurs again in this state and power is subsequently restored, the RT state is configured to be RT1.

[0283] The condition devices in this embodiment are explained in Figure 19. In Figure 19, the "Re-play" column lists the numbers corresponding to the winning numbers. The "Condition Device" column lists the condition devices that are activated. The "Common Name" column lists the simplified names of the condition devices that are activated. For example, the common name for the Re-play-H condition device is "Right Press: Strong-Battle Symbol," indicating that when the right reel is stopped first, the Strong Battle Symbol will stop. The common name for the Win-A1 condition device is "Push Order Bell Group A 123," indicating that the operation pattern of stopping the left reel first, the middle reel second, and the right reel third is the correct operation pattern (in this case, the pattern in which the symbol combination for Win 52 (a win with a larger payout than Wins 01-02, 09, and 29-31) is stopped). The "Components" column lists the symbol combinations corresponding to the condition devices. For example, if the Replay-A condition device is activated (a win occurs), it indicates that either Replay 01 or Replay 02 can be displayed. Note that the "0" in the "Winning Replay" section corresponds to a loss.

[0284] The internal lottery results that can be determined by the internal lottery means during a non-internal 1-type BB in this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figures 20 to 22. The internal lottery results that can be determined by the internal lottery means during a non-internal 1-type BB are: 1-type BB, Replay-A, Replay-B, Replay-C (+1-type BB), Replay-D (+1-type BB), Replay-E (+1-type BB), Replay-F (+1-type BB), Replay-G (+1-type BB), Replay-H (+1-type BB), Replay-I (+1-type BB), Replay-J (+1-type BB), Win-A1, Win-A2, Win-A3, Win-A4, Win-A5, Win The prizes are one of the following: Prize A6, Honorable Mention B1, Honorable Mention B2, Honorable Mention B3, Honorable Mention B4, Honorable Mention B5, Honorable Mention B6, Honorable Mention C1, Honorable Mention C2, Honorable Mention C3, Honorable Mention C4, Honorable Mention C5, Honorable Mention C6, Honorable Mention D (+1 type BB), Honorable Mention E (+1 type BB), Honorable Mention F (+1 type BB), Honorable Mention G (+1 type BB), Honorable Mention H (+1 type BB), Honorable Mention I (+1 type BB), Honorable Mention J (+1 type BB), or Honorable Mention K (+1 type BB). There are no losing tickets.

[0285] The above-mentioned description "Replay-C (+1 type BB)" indicates that Replay-C and 1 type BB are won simultaneously, and corresponds to the fact that the names are listed for both "Bonus Condition Device" and "Winning Replay" in Figures 20, 21, and 22. In addition, the "Internal Drawing" item in Figures 20, 21, and 22 indicates whether or not an internal drawing is being conducted for each game state, with "○" indicating that it is subject to an internal drawing and "×" indicating that it is not. Furthermore, the "Advantageous Section Transition" item in Figures 20, 21, and 22 indicates whether or not an advantageous section transition drawing is being performed for each game state, with "○" indicating that the advantageous section transition drawing is being performed and "×" indicating that the advantageous section transition drawing is not being performed. In this embodiment, if the advantageous section transition drawing is performed, it is configured to result in a 100% win and transition to the advantageous section. Furthermore, the "R1" to "R6" items in Figures 20, 21, and 22 indicate the number of winning positions in the internal lottery corresponding to the set value, with 65,536 positions allocated for each game state. Note that "R1" corresponds to a set value of "1", "R2" corresponds to a set value of "2", "R3" corresponds to a set value of "3", "R4" corresponds to a set value of "4", "R5" corresponds to a set value of "5", and "R6" corresponds to a set value of "6".

[0286] In this embodiment, the internal lottery result that can be determined by the internal lottery means within the type 1 BB is one of the following: Replay-A, Replay-B, Replay-C, Replay-D, Replay-E, Replay-F, Replay-G, Replay-H, Replay-I, Replay-J, Prize-A1, Prize-A2, Prize-A3, Prize-A4, Prize-A5, Prize-A6, Prize-B1, Prize-B2, Prize-B3, Prize-B4, Prize-B5, Prize-B6, Prize-C1, Prize-C2, Prize-C3, Prize-C4, Prize-C5, Prize-C6, Prize-D, Prize-E, Prize-F, Prize-G, Prize-H, Prize-I, Prize-J, Prize-K, and there are no losing outcomes.

[0287] In this embodiment, the internal lottery result that can be determined by the internal lottery means in one type of BB is either a win-K, a win-L, or a loss.

[0288] In this embodiment, the condition for transitioning from the normal section to the advantageous section is winning one of the following: Replay-C, Replay-D, Replay-E, Replay-F, Replay-G, Replay-H, Replay-I, Replay-J, Win-A1, Win-A2, Win-A3, Win-A4, Win-A5, Win-A6, Win-B1, Win-B2, Win-B3, Win-B4, Win-B5, Win-B6, Win-C1, Win-C2, Win-C3, Win-C4, Win-C5, Win-C6, Win-D, Win-E, Win-F, Win-G, Win-H, Win-I, Win-J, or Win-K. Winning Replay-A or Replay-B does not result in a transition to the advantageous section. In other words, if any of the following are won during the normal period: Replay-C, Replay-D, Replay-E, Replay-F, Replay-G, Replay-H, Replay-I, Replay-J, Win-A1, Win-A2, Win-A3, Win-A4, Win-A5, Win-A6, Win-B1, Win-B2, Win-B3, Win-B4, Win-B5, Win-B6, Win-C1, Win-C2, Win-C3, Win-C4, Win-C5, Win-C6, Win-D, Win-E, Win-F, Win-G, Win-H, Win-I, Win-J, or Win-K, the next game will be in the advantageous period.

[0289] In this embodiment, if any of the following are won during the normal section: Replay-C, Replay-D, Replay-E, Replay-F, Replay-G, Replay-H, Replay-I, Replay-J, Win-A1, Win-A2, Win-A3, Win-A4, Win-A5, Win-A6, Win-B1, Win-B2, Win-B3, Win-B4, Win-B5, Win-B6, Win-C1, Win-C2, Win-C3, Win-C4, Win-C5, Win-C6, Win-D, Win-E, Win-F, Win-G, Win-H, Win-I, Win-J, or Win-K, the game will always transition to the advantageous section. In other words, if any of the following are won during the normal period: Replay-C, Replay-D, Replay-E, Replay-F, Replay-G, Replay-H, Replay-I, Replay-J, Win-A1, Win-A2, Win-A3, Win-A4, Win-A5, Win-A6, Win-B1, Win-B2, Win-B3, Win-B4, Win-B5, Win-B6, Win-C1, Win-C2, Win-C3, Win-C4, Win-C5, Win-C6, Win-D, Win-E, Win-F, Win-G, Win-H, Win-I, Win-J, or Win-K, the next game will be in the advantageous period.

[0290] In this embodiment, since there are no misses in RT1 (within the first type of BB) (either a re-play role or a winning role is always won), once you enter RT1, it is possible to stop the BB symbol combination in some operation patterns when a push-order bell C group (winning role - C1 to C6) is won. Some of the push-order bell C group wins refer to, for example, some of the timing positions for stopping the middle reel or the first stop of the right reel when a winning role - C1 is won. Furthermore, when a win-C1 occurs during the advantageous period, the correct button press sequence (in this case, "1, 2, 3") is displayed on the LCD screen, causing win-38 to stop and the BB symbol combination to remain active. This configuration allows the user to maintain RT1 by notifying them of an operation that does not cause the BB symbol combination to stop. Alternatively, the number of misses during RT1 may be set to 4 (because the minimum winning probability in the design is 1 / 17500 or higher), and the BB symbol combination may be configured not to stop for other re-spinning or winning combinations, so that the BB symbol combination only stops when there is a miss.

[0291] In this embodiment, the main control means manages the following game states during the advantageous section: the general advantageous section state, the chance zone (also called CZ), and the AT. Players transition from the general advantageous section state to the CZ, from the CZ to the AT, from the AT to the general advantageous section state, or back to the CZ. In the normal section, the main control means manages only one game state: the general normal section state. There are no transitions in game states until the player enters the advantageous section. The flags related to the game state managed by the main control means in the general advantageous section state and the general normal section state may be the same or different.

[0292] In the normal state, when the internal lottery result is a win in any of the categories A1 to C6, the game does not notify the player of the advantageous button press order for winning.

[0293] The CZ (Chance Zone) is a state that is entered when, in the normal state, the internal lottery result is one of the following: Win-D to Win-H. During the CZ, the results of the internal lottery during the CZ and the lottery at the start of the CZ determine whether the player will transition to the AT (Attack Time).

[0294] AT is a state that is entered when the AT lottery during CZ is won, and it is a state that notifies the player of the advantageous operation method (order of pressing buttons for winning) when the player wins one of the winning combinations from A1 to C6.

[0295] In this embodiment, the conditions for transitioning from the advantageous section to the normal section are when the number of games played in the advantageous section reaches a predetermined number (for example, 1500 times), when MY in the advantageous section exceeds 2400, when initialization processing based on setting changes is performed, and when the RAM clear switch is activated. The termination conditions for the AT and the termination conditions for the advantageous section do not coincide. However, some of the termination conditions for the AT (such as when the ending is reached or when the number of acquired coins exceeds a predetermined number (for example, 2300 coins)) may be used as the termination conditions for the advantageous section. In addition, the transition to the normal section may occur when a CZ is won in the advantageous section. In this case, the decision of whether or not to terminate the advantageous section is made according to the situation in the advantageous section when a CZ is won in the advantageous section.

[0296] The Chance Zone (CZ) is determined by a lottery when you win one of the prizes D through H (hereinafter also referred to as rare roles), and basically, the less likely you are to win the internal lottery result, the more likely you are to win the CZ. In this embodiment, the order of likelihood of winning the CZ is Prize-G > Prize-E > Prize-H > Prize-F > Prize-D.

[0297] In this embodiment, the CZ does not occur immediately after winning, but rather after winning the CZ, the game transitions from the advantageous section to the normal section, and then transitions back to the advantageous section to start the CZ (the CZ always starts when transitioning to the advantageous section in RT1). This solves the problem of not being able to produce payouts when winning the AT from the CZ because there are few remaining games in the advantageous section. This is especially effective for specifications with a small net increase in coins (expected number of coins to be obtained per game, also called the slope value). For example, with a net increase of 2 coins, the maximum number of coins that can be obtained in the advantageous section is approximately 2400, so 1200 games are needed to obtain 2400 coins. However, the AT is not always played in the advantageous section, and various game states such as the normal state and CZ mentioned above are transitioned, so there are often few remaining games in the advantageous section when the AT starts (for example, 500 games). In this case, even after 500 games, the net increase in coins is 2, so the game ends with an acquisition of only about 1000 coins, making it difficult to meet the user's expectation of winning. Therefore, by ending the advantageous period once a CZ win occurs and then starting the CZ again when transitioning to a new advantageous period, even if the CZ consists of 100 spins, the advantageous period still allows for 1400 spins, creating the expectation for the user that they will win 2400 coins.

[0298] Furthermore, the probability of winning a CZ (Chance Zone) for the second and subsequent times within the same advantageous period may be varied according to the value of the number of coins acquired since the start of the advantageous period (cumulative number of coins paid out - cumulative number of coins inserted). For example, if a CZ is started when transitioning to an advantageous period and an AT (Attack Time) is won, the probability of winning a CZ within the remaining advantageous period after the AT ends may be varied depending on whether 50 coins or 1000 coins were acquired in the AT. In this case, the probability of winning a CZ after acquiring 50 coins may be higher or lower than the probability of winning a CZ after acquiring 1000 coins.

[0299] If the probability of winning a CZ after acquiring 50 coins is higher than the probability of winning a CZ after acquiring 1000 coins, it becomes easier to grant the next CZ to users who did not acquire many coins during AT, thus allowing them to play while maintaining a sense of anticipation.

[0300] If the probability of winning a CZ after acquiring 50 coins is lower than the probability of winning a CZ after acquiring 1000 coins, then even if the probability of winning a CZ is high, the remaining advantageous period will be short after acquiring 1000 coins (closer to the conditions for ending the advantageous period, which are 1500 spins or 2400 coins acquired). Therefore, the payout design will not significantly increase the desire to gamble, and it will also create a new sense of anticipation for the user.

[0301] If a player wins a CZ (Chance Zone), a celebratory animation will be displayed with text such as "Success" or "Victory" during the game in which the CZ was won, or after a predetermined number of games (which can be arbitrarily set depending on the specifications of the game machine). This allows the user to understand that some kind of benefit has been granted, making it possible to intuitively understand the progress of the game. Then, from the next game onward, a message indicating "CZ Preparation in Progress" will be displayed on the LCD screen or by changing the lighting pattern of the lamps, creating a sense of anticipation for the CZ in the user. "CZ Preparation in Progress" corresponds to the state after the advantageous period ends, when the game in which the CZ was won is in an advantageous period, and before the player returns to an advantageous period in the subsequent normal period. Internally, "CZ Preparation in Progress" is a normal period, so it is a disadvantageous state for the user as no AT (Attack Time) lottery or AT bonuses are performed. However, by lowering the payout rate during CZ Preparation in Progress compared to the AT state, it is possible to allocate payouts to the AT, creating fluctuations in payouts. In addition, because the anticipation for the CZ is created during CZ Preparation in Progress, the user is less likely to feel that they have lost out even if the payout rate is lowered.

[0302] Furthermore, although the advantageous period ends in the next game after a CZ win, a predetermined number of games may be played between the game in which a CZ is won and the end of the advantageous period. In this case, the announcement of a CZ win is not made in the game in which the CZ is won, and it is conceivable that the outcome of a CZ win is indicated by the performance of a predetermined number of games (so-called premonition performance or continuous performance). Then, a celebration performance is executed at the timing of the predetermined number of games, and the game enters the CZ preparation phase from the next game. This is because the advantageous period lamp is lit during the advantageous period, and the advantageous period lamp is turned off when the advantageous period ends, so it is not possible to tell whether a CZ has been won or not from the way the advantageous period lamp is lit between the game in which a CZ is won and the announcement of a CZ win. Note that the game may also transition from the advantageous period to the normal period during CZ preparation, in which case the fact that CZ preparation is in progress is already announced, so the outcome cannot be known in advance from the way the advantageous period lamp is lit during CZ preparation.

[0303] Furthermore, the CZ preparation phase does not necessarily have to be a normal phase; it may be set as an advantageous phase. Even in this case, the proportion of times the CZ preparation phase is performed in a normal phase is relatively higher than the proportion of times it is performed in an advantageous phase. The condition for performing the CZ preparation phase in an advantageous phase is that there are at least a predetermined number of remaining plays in the advantageous phase (for example, 1000 plays). By configuring it in this way, the CZ preparation phase is performed when there are plenty of remaining plays in the advantageous phase, so even if the CZ is performed after the CZ preparation phase and the AT is performed as a result, a sufficient sense of payout can be created. In addition, since the normal phase is not used during the CZ preparation phase, it is possible to create a surprise by starting the AT immediately after the CZ preparation phase (since the AT information is initialized when the advantageous phase ends, if the normal phase is used during the CZ preparation phase, the CZ will be performed at the start of the advantageous phase, so the AT cannot be started).

[0304] Furthermore, when the CZ preparation phase is performed during the advantageous period described above, it is possible to decide by lottery whether or not to grant AT when any of the winning combinations from D to H are hit during the CZ preparation phase. In this case, the order of rare combinations that are likely to result in an AT win through the AT lottery may be the same as the order that is likely to result in a CZ win, or it may be partially different, such as winning combination E > winning combination G > winning combination F > winning combination H > winning combination D. By configuring it in this way, even during the CZ preparation phase, the user can be made to expect to win a rare combination.

[0305] Furthermore, to prevent users who have won a rare role but have not won an AT from losing their motivation to play, a different type of reward may be given to them. For example, such a reward could be the display of a two-dimensional code that can be read by the user's terminal, or the display of a setting-indicating effect that allows the user to determine the setting value. Such a reward may be more likely to be given the closer the number of games played in the advantageous period is to the aforementioned predetermined number (for example, 1500 times), or it may be more likely to be given when the number of CZs is a specific number (for example, a multiple of 5).

[0306] The process related to changing settings in this embodiment will be described below.

[0307] When the setting change device is activated, the aforementioned RAM initialization process is performed at the timing of the device's activation and when the setting value is confirmed. If the game state immediately before this RAM initialization process is RT1, the RT1 information will be initialized when the RAM initialization process is performed, and the game state after the RAM initialization process will be non-RT. Also, if the game state immediately before the RAM initialization process is in the middle of a Type 1 Big Bonus (BB), the information in the middle of the Type 1 BB will be initialized when the RAM initialization process is performed, and the game state after the RAM initialization process will be non-RT.

[0308] Furthermore, if the game state immediately before the RAM initialization process is performed is in the advantageous section, the advantageous section information will be initialized when the RAM initialization process is performed, and the game state after the RAM initialization process will be in the normal section. In other words, the game states during the advantageous section include the normal state, CZ (Chance Zone), or AT (Attack Time), but regardless of which state it is, when the RAM initialization process is performed, it will transition to the normal section.

[0309] When the RAM initialization process is performed, the game starts in a non-RT (Replay Time) and normal section. However, in this embodiment, the CZ (Chance Zone) is started when transitioning from the normal section to the advantageous section. Therefore, after the settings are changed, the game is in an advantageous state (a state in which the CZ can be started by transitioning to the advantageous section without having to play in order to win the CZ).

[0310] By configuring the store in this way, customers will be in a favorable position after the settings are changed, which will motivate them to visit from the morning and increase the effectiveness of attracting customers.

[0311] Furthermore, if it becomes possible to set an overly advantageous state after changing the settings (a state where the game transitions to the CZ after only a few plays), there is a risk of excessively stimulating gambling tendencies (the so-called "morning"). For this reason, it is conceivable to change the content of the CZ depending on the circumstances when transitioning to the advantageous period.

[0312] In this case, if the RT state for the next game after the transition to the advantageous section is determined to be RT1, the CZ will start as this is the basic game flow. However, if the RT state for the next game after the transition to the advantageous section is determined to be non-RT, the CZ will not start as it is assumed that the settings have been changed. The games that determine whether a player enters the advantageous period are those in which any of the following types of games are won: Replay-C, Replay-D, Replay-E, Replay-F, Replay-G, Replay-H, Replay-I, Replay-J, Win-A1, Win-A2, Win-A3, Win-A4, Win-A5, Win-A6, Win-B1, Win-B2, Win-B3, Win-B4, Win-B5, Win-B6, Win-C1, Win-C2, Win-C3, Win-C4, Win-C5, Win-C6, Win-D, Win-E, Win-F, Win-G, Win-H, Win-I, Win-J, or Win-K.

[0313] Furthermore, Replay-C, Replay-D, Replay-E, Replay-F, Replay-G, Replay-H, Replay-I, Replay-J, Win-D, Win-E, Win-F, Win-G, Win-H, Win-I, Win-J, and Win-K are all awarded in conjunction with a Type 1 BB, so the RT state for the next game after a win will be RT1 and the CZ will start, but Win-A1, Winning combinations A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6 do not overlap with a single type of Big Bonus (BB), therefore the next game after winning is not an RT (Replay Time) and the Chance Zone (CZ) will not start.

[0314] This configuration allows for transitions to a favorable period during non-RT (Replay Time) phases, thus suppressing the morning-related specification where the game transitions to a CZ (Chance Zone) after only a few plays following a setting change, thereby reducing the element of chance.

[0315] Furthermore, it is conceivable to reduce the element of chance by using a specification that changes the game state managed by the main control means in the advantageous section by referring to the RT state of the next game after it has been decided to transition to the advantageous section. In this case, the advantageous section that is transitioned to during non-RT (non-internal 1st type BB) will not perform AT, while the advantageous section that is transitioned to during RT1 (internal 1st type BB) may perform AT. With such a configuration, if the advantageous section is transitioned to during non-RT after a setting change, no payout will be obtained because AT will not be performed, thus reducing the element of chance. The condition for ending the advantageous section in this case may be until the above-mentioned CZ is won, or it may be after a predetermined number of games have been played (for example, 1500 times).

[0316] Furthermore, while the transition to the CZ is controlled by referring to the RT state of the next game after the advantageous section transition lottery is won, the transition to the CZ may also be controlled by referring to the activated condition device of the game in which the advantageous section transition lottery was won. In this case, if the entry-A1 is won during a Type 1 BB internal in the normal section, the system will control the CZ to start at the start of the advantageous section based on the fact that the condition devices for Type 1 BB and entry-A1 are activated. Also, if the entry-A1 is won during a Type 1 BB non-internal in the normal section, the system will control the CZ not to start at the start of the advantageous section based on the fact that the condition device for entry-A1 is activated.

[0317] In this embodiment, only type 1 BB was included in the draw, but instead, RB or MB may be included in the draw, or two or all of type 1 BB, RB, and MB may be included in the draw.

[0318] <Gameplay that increases the expected value of gaining gameplay at the start of the advantageous period> This invention describes a gameplay feature that increases the expected value of gameplay at the start of the advantageous period, which is applicable to this embodiment. Furthermore, in order to increase the expected value of gameplay at the start of the advantageous period, the system is configured so that the advantageous period does not end after a predetermined number of games have been played. In other words, the system is configured so that the advantageous period does not end based on the number of games played within the advantageous period.

[0319] After the start of the first advantageous period, if a predetermined number of pre-announcement games are played in the general state of the advantageous period, the game will transition to a predetermined AT (also called AT1) from the next game. A predetermined lottery will be held in AT1, and if the predetermined lottery is won, AT1 will continue until the number of acquired points in that advantageous period exceeds 2400 (until the value of the MY counter exceeds the upper limit). When the conditions for ending the advantageous period are met, the advantageous period will end and the normal period will start from the next game. After the normal period, a new advantageous period will start, and if a predetermined number of pre-announcement games are played in the general state of the advantageous period, the game will transition to AT1. If the predetermined lottery is won in AT1, AT1 will continue until the number of acquired points in that advantageous period exceeds 2400. When the conditions for ending the advantageous period are met, the advantageous period will end and the normal period will start from the next game. In other words, the acquisition of approximately 2400 game value loops until the predetermined lottery in AT1 is unsuccessful. The probability of winning the predetermined lottery can be set as appropriate, but it is preferable to configure it so that the probability of winning is between 50% and 80%. Furthermore, a minimum guarantee (such as 50 AT games or 100 acquired items) is provided for the execution period of AT1, and even if the predetermined lottery in AT1 is unsuccessful, AT1 does not end immediately but continues until the minimum guaranteed AT is executed. The predetermined lottery may be configured to be executed at the start of AT1, or it may be configured to be executed after the minimum guaranteed AT has been executed in AT1.

[0320] Furthermore, if the predetermined lottery is unsuccessful in AT1, the game transitions to the general advantageous state without ending the advantageous period after the end of AT1. In the general advantageous state, if a predetermined role (e.g., Replay-A, Replay-J, Win-J, etc.) is won in the role lottery with a low probability (e.g., the lowest probability of winning the role lottery, 1 / 8192), the advantageous period ends and the normal period begins from the next game. After the normal period, a new advantageous period begins, and after a predetermined number of pre-announcement games are played in the general advantageous state, the game transitions to AT1.

[0321] Furthermore, the general advantageous period state that is entered after failing to win the predetermined lottery in AT1 is configured to have a lower expected value regarding AT than the general advantageous period state at the start of the first advantageous period.

[0322] Furthermore, while the system is configured to terminate the advantageous section if a predetermined role is won in the general advantageous section state that is entered after failing to win a predetermined lottery in AT1, it is not limited to this, and the system may also be configured to execute a predetermined CZ to terminate the advantageous section, and terminate the advantageous section if a predetermined lottery is won during said CZ.

[0323] Furthermore, during AT1 or the predetermined number of pre-announcement games immediately after the start of the advantageous section, the system is configured so that the advantageous section does not end even if a predetermined role is won. This configuration improves the tempo of gameplay when the acquisition amount of 2400 is looping. Also, even if a predetermined role is won in a situation where it is confirmed that a predetermined lottery has been won in AT1 and approximately 2400 game value has been acquired, AT1 will not end midway, thus preventing the risk of causing disadvantage to the player. Also, even if a predetermined role is won while a predetermined performance indicating that it is confirmed that a predetermined lottery has been won in AT and approximately 2400 game value has been acquired is being performed, the predetermined performance will not end midway, thus preventing the risk of causing distrust to the player. Note that if a predetermined role is won during AT2, which will be described later, the system may be configured to end the advantageous section in the game in which the predetermined role was won, or it may be configured to end the advantageous section after the end of AT2.

[0324] In this way, by increasing the expected value of gameplay at the start of the advantageous period, a new gameplay style can be created where the goal is to end the advantageous period. Furthermore, by requiring a predetermined number of pre-announcement games from the start of the first advantageous period to transition to AT1, even if a predetermined lottery is won in AT1, the AT will not continue beyond 2400 acquired units, thus preventing an excessive increase in gambling potential.

[0325] Furthermore, even in the general advantageous zone state that is reached after failing to win the predetermined lottery in AT1, an AT lottery may be held, or a ceiling may be set so that the game transitions to AT each time the ceiling number of games (for example, 1000 games) is played (these ATs other than AT1 are collectively referred to as AT2), but it is preferable to configure AT2 so that the predetermined lottery is not held. In this way, by not holding the predetermined lottery in ATs other than AT1, it is possible to prevent the gambling aspect from becoming excessively high, and at the same time, it is possible to increase the expectation of winning the predetermined lottery in AT1.

[0326] Furthermore, even when the expected value of gameplay at the start of the advantageous period is set to be high, if the transition to the advantageous period is decided during RT1 (within the type 1 BB) using the method described above, the transition to AT1 will occur after a predetermined number of pre-announcement games from the start of the advantageous period. However, if the transition to the advantageous period is decided during a non-RT period, the AT will not be executed even after a predetermined number of games from the start of the advantageous period. In other words, it is preferable to configure the machine so that in the first advantageous period after a setting change, the AT will not be executed after a predetermined number of games from the start of the advantageous period. By configuring the machine so that the transition to the advantageous period is relatively more advantageous when decided during RT1 than when decided during a non-RT period, the specifications related to the morning bonus can be suppressed.

[0327] Furthermore, if a specific number of games (for example, 5000 games) are played before a particular advantageous period ends, the system may be configured to transition to a predetermined state where the payout rate is set to a predetermined value (a value exceeding 100% but not exceeding 115%) from the next game until the end of the advantageous period. The specific number of games can be set as appropriate, but it is preferable to set it to a number of games that can be played within the operating hours of the amusement parlor in one day.

[0328] Furthermore, in order to set the design value of the payout rate in a predetermined state to a predetermined value, 1) the system may be configured so that it transitions to AT2 every time a predetermined number of games (e.g., 100 games) are played in the general advantageous section state, and that AT2 always ends after a specific number of games (e.g., 50 games), or 2) multiple scenarios may be provided in which the number of games to transition to AT2 and the number of wins in AT2 after the transition are predetermined so that the payout rate becomes a predetermined value, and the system may be configured so that the game proceeds according to one of the scenarios.

[0329] By structuring the game in this way, it becomes possible to create an incentive for players to continue playing even in situations that are disadvantageous to them, such as when a favorable period lasts for a long time.

[0330] Furthermore, in a predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value, the system may be configured so that the advantageous period does not end even if a predetermined role is won. By configuring it in this way, the predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value can be prevented from being excessively advantageous to the player.

[0331] Furthermore, even in a predetermined state where the payout rate is a predetermined value, the system may be configured to terminate the advantageous period if a predetermined combination is won. By configuring it in this way, the sense of anticipation when a predetermined combination is won can be increased.

[0332] Furthermore, the design value of the payout rate in a predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value may be designed to be the same regardless of the setting value. In this way, a stable gameplay experience can be provided in a predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value, without any advantage or disadvantage due to the setting value.

[0333] Furthermore, the design value of the payout rate in a predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value may be configured such that the design value of the payout rate increases as the setting value increases, such as setting value 1 < setting value 2 < ... < setting value 6. By doing so, the higher the setting value, the sooner the advantageous period can be ended when the player transitions to a predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value in a given advantageous period, thus accelerating the transition to a state where the expected value of acquiring game value is high.

[0334] Furthermore, the design value of the payout rate in a predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value may be configured to be higher than the lowest setting value (setting value 1 in this embodiment) and lower than the highest setting value (setting value 6 in this embodiment). By configuring it in this way, even if a predetermined lottery is not won during AT1 of a single advantageous section, the significance of continuing to play and aiming for a predetermined state where the design value of the payout rate is a predetermined value can be increased, while at the same time the significance of playing at the highest setting value can be preserved.

[0335] <Control corresponding to power interruption while various switches are pressed according to this embodiment> When the front panel PS2 is closed, the game has ended, no 3-bet has been made (including situations where automatic betting has not been performed), and the number of credits stored is greater than or equal to the number of credits that can be bet 3 (for example, the number of credits when no bet has been made is 3 or more, or the number of credits when 1 bet has been made is 2 or more) (hereinafter referred to as the MAX bet-enabled state), when the MAX bet switch 18 is operated (pressed), the MAX bet process is executed, 3 is stored as the number of bets, and the 1-bet lamp, 2-bet lamp, and 3-bet lamp light up (before the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed, the 1-bet lamp, 2-bet lamp, and 3-bet lamp are off).

[0336] Furthermore, the system may be configured such that, not only when the front panel PS2 is closed, but also when the front panel PS2 is open, after the end of gameplay, when no 3 bets have been made (including situations where automatic betting has not been performed), and when the number of credits stored is greater than or equal to the number of credits that can be bet 3 (for example, when no bets have been made, the number of credits is 3 or more, or when 1 bet has been made, the number of credits is 2 or more), when the MAX bet switch 18 is operated (pressed), the MAX bet process is executed, 3 is stored as the number of bets, and the 1 bet lamp, 2 bet lamp, and 3 bet lamp light up (before the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed, the 1 bet lamp, 2 bet lamp, and 3 bet lamp are off). Furthermore, unless otherwise specified below, the system is configured to behave similarly when the power is turned on, but the system may be configured to behave similarly when the front panel PS2 is open.

[0337] Furthermore, the MAX bet available state includes situations where no bets have been placed, where one bet has been placed, and where two bets have been placed. However, the MAX bet switch 18 is operated and the 1-bet lamp, 2-bet lamp, and 3-bet lamp light up only in the MAX bet available state where no bets have been placed. In the MAX bet available state where one bet has been placed, the 2-bet lamp and 3-bet lamp light up in addition to the 1-bet lamp already being lit. In the MAX bet available state where two bets have been placed, the 3-bet lamp lights up in addition to the 1-bet lamp and 2-bet lamp already being lit.

[0338] Furthermore, when the MAX bet is available, the MAX bet lamp is lit, informing the player that the MAX bet switch 18 is available. When the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed while the MAX bet lamp is lit in the MAX bet available state (when the sensor that detects the MAX bet switch 18 changes from OFF to ON), the MAX bet lamp turns off. In other words, even when the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed and not released, and the sensor for the MAX bet switch 18 remains ON), the MAX bet lamp turns off.

[0339] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed, and power is restored while the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp will light up, and the MAX bet process will not be executed. Also, because the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed, it is not possible to perform another MAX bet process by pressing the MAX bet switch 18 again. In other words, because the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (the sensor signal for the MAX bet switch is ON), it cannot be pressed, and therefore the MAX bet process cannot be performed.

[0340] This prevents unintended betting from occurring, for example, when the MAX bet switch 18 is turned on after a power outage (e.g., when a hand is placed on the MAX bet switch 18). Furthermore, even in such cases, the MAX bet lamp's illumination pattern accurately indicates that the MAX bet switch 18 is operational. Therefore, a player who recognizes that the MAX bet switch 18 is operational can release the MAX bet switch 18 (after the sensor for the MAX bet switch 18 has turned from ON to OFF) and then press the MAX bet switch 18 again (after the sensor for the MAX bet switch 18 has turned from OFF to ON) to place a MAX bet (to initiate the MAX bet process).

[0341] Furthermore, for example, if a malfunction occurs in the return spring or sensor of the MAX bet switch 18 before or after a power outage, and the MAX bet switch 18 remains pressed, the MAX bet lamp will light up, informing the administrator that the inability to process the MAX bet is not due to a software malfunction.

[0342] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed, and power is restored while the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp lights up, and the MAX bet process is not executed. However, if the 1 bet switch 19 is operated (pressed) (the sensor that detects the 1 bet switch 19 changes from OFF to ON), the 1 bet process becomes possible.

[0343] As a result, even if, for example, the MAX bet switch 18 is unintentionally operated when the power is restored after a power outage (e.g., a hand is placed on the MAX bet switch 18), the way the MAX bet lamp lights up indicates that betting is possible and suggests that the 1 bet switch 19 is operable. Furthermore, even in such cases, since the operation of the 1 bet switch 19 is valid, the game can proceed.

[0344] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed, and the power is restored while the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet process may be executed. In this case, the MAX bet lamp may be lit or unlit after the power is turned on. If the MAX bet lamp is lit after the power is turned on, it indicates that the 1 bet switch 19 is operable. When the 1 bet switch 19 is operated, the state changes from 3 bet to 1 bet, and the difference of "2" is returned to the credits. (If the number of credits is 50 in the 3 bet state, the difference cannot be returned to the credits, so even if the 1 bet switch 19 is operated, the state does not change to 1 bet and the 3 bet state is maintained, so the MAX bet lamp does not light up (is unlit) after the power is turned on). If the MAX bet lamp is unlit after the power is turned on, it can indicate that the MAX bet process has been executed. Furthermore, whether the MAX bet lamp is lit or unlit after power-on, outputting a 3-bet sound (three 1-bet sounds) at power-on will notify the user that the MAX bet process has been executed.

[0345] Next, when the MAX bet is available (no bets have been placed), if the 1 bet switch 19 is operated (pressed), the bet number will be stored as 1, and the 1 bet lamp will light up. Also, since the MAX bet switch 18 is still active, the MAX bet lamp will also be lit.

[0346] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible (no bets have been placed), a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the 1-bet switch 19 is pressed, and power is restored while the 1-bet switch 19 is pressed (when the power outage recovery process is executed while the sensor for the 1-bet switch 19 remains ON), the MAX bet lamp will light up, and the 1-bet process will not be executed. Also, because the 1-bet switch 19 is pressed, it is not possible to perform another 1-bet process by pressing the 1-bet switch 19 again.

[0347] This prevents unintended betting from occurring, for example, when the power is restored after a power outage, even if the 1-bet switch 19 is operated unintentionally (e.g., with a hand placed on the 1-bet switch 19). Furthermore, even in such cases, the way the MAX bet lamp lights up indicates that betting is possible and suggests that the 1-bet switch 19 is operable. Therefore, a player who recognizes that the MAX bet switch 18 or the 1-bet switch 19 is operational can perform a 1-bet or MAX bet by releasing the 1-bet switch 19 (after the sensor for the 1-bet switch 19 changes from ON to OFF) and then pressing the 1-bet switch 19 again, or by pressing the MAX bet switch 18 (after the sensor for the MAX bet switch 18 changes from OFF to ON) without releasing the 1-bet switch 19 (while the sensor for the 1-bet switch 19 remains ON).

[0348] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible (no bets have been placed), a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the 1-bet switch 19 is pressed, and power is restored while the 1-bet switch 19 is pressed (power recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp lights up, and the 1-bet process is not executed. However, if the MAX bet switch 18 is operated (pressed), the MAX bet process becomes possible.

[0349] As a result, even if, for example, the 1-bet switch 19 is unintentionally operated when the power is restored after a power outage (e.g., a hand is placed on the 1-bet switch 19), the way the MAX bet lamp lights up indicates that betting is possible and suggests that the MAX bet switch 18 is operable. Furthermore, even in such cases, since the MAX bet switch 18 is operable, the game can proceed.

[0350] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the 1-bet switch 19 is pressed, and power is restored while the 1-bet switch 19 is pressed (power recovery process is executed), the 1-bet process may be executed. In this case, the MAX bet lamp lights up after power is restored, indicating that the MAX bet switch 18 is operable. When the MAX bet switch 18 is operated, the state changes from 1-bet to 3-bet. Additionally, a 1-bet sound is output when power is restored to notify that the 1-bet process has been executed.

[0351] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible (no bets have been placed), a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (whether the front panel PS2 is closed or already open), and the power is turned on while the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed with the front panel PS2 open (when the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp lights up and the MAX bet process is not executed. However, if the 1 bet switch 19 is operated (pressed) while the MAX bet switch 18 is still being pressed, the 1 bet process becomes possible. Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible (no bets have been placed), a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (whether the front panel PS2 is closed or already open), and the power is turned on while the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed while the front panel PS2 is open (when the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp lights up and the MAX bet process is not executed. However, if the MAX bet switch 18 is released and then operated (pressed) again, the MAX bet process becomes possible. In this case, even if the 1-bet switch 19 or MAX-bet switch 18 is pressed again and the 1-bet process or MAX-bet process is executed, the system may be configured not to output the 1-bet sound or the 3-bet sound. Alternatively, if the 1-bet switch 19 or MAX-bet switch 18 is pressed again and the 1-bet process or MAX-bet process is executed, resulting in a 3-bet state and the front panel PS2 being open, the system may be configured so that when the start switch 12 is operated (pressed), the reel rotation process is executed and each reel rotates, but the start sound is not output.

[0352] This makes it possible to prevent bets from being placed even if, for example, the MAX bet switch 18 is operated unintentionally when the power is turned on after a power outage (such as when a hand is placed on the MAX bet switch 18), and even in such cases, the operation of the MAX bet lamp can be accurately indicated by the way it lights up.

[0353] Furthermore, for example, if a malfunction occurs in the return spring or sensor of the MAX bet switch 18 before or after a power outage, and the MAX bet switch 18 remains pressed, the MAX bet lamp will light up, informing the administrator that the inability to process the MAX bet is not due to a software malfunction.

[0354] Furthermore, even when the front panel PS2 is open, enabling the 1-bet processing via the 1-bet switch 19 allows administrators to perform tasks (such as checking settings or configuring the administrator menu) while the front panel PS2 is open, and to verify whether 1-bet processing is possible in conjunction with these tasks. In addition, since playing with the front panel PS2 open is not normal in a gaming establishment, deliberately not outputting the 1-bet sound makes it possible to make players aware that something is not happening.

[0355] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible (no bets have been placed), a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (whether the front panel PS2 is closed or already open), and the power is turned on while the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed with the front panel PS2 open (when the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp will not light up, the MAX bet process will not be executed, and even if the 1 bet switch 19 is operated (pressed), the 1 bet process will not be executed. Subsequently, if the front panel PS2 is closed (closed) while the MAX bet switch 18 is still being operated (pressed), the MAX bet lamp will light up, and if the 1 bet switch 19 is operated (pressed), the 1 bet process will become possible.

[0356] This prevents unintended betting from occurring, for example, when the MAX bet switch 18 is turned on after a power outage (e.g., with a hand placed on the MAX bet switch 18). It also prevents the player from knowing that they cannot continue playing by keeping the MAX bet lamp off. Furthermore, closing the front panel PS2 allows the betting operation via the 1 bet switch 19 to remain active even if the MAX bet switch 18 is still being pressed, thus minimizing disruption to the game's progress.

[0357] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 and the 1 bet switch 19 are pressed, and power is restored while the MAX bet switch 18 and the 1 bet switch 19 are pressed (the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp will light up, and the MAX bet process and the 1 bet process will not be executed. In this case, if the MAX bet switch 18 is released while the 1 bet switch 19 is still pressed, and the MAX bet switch 18 is operated (pressed) again, the MAX bet process will be made executable. Similarly, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the MAX bet switch 18 and the 1 bet switch 19 are pressed, and power is restored while the MAX bet switch 18 and the 1 bet switch 19 are pressed (the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp lights up, and the MAX bet process and the 1 bet process are not executed. However, if the 1 bet switch 19 is released while the MAX bet switch 18 is still being pressed, and the 1 bet switch 19 is operated (pressed) again, the 1 bet process becomes possible.

[0358] This prevents bets from being placed even if, for example, the MAX bet switch 18 and 1 bet switch 19 are unintentionally operated when the power is restored after a power outage (e.g., a hand is placed over the MAX bet switch 18 and 1 bet switch 19). Furthermore, even in such cases, the operation of the MAX bet switch 18 can be accurately indicated by the illumination pattern of the MAX bet lamp. In addition, even in such cases, the game can proceed because the operation of the MAX bet switch 18 and 1 bet switch 19 is valid.

[0359] When the front panel PS2 is closed, the game has ended, no bets have been placed (re-play is not activated), and a normal animation is being displayed (an animation state other than a continuous animation or AT animation) or a demo screen is being displayed (hereinafter referred to as the "menu screen displayable state"), when the sub-switch 20 is operated (pressed) (when the sensor that detects the sub-switch 20 changes from OFF to ON), the menu screen display process is executed and the menu screen is displayed on the display device 32.

[0360] Furthermore, if the sub-switch 20 is pressed while the menu screen is in a state where it can be displayed, and the power is lost, causing the operating voltage to fall below the threshold and the gaming machine to become inoperable, and the power is turned on while the sub-switch 20 is pressed (i.e., the power loss recovery process is executed while the sensor of the sub-switch 20 remains ON), the sub-switch lamp will light up, and the menu screen will not be displayed.

[0361] As a result, even if the sub-switch 20 is operated unintentionally when the power is turned on after a power outage (for example, if a hand is placed on the sub-switch 20), an unintended menu screen will not be displayed. The way the sub-switch lamp lights up will indicate that the menu screen can be displayed and suggest that the sub-switch 20 is operable. Therefore, a player who recognizes that operating the sub-switch 20 is valid can release the sub-switch 20 that they were pressing (after the sensor of the sub-switch 20 has turned from ON to OFF), and then press the sub-switch 20 again (after the sensor of the sub-switch 20 has turned from OFF to ON), thereby causing the menu screen to be displayed.

[0362] Furthermore, if, while the menu screen is displayable, a power outage occurs, causing the operating voltage to fall below a threshold and rendering the gaming machine inoperable, and the sub-switch 20 is pressed, and power is restored while the sub-switch 20 is being pressed (i.e., power recovery processing is performed), the sub-switch lamp may light up and the menu screen may be displayed. In this case, the menu screen can be displayed immediately after power is restored, reflecting the intention to press the sub-switch 20, and the illumination of the sub-switch lamp can further indicate that the selection operation for each item on the menu screen is valid.

[0363] Furthermore, in a situation where the MAX bet is possible and the menu screen is displayable, but a power outage occurs causing the operating voltage to fall below the threshold and the gaming machine becomes inoperable, if the MAX bet switch 18 and sub-switch 20 are pressed, and power is restored while the MAX bet switch 18 and sub-switch 20 are pressed (when the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp will light up, the MAX bet process will not be executed, the sub-switch lamp will light up, and the menu screen will not be displayed. Also, because the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed, it is not possible to perform a MAX bet process by pressing the MAX bet switch 18 again. In other words, because the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed (the sensor signal of the MAX bet switch is ON), it is not possible to press the MAX bet switch 18 and therefore not be able to perform a MAX bet process.

[0364] This makes it possible to prevent unintended bets and the display of the menu screen even if, for example, the MAX bet switch 18 and sub switch 20 are operated unintentionally when the power is turned on after a power outage (such as when a hand is placed on the MAX bet switch 18 and sub switch 20). Furthermore, even in such cases, the operation of the MAX bet switch 18 can be accurately indicated by the lighting pattern of the MAX bet lamp, and the display of the menu screen can be indicated by the lighting pattern of the sub switch lamp, suggesting that the sub switch 20 can be operated.

[0365] Furthermore, for example, if a malfunction occurs in the return spring or sensor of the MAX bet switch 18 before or after a power outage, and the MAX bet switch 18 remains pressed, the MAX bet lamp will light up, informing the administrator that the inability to process the MAX bet is not due to a software malfunction.

[0366] Furthermore, if the machine is in a state where MAX bet is possible and the menu screen is displayable, and a power outage occurs causing the operating voltage to fall below a threshold, rendering the gaming machine inoperable, and the MAX bet switch 18 and sub-switch 20 are pressed, and power is restored while the MAX bet switch 18 and sub-switch 20 are being pressed (power recovery process is executed), then the MAX bet lamp may light up, the MAX bet process may not be executed, the sub-switch lamp may light up, and the menu screen may be displayed. In this case, the menu screen can be displayed immediately after power is restored, reflecting the intention to press the sub-switch 20, and the sub-switch lamp can be illuminated to indicate that the selection operation for each item on the menu screen is valid. In this case, the MAX bet lamp may remain lit even after the menu screen is displayed to indicate that the MAX bet process is possible.

[0367] When the front panel PS2 is closed, the game has ended, no bets have been placed (re-play is not activated), and the number of credits is 1 or more (hereinafter referred to as the "settlement-ready state"), when the settlement switch is operated (pressed), the settlement process is executed and the medals stored in the credits are dispensed into the tray 28.

[0368] Furthermore, if the machine is in a payout-ready state, and a power outage occurs causing the operating voltage to fall below the threshold, rendering the gaming machine inoperable, and the payout switch is pressed (the sensor detecting the payout switch turns from OFF to ON), and power is restored while the payout switch is pressed (the power outage recovery process is executed while the payout switch sensor is ON), the MAX bet lamp will light up, and the payout process will not be executed. Also, even if the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed while the payout switch is pressed, the MAX bet process will not be executed.

[0369] This prevents unintended settlement processes from being executed, even if, for example, the settlement switch is operated unintentionally when the power is restored after a power outage (e.g., a hand is placed on the settlement switch). Furthermore, the way the MAX bet lamp lights up indicates that there are tokens remaining in the credit, thus preventing players from leaving their seats with remaining credit.

[0370] Furthermore, in a situation where the machine is in a payout state, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the payout switch is pressed and power is restored while the payout switch is pressed (power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp will light up and the payout process will not be executed. However, if the MAX bet switch 18 is pressed while the payout switch is pressed, the MAX bet process will be executed.

[0371] This prevents unintended settlement processes from being executed, even if, for example, the settlement switch is operated unintentionally when the power is restored after a power outage (e.g., a hand is placed on the settlement switch). Furthermore, by ensuring that the MAX bet switch remains operational, the game's progress is minimized, thus preserving the enjoyment of the game.

[0372] Furthermore, in a situation where the machine is in a payout state, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the payout switch is pressed and power is restored while the payout switch is pressed (i.e., a power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX bet lamp may light up and the payout process may be executed.

[0373] This simplifies the process of turning on the power before opening the arcade. For example, if the power-on procedure is performed while the settlement switch is being operated (e.g., with a hand on the settlement switch), settlement processing can be performed immediately after the power is turned on.

[0374] Furthermore, in a situation where the game machine is unable to operate due to a power outage while it is in a payout state, and the operating voltage falls below the threshold, if the payout switch is pressed and the power is restored while the payout switch is pressed (when the power outage recovery process is executed), the lamp on the sub-switch 20 will light up and the operation of the sub-switch 20 will be valid, regardless of whether the payout process is executed or not (the menu screen can be displayed by accepting the operation of the sub-switch 20).

[0375] This allows the menu screen to be displayed by operating sub-switch 20, even if the settlement switch is unintentionally operated when the power is restored after a power outage. From the menu screen, players can view and change information useful for gameplay, such as checking the game history and adjusting the volume. Furthermore, by enabling all operations related to game progress at this time, all gameplay except settlement becomes possible. The settlement process is only used at the end of gameplay, and even if the settlement process is not performed, the number of tokens inserted can be adjusted so as not to disadvantage the player, making it possible to perform the settlement process with as little disruption as possible to the progress of the game.

[0376] Furthermore, in a situation where the machine is in a state where MAX betting is possible and settlement is possible, and a power outage occurs causing the operating voltage to fall below a threshold, rendering the gaming machine inoperable, if the MAX betting switch 18 and the settlement switch are pressed, and power is restored while the MAX betting switch 18 and the settlement switch are pressed (when the power outage recovery process is executed), the MAX betting lamp will light up, and the MAX betting process and settlement process will not be executed. In this case, if the MAX betting switch 18 is released while the settlement switch is still being pressed, and then the MAX betting switch 18 is operated (pressed) again, the MAX betting process will be made executable. Similarly, if the settlement switch is released while the MAX betting switch 18 is still being pressed, and then the settlement switch is operated (pressed) again while the MAX betting switch 18 is still being pressed, the settlement process will be made executable.

[0377] This makes it possible to prevent bets from being placed and settlements from being processed even if, for example, the MAX bet switch 18 and the settlement switch are operated unintentionally when the power is restored after a power outage (e.g., a hand is placed over the MAX bet switch 18 and the settlement switch). In addition, the way the MAX bet lamp lights up can accurately indicate that there are medals remaining in the credit and that the MAX bet switch 18 has been operated.

[0378] When the front panel PS2 is closed, the game has ended, and 3 bets have been placed (including when replay is activated) (hereinafter referred to as the "reel rotation enabled state"), pressing the start switch 12 will execute the reel rotation process, causing each reel to rotate. Note that the reel rotation process is executed only after the minimum game time has elapsed.

[0379] Furthermore, in a situation where the reels are able to rotate but a power outage occurs, causing the operating voltage to fall below a threshold and rendering the gaming machine inoperable, if the start switch 12 is pressed and the power is turned on while the start switch 12 is pressed (i.e., the power outage recovery process is executed), the start lamp will light up, but none of the reels will rotate.

[0380] This prevents unintended operation of the start switch 12 (such as placing a hand on the start switch 12) when the power is turned on after a power outage, thus preventing unintended reel rotation and preventing the player from unintentionally using the bet game tokens. Furthermore, even in such cases, the operation of the start lamp can be accurately indicated by the way it lights up.

[0381] Furthermore, in a situation where the reels are able to rotate but a power outage occurs, causing the operating voltage to fall below a threshold and rendering the gaming machine inoperable, if the start switch 12 is pressed and power is restored while the start switch 12 is being pressed (i.e., a power outage recovery process is executed), the start lamp may not light up and none of the reels may rotate. In such a case, it is preferable that the start lamp lights up when the operation of the start switch 12 is terminated (i.e., when the sensor signal of the start switch 12 is turned off).

[0382] This prevents unintended reel rotations from occurring even if the start switch 12 is operated unintentionally when the power is restored after a power outage (for example, if a hand is placed on the start switch 12), thus preventing the player from unintentionally using the bet game tokens. Furthermore, by not lighting the start lamp in such cases, the player can be made aware that the reels will not rotate until the operation of the start switch 12 is completed. Once the operation of the start switch 12 is completed, the start lamp lights up, accurately indicating that the operation of the start switch 12 is valid.

[0383] Furthermore, in a situation where the reels are in a state where they can rotate, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes unable to operate, if the start switch 12 is pressed and the power is turned on while the start switch 12 is pressed (when the power outage recovery process is executed), all the reels may rotate.

[0384] As a result, if a power outage occurs while the reels are spinning, causing the operating voltage to momentarily fall below the threshold, and then the start switch 12 is operated before the operating voltage rises above the threshold and the power is automatically turned on, and the power is automatically turned on while the start switch 12 is being operated (when the power outage recovery process is executed), then all the reels will start spinning after the power is turned on. Therefore, regardless of when the player operates the start switch 12, the game can proceed (all the reels will spin), reducing the effort required from the player and improving the pace of the game.

[0385] When the front panel PS2 is closed, all reels are rotating, and the stop switch 13 is enabled to accept operation (hereinafter referred to as the reel stop-ready state), when the stop switch 13 is operated (pressed) (when any of the sensors that detect the left stop switch 13a, middle stop switch 13b, or right stop switch 13c switch from OFF to ON), a stop control process is executed for the reel corresponding to the operated stop switch 13, and the reel corresponding to the operated stop switch 13 stops. Note that the reel stop-ready state is not limited to a situation where all reels are rotating; it can also be referred to as the reel stop-ready state even when only one reel is rotating.

[0386] When the reels can be stopped, the LEDs constituting the stop switch 13 are illuminated in a way that indicates they are active. When the reels cannot be stopped even if the stop switch 13 is operated, the LEDs constituting the stop switch 13 are illuminated in a way that indicates they are inactive.

[0387] Here, the state in which the reels cannot be stopped may be a state in which the stop switch 13 is not accepted despite the reels rotating (for example, when a rotation malfunction is detected or when another switch managed by the main control means 100 is operated), or it may be a state in which the reels are not rotating (for example, when all reels are stopped or when the left stop switch 13a is operated while the left reel is stopped).

[0388] Furthermore, the lighting patterns that indicate the LEDs constituting the stop switch 13 are white or red, and the lighting patterns that indicate the LEDs constituting the stop switch 13 are not lit (off) or lit in a different color (for example, blue) than the lighting color that indicates it is lit.

[0389] Furthermore, in a situation where the reels are in a stoppable state, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below the threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the left stop switch 13a is pressed, and power is restored while the left stop switch 13a is pressed (i.e., the power outage recovery process is executed while the sensor of the left stop switch 13a remains ON), then no stop control process is executed for the left reel. Also, if power is restored while the left stop switch 13a is pressed, the LEDs constituting the stop switch 13 light up in a way that indicates they are disabled.

[0390] This prevents situations where, for example, the left stop switch 13a is a stop switch that corresponds to the final stop operation, and after a power outage occurs while the left reel is in a stop-ready state, the left stop switch 13a is not operated unintentionally when the power is restored. This prevents the left reel from stopping due to the operation of the left stop switch 13a, thus preventing the player from missing out on small wins that require precise timing. It also prevents the stop switch 13 from accepting an operation in a different order than the correct order when an internal lottery result (a so-called "press-order win") is won, where the symbols stop in a way that is advantageous to the player depending on the order in which the buttons are pressed.

[0391] Furthermore, in a situation where the reels are in a stoppable state, a power outage occurs, the operating voltage falls below a threshold, and the gaming machine becomes inoperable. If the left stop switch 13a is pressed, and power is restored while the left stop switch 13a is pressed (power recovery process is executed), a stop control process may be executed for the left reel. In this case as well, if power is restored while the left stop switch 13a is pressed, the LED constituting the stop switch 13 lights up in a way that indicates it is disabled.

[0392] As a result, for example, if a power outage occurs during gameplay, causing the operating voltage to momentarily fall below a threshold, and then the left stop switch 13a is pressed before the operating voltage rises above the threshold and the power is automatically restored, and the power is automatically restored while the left stop switch 13a is pressed (when the power outage recovery process is executed), the left reel will stop after the power is restored. This allows the game to proceed (stop the corresponding reel) regardless of when the player presses the stop switch 13, reducing the effort required from the player and improving the game tempo. Furthermore, when stopping a reel corresponding to a stop switch 13 that is pressed after the power is restored, the system is configured to stop the reel even if it is accelerating, allowing the player to stop it at a timing closer to what they originally wanted. However, if multiple stop switches 13 are pressed after the power is restored, the system is configured not to stop any of the reels.

[0393] <Control corresponding to power outage during slip control according to this embodiment> When the start switch 12 is operated and the reel is rotating, and the stop switch 13 is operated, the reel rotates from the stop switch 13's input position to the stop position (so-called slip control), and when the reel rotates to the stop position, it stops. If a power outage occurs during this slip control, the slip control cannot be performed, and the reel cannot be stopped at the stop position.

[0394] Furthermore, the stopping position is determined when the stop switch 13 is received, and the prize winning determination process is executed based on the determined stopping position. Therefore, regardless of whether the reels are actually stopped or not, if it is determined that a small win has occurred based on the stopping position, the payout of medals based on the small win will be executed.

[0395] Therefore, in a game where a minor role is won through internal lottery processing, when the stop switch 13 is operated at a timing when the symbols corresponding to the minor role can stop, a power cut-off process is executed during the sliding control. After the power is restored, even if the symbols corresponding to the minor role have not stopped on an active line, the winning determination process after all reels have stopped determines that the combination of symbols corresponding to the minor role has stopped, and medals are paid out according to the combination of symbols that were stopped.

[0396] This is for the following reasons: While it has the effect of preventing situations where a player does not receive a payout of medals even if they stop the reels at the timing to receive a payout, there was also the problem that it was not possible to recognize which combination of symbols the medal payout was based on. To solve this problem, in a game in which a small win is achieved through internal lottery processing, when the stop switch 13 is operated at the timing when the symbols corresponding to the small win can be stopped, a power cut process is performed during the sliding control (from the time the stop is received until the sliding control is completed). After the power is restored, the reels are rotated to detect the index, and based on the detected index information, the reels are rotated to the stop position and then stopped at the stop position, after which the medals are paid out.

[0397] By configuring it in this way, even if a power outage occurs during slide control, the reels will rotate again to the intended stopping position after power is restored, allowing the player to see which combination of symbols has stopped, thereby enhancing the player's enjoyment.

[0398] Furthermore, if a power-off process is executed during slide control, and after the power is restored and the re-rotation process detects the index, the machine will still move to the planned stopping position even if identical symbols exist between then and the intended stopping position. If the machine were to stop on identical symbols just before the planned stopping position, it might trigger a stop-prohibition indicator that would not normally appear during gameplay. Therefore, a judgment process to determine whether or not stopping is prohibited is necessary, but to reduce the processing load during the re-rotation process, the machine is designed to move to the planned position.

[0399] Furthermore, if a power-off process is executed during slip control, and the restart process after power is restored, acceleration and constant-speed processing are performed in the same way as the normal reel rotation start process. However, this is not limited to this, and different acceleration and constant-speed processing may be performed. For example, the acceleration time may be shortened or lengthened, or the constant-speed rotation speed may be slower or faster. By changing the acceleration or constant-speed processing in this way, the player can be made to recognize that the rotation is different from the normal one.

[0400] Furthermore, if the re-rotation is performed at a constant speed and the reel rotates to the same position as the stop acceptance position, the system will perform slip control as in normal rotation processing, and once it has rotated to the planned stop position, it will output an all-phase excitation signal (or a four-phase excitation signal in the case of a four-phase stepping motor) to the stepping motor driving the reel, stopping the re-rotating reel.

[0401] Furthermore, if a power cut is performed during slide control and the machine restarts after power is restored, the machine may be made to recognize that it is restarting by displaying "Restarting" on the LCD screen, outputting an audio message saying "Restarting," or displaying an error on the error indicator. This method allows the player to recognize that the machine is rotating in an unusual manner.

[0402] Furthermore, if a power-off process is executed during slide control, a flag indicating that the slide control is not complete is stored in a predetermined memory area. When the power is turned on, the predetermined memory area is checked, and if the flag is set, a re-rotation process is executed. This flag is initialized when the re-rotation process stops as a result, so that the re-rotation process is not executed under normal power-on conditions. Note that the flag indicating that the slide control is not complete may be an error flag or a game status flag.

[0403] Furthermore, if a power outage occurs during slip control, the re-rotation process may be automatically executed after power is restored, or an error may occur after power is restored and be cleared by a reset switch before the re-rotation process is executed. In the re-rotation processes of the subsequent embodiments, either of these methods applies.

[0404] Furthermore, if a power cut-off process is performed during slip control, the rotation failure detection counter may be updated during acceleration, constant speed, or constant speed. When the rotation failure detection counter reaches a predetermined value (for example, 180 as described above), the acceleration process is performed again. Possible causes of rotation failure in this case include holding the reel by hand, motor malfunction causing step loss, or deterioration of components over time.

[0405] In this case, the rotation malfunction detection counter is initialized during the power-on initialization process, and the rotation malfunction detection counter is updated (counted) at the same time as the re-rotation process is executed. Then, after detecting the index for the first time after power-on, the value of the rotation malfunction detection counter is updated to 0, and the rotation malfunction detection counter is updated again, and the reel control means rotates the reel to the stop position and stops it. By clearing the rotation malfunction detection counter after initially detecting the index in this way, even if the position of the reel that stops due to the power-off process is immediately after passing the index, and the stopping position is immediately before passing the index, the reel can be stopped to the stop position without detecting a rotation malfunction. In other words, the reel rotates for about two rotations from power-on until it stops, but it is not judged as having a rotation malfunction.

[0406] Although the timing for initializing the rotation malfunction detection counter is set to when the power is turned on, it is not limited to this. The rotation malfunction detection counter may also be initialized when the stop switch 13 is pressed, or when the reel enters a constant speed state.

[0407] In this way, a power cut-off process is performed during slip control, and a rotational malfunction is detected during the restart process after power is restored. This prevents the stopping position from shifting due to step loss or other issues even during restart, making it possible to stop at the planned stopping position. Furthermore, since rotational malfunctions are not detected during normal slip control, the re-acceleration process is not performed in the event of step loss or other issues during normal slip control.

[0408] Next, if a power-off process is executed during slide control and an error (recoverable error) is detected during the restart process after power is restored, an error notification is given after the restart process is completed. The errors detected at this time include any of the following: medal retention error, medal reverse flow error, medal passage time error, hopper retention error, hopper empty error, abnormality detection error, door open error, harness disconnection error, etc. In addition to displaying the error code on the acquired medal count display unit 27, the error notification can also be given via the LCD, via a speaker, or by lighting the upper or side performance lamps or performance switch lamps in a predetermined color (for example, a highly visible and conspicuous color such as red or blue). Note that the error notification may be given by only one of the error notifications, or by combining multiple error notifications.

[0409] In this way, by issuing error notifications after the re-spinning process is complete, it becomes easier for players and arcade staff to distinguish between notifications during re-spinning and notifications of errors. If a re-spinning notification is being issued during re-spinning, the system is configured to terminate the re-spinning notification and switch to an error notification after the re-spinning is complete. Error notifications are not issued during re-spinning, nor are any other notifications related to re-spinning that are not error notifications.

[0410] The error patterns during the re-rotation process described above are not limited to these. The errors to be detected may be only some of the errors (for example, hopper congestion errors may be detected, but medal congestion errors may not be detected). The error notification method may also be such that the acquired coin display 27 notifies the error after the error is detected, and the LCD or speaker notifies the error when the re-rotation process is completed and the reels stop, or the acquired coin display 27, the LCD, or the speaker notifies the error after the error is detected.

[0411] Next, during the slip control process, a power cut-off is performed, and during the restart process after power is restored, the indicator light on the stop switch 13 is in an inactive state, so that even if the stop switch 13 is operated, the corresponding reel will not stop.

[0412] In addition to the power restoration after a power outage during slip control, the reels may also rotate when power is restored after a power outage during normal reel rotation. When power is restored after a power outage during normal reel rotation, the reels can be stopped, and the indicator light on the stop switch 13 indicates that it is in an effective state. Therefore, by checking the indicator light on the stop switch 13 when the reels rotate when power is turned on, it is possible to determine whether the reels are undergoing re-rotation processing or normal reel rotation.

[0413] Furthermore, another situation in which the reels rotate when the power is turned on is the restoration of power after a power outage during a reel rotation freeze. Types of reel rotation freezes include a simulated game in which temporary stop control is performed by operating the stop switch 13, and a reel performance in which the reels do not stop rotating even when the stop switch 13 is operated.

[0414] During simulated gameplay, the indicator light on the stop switch 13 is in the active state. When the power is restored after a power outage during simulated gameplay, the indicator light on the stop switch 13 becomes active. Therefore, by checking the indicator light on the stop switch 13 when the reels rotate upon power-on, it is possible to determine whether the reels are undergoing re-rotation or normal reel rotation.

[0415] During reel animation, the indicator light on the stop switch 13 is in an inactive state. When power is restored after a power outage during reel animation, the indicator light on the stop switch 13 becomes inactive. Therefore, when the reels rotate upon power-on, it is not possible to determine whether reel animation is in progress or re-rotation is in progress based on the indicator light on the stop switch 13. However, this can be determined by checking the display device, such as the LCD or error display. Even if the indicator light on the stop switch is in an inactive state during reel animation, if the operation of other main system switches (switches managed by the main control means 100) is enabled, the indicator light on the other main system switches becomes active. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether reel animation is in progress or re-rotation is in progress by checking the indicator light on the other main system switches.

[0416] Furthermore, when the power is restored after a power outage during simulated gameplay or reel animation, the reels may not be rotated. In this case, since the reels do not rotate when the power is restored, it is easy to determine whether or not the re-rotation process is underway based on the rotation pattern of the reels.

[0417] Next, if a power cut-off is performed during slip control, and another power cut-off is performed during the restart rotation process after power is restored, the system will rotate until the index is detected after power is restored, then move to the planned stopping position and stop again. Furthermore, if a power cut-off is performed just before index detection, and the index is not detected during acceleration after power is restored, and the system rotates again until the index detection timing is reached, this can also be described as rotating until the index is detected.

[0418] In this way, even if the power is restored after a power outage during the re-spin process, the re-spin process can still be executed. Therefore, even in unstable situations where multiple power outages may occur, it is possible to display the stopped symbols to the player.

[0419] Here, the timing at which a power-off process is executed during slip control, and then again during the re-rotation process after power is restored, can be considered as either before the index is detected during the re-rotation process, or after the index is detected during the re-rotation process.

[0420] <Pattern 1> If a power cut-off is performed during slip control, and another power cut-off is performed during the restart process after power is restored, before the index is detected during the restart process, then one possible approach is to rotate the machine until the index is detected during the second restart process after power is restored, and then rotate it to the planned stopping position and stop.

[0421] In this case, the index was not detected during the first re-rotation process, and the reference symbol position was not stored. Therefore, the second re-rotation process determines that the reference symbol position is not stored and performs rotation again to detect the index, allowing the machine to stop at the planned stopping position.

[0422] <Pattern 2-1> Furthermore, if a power-off process is executed during slip control, and another power-off process is executed during the restart process after power is restored, and this occurs after the index is detected during the restart process (it is sufficient if the sensor detects the index, and this includes the moment the sensor detects the index; the same applies hereafter), then a possible configuration is to rotate the machine to the planned stopping position based on the reference pattern position determined by the index detected before the power-off, and then stop.

[0423] In this case, since the index is detected during the first respin process, the game can stop at the planned stopping position based on the stored reference symbol position. This reduces the time until gameplay can be resumed by the time it takes to detect the index.

[0424] In Pattern 2-1 described above, if a power cut-off is performed between the time the index is detected during the first re-rotation process and the time the machine rotates to the planned stopping position and the brakes are applied (until the 4-phase excitation is output), then, regardless of whether the machine has rotated to the stop acceptance position or not when the power cut-off is performed, the machine will perform a re-rotation process or stop control based on the stored reference pattern position without detecting the index again after the power is restored.

[0425] In this way, regardless of the stop request position received immediately before the first power-off process, the same re-rotation process or stop control can be executed after the second power-on, thus simplifying the process and enabling faster program execution.

[0426] <Pattern 2-2> Furthermore, if a power cut-off process is performed during slip control, and another power cut-off process is performed during the restart process after power is restored, and this occurs after the index is detected during the restart process, then it is conceivable that the index will be detected again after power is restored, and the machine will then rotate to the planned stopping position and stop.

[0427] In this case, considering the possibility that the reel may have moved between the second power outage and the power restoration, the system will re-rotate until the index is detected again, allowing it to rotate more accurately to the intended stopping position.

[0428] In Pattern 2-2 described above, if a power cut-off process is performed between the time the index is detected during the first re-rotation process and the time the machine rotates to the planned stopping position and the brakes are applied (until the 4-phase excitation is output), then, regardless of whether the machine has rotated to the stop acceptance position or not when the power cut-off process is performed, a re-rotation process will be performed after power is restored to detect the index again, move the pattern to the planned stopping position, and then stop it.

[0429] In this way, regardless of the stop request position received immediately before the first power-off process, the same re-rotation process or stop control can be executed after the second power-on, thus simplifying the process and enabling faster program execution.

[0430] <Pattern 2-3> Furthermore, if a power cut-off process is performed during slide control, and another power cut-off process is performed during the re-rotation process after power is restored, and the index has been detected during the re-rotation process but the machine has not yet rotated to the stop acceptance position, then after power is restored, the machine will perform a re-rotation process or stop control based on the stored reference symbol position without detecting the index again. Alternatively, if a power cut-off process is performed during slide control, and another power cut-off process is performed during the re-rotation process after power is restored, and the index has been detected during the re-rotation process but the machine has already rotated to the stop acceptance position, then after power is restored, the machine will perform a re-rotation process to detect the index again and move the symbol to the planned stop position before stopping.

[0431] In this way, the stop reception position received immediately before the initial power outage process allows for precise control of the system after the power is restored, enabling appropriate processing according to the circumstances under which the power outage process was executed.

[0432] <Control of performance modes using performance switches according to this embodiment> Figure 23 illustrates an effect using a special switch (sometimes called a push-button effect). Figure 23 shows an effect that involves operating the start switch 12, then the left stop switch 13a, the middle stop switch 13b, and the right stop switch 13c, before finally operating the special switch, and then the effect is executed when the special switch is operated. The areas labeled "PUSH" in Figure 23 represent special switches (however, the "PUSH" display at the top of the lower middle section of Figure 23 is a display on the LCD).

[0433] In the upper left diagram of Figure 23, the LCD displays the message "Win at rock-paper-scissors!!" which was executed based on the operation of the start switch 12 to start the game (more specifically, the reception of a start switch acceptance command from the main control means 100, or the reception of a reel rotation start command). At this time, the operation of the effect switch is not yet effective, so the effect switch is off.

[0434] Next, in the upper middle diagram of Figure 23, the "Ta-da!" effect is displayed on the LCD screen, which was executed based on the operation of the left stop switch 13a to stop the left reel (more specifically, the reception of the left stop switch acceptance command from the main control means 100). At this point, the operation of the effect switch is not yet effective, so the effect switch is off.

[0435] Next, in the upper right diagram of Figure 23, the "Keen!" animation is displayed on the LCD screen, which was executed based on the operation of the middle stop switch 13b to stop the middle reel (more specifically, the reception of the middle stop switch acceptance command from the main control means 100). At this time, the operation of the animation switch is not yet effective, so the animation switch is off.

[0436] Next, in the lower left diagram of Figure 23, the LCD displays a "Pon!" effect, which is executed based on the operation of the right stop switch 13c to stop the right reel (more specifically, the reception of the right stop switch acceptance command from the main control means 100). At this point, the operation of the effect switch is still invalid, so the effect switch is off.

[0437] Next, in the lower middle diagram of Figure 23, an image of a switch that mimics a performance switch (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a performance switch image, operation prompt image, or operation prompt performance) is displayed on the LCD, which is executed based on the fact that all reels have been stopped (more specifically, the reception of a command to stop all reels from the main control means 100). Also, the "Pon!" performance that was displayed when the third stop, the right stop switch 13c, was operated is displayed dimly (with reduced brightness). At this time, the operation of the performance switch is valid, so the performance switch is lit. Note that when displaying an image dimly, in addition to reducing brightness, it may also be done by reducing luminance or by overlaying a gray semi-transparent display on the image. In any case, it can also be said that visibility is reduced when an image is displayed dimly.

[0438] Next, in the lower right diagram of Figure 23, the image "Victory!" (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the operation response image or operation response effect) is displayed on the LCD screen, which was executed based on the operation of the effect switch (more specifically, the input signal related to the effect switch being input to the input port). At this time, the operation of the effect switch is invalid, so the effect switch is off.

[0439] As shown in the lower middle diagram of Figure 23, when displaying an image of a performance switch on the LCD screen as a way to prompt the player to operate the performance switch, the image of the performance switch should be larger than the actual size of the performance switch. By displaying it in this way, the performance switch can be effectively shown on the LCD screen that the player is focusing on, making it possible to intuitively prompt the player to operate the performance switch.

[0440] Furthermore, the image of the performance switch also includes an image representation of the lighting pattern of the performance switch (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the lighting pattern image). When the performance switch is active, the performance switch lamp is lit (not blinking), and the lighting pattern image represents this as a blinking pattern that repeatedly turns on and off at a predetermined cycle. With this configuration, the performance switch image repeatedly becomes brighter and darker, making the performance switch image more noticeable and, consequently, effectively encouraging the operation of the performance switch.

[0441] Furthermore, when the performance switch is active, the performance switch lamp lights up in a blinking pattern, repeatedly turning on and off at a specific interval, and the image representing the lighting pattern may also be a blinking pattern that repeatedly turns on and off at a predetermined interval. In this case, the image of the lighting pattern can be made to stand out by making the predetermined interval of the lighting pattern image shorter than the specific interval of the performance switch lamp. In this case, even when the performance switch lamp is off, the operation (pressing) of the performance switch is effective, and based on the operation of the performance switch at this timing, the performance is switched from a state where a dimly lit "Pon!" is displayed (the state shown in the lower middle of Figure 23) to a state where "Victory!" is displayed (the state shown in the lower right of Figure 23).

[0442] Furthermore, even when equipped with an eco mode (sometimes called a power-saving mode), the brightness of the effect switch when illuminating the effect switch during a push-button effect in eco mode is made equivalent to the brightness of the effect switch when illuminating the effect switch when not in eco mode. This makes it possible to effectively encourage the player to operate (press) the effect switch. When eco mode is set, the brightness of the upper or side effect lamps, the lower panel, and the LCD display are reduced or turned off compared to when eco mode is not set.

[0443] Furthermore, even when error notification is performed by illuminating or flashing the upper or side-mounted indicator lamps or indicator switch lamps in a predetermined color (a highly visible and conspicuous color such as red or blue), it is preferable to ensure that the brightness of the upper or side-mounted indicator lamps or indicator switch lamps is the same whether or not the device is in eco mode.

[0444] Furthermore, when displaying an image indicating the switch is off, the brightness of the effect switch image is reduced, but the brightness is not lowered until it becomes completely black, giving the impression that it is slightly lit. On the other hand, when the effect switch lamp is off, it is not lit. By differentiating the representation of the effect switch lamp and the effect switch image in terms of the off state, it is possible to make the effect switch image stand out. Also, since the area around the effect switch image is brighter than the area around the effect switch, the brightness difference with the surroundings is reduced by not lowering the brightness of the effect switch image's effect switch image until it becomes completely black. This configuration makes the effect switch image stand out while reducing fatigue during gameplay.

[0445] Furthermore, as shown in the lower middle diagram of Figure 23, when displaying a special effect switch image before the previous image, the brightness of the previous image is reduced, but the brightness of the previous image is made lower than the lowest brightness of the lighting mode image of the special effect switch image. By configuring it in this way, even when the brightness of the special effect switch image is at its lowest setting, it is brighter than the surrounding images, making the special effect switch image stand out.

[0446] The lower middle diagram in Figure 23 will be further explained using Figure 24. The image of the performance switch changes over time until the performance switch is operated. The change is represented using the performance switch image to show the initial position and the movement of the pressed position of the performance switch.

[0447] The leftmost image in Figure 24 shows the effect switch image in its initial position, the second image from the left shows the effect switch image in the pressed position, the third image from the left shows the effect switch image in its initial position, and the fourth image from the left shows the effect switch image in the pressed position. By configuring the system to repeatedly show the effect switch image in its initial position and in the pressed position, it becomes possible to effectively encourage the player to press the effect switch.

[0448] The initial position and pressed position of the effect switch image change at a fixed interval, and the interval representing the initial position and pressed position of the effect switch image is longer than the predetermined interval representing the on and off of the lighting pattern image. This configuration makes the effect switch image stand out while preventing players from thinking of repeatedly pressing the effect switch. Many gaming machines currently on the market change the effects continuously by repeatedly pressing the effect switch, and if the change pattern of the effect switch image changes too quickly, there is a risk of mistaking it for a rapid-fire effect, which could reduce the enjoyment of the game. Therefore, by making the interval between the initial position and pressed position longer than the interval of the lighting pattern, it is possible to make players aware of pressing the effect switch while intuitively conveying that it is not a rapid-fire effect.

[0449] Furthermore, in situations where a performance switch is displayed that requires repeated pressing, shortening the cycle between the initial position and the pressed position compared to the cycle of the lighting pattern makes it possible to intuitively convey to the player the need to repeatedly press the performance switch. However, this is not limited to this; even if the position of the performance switch image does not change, the performance pattern that signifies repeated pressing may be shortened by shortening the switching cycle of the lighting pattern image compared to the cycle that ends when the performance switch is operated once.

[0450] Alternatively, the image of the performance switch may not change between its initial position and the pressed position at regular intervals. In this case, the display area of ​​the LCD can be reduced, making it possible to display text such as "Press the PUSH button" to indicate that the performance switch should be pressed.

[0451] When an image of a performance switch for operating a performance switch is displayed on the LCD, and the performance switch is operated, the performance switch image is erased without any effect. In other words, when an performance switch is operated while an image of a performance switch is displayed, the performance switch image is erased immediately and the performance based on the press of the performance switch is executed immediately. In this case, the performance switch image may be erased in the drawing process immediately after the performance switch operation is received, or it may be erased in the drawing process executed after a predetermined period of time after the performance switch operation is received.

[0452] This configuration makes it possible to pique the player's interest in what happens when the special effect switch is pressed, while making the information about whether or not the special effect switch was pressed less prominent.

[0453] Furthermore, even if the front panel PS2 is opened while an image for an effect switch is displayed on the LCD for operating the effect switch, the display of the effect switch image continues, and when the effect switch is operated, the effect switch image is erased without any effect, and the effect based on the press of the effect switch is immediately executed. In this case, as described above, the effect switch image may be erased in the drawing process immediately after the operation of the effect switch is received, or it may be erased in the drawing process executed after a predetermined period of time from immediately after the operation of the effect switch is received.

[0454] By executing the effects based on the press of the effect switch regardless of whether the front panel PS2 is open or closed, it becomes possible to prevent the game from being interrupted even if the front panel PS2 is opened unintentionally.

[0455] Furthermore, when the front panel PS2 is open and an image of the effect switch is displayed on the LCD for operating the effect switch, the lighting pattern of the effect switch is configured to differ from the lighting pattern of the effect switch when the front panel PS2 is closed and an image of the effect switch is displayed on the LCD for operating the effect switch. For example, the effect switch may be lit when the front panel PS2 is closed, but blink or turn off when it is open, or the blinking cycle may be faster when it is closed than when it is open, or the lighting color may be different for the open and closed states. Also, when the front panel PS2 is open, as shown in Figure 28, an image indicating that the front panel PS2 is open may be displayed in a position that overlaps with at least a part of the image of the effect switch (however, in order to improve the visibility of both the image of the effect switch and the image indicating that the front panel PS2 is open, the image indicating that the front panel PS2 is open may be displayed in a position where these images do not overlap). Furthermore, when the front panel PS2 is open, an audio message indicating that the front panel PS2 is open (for example, "The door is open") may be output. In this case, the sound effects associated with the display of the effect switch image and the sound effects associated with the press of the effect switch may not be output. This allows for accurate notification that the front panel PS2 is open. On the other hand, even when an audio message indicating that the front panel PS2 is open is output, the sound effects associated with the display of the effect switch image and the sound effects associated with the press of the effect switch may still be output. This allows for accurate notification that the front panel PS2 is open without disrupting the progress of the game.

[0456] Furthermore, when the LCD displays an image of a special effect switch for operating the effect switch, if the front panel PS2 is opened, an image indicating that the front panel PS2 is open may be displayed instead of the effect switch image, disabling the press of the effect switch. After the front panel PS2 is closed, the image indicating that the front panel PS2 is open may be erased, and the effect switch image may be displayed again. Alternatively, the image indicating that the front panel PS2 is open may be superimposed on the effect switch image to make the effect switch image invisible, and after the front panel PS2 is closed, the image indicating that the front panel PS2 is open may be erased, making the effect switch image visible again. In this case as well, as described above, by making the illumination pattern of the effect switch different before and after the front panel PS2 is opened, it is possible to accurately notify that the front panel PS2 is open.

[0457] Furthermore, if the performance switch is operated to execute a performance that means the player will receive a reward (success performance), the performance switch image will disappear without any effect. However, if the performance switch is operated to execute a performance that means the player will not receive a reward (failure performance), the performance switch image may disappear with an effect. Examples of effects in the case of a failure performance include the performance switch image exploding or the performance switch image remaining at its darkest level (a state where the brightness does not change periodically).

[0458] By configuring it in this way, it becomes possible to suggest to the player that a failed animation was displayed as a result of operating the animation switch, thereby fostering a sense of satisfaction in the player and preventing a decrease in enjoyment in subsequent games.

[0459] Furthermore, when displaying a special effect switch image when all reels are stopped, if the start switch 12 for the next game is operated, the image displayed will be based on the operation of the start switch 12, rather than the image displayed when the special effect switch is operated. In addition, when displaying an image based on the operation of the start switch 12, the special effect switch image is erased. The special effect switch image is erased without any effect.

[0460] This configuration prevents interference with the effects executed based on the operation of the start switch 12, making it possible to execute appropriate effects in response to the player's actions. Players who skip the effect switch images by operating the start switch 12 are likely to have already anticipated a low probability of winning, or are not interested in the effects themselves, and by eliminating them without any accompanying effects, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the enjoyment of the game.

[0461] Furthermore, when comparing the time from the reception of the operation of the performance switch to the disappearance of the performance switch image when the performance switch is operated while the performance switch image is displayed and a success animation is displayed, with the time from the reception of the operation of the stop switch 13 to the disappearance of the push-order navigation image when the stop switch...

Claims

[Claim 1] Having a main processing, It has timer interrupt handling, Timer interrupt processing is enabled when a predetermined counter times out. After the power is turned on and the value of a predetermined counter is updated, the RWM abnormality detection process is executed, and after the RWM abnormality detection process is executed, the interrupt enable command becomes executable. A gaming machine characterized by the following features.

Images