Gaming machine

Abstract

The present invention provides a gaming machine that can effectively enhance the enjoyment of the game through the content of the display when performing a variable display effect. [Solution] In a configuration in which a second display object, such as a pointer 2131, is displayed after a first display object, a second display object such as a pointer 2131 is displayed, a second display object such as a pointer 2132 of multiple different types is set, and the operation mode of the operating means that the player can operate (for example, the first operating device 2181A) can be made different depending on the type of second display object that is displayed, and the expected probability that the result of the special symbol lottery will be a jackpot (jackpot expectation) will differ depending on whether the operation mode is a predetermined first operation mode or a predetermined second operation mode different from the first operation mode. Therefore, the difference in the expected probability can be intuitively inferred by the difference in the operation mode.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a pachinko machine is a typical example of a gaming machine. In a conventional typical pachinko machine, when a game ball enters a start port as a normal game, a lottery is performed. When winning a big hit by the lottery, a special game state is entered and a large number of game balls can be won into a big winning port (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a pachinko machine includes a display unit capable of displaying at least a predetermined variable display and a result display corresponding to the result of the lottery, and is configured to output a music sound set corresponding to the display effect of the variable display displayed on the display unit.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, there may still be room for improvement in the configuration for improving the interest of the game in a gaming machine having such a configuration.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-exemplified circumstances and the like, and an object thereof is to provide a gaming machine capable of suitably improving the interest of the game depending on the display content when performing the display effect of the variable display.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the gaming machine according to the present invention lottery means for performing a predetermined lottery, A game control means that generates a special game state which is more advantageous than the normal game state when the result of the lottery by the lottery means is a predetermined result, A display unit capable of displaying at least a predetermined fluctuation display and a result display corresponding to the lottery result, An effect control means that selects the effect of the variable display based on the lottery result of the lottery means, and controls the display unit to execute the selected effect of the variable display, The system includes a holding means for suspending the execution of the aforementioned variable display up to a predetermined upper limit number of times, The aforementioned performance control means is A first display means that enables the display of a predetermined first display object in a predetermined display area, The system includes a second display means that enables the display of a predetermined second display object in the predetermined display area after the first display object has been displayed, Multiple types of different second display targets are set to be displayed after the first display target is displayed by the first display means, and the operation mode of the operation means that can be operated by the player can be made different depending on the type of second display target displayed, and the expected degree that the lottery result by the lottery means will be the predetermined result differs depending on whether the operation mode is a predetermined first operation mode or a predetermined second operation mode different from the first operation mode. The first display means is configured such that when the first display target is displayed, the display of the first display target starts from a position different from the display position of the second display target during the operation validity period, a display effect is performed such that the first display target gradually approaches the display position of the second display target during the operation validity period, and after the execution of the display effect, the operation validity period begins and a specific effect corresponding to the player's operation is performed when the first display target and the second display target are displayed in close proximity, or a display effect different from the specific effect is performed when the second display target is not displayed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present invention provides a gaming machine that can suitably enhance the enjoyment of the game through the content of the display when performing the fluctuating display effects. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Front and side perspective view of a pachinko machine, an example of a gaming machine. [Figure 2] Perspective view showing a pachinko machine in an open state. [Figure 3] Perspective view showing a pachinko machine in another open state. [Figure 4] A perspective view showing a pachinko machine in yet another open state. [Figure 5] Front view of a pachinko machine [Figure 6] Front view showing the front block of the pachinko machine removed. [Figure 7] Front view of the game board [Figure 8] Rear oblique view of a pachinko machine [Figure 9] Rear view of a pachinko machine [Figure 10] Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a pachinko machine. [Figure 11] A flowchart showing an example of the main control process. [Figure 12] A flowchart showing an example of main control interrupt processing. [Figure 13] Front view of the decorative pattern [Figure 14] This screen diagram shows an example of the screen transitions for the display of changing decorative patterns executed by the decorative pattern display device. [Figure 15] This screen diagram shows an example of the screen transitions for the display of changing decorative patterns executed by the decorative pattern display device. [Figure 16] This screen diagram shows an example of the screen transitions for the display of changing decorative patterns executed by the decorative pattern display device. [Figure 17] This screen diagram shows an example of the screen transitions for the display of changing decorative patterns executed by the decorative pattern display device. [Figure 18] This screen diagram shows an example of the screen transitions for the display of changing decorative patterns executed by the decorative pattern display device. [Figure 19] A screen diagram showing an example of screen transition of the variable display of the decorative pattern executed by the decorative pattern display device [Figure 20] (A) is a screen diagram showing an example of the variable display screen displayed on the decorative pattern display device, and (B) is an explanatory diagram for explaining the characteristics of each of the four types of stages [Figure 21] An explanatory diagram for explaining the variable display executed in each stage [Figure 22] (A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of the display screen of the decorative pattern display device, and (B) is an enlarged view of the area NE part in Fig. 22(A) [Figure 23] A schematic diagram showing an example of the change in the display mode within the area NE as the variable effect progresses [Figure 24] A schematic diagram showing an example of the change in the display mode within the area NE as the variable effect progresses [Figure 25] A schematic diagram showing an example of the change in the display mode within the area NE as the variable effect progresses [Figure 26] A schematic diagram showing an example of the change in the display mode within the area NE as the variable effect progresses [Figure 27] A schematic diagram showing an example of the change in the display mode within the area NE as the variable effect progresses [Figure 28] A schematic diagram showing an example of the change in the display mode within the area NE as the variable effect progresses [Figure 29] A schematic diagram showing an example of the enlarged part display of the map [Figure 30] A schematic diagram showing an example of the display mode of the map [Figure 31] A schematic diagram showing an example of the display mode of the map [Figure 32] A schematic diagram showing the variable effect corresponding to the enlarged part display of the map [Figure 33] A schematic diagram showing the variable effect corresponding to the enlarged part display of the map [Figure 34] A schematic diagram for explaining the moving speed of the map-corresponding block display [Figure 35] A schematic diagram for explaining the moving speed of the map-corresponding block display [Figure 36]A schematic diagram illustrating a variable animation in which the vertical length of the block corresponding to the currently running variable animation changes. [Figure 37] A schematic diagram illustrating the variable animation where the pointer pauses during the animation. [Figure 38] A schematic diagram illustrating the variable display effect for showing multiple map-corresponding blocks. [Figure 39] A schematic diagram illustrating the variable display effect for showing multiple map-corresponding blocks. [Figure 40] A schematic diagram illustrating the second variation effect, which displays multiple map-corresponding blocks. [Figure 41] A schematic diagram illustrating the second variation effect, which displays multiple map-corresponding blocks. [Figure 42] An explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a variable pointer display effect. [Figure 43] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 44] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 45] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 46] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 47] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 48] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 49] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 50] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 51] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 52] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 53] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 54] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 55] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 56] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 57] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 58] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 59] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 60] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 61] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 62] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 63] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 64] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 65] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 66] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 67] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 68] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 69] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 70] An explanatory diagram illustrating the common elements and an example of the final form of kanji in kanji presentation. [Figure 71] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 72] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 73] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 74] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 75] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 76] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 77] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 78] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 79] Diagram for explaining specific effects [Figure 80] Explanatory diagrams illustrating the first operating device, the second operating device, and the third operating device. [Figure 81] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 82] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 83] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 84] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 85] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 86] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 87] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 88] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 89] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 90] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Figure 91] Screen transition diagram illustrating the variation effect in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Regarding embodiments of the gaming machine according to the present invention, a pachinko machine 100, which is an example of a pinball gaming machine, will be described, followed by descriptions of modified versions and other types of gaming machines. First, the structural configuration, electrical configuration, and various control processes of the pachinko machine 100 will be described in order.

[0010] <Structural structure> First, the structure of the pachinko machine 100 will be explained, mainly referring to Figures 1 to 9. Figures 1 to 4 are perspective views showing various states of the pachinko machine 100. Figure 1 shows the pachinko machine 100 in a closed state, Figure 2 shows the state in which the front block 102 and the intermediate block 103 are integrally open to the outer frame 101, Figure 3 shows the state in which the front block 102 is open to the intermediate block 103, and Figure 4 shows the state in which the rear block 104 is open to the intermediate block 103. Figure 5 is a front view of the pachinko machine 100, and Figure 6 shows the state in which the front block 102 of the pachinko machine 100 has been removed from the state in Figure 5. Note that various wirings are omitted in each figure, and some of the components of the game board 400 are omitted in Figures 3 and 6.

[0011] The pachinko machine 100, as shown in Figures 1 to 4, for example, comprises an outer frame 101, a front block 102, an intermediate block 103, and a rear block 104, and each of these parts is configured to be displaceable relative to each other by predetermined operations.

[0012] The outer frame 101 functions as a support means for supporting the main body portion of the pachinko machine 100. The outer frame 101 is a roughly quadrilateral frame body assembled from a top plate portion 111, a bottom plate portion 112, a left side plate portion 113, and a right side plate portion 114, as shown in Figure 2, and is fitted into the amusement machine installation equipment (island equipment) provided in the amusement hall where the pachinko machine 100 is installed, and is firmly fixed by fasteners (not shown). Note that the outer frame 101 is not an essential component of the pachinko machine 100, and the island equipment may be equipped with a support mechanism that supports the main body portion corresponding to the configuration of the pachinko machine 100 without the outer frame 101, or a part of a locking mechanism that locks the main body portion.

[0013] Intermediate block support mechanisms 121 and 122 are provided on one side of the outer frame 101 in the left-right direction (the left side of the plate portion 113). These intermediate block support mechanisms 121 and 122 connect (link) the outer frame 101 and the intermediate block 103, and the main body of the pachinko machine 100 is configured to rotate forward with one end (left side) in the left-right direction when viewed from the front of the pachinko machine 100 as the pivot base end and the other end (right side) as the pivot tip end.

[0014] The intermediate block support mechanisms 121 and 122 are provided, for example, at spaced apart from the upper and lower ends of the outer frame 101, as shown in Figure 1. Each of the intermediate block support mechanisms 121 and 122 is configured to be rotatable, for example, by having a shaft portion provided on the outer frame 101 support the shaft portion provided on the intermediate block 103 from below, and by having the shaft portion inserted into a shaft hole provided on the shaft support portion. Note that the configuration for making the main body portion of the pachinko machine 100, including the intermediate block 103, rotatable is not limited to the above configuration, and other configurations may be used, such as providing a shaft hole on the intermediate block 103 side and forming a shaft portion on the outer frame 101 side.

[0015] The intermediate block support mechanisms 121 and 122 are provided with a function to release the connection between the outer frame 101 and the intermediate block 103 by a predetermined removal operation, and the main body of the pachinko machine 100, including the intermediate block 103, is detachably attached to the outer frame 101. For example, by performing a predetermined removal operation that involves opening the intermediate block 103 to the outer frame 101 by a certain amount and moving it upward by a certain amount, the connection of the intermediate block 103 to the outer frame 101 is released. This makes the main body of the pachinko machine 100 detachable from the outer frame 101.

[0016] The front block 102 is positioned so as to overlap the intermediate block 103, and the intermediate block 103 and the front block 102 are connected by front block support mechanisms 131 and 132 provided on the left side in a front view. The front block support mechanisms 131 and 132 have the same configuration as the intermediate block support mechanisms 121 and 122, and are configured to support the front block 102 so as to be rotatable forward relative to the intermediate block 103, and to be removable by a predetermined removal operation.

[0017] The rear block 104 is positioned so as to overlap the intermediate block 103, and the intermediate block 103 and the rear block 104 are connected by rear block support mechanisms 136 and 137 (see Figure 8) provided on the left side in a front view. The rear block support mechanisms 136 and 137 have the same configuration as the intermediate block support mechanisms 121 and 122 and the front block support mechanisms 131 and 132, and are configured to support the rear block 104 so as to be rotatable to the rear of the intermediate block 103, and also so as to be removable by a predetermined removal operation.

[0018] Furthermore, the pachinko machine 100 is provided with an intermediate block locking mechanism that restricts the opening and closing of the intermediate block 103 relative to the outer frame 101, a front block locking mechanism that restricts the opening and closing of the front block 102 relative to the intermediate block 103, and a locking mechanism operated to unlock and lock the intermediate block locking mechanism and the front block locking mechanism. Also, as shown in Figure 3, the intermediate block 103 is provided with a key cylinder 141 as a locking mechanism that is exposed to the front side of the pachinko machine 100 through the opening in the front block 102.

[0019] When a clockwise rotation operation is performed using an operating key (not shown) as a predetermined operation on the key cylinder 141, the movable part 143 of the intermediate block locking mechanism provided on the intermediate block 103 is activated. As a result, the engagement between the engaged part 142 provided on the outer frame 101 as part of the intermediate block locking mechanism and the movable part 143 is released, and the intermediate block 103 becomes openable and closable relative to the outer frame 101.

[0020] Meanwhile, in response to a leftward rotation operation of the key cylinder 141 using a predetermined operating key, the movable part 144 of the front block locking mechanism provided on the intermediate block 103 is activated. As a result, the engagement between the engaged part 145 provided on the front block 102 as part of the front block locking mechanism and the movable part 144 is released, and the front block 102 becomes openable and closable relative to the intermediate block 103.

[0021] Furthermore, the pachinko machine 100 is equipped with a rear block opening / closing restriction mechanism that restricts the opening and closing of the rear block 104 relative to the intermediate block 103. This rear block opening / closing restriction mechanism allows the rear block 104 to be switched between a state in which opening and closing is prohibited (opening / closing prohibited state) and a state in which opening and closing is permitted (opening / closing permitted state) relative to the intermediate block 103 by a predetermined operation.

[0022] The rear block opening / closing restriction mechanism is composed of, for example, two opening / closing restriction sections 150A and 150B provided on the intermediate block 103 and one opening / closing restriction section 150C provided on the rear block 104, as shown in Figure 4. These three opening / closing restriction sections 150A to 150C are provided with rotatable pieces 151A to 151C that can be rotated. By rotating the rotatable pieces 151A to 151C, the engagement state with the openings, which are arranged to overlap front to back when the rear block 104 is in the closed state, changes, thereby allowing switching between an opening / closing prohibition position corresponding to an opening / closing prohibition state and an opening / closing permitting position corresponding to an opening / closing permitting state. When all the rotatable pieces 151A to 151C are in the opening / closing permitting position, each rotatable piece 151A to 151C can pass through the opening, and the rear block 104 becomes open / closing permitting relative to the intermediate block 103. Furthermore, the opening / closing prohibited position and the opening / closing permitted position only need to be switched by a change in at least one of the position and orientation of the rotating pieces 151A to 151C. The configuration may be one in which the piece rotates only at a fixed position, or in which it moves in a fixed direction, or in which it operates by a combination of movement and rotation. The same applies below to changes in posture when the components of each device transition between multiple positions.

[0023] Of the three rotating pieces 151A to 151C, two of them, 151A and 151B, are exposed to the rear side of the pachinko machine 100 through an opening formed in the rear block 104 when the rear block 104 is in the opening / closing-restricted state, as shown in Figure 2. The remaining rotating piece, 151C, is exposed to the front side of the intermediate block 103, as shown in Figure 6. Therefore, it is not possible to switch all of the rotating pieces 151A to 151C to the opening / closing-allowed position by operation from only one side, such as the rear side of the pachinko machine 100 or the front side of the intermediate block 103, thereby enhancing security.

[0024] Furthermore, the pachinko machine 100 is equipped with a game ball movement restriction mechanism that restricts the movement of game balls from the intermediate block 103 to the front block 102. The game ball movement restriction mechanism is configured, for example, as shown in Figures 3 and 6, by a combination of a flow restriction piece 161 provided on the intermediate block 103 and a restriction modification piece 162 provided on the front block 102, and the flow restriction piece 161 is biased toward the front side where the front block 102 is located by a coil spring (not shown).

[0025] When the front block 102 is closed to the intermediate block 103 (the front block 102 is closed), the flow restriction piece 161 is in a movable state that allows the game balls to flow down, and specifically, it is pressed and pushed in toward the rear side of the intermediate block 103 by the restriction modification part 162. In the movable state, the flow restriction piece 161 is positioned offset to the rear side of the guide passage (not shown) for guiding the game balls from the intermediate block 103 to the front block 102. As a result, when the front block 102 is closed, the movement of game balls from the intermediate block 103 to the front block 102 is permitted.

[0026] On the other hand, when the front block 102 is open relative to the intermediate block 103 (the open state of the front block 102), the pressure on the flow restriction piece 161 by the restriction change section 162 is released, and the flow restriction piece 161 protrudes toward the front block 102, creating a movement-prohibited state compared to the closed state of the front block 102. In the movement-prohibited state, the flow restriction piece 161 protrudes into the guide passage, preventing the game balls from flowing downstream. This prevents the game balls from moving from the intermediate block 103 to the front block 102.

[0027] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the pachinko machine 100 is provided with an open / close detection switch 108 at the lower end of the rear side of the intermediate block 103, on the rotating tip side (left side when viewed from the rear), which detects whether or not the intermediate block 103 is closed to the outer frame 101. Also, as shown in Figure 3, an open / close detection switch 109 is provided at the lower end of the front side of the intermediate block 103, on the rotating tip side (right side when viewed from the front), which detects whether or not the front block 102 is closed to the intermediate block 103.

[0028] Next, the configurations of the front block 102, the intermediate block 103, and the rear block 104 will be explained in order.

[0029] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the front block 102 forms substantially the entire front surface of the pachinko machine 100 and is a substantially rectangular member with thickness in the front-to-back direction, functioning as a front decorative means for decorating the front surface portion of the pachinko machine 100. The front block 102 is mainly composed of a synthetic resin base frame 201, with a plurality of functional parts attached to the front and rear of the base frame 201. On the front side of the base frame 201, a front decorative body 210 that forms the front surface of the pachinko machine 100 is attached along the outer edge of the opening 210A that is formed including the central portion of the front view of the front block 102, enclosing the opening 210A. When the base frame 201 and the front decorative body 210 that constitute the front block 102 are combined, the opening 210A is formed to penetrate in the front-to-back direction over a wide area excluding the outer periphery to which the front decorative body 210 is attached. Through this opening 210A, the intermediate block 103, including the game board 400 located behind the front block 102, is made visible to the player.

[0030] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the front block 102 includes a central panel 220 provided on the back side of the base frame 201 so as to close the opening 210A, a main storage mechanism 230 for storing game balls, an auxiliary storage mechanism 240 for storing game balls, and a launching device 250 operated by the player to launch the game balls stored in the main storage mechanism 230.

[0031] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, the front block 102 is formed as part of the front decorative body 210, and consists of an opening periphery portion 211 surrounding the periphery of the opening 210A, an upper projection 217 projecting forward below the opening 210A, a lower projection 218 located below the upper projection 217 and projecting forward, and a flat portion 219 to the right of the lower projection 218 and located further back than the upper projection 217 and the lower projection 218, where the launch operating device 250 is arranged. The main storage mechanism 230 is arranged in the upper projection 217, and the auxiliary storage mechanism 240 is arranged in the lower projection 218.

[0032] The central panel 220 functions as a cover that blocks the opening 210A formed through the base frame 201 and the front decorative body 210 in the front-to-back direction while allowing visibility to the rear. The central panel 220 comprises, for example, a panel frame 221 (see Figure 3) attached from the rear side of the base frame 201, a light-transmitting front plate 222 (see Figure 1) fitted into the front side of the panel frame 221, and a light-transmitting rear plate 223 (see Figure 3) fitted into the rear side of the panel frame 221 substantially parallel to the front plate 222 with a predetermined gap between them.

[0033] The main storage mechanism 230 has the function of storing game balls acquired as the game progresses and game balls borrowed from the game hall. The main storage mechanism 230 includes, for example, a storage section 231, a ball removal mechanism (not shown), and a ball removal operating member 232 for operating the ball removal mechanism, as shown in Figure 1. The storage section 231 is provided with an inlet 231A for allowing game balls to flow from inside the pachinko machine 100 into the storage section 231, an outlet (not shown) for allowing game balls to flow out of the storage section 231 into the pachinko machine 100, and a discharge port (not shown) formed upstream of the outlet. By opening this discharge port, game balls are released from the storage section 231 to the player without being taken into the pachinko machine 100. The ball removal mechanism has the function of switching the destination of the game balls between the outlet and the discharge port.

[0034] Game balls acquired during gameplay, and game balls lent out in response to a lending operation on the lending device 292 (described later), mainly flow into the storage section 231 through the inlet 231A. The storage section 231 has an opening on its upper side, through which game balls owned by players can be manually inserted, and game balls lent out at the arcade can be supplied.

[0035] Game balls that flow into the storage section 231 are lined up in a row and sequentially guided toward the side where the outlet and discharge port are formed (upper right side of Figure 1). If no ball removal operation (e.g., pressing operation) is performed on the ball removal operating member 232, the game balls are guided through the outlet to the launching device 330 (see Figure 3), which will be described later. On the other hand, if a ball removal operation is performed on the ball removal operating member 232, the game balls are guided through the discharge port to the auxiliary storage mechanism 240 (see Figure 1).

[0036] As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the auxiliary storage mechanism 240 includes a storage section 241 having inlets 241A and 241C (see Figure 5) and a discharge port 241B (see Figure 1) for game balls, a ball removal mechanism 243 for opening and closing the discharge port 241B, and a ball removal operating member 242 for operating the ball removal mechanism 243. Game balls acquired as the game progresses mainly flow into the main storage mechanism 230, but if the storage section 231 is full, they flow into the storage section 241 through inlet 241A. Furthermore, when a ball removal operation is performed on the ball removal operating member 232, the game balls flow from the storage section 231 to the storage section 241 through the inlet 241C.

[0037] The bottom surface of the storage section 241 slopes downward toward the discharge port 241B. When the discharge port 241B is opened by a ball removal operation (for example, a pressing operation) on the ball removal operating member 242, all the game balls stored in the storage section 241 can be sequentially released to the outside of the pachinko machine 100. Furthermore, if the discharge port 241B is completely opened by a ball removal operation on the ball removal operating member 242, it will remain open until a return operation (for example, another pressing operation) is performed on the ball removal operating member 242. Behind the inlet 241A, there is a ball overflow switch 249 (see Figure 10) that detects whether or not there is an excessive amount of game balls stored in the storage section 241.

[0038] As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the launching device 250 includes a base 251 that protrudes forward from the flat portion 219 of the front decorative body 210, a rotatable launching handle 252 provided around the base 251, a variable resistor 253 (see Figure 10) that detects the amount of rotation of the launching handle 252, a contact sensor 254 (see Figure 10) that detects when a player is in contact with the launching handle 252, and a launch stop switch 255 (see Figure 5) that disables the launch of game balls associated with the rotation of the launching handle 252 by the player's operation. When the launching handle 252 is rotated by the player, game balls are launched from the launching device 330 (see Figure 3) toward the game board 400 (see Figure 3) with an intensity corresponding to the amount of rotation. Furthermore, if the contact sensor 254 does not detect contact between the launch handle 252 and the player, or if the launch operation is disabled by operating the launch stop switch 255, no game balls will be launched from the launching device 330 even if the launch handle 252 is being rotated.

[0039] Furthermore, behind the front decorative body 210 in the front block 102, frame light-emitting devices 271 to 275 (see Figure 10) are provided. The frame light-emitting devices 271 to 275 are positioned so as to overlap the opening peripheral edge 211 of the front decorative body 210 on the rear side and are attached to the base frame 201. As shown in Figure 5, the opening peripheral edge 211 has an upper central edge 211A, left upper edge 211B and right upper edge 211C located on both the left and right sides of the upper central edge 211A, a left edge 211D located below the left upper edge 211B, and a right edge 211E located below the right upper edge 211C as light-emitting parts, and the frame light-emitting devices 271 to 275 are installed corresponding to each of these light-emitting parts.

[0040] The frame light-emitting devices 271 to 275 consist of an upper central frame light-emitting device 271 corresponding to the upper central edge 211A, a left upper frame light-emitting device 272 corresponding to the left upper edge 211B, a right upper frame light-emitting device 273 corresponding to the right upper edge 211C, a left frame light-emitting device 274 corresponding to the left edge 211D, and a right frame light-emitting device 275 corresponding to the right edge 211E (see Figure 10). Each of the frame light-emitting devices 271 to 275 has one or more light-emitting means such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), electronic components such as resistors for controlling the LEDs, and a printed circuit board that integrates these electronic components and electrically connects them.

[0041] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, the front block 102 is provided with, for example, an upper left acoustic output port 211F and an upper right acoustic output port 211G on the upper part of its opening periphery 211, and an upper left acoustic device 281 and an upper right acoustic device 282 (see Figures 3 and 10) are provided corresponding to the upper left acoustic output port 211F and the upper right acoustic output port 211G, respectively. The upper left acoustic device 281 and the upper right acoustic device 282 are attached to the base frame 201 so as to be located behind (rear of) the opening periphery 211 of the front decorative body 210.

[0042] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the front block 102 is provided with a game ball dispensing device 290, for example, on the upper right portion of the upper protrusion 217. The game ball dispensing device 290 includes a frequency display device 291 that displays a value corresponding to the remaining balance of banknotes or cards inserted into a card unit (not shown) arranged alongside the pachinko machine 100, a dispensing operation device 292 operated by the player when receiving game balls, and a return operation device 293 operated by the player when returning banknotes or cards inserted into the card unit. When banknotes or cards are inserted into the card unit and the numerical value corresponding to the amount is displayed on the frequency display device 291, a dispensing operation is performed on the dispensing operation device 292, and a predetermined number of game balls are dispensed from the payout device 540 (see Figure 8) of the rear block 104 in accordance with the dispensing operation, and the display on the frequency display device 291 is updated along with the dispensing of game balls. On the other hand, when a return operation is performed on the return operation device 293 while the card is active, the card unit returns an equivalent of banknotes corresponding to the remaining balance or a card recording the remaining balance in response to the return operation.

[0043] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the front block 102 is provided with an input device 260 that allows the player to perform input operations other than the firing operation. The input device 260 includes, for example, a pressing device 261 that allows a pushing operation, a rotation device 262 that allows a rotation operation, and a selection device 263 that allows up, down, left, and right direction operation. These operation devices 261 to 263 allow for the execution of various operations, such as selecting an effect to be performed in the pachinko machine 100, setting the volume and light intensity of each device that performs the effects in the pachinko machine 100, or inputting information about the player to enable the execution of effects in the pachinko machine 100 that correspond to previous games. These operations can be performed by the player or the manager of the amusement hall as needed. Furthermore, it is preferable that the input operation part that the player touches in the input operation device 260 (for example, the annular rotation operation part in the rotation operation device 262) is configured to be able to rotate, move up and down, or vibrate by an input operation part driving means such as a motor or solenoid, and to be executed by the control of the pachinko machine 100 (for example, by the control of the sub-control board 940 (see Figure 10)). By operating the input part at any or multiple timings before, during, or after the input operation, it is possible to create a variety of effects that involve input operations, such as actively encouraging the player to perform an input operation.

[0044] Next, the intermediate block 103 will be described. The intermediate block 103 is a roughly rectangular member of roughly the same size as the front block 102, and by being attached to the front block 102 and the rear block 104, it has the function of integrating the main body of the pachinko machine 100. The intermediate block 103 is constructed by attaching multiple functional components, including the game board 400, to the base frame 301.

[0045] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the intermediate block 103 includes a base frame 301 having an opening, a game board 400 (see Figure 3) attached from the front side while covering the opening of the base frame 301, a game board support mechanism that rotatably and detachably supports the game board 400 with respect to the base frame 301, a game board fixing mechanism that fixes the position of the game board 400 with respect to the base frame 301, a launching device 330 (see Figure 3) that shoots game balls onto the game board 400, a main control device 370 (see Figure 4) mounted on the back side of the game board 400 to comprehensively control the progress of the game, and a sub-control device 390 (see Figure 4) that controls game effects and status notifications based on commands from the main control device 370.

[0046] As shown in Figure 3, the base frame 301 is provided with a guide passage section 301A, which has a guide passage formed inside that guides game balls released from the payout device 540 (see Figure 8), described later, to the front block 102, and an opening 301B where a plurality of wires (not shown) and a signal relay device 311 are located. The opening 301B has a shape that penetrates in the front-to-back direction below the game board 400, and the plurality of wires inserted into the opening 301B include wires for electrically connecting various devices provided in the front block 102 (for example, frame light-emitting devices 271-275, upper left sound device 281 and upper right sound device 282) and devices provided on the back side of the intermediate block 103 and the rear block 104 (for example, main control device 370 and sub-control device 390), and the signal relay device 311 has the function of a relay board that relays a portion of these wires.

[0047] As shown in Figure 3, the game board 400 comprises a flat base 401 having through holes such as an outlet 401A through which game balls can pass back and forth, an outer rail 402 that curves smoothly from the lower left to the upper right of the base 401, an inner rail 403 that curves smoothly from the lower right to the upper left of the base 401, a ball return prevention mechanism 404 attached to the upper left end of the inner rail 403, and a bounce prevention member 405 attached to the upper right end of the outer rail 402. The outer rail 402 guides game balls launched from the launching device 330 (described later) into the game area. The ball return prevention mechanism 404 prevents game balls that have been released into the game area from the launching passage 401B, which is formed in the area between the outer rail 402 and the inner rail 403 that are parallel to each other, from returning to the launching passage 401B. The bounce prevention member 405 has shock-absorbing properties to prevent excessive bounce of game balls that have gone past the upper center of the game board 400 to the right and then returned to the left side via the upper center again, and is formed of a material such as vibration-damping rubber.

[0048] As shown in Figure 3, a return ball passage section 163 is formed at the lower rear side of the front block 102. There is a gap between the guide member 335, which guides the game balls from the launching device 330 towards the launching passage 401B, and the outer rail 402. Game balls that are launched from the launching device 330 but do not pass the return ball prevention mechanism 404 and return down the launching passage 401B are returned to the auxiliary storage mechanism 240 (see Figure 5) from the inlet 241A (see Figure 5) via the return ball passage section 163 located below this gap.

[0049] Game balls that have advanced beyond the ball return prevention mechanism 404 reach the game area and move (flow) within the game area by falling under their own weight. The game area has a roughly circular outer circumference and is divided into sections that mostly consist of areas with a front-to-back width slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball. The game area is generally divided on its outer circumference by the outer rail 402 and the inner rail 403, the front is divided in a roughly planar manner by the rear plate 223 of the central panel 220, and the rear is divided in a roughly planar manner by the base 401 of the game board 400. Various structures provided in the game area will be described later.

[0050] As shown in Figure 3, the launching device 330 includes a ball feeding mechanism 331 that sequentially sends game balls stored in the main storage mechanism 230 to the launching position, a ball feeding solenoid 332 (see Figure 10) that drives the ball feeding mechanism 331, a launching mechanism 333 that launches game balls placed at the launching position, a launching solenoid 334 (see Figure 10) that drives the launching mechanism 333, and a guide member 335 that guides the game balls launched from the launching mechanism 333 to the launching passage 401B of the game board 400. As described above, the launching device 330 operates in response to launching operations on the launching control device 250, and the drive control of the launching solenoid 334 changes in response to the launching operations on the launching control device 250 to adjust the launching force.

[0051] As shown in Figure 4, the main control device 370 comprises a main control board 920 (see Figure 10) and a two-part board case 371 that houses the main control board 920. The main control board 920 is housed inside the translucent board case 371, which is sealed in such a way that it cannot be opened without leaving a trace.

[0052] Furthermore, the main control device 370 is rotatably mounted on the rear side of the game board 400. Specifically, a mounting part 372 is rotatably connected and fixed to the rear side of the base 401 of the game board 400, and the main control device 370 is attached to the mounting part 372. This allows not only the rear side (front side) of the main control device 370, but also the front side (back side) of the main control device 370 to be easily checked by rotating the mounting part 372, even while the main control device 370 is still attached to the game board 400. The main control device 370 may be connected to the mounting part 372 in a way that prevents removal without leaving a trace, making it easier to manage the removal status of the main control device 370.

[0053] The sub-control device 390 comprises a sub-control board 940 (see Figure 10) and a two-part board case 391 that houses the sub-control board 940. The sub-control board 940 is mounted on the back side of the game board 400, housed inside a translucent board case 391 that is sealed in a way that prevents it from being opened without leaving a trace, similar to the main control board 920.

[0054] Here, the various structures arranged in the game area of ​​the game board 400 will be explained, mainly with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 is a front view of the game board 400.

[0055] As shown in Figure 7, the game board 400 comprises a base 401, flow-changing members such as nails 411 and windmills 412 that change the direction and velocity of the game balls, a central structure 420 located approximately in the center of the base 401, a starting device for the first special symbol located below the central structure 420 (specifically, the upper central starting prize device 431A and the lower central starting prize device 431B), and a starting device for the second special symbol located to the lower right of the central structure 420 (specifically, the right starting prize device 4 32) The game board 400 is equipped with a large prize device 433, 434 (specifically, a lower large prize device 433 and an upper large prize device 434) located below the right starting prize device 432, a starting device 436 for ordinary symbols located above (upstream of) the right starting prize device 432, a combination activation device 435 located on the upper right side of the game board 400 and above (upstream of) the upper and lower large prize devices 433, 434, and general prize devices 439A, 439B located on both the left and right sides of the lower middle starting prize device 431B.

[0056] Furthermore, the game board 400 is provided with multiple switches as detection means for detecting the passage of game balls in correspondence with the upper middle starting prize device 431A, etc. (see Figure 10), and it is possible to detect the entry of game balls into predetermined areas corresponding to each switch. For example, there is a middle starting prize switch (upper middle starting prize switch 441A) that detects game balls that enter the upper middle starting prize device 431A, a middle starting prize switch (lower middle starting prize switch 441B) that detects game balls that enter the lower middle starting prize device 431B, a right starting prize switch 442 that detects game balls that enter the right starting prize device 432, a lower large prize switch 443 that detects game balls that enter the lower large prize device 433, an upper large prize switch 444 that detects game balls that enter the upper large prize device 434, and a winning combination device 435 The game board 400 is equipped with a combination of features, including a combination activation switch 445 for detecting incoming game balls, a start switch 446 for detecting game balls entering the start device 436, a non-specific passage switch 447 for detecting game balls entering a non-specific passage (not shown) formed inside the lower large prize device 433, a specific passage switch 448 for detecting game balls entering a specific passage (not shown) formed inside the lower large prize device 433, and general prize switches 449A and 449B, respectively, for detecting game balls entering the general prize devices 439A and 439B.

[0057] Furthermore, the game board 400 is equipped with various sensors to prevent fraud (see Figure 10), which are capable of detecting abnormalities that occur in the pachinko machine 100. For example, a magnetic sensor 491, a vibration sensor 492, and a radio wave sensor 493 are installed on the game board 400.

[0058] The inlet portions of the central structure 420 and the starting device 436 for game balls constitute ball entry points, and game balls that enter each entry point are released into the game area. The inlet portions of each prize-winning device, specifically the upper middle starting prize-winning device 431A, the lower middle starting prize-winning device 431B, the right starting prize-winning device 432, the lower large prize-winning device 433, the upper large prize-winning device 434, and the general prize-winning devices 439A and 439B, constitute prize entry points, and game balls that enter each prize entry point are guided through through-holes formed in the base body 401 to a recovery and discharge passage (not shown) formed on the back side of the base body 401. Game balls that do not enter each prize-winning device are guided to the recovery and discharge passage through an outlet 401A provided at the downstream end of the game area. Game balls guided to the recovery and discharge passage are discharged from the pachinko machine 100 to a game ball circulation device (not shown) provided in the game hall. When a game ball enters any of the prize-winning devices, a predetermined number of game balls corresponding to the type of prize-winning device are dispensed from the payout device 540 (see Figures 8 and 9).

[0059] Each prize-winning device may be configured separately from other prize-winning devices, or a prize-winning device may be configured by a device in which two or more prize-winning devices (for example, an upper-center starting prize-winning device 431A and a lower-center starting prize-winning device 431B) are integrated. Furthermore, starting devices such as the upper-center starting prize-winning device 431A do not necessarily have to be prize-winning openings that dispense a predetermined number of game balls when a game ball enters, but may be ball-entry openings that release game balls back into the game area without dispensing them.

[0060] Each of the upper-center starting prize-winning devices 431A and 431B related to the first special symbol, as well as the general prize-winning devices 439A and 439B, guides the entered game balls to the back side of the base 401 without changing the probability of game balls entering them. The right-center starting prize-winning device 432 related to the second special symbol has a mechanism that changes the probability of game balls entering its interior. The mechanism that changes the probability of game ball entry does not have to be provided only in the starting device related to the second special symbol, but may be provided in, or in addition to, the starting device related to the first special symbol, or in any or more of the general prize-winning devices 439A and 439B. Furthermore, the mechanism that changes the probability of game ball entry may be configured by an electrically driven means such as a solenoid, or by a mechanically operated mechanism such as one that operates due to the weight of the game ball that has entered a predetermined area.

[0061] The right-start prize-winning device 432 related to the second special symbol includes a right-entry restriction mechanism 452 that changes the probability of a game ball entering its interior by transitioning between an entry-permitted position and an entry-prohibited position, and a right-entry restriction solenoid 462 (see Figure 10) that drives the right-entry restriction mechanism 452. The right-entry restriction mechanism 452 has two movable pieces driven by the right-entry restriction solenoid 462. When the right-entry restriction mechanism 452 is in the entry-prohibited position, the two movable pieces are arranged to narrow (or close) the entry opening (prize-winning opening), preventing the game ball from entering the right-start prize-winning device 432. However, when the right-entry restriction mechanism 452 is in the entry-permitted position, the two movable pieces are arranged to widen the distance between their tips, allowing the game ball to enter the right-start prize-winning device 432. The right entry restriction mechanism 452, when a winning lottery (hereinafter also referred to as the "normal symbol lottery") is determined based on the detection of a game ball that has entered the starting device 436 related to a normal symbol by the starting switch 446, moves to an entry-permitting position for a predetermined number of times and for a predetermined time in response to the drive of the right entry restriction solenoid 462.

[0062] As shown in Figure 7, the lower prize winning device 433 is equipped with a lower entry restriction mechanism 453 that restricts the entry of game balls into its interior by transitioning between an entry-permitted position and an entry-prohibited position, a lower entry restriction solenoid 463 (see Figure 10) that changes the position of the lower entry restriction mechanism 453, a distribution mechanism (not shown) that distributes game balls that have entered the lower prize winning device 433 to a non-specific passage or a specific passage by transitioning between a non-guiding position and an guiding position, and a switching solenoid 465 (see Figure 10) that switches the destination of the game balls by changing the position of the distribution mechanism. When the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 of the lower large prize device 433 is in the no-entry position, the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 closes the entry point (prize entry opening), preventing the game ball from entering the lower large prize device 433. However, when the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 is in the entry-permitting position, the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 opens the entry point, allowing the game ball to enter the lower large prize device 433. Furthermore, if the distribution mechanism is in the non-guiding position where it protrudes forward, the game ball is guided to a non-specific passage, and if the distribution mechanism is in the guiding position where it retracts backward, it is guided to a specific passage. The specific passage, non-specific passage, and distribution mechanism are provided to diversify the transitions between game states, and when a game ball enters a specific passage, the player is granted a favorable game state as a reward.

[0063] As shown in Figure 7, the upper prize winning device 434 is equipped with an upper entry restriction mechanism 454 that restricts the entry of game balls into its interior by transitioning between an entry-permitting position and an entry-prohibiting position, and an upper entry restriction solenoid 464 (see Figure 10) that changes the position of the upper entry restriction mechanism 454. When the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 is in the entry-prohibiting position, the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 closes the entry opening (prize opening), preventing game balls from entering the upper prize winning device 434. However, when the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 is in the entry-permitting position, the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 opens the entry opening, allowing game balls to enter the upper prize winning device 434.

[0064] Furthermore, as mechanisms that change the probability of game balls entering the interior of the right entry restriction mechanism 452, etc., the entry-permitting posture and entry-prohibiting posture should correspond to the change in posture of the operating member that constitutes each mechanism and switches between a special state in which game balls can enter the prize entry opening (or ball entry opening) of each device and a normal state in which game balls cannot enter, and it is sufficient that at least one of the position and orientation of the operating member differs according to each posture. In addition, as a mechanism that changes the probability of game balls entering the right entry restriction mechanism 452, etc., it is not necessarily required that the state in which game balls cannot enter be the normal state, and the entry of game balls may be permitted even in the normal state, and the posture of the operating member may change to a state in which it is easier for game balls to enter than in the normal state in the special state.

[0065] The lower large prize device 433 and the upper large prize device 434 become accessible to game balls when a winning lottery is achieved. Specifically, if a game ball that has entered the upper middle start prize device 431A or the lower middle start prize device 431B related to the first special symbol is detected by the upper middle start prize switch 441A or the lower middle start prize switch 441B and wins a lottery (hereinafter also referred to as the "first special symbol lottery"), or if a game ball that has entered the right start prize device 432 related to the second special symbol is detected by the right start prize switch 442 and wins a lottery (hereinafter also referred to as the "second special symbol lottery"), at least one of the lower entry restriction solenoid 463 or the upper entry restriction solenoid 464 will be activated. This operation causes at least one of the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 or the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 to assume an entry-permitting position for a predetermined number of times and for a predetermined period of time. The distribution mechanism then transitions to an induction position in response to the operation of the switching solenoid 465 a predetermined time after the transition to the entry-permitting position of the lower entry restriction mechanism 453, and then returns to a non-induction position in response to the deactivation of the switching solenoid 465 a predetermined time after the transition to the induction position.

[0066] The bonus trigger device 435 is a device for setting the conditions necessary for the lower big prize device 433 and the upper big prize device 434 to start operating. After winning the big prize lottery, either the lower big prize device 433 or the upper big prize device 434 starts operating, conditional on the passage of a game ball through the bonus trigger device 435. Therefore, if a player wins a big prize, they can start the special game state at their own desired timing. However, it is not necessarily required that either the lower big prize device 433 or the upper big prize device 434 starts operating, conditional on the passage of a game ball through the bonus trigger device 435. Alternatively, or in addition to that, either the lower big prize device 433 or the upper big prize device 434 may start operating after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

[0067] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7, the game board 400 is equipped with a display unit in the lower left portion of the game board 400, which has multiple light-emitting units that integrate display devices 471-473 for displaying the changing symbols and lottery results, and display devices 476-478 for displaying the number of reserved game spins. The multiple light-emitting units are pre-divided into light-emitting areas corresponding to each device, and the status of each device is displayed by the state of its illumination.

[0068] Specifically, the game board 400 is equipped with a special symbol display device 471 for the first special symbol that displays the first special symbol in a variable manner or confirms the first special symbol with a stop symbol corresponding to the lottery result in conjunction with the lottery for the first special symbol; a special symbol display device 472 for the second special symbol that displays the second special symbol in a variable manner or confirms the second special symbol with a stop symbol corresponding to the lottery result in conjunction with the lottery for the second special symbol; a special symbol hold display device 476 that displays the number of times the unit game for the first special symbol has been held; and a special symbol hold display device 477 that displays the number of times the unit game for the second special symbol has been held. The right to a unit game for the first special symbol and the right to a unit game for the second special symbol can each be held up to a maximum of four times. Here, a unit game refers to one game performed based on one starting win, and includes a series of games from the start to the end of the display, including the determination of whether the lottery performed based on one starting win is successful or unsuccessful, and the display of the lottery result based on that determination.

[0069] If the right to play a unit game related to the first special symbol is reserved up to the maximum number of times, even if a game ball that enters the start-up prize device 431 is detected by the upper middle start-up prize switch 441A (see Figure 10) or the lower middle start-up prize switch 441B (see Figure 10), the right to play a unit game related to the first special symbol will not be added. Similarly, if the right to play a unit game related to the second special symbol is reserved up to the maximum number of times, even if a game ball that enters the right start-up prize device 432 is detected by the right start-up prize switch 442 (see Figure 10), the right to play a unit game related to the second special symbol will not be added.

[0070] Each of the special symbol display devices 471 for the first special symbol and 472 for the second special symbol is composed of multiple light-emitting units and is controlled by the main control board 920 (see Figure 10). The display of the first special symbol and the display of the second special symbol are expressed by the light-emitting patterns of the multiple light-emitting units (combinations of light-emitting states (off, on, flashing), including the light-emitting color). The special symbol hold display device 476 for the first special symbol and the special symbol hold display device 477 for the second special symbol display the number of holds by a combination of the light-emitting states (off, on, flashing) of two monochromatic light-emitting units.

[0071] Furthermore, the game board 400 is equipped with a regular symbol display device 473 that displays the regular symbols in a variable manner in accordance with the regular symbol lottery, or displays the regular symbols as the stopping symbols corresponding to the lottery result, and a regular symbol hold display device 478 that displays the number of times the right to a unit game related to a regular symbol has been held. The right to a unit game related to a regular symbol can be held up to a maximum of 4 times. If the right to a unit game related to a regular symbol has been held up to the maximum number of times, even if a game ball that has entered the starting device 436 is detected by the starting switch 446, the right to a unit game related to a regular symbol will not be added.

[0072] The standard symbol display device 473 is composed of multiple light-emitting units and is controlled by the main control board 920 (see Figure 10). Standard symbols are represented by the light-emitting patterns of the multiple light-emitting units. The standard symbol hold display device 478 displays the number of holds by a combination of the light-emitting states (off, on, flashing) of two single-color light-emitting units.

[0073] Furthermore, the game board 400 is provided with a decorative symbol display device 479 that overlaps the central structure 420 and displays the decorative symbols in a variable state or confirms their state during unit games involving the first special symbol and the second special symbol. The variable and confirmed displays of the decorative symbols are controlled by the sub-control board 940 and are synchronized with the variable and confirmed displays of the first and second special symbols by the main control board 920. The variable displays of the decorative symbols are more complex and diverse than the variable displays of the first and second special symbols. It should be noted that the variable and confirmed displays of the first and second special symbols and the variable and confirmed displays of the decorative symbols do not necessarily have to start changing or stop as confirmed displays at exactly the same timing. They may be set to start changing at approximately the same timing with a slight time difference between each timing, and the confirmed displays may be performed at approximately the same timing.

[0074] Furthermore, the game board 400 is equipped with a board surface light-emitting device 490 (see Figure 10) located on the back of various structures. The board surface light-emitting device 490 performs various light-emitting effects and status notifications through light emission in accordance with the progress of the game, based on control by the sub-control board 940.

[0075] Here, we will explain the various game states and transitions between them. The normal game state (hereinafter also abbreviated as "normal game state") corresponds to a state in which the display time of the first special symbol, the second special symbol, and the regular symbols is long (hereinafter also referred to as "non-time-saving state").

[0076] If a jackpot is won in the first special symbol lottery or the second special symbol lottery, the game state to which the player transitions after the special game state will differ depending on whether or not the game ball enters a specific passage (internal passage of the lower jackpot device 433) during the special game state to which the player transitions based on that win. If the game ball does not enter a specific passage during the special game state, the player transitions to a game state (hereinafter also referred to as the "time-saving game state") in which the display time of the first special symbol lottery, the second special symbol, and the regular symbol is shorter than that of the non-time-saving state, and the probability of winning a jackpot in the first special symbol lottery and the second special symbol lottery is the same as that of the normal game state (hereinafter also referred to as the "low probability state"). On the other hand, if a game ball enters a specific passage during a special game state, the game transitions to a game state (hereinafter also referred to as a "probability change game state") in which the time reduction state is active and the probability of winning a jackpot in the first special symbol lottery and the second special symbol lottery is higher than in the normal game state.

[0077] The time-saving game state is maintained until the total number of unit games related to the first and second special symbols reaches a predetermined number (for example, 50 times), after which it returns to the normal game state. Similarly, the probability variation game state is maintained until the total number of unit games related to the first and second special symbols reaches a predetermined number (for example, 100 times), after which it returns to the normal game state.

[0078] Furthermore, the game state and transitions between game states do not necessarily have to follow the configuration described above. For example, the high probability state may continue until the next jackpot is won, or at least one of the above game states may be composed of other elements, or the configuration may include game states other than those described above, or the transitions between game states may occur under conditions different from those described above.

[0079] Furthermore, the trigger for the occurrence of a special game state is not necessarily limited to winning in the special symbol lottery (first special symbol lottery, second special symbol lottery). In addition to or instead of the above configuration, a configuration may be used in which a special game state occurs when a game ball enters a predetermined specific area (so-called V area) within the game area during normal gameplay.

[0080] For example, in a pachinko machine equipped with a large prize device such as a lower large prize device 433 that has a non-specific passage and a specific passage inside, if a predetermined small win, which is a type of non-winning, is selected in the special symbol lottery, the large prize device may be opened in the normal game state, and if the game ball that enters the large prize device is guided to the specific passage by a distribution mechanism that distributes between the non-specific passage and the specific passage, a special game state may be generated when the ball enters the specific passage.

[0081] Furthermore, in a pachinko machine in which a non-specific passage and a specific passage are provided inside a mechanism that has an opening and closing entrance, when a game ball enters a predetermined prize entry point, the entrance to the mechanism is opened, and the game ball that enters the mechanism from the opened entrance is guided to the specific passage by a distribution mechanism that separates the non-specific passage from the specific passage, and a special game state is generated when the game ball enters the specific passage.

[0082] Next, the operation of the main devices of the game board 400 will be explained in roughly chronological order. The main control board 920 generates winning random numbers, jackpot symbol random numbers, stop pattern random numbers, and various variation pattern random numbers related to special symbols (common to the first and second special symbols). In various game states, if a game ball that has entered either the start-up prize device 431A or 431B related to the first special symbol is detected by either the middle start-up prize switch 441A or 441B (see Figure 10), it results in a start-up prize for the first special symbol. When a start-up prize is awarded for the first special symbol, if the right to play the unit game related to the first special symbol has not been held up to the maximum number of times, the winning random numbers, jackpot symbol random numbers, and stop pattern random numbers related to the special symbols are acquired and stored in a predetermined area of ​​the RAM of the main control board 920.

[0083] The unit game, which is generated by random numbers obtained based on the initial win of the first special symbol, will start immediately after the storage of those random numbers, provided that the special game state is not in progress, the unit game pertaining to the first or second special symbol is not in progress, and the right to the unit game pertaining to the first special symbol is not reserved. Furthermore, even if the game is not in a special game state, if a unit game related to the first or second special symbol is in progress, or if the right to a unit game related to the first or second special symbol is reserved, the unit game based on the current starting win will begin after all unit games related to the special symbols (first and second special symbols) that were reserved prior to the current win have finished. If random numbers are obtained based on the starting win of the first special symbol while in a special game state, the unit game based on those random numbers will begin after the special game state has ended, and after all unit games related to the special symbols that were reserved prior to the current starting win have finished.

[0084] Furthermore, the unit game based on the random number obtained based on the initial win of the first special symbol will begin after all unit games related to the second special symbol have finished. In other words, if random numbers are obtained based on the initial win of the second special symbol after the current initial win, the unit game based on the initial win of the second special symbol will be executed preferentially. However, it is not necessary for the unit game based on the initial win of the second special symbol to be executed preferentially over the unit game related to the first special symbol; the unit game priority control related to the first and second special symbols may be executed in the order of the initial wins, or the two special symbols may not be mutually exclusive but can change simultaneously.

[0085] If a jackpot is won in the first special symbol lottery based on the initial entry of the first special symbol, the type of stop symbol (jackpot symbol) corresponding to the jackpot win in the first special symbol lottery is further determined based on the acquired jackpot symbol random number. The type of this stop symbol corresponds to the type of jackpot, and multiple types of jackpots are set corresponding to the type of game state, such as the number of rounds corresponding to the number of times the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 or the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 takes an entry-permitting position (for example, 6 rounds and 16 rounds), or the game state to which the player transitions after the special game state (whether or not to transition to the probability variation game state), and a jackpot symbol is set for each type. If a jackpot is not won in the first special symbol lottery, a losing symbol other than the jackpot symbol is set as the stop symbol.

[0086] After the first special symbol lottery, the display time for the first special symbol's variation is determined based on the current game state, the lottery result, the value of the stop pattern random number, the values ​​of various variation pattern random numbers, and the number of times the right to play a unit game related to the first special symbol has been held, and the variation pattern for the decorative symbols is selected. The variation patterns for the decorative symbols can be broadly divided into two types: a variation pattern in which a reach is displayed before the decorative symbol corresponding to the stop symbol related to the first special symbol (winning symbol or losing symbol) is confirmed and displayed (hereinafter also referred to as the "reach variation pattern"), and a variation pattern in which a reach is not displayed before the decorative symbol corresponding to the stop symbol related to the first special symbol being confirmed and displayed when the stop symbol is a losing symbol.

[0087] In addition, a "reach display" is a display that indicates to the player that, in a unit game involving special symbols (first special symbol, second special symbol), after the display of the decorative symbols has started to change, the combination of decorative symbols that has been confirmed in each symbol row other than the first symbol row (for example, the left and right symbol rows) has met the conditions for becoming a jackpot symbol, and that there is a possibility that the decorative symbols in the remaining symbol row (for example, the middle symbol row), which continues to change display thereafter, will become a jackpot symbol depending on the display result (i.e., the stopped symbol) when they are confirmed.

[0088] The reach display includes normal reaches, which have a relatively short display time (for example, approximately 15 to 30 seconds), and super reaches, which have a longer display time than normal reaches (for example, approximately 30 to 60 seconds). Note that the types of reach displays are not limited to just normal reaches and super reaches; there may be three or more types, including premium reaches, which have a longer display time than super reaches.

[0089] After the display time for the first special symbol is determined and the variation pattern for the decorative symbol corresponding to that display time is selected, the display of the first special symbol on the special symbol display device 471 and the display of the decorative symbol on the decorative symbol display device 479 (variation effect) are started. For the first special symbol, the variation display continues in a fixed pattern for the duration of the display time, and for the decorative symbol, the variation display continues according to the variation pattern for the duration of the display time. Subsequently, as the display time elapses, the stopped symbol for the first special symbol is displayed, and the symbol corresponding to the stopped symbol of the first special symbol is displayed as a decorative symbol. The display of the first special symbol and the decorative symbol continues for at least a predetermined period of time.

[0090] If the stopping symbol related to the first special symbol is a jackpot symbol, the game state transitions to a special game state after the confirmation display of the first special symbol. In the special game state, the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 of the lower jackpot device 433 and the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 of the upper jackpot device 434 enter an entry-allowing position a predetermined number of times in a predetermined order according to the type of jackpot. During each entry-allowing position of the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 and the upper entry restriction mechanism 454, if a predetermined number of game balls (for example, 8) are detected by the jackpot switches 443 and 444, or if a predetermined maximum entry-allowing time (for example, 29.5 seconds) has elapsed, the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 or the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 transitions to an entry-prohibiting position. After the predetermined entry-prohibiting time has elapsed, either the lower entry restriction mechanism 453 or the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 returns to an entry-allowing position. This entry restriction action is repeated a predetermined number of times in a predetermined order corresponding to the type of jackpot.

[0091] The lower entry restriction mechanism 453 and the upper entry restriction mechanism 454 are configured such that only one of them can enter during the special game state. After a predetermined waiting time has elapsed from the start of the special game state (after the opening period), one of them transitions to the initial entry-allowing position. The special game state ends after a predetermined entry prohibition time has elapsed from the final entry prohibition position, and after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed thereafter (after the ending period). After the special game state ends, the game transitions to either the time-saving game state or the probability variation game state as described above.

[0092] In various game states, if a game ball that has entered the right-start prize-winning device 432 related to the second special symbol is detected by the right-start prize-winning switch 442, it results in a start-up prize for the second special symbol. The control of unit games based on the initial win of the second special symbol is performed in the same way as the control for the first special symbol described above. That is, if the right to play unit games related to the second special symbol has not been reserved to the maximum number of times when the second special symbol is initially won, the random numbers related to the special symbol are acquired, and the unit game based on this initial win is executed. In addition, the determination of the stopping symbols in response to the second special symbol lottery, the selection of the variation pattern of the decorative symbols, the execution of the variation display, and the control of transitions in the game state are also performed in the same way as the control for the first special symbol.

[0093] In various game states, when a game ball entering the starting device 436 is detected by the starting switch 446, if the right to play a unit game related to a normal symbol has not been reserved to the maximum number of times, a winning random number related to a normal symbol is acquired and stored in a predetermined area of ​​the RAM of the main control board 920. At this time, if a unit game related to a normal symbol is not currently underway, the unit game related to the acquired normal symbol starts immediately after storage. On the other hand, if a unit game related to a normal symbol is currently underway, the unit game related to the acquired normal symbol starts after the unit game based on the acquired right to play a unit game related to a normal symbol has finished.

[0094] In unit games involving regular symbols, whether or not a win has occurred is determined based on the value of the winning random number. If a win occurs, a predetermined winning symbol is set as the stopping symbol. On the other hand, if a win does not occur in the regular symbol lottery, a predetermined losing symbol is set as the stopping symbol. After the regular symbol lottery, the regular symbol display device 473 starts displaying the variation of the regular symbols. In the non-time-saving state, the variation display continues in a certain pattern for a predetermined variation display time, and in the time-saving state, the variation display continues in a certain pattern for a predetermined variation display time that is shorter than in the non-time-saving state. As a predetermined amount of time elapses according to the game state, the stopping symbol related to the regular symbols is displayed for a certain period of time.

[0095] If the stopping symbol related to the normal symbol is a winning symbol, after the confirmation display of the normal symbol, the right entry restriction mechanism 452 of the right start prize entry device 432 will move to the entry permitting position at least once. Specifically, if a win occurs in a non-time-saving state (normal game state and special game state), the right start prize entry device 432 will move to the entry permitting position for a predetermined maximum entry permitting time (for example, approximately 0.1 seconds), and if a win occurs in a time-saving state (time-saving game state and probability-changing game state), the right start prize entry device 432 will move to the entry permitting position intermittently (for example, in three steps) for a predetermined maximum entry permitting time that is longer than in the non-time-saving state (for example, approximately 4.8 seconds). However, if a predetermined number of game balls (for example, 10) are detected by the right-start prize entry switch 442, the right-entry restriction mechanism 452 will switch to the no-entry position without waiting for the maximum permitted entry time to elapse. Furthermore, even if the number of times the mechanism has switched to the permitted entry position has not reached a predetermined number, the operation of the right-start prize entry device 432 for the current unit game involving the normal symbols will end.

[0096] Next, the playability of the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment will be described. In order to receive the second special symbol lottery, first, the player must win the normal symbol lottery, and furthermore, the game ball must enter the right-start prize entry device 432 in the entry-permitted state of the right-start prize entry device 432 based on that win. The probability of winning a normal symbol in the normal game state is the same as the probability of winning in the time-saving game state, but the stay time in the entry-permitted state of the right-start prize entry device 432 based on a win in the normal game state (for example, approximately 0.1 seconds) is set to be extremely short compared to the stay time in the time-saving state (for example, approximately 4.8 seconds). Therefore, in the normal game state, the opportunity per unit time to receive the second special symbol lottery is significantly smaller than the opportunity per unit time to receive the first special symbol lottery. Conversely, in time-saving game states such as time-saving game states or probability-changing game states, the opportunity to receive a second special symbol lottery per unit of time is significantly greater than the opportunity to receive a first special symbol lottery per unit of time.

[0097] Therefore, the player aims to win a jackpot in the first special symbol lottery and then transition to a probability variation game state by getting the game ball into a specific passage during the subsequent special game state. On the other hand, during the time-saving game state and the probability variation game state, the player aims to win a jackpot in the second special symbol lottery before each game state ends.

[0098] Specifically, the game board 400 has a central structure 420 in the center of the game area where the game balls flow down, and is configured to allow selective play between a game method in which the game balls mainly flow down from the left side of the central structure 420 (left-handed play method) and a game method in which the game balls mainly flow down from the right side of the central structure 420 (right-handed play method). In normal game mode, the player plays using the left-handed play method, and in time-saving game mode and probability-changing game mode, the player plays using the right-handed play method. In addition, since the lower large prize device 433 and the upper large prize device 434 are located to the right of the central structure 420, the player also plays using the right-handed play method in special game mode.

[0099] Next, the rear block 104 will be described. Figures 8 and 9 are a rear perspective view and a rear view, respectively, of the pachinko machine 100. Note that in Figure 8, the outer frame 101 is omitted for ease of understanding.

[0100] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the rear block 104 is constructed by attaching other members and devices to the base 501. The base 501 and the intermediate block 103 are connected by rear block support mechanisms 136 and 137, thereby supporting the rear block 104 in an openable and closable manner relative to the intermediate block 103.

[0101] The rear block 104 includes a game ball tank 510 as a ball storage section for storing game balls, a tank rail 520 as a ball alignment section that straightens the game balls (for example, into a single line) and aligns them in a single row, located downstream of the game ball tank 510, a case rail 530 as a ball guidance section that guides the game balls flowing in from the tank rail 520, located downstream of the tank rail 520, a dispensing device 540 that dispenses or lends out game balls, located downstream of the case rail 530, and a guide passage (not shown) formed in the base 501 that guides the game balls flowing out from the dispensing device 540. The system includes a guide member 550 as a ball guide unit, a payout control device 560 that controls the payout and lending of game balls by the payout device 540, a power supply / launch control device 570 that functions as a power supply means that converts external power into power of a predetermined voltage required by various devices and outputs it, and as a launch control means that cooperates with the main control board 920 to control the ejection of game balls based on launch operations on the launch operation device 250, and a relay device 950 that relays signals between the payout control device 560 and the game ball lending device 290 (see Figure 1) and a card unit (not shown) located on the side of the pachinko machine 100.

[0102] The base 501 is integrally molded from resin (for example, ABS resin) and includes a base portion 502 corresponding to the front portion and a protective cover portion 503 located behind the base portion 502. The upper portion of the base portion 502 is formed in a substantially frame shape following the outer shape of the rear block 104, and the lower portion is formed in a substantially flat shape with thickness in the front-rear direction, and functions as a mounting portion to which other devices are attached.

[0103] The protective cover portion 503 is formed in a roughly plate-like shape with thickness in the front-to-back direction. Furthermore, the protective cover portion 503 is not shaped to cover the entire back surface of the intermediate block 103, but is set to form a window that exposes a portion of the back surface of the intermediate block 103, such as a part of the main control device 370, which requires frequent inspection and verification, to the back surface of the pachinko machine 100. Numerous ventilation holes 503A are formed on the back surface of the protective cover portion 503, which have the function of improving the heat dissipation of heat generated in the main control device 370 and the sub-control device 390.

[0104] The game ball tank 510 is a horizontally elongated box-shaped container with an opening at the top. Game balls supplied from the island equipment's ball circulation device (not shown) are sequentially replenished to one end of the tank in the longitudinal direction. An opening (not shown) is formed on the other end of the game ball tank 510 in the longitudinal direction, opposite to the side from which the game balls are supplied. The bottom surface of the game ball tank 510 is gently sloped in the longitudinal direction, and the game balls supplied to the game ball tank 510 move towards the opening side by their own weight. In addition, the bottom surface of the game ball tank 510 is also sloped in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (front-back direction) in addition to the longitudinal direction, and preferentially guides the game balls to the side with the opening (for example, the front side). Furthermore, a metal antistatic plate (not shown) is attached to the bottom surface of the game ball tank 510 so as to overlap it, and the antistatic plate is connected to the ground potential to remove static electricity from the game balls inside the game ball tank 510 and downstream of it.

[0105] The tank rail 520 is attached to the side where the opening of the game ball tank 510 is formed, and game balls flow in through the opening of the game ball tank 510. The tank rail 520 includes a passage forming member 521 that forms a roughly trough-shaped passage for game balls with a width that allows game balls to pass through in a single line, and a flow straightening member 522 that has a top surface that gradually decreases in height as the upper surface of the passage formed by the passage forming member 521, straightening the game balls flowing down the passage from a height where they are stacked vertically to a single height. The passage formed by the tank rail 520 is gently sloped toward the downstream side, guiding the game balls toward the opposite side from the game ball tank 510.

[0106] The case rail 530 is formed vertically and continuously below the tank rail 520, through which game balls flow in from the tank rail 520. The case rail 530 curves to the left and right to prevent the game balls from flowing too quickly, and continues downwards. In addition, a ball depletion detection unit 539 is provided in the middle of the ball passage in the case rail 530 to detect when a ball is depleted. The ball depletion detection unit 539 has a built-in ball storage switch 591 (see Figure 10), which detects a ball depletion condition in which a ball jam or the like has occurred in the case rail 530 or upstream there, and game balls are not being properly supplied into the case rail 530.

[0107] The dispensing device 540 includes a dispensing mechanism for sending out game balls, a dispensing motor 542 (see Figure 10) as a driving means for driving the dispensing mechanism, and a dispensing counting switch 592 (see Figure 10). In response to the operation of the dispensing motor 542 based on control by the dispensing control device 560, game balls stored in the ball passage are released downstream. The passage of the released game balls through the ball passage is detected by the dispensing counting switch 592, and the dispensing control device 560 (dispensing control board 930) counts the number of game balls dispensed.

[0108] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the payout control device 560 and the power supply / launch control device 570 are mounted so as to overlap the lower rear surface of the base portion 502 of the base body 501, so as to be located at the lower rear side of the rear block 104. The rear block 104, including these payout control device 560 and power supply / launch control device 570, can be used continuously even when the game board 400 is replaced with a different game board due to a change in model, etc.

[0109] The dispensing control device 560 comprises a dispensing control board 930 (see Figure 10) and a board case that houses the dispensing control board 930. The dispensing control board 930, like the main control board 920, is housed inside a sealed board case that prevents it from being opened without leaving any trace of tampering.

[0110] The power supply and firing control device 570 comprises a power supply and firing control board 900 (see Figure 10) and a board case that houses the power supply and firing control board 900. The power supply and firing control board 900 is housed inside the sealed board case, similar to the main control board 920.

[0111] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 9, a rear setting switch 905 is provided on the back side of the pachinko machine 100. The rear setting switch 905 is a setting activation device that enables the setting operation to set the payout rate of the pachinko machine 100 to one of several predetermined levels (for example, 6 levels or 9 levels).

[0112] The setting change for the ball payout rate can be enabled (allowed) by inserting a predetermined key (not shown) into the rear setting switch 905 and rotating it to a predetermined position (in this embodiment, a position rotated approximately 90° clockwise from the initial position). With the setting change for the ball payout rate thus enabled, the setting change for the ball payout rate is made effective by performing a predetermined setting operation (in this embodiment, pressing the initialization switch 907).

[0113] When the payout rate setting is successfully changed, the predetermined game mode is modified according to each set stage. In other words, changing the payout rate setting by operating the rear setting switch 905 and the initialization switch 907 can also be considered a change in the game mode setting.

[0114] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, depending on the stage set by changing the payout rate setting (i.e., changing the game mode setting), it is possible to select one of nine different game modes in which the combination of the initial win probability (in this embodiment, the winning probability of the first special symbol lottery) and the probability continuation rate (in this embodiment, the probability of transitioning to the probability variation game state after the special game state when transitioning to the special game state via the second special symbol lottery in the probability variation game state) differs. Therefore, when the payout rate setting change (game mode setting change) is effectively performed, the payout rate is adjusted by changing the winning probabilities of the first special symbol lottery and the second special symbol lottery so that the initial win probability and continuation probability correspond to the set stage (i.e., using probability lottery data corresponding to each winning probability).

[0115] Specifically, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to select a top type in which the initial win probability is significantly low but the probability of continuing the bonus round is significantly high, a middle type in which the initial win probability is moderate and the probability of continuing the bonus round is moderate, and a bottom type in which the initial win probability is significantly low but the probability of continuing the bonus round is significantly high. Furthermore, in each of these types, it is possible to select a first-stage probability, which is the lowest initial win probability among the three stages, a second-stage probability, which is the second lowest initial win probability, and a third-stage probability, which is the highest initial win probability.

[0116] In the top type, the number of prize balls awarded for winning in the upper and lower middle starting prize devices 431A, 431B and the right starting prize device 432 is less than in other types, but the number of prize balls awarded for winning in the lower large prize device 433 and the upper large prize device 434 is more than in other types. On the other hand, in the bottom type, the number of prize balls awarded for winning in the middle starting prize devices 431A, 431B and the right starting prize device 432 is more than in other types, but the number of prize balls awarded for winning in the lower large prize device 433 and the upper large prize device 434 is less than in other types.

[0117] Here, the number of prize balls awarded may be set to the same number for the top type, middle type, and bottom type. This makes it impossible for the player to determine which type the setting is from the number of prize balls, and adds a gameplay element of guessing which type it is over a long period of time.

[0118] Furthermore, while the profit margin for players changes depending on the probability setting stage for all top, middle, and bottom types, the profit margin for players is effectively the same regardless of the type, as long as the probability setting stage is the same. Therefore, even if the probability setting is changed by changing the type, the profit earned by the arcade over a certain period (for example, one day) can be easily predicted, making it easier to manage the arcade.

[0119] Furthermore, the game mode that is changed by changing the setting of the payout rate is not necessarily limited to the combination of the initial win probability and the probability of entering a bonus round as described above, and may be, for example, either the initial win probability or the probability of entering a bonus round. In addition, other lottery probabilities besides the initial win probability and the probability of entering a bonus round may be used, for example, the probability of winning the first special symbol lottery or the second special symbol lottery, the probability of winning the normal symbol lottery, the probability of a minor win being selected in the first special symbol lottery or the second special symbol lottery, the probability of entering a bonus round (in this embodiment, the probability of entering a bonus round game state via a win in the second special symbol lottery), or the probability of the bonus round game state ending after transitioning to a special game state (for example, the probability of the bonus round game state ending in the fallout lottery performed each time the symbol change display is executed during the bonus round game state), and there may be two or more combinations of these game modes.

[0120] A setting display device 906 is provided above the rear setting switch 905. When the setting of the payout rate (setting of the game mode) is effectively changed by operating the rear setting switch 905, setting display information corresponding to the currently set game mode is displayed on the setting display device 906. The setting display information consists of a combination of an English letter representing the type and a number representing the probability setting state. In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the top type, middle type, and bottom type are represented by the English letters "T", "M", and "B", respectively. In addition, the probability setting state for each type is represented by "1" for the first stage probability, "2" for the second stage probability, and "3" for the third stage probability.

[0121] Therefore, for example, when the game mode is the first stage probability of the top type, the setting information displayed on the setting display device 906 is "T1", when the game mode is the third stage probability of the middle type, the setting information displayed on the setting display device 906 is "M3", and when the game mode is the second stage probability of the bottom type, the setting information displayed on the setting display device 906 is "B2".

[0122] <Electrical Configuration> Next, the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 100 will be described. Figure 10 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 100. As shown in Figure 10, the pachinko machine 100 is equipped with control circuit devices such as a power supply / launch control board 900, a power supply monitoring board 910, a main control board 920, a payout control board 930, and a sub-control board 940. Note that relay circuit devices that only relay various signals are omitted in Figure 10. These main control circuit devices will be described individually in detail below.

[0123] The power supply and launch control board 900 includes a power supply unit 901 that supplies power of a predetermined voltage to each part of the pachinko machine 100 via a power supply path (dashed line in the figure), a launch control unit 902 that controls the drive of the launch device 330 in accordance with the operation of the launch operation device 250, and a signal relay unit 903 that relays initialization signals from the initialization switch 907 and ball overflow signals from the ball overflow switch 249.

[0124] The power supply unit 901 takes in external power (e.g., 24 volts AC) supplied from the outside and converts it into internal power (e.g., 24 volts DC), and generates various types of power from that internal power. The power generated by the power supply unit 901 includes power for driving various solenoids and motors (e.g., 12 volts DC), power for driving various switches and executing control processes (e.g., 5 volts DC), and power for backup to maintain the contents of the RAM of the main control board 920.

[0125] The power supply unit 901 supplies various types of power generated from its internal power to the power supply monitoring board 910, the main control board 920, the payout control board 930, the sub-control board 940, etc. Specifically, the power supply monitoring board 910 is supplied with internal power, drive voltage, control voltage, and backup voltage. The main control board 920 is supplied with drive voltage, control voltage, and backup voltage, and this power is supplied via the power supply monitoring unit 911 of the power supply monitoring board 910. The payout control board 930 is supplied with drive voltage and control voltage. The sub-control board 940 is supplied with drive voltage and control voltage. The firing control unit 902 and the signal relay unit 903 are supplied with drive voltage and control voltage.

[0126] A power switch 909 is connected to the power supply unit 901, and when the power switch 909 is in the off position, the intake of external power is stopped. The state in which the supply of power to the inside of the pachinko machine 100 is stopped, or the state in which the supply of external power itself is stopped, by turning off the power switch 909 or by unplugging the power plug (not shown) connected to the power supply unit 901 via the power switch 909 from the external power supply outlet (not shown), is collectively referred to as a "power outage state".

[0127] The power supply unit 901 is configured to output control voltage power normally for a predetermined period even after transitioning to a power outage state. This allows the main control board 920 to save its state and terminate control so that it can return to the current control state.

[0128] The launch control unit 902 works in cooperation with the main control board 920 to control the driving of the ball feed solenoid 332 and the launch solenoid 334 of the launching device 330. The ball feed solenoid 332 and the launch solenoid 334 are permitted to operate only when certain conditions are met. Specifically, the launch control unit 902 outputs an ON launch permission signal to the main control board 920 when it is detected that the player is touching the launch handle 252 (see Figure 1) based on a contact sensor signal from the contact sensor 254, and when the launch stop switch 255 for stopping the launch has not been operated. The main control board 920 also outputs a launch solenoid control signal and a ball feed solenoid control signal to the launch control unit 902 based on the launch permission signal and the launch abnormality signal. The launch control unit 902 operates the ball feed solenoid 332 based on the ON ball feed control signal, and operates the launch solenoid 334 based on the reception of the ON launch solenoid control signal and the resistance value of the variable resistor 253. As a result, game balls are sequentially launched from the launching device 330 with a strength corresponding to the resistance value of the variable resistor 253 (the amount of rotation of the launching handle 252).

[0129] The signal relay unit 903 outputs an ON initialization signal to the main control board 920 when the initialization switch 907 is pressed. The main control board 920 initializes the stored information in its RAM in response to the receipt of the ON initialization signal. The initialization switch 907 does not necessarily have to be configured to output a signal to the main control board 920 via the signal relay unit 903. For example, the initialization switch 907 may be mounted directly on the main control board 920 and housed within the board case 371, thereby preventing unauthorized signal input targeting the signal transmission section.

[0130] Furthermore, when the ball overflow switch 249 detects a game ball, the signal relay unit 903 outputs an ON ball overflow signal to the main control board 920. Based on the detection of the ON ball overflow signal, the main control board 920 outputs a low-speed payout signal to the payout control board 930. Upon receiving the low-speed payout signal, the payout control board 930 reduces the rotation speed of the payout motor 542 (the payout speed of game balls from the payout device 540). Also, based on the detection of the OFF ball overflow signal, the main control board 920 outputs a high-speed payout signal to the payout control board 930. Upon receiving the high-speed payout signal, the payout control board 930 increases the rotation speed of the payout motor 542.

[0131] As shown in Figure 10, the signal relay unit 903 is connected to a rear setting switch 905 and a setting display device 906. The signal relay unit 903 relays an ON-state setting signal output to the main control board 920 when the rear setting switch 905 is rotated approximately 90° clockwise by a predetermined key (not shown). The main control board 920 allows a change in the game mode in response to receiving an ON-state setting signal from the rear setting switch 905. The signal relay unit 903 also relays a setting display signal output from the main control board 920 to the setting display device 906. The setting display device 906 displays setting display information corresponding to the received setting display signal.

[0132] The power supply monitoring board 910 includes a power supply monitoring unit 911 that monitors the power supply status from the power supply / launch control board 900, and a signal relay unit 912 that relays power supply and various signals between the power supply / launch control board 900 and the main control board 920. The power supply monitoring unit 911 also outputs a power outage signal to the main control board 920 in response to a transition to a power outage state. It monitors the DC stable voltage of 24 volts, which is the maximum voltage output from the power supply unit 901, and determines that a power outage state has occurred if this voltage remains below 22 volts for a predetermined period of time, and outputs an ON-state power outage signal to the main control board 920. The main control board 920 recognizes the transition to a power outage state upon receiving the ON-state power outage signal.

[0133] The main control board 920 comprehensively controls the operation of the pachinko machine 100. The main control board 920 is equipped with an MPU (not shown) as a single-chip microcontroller. The MPU includes a CPU (not shown) as an arithmetic processing unit, a ROM (not shown) that stores various control programs and fixed data executed by the CPU, and a RAM (not shown) that temporarily stores various data when the control program is executed. The main control board 920 is also equipped with various other circuits, such as a timer circuit (not shown), a counter circuit (not shown), a clock generation circuit (not shown), and a signal transmission / reception circuit (not shown). The RAM of the main control board 920 is configured to maintain (back up) internal data even after transitioning to a power outage state by supplying power from the power supply / launch control board 900 with backup voltage.

[0134] The payout control board 930 controls the payout operation of the payout device 540 in response to instructions from the main control board 920, and the lending operation of the payout device 540 in response to the operation of the game ball lending device 290. Similar to the main control board 920, the payout control board 930 is equipped with various circuits such as an MPU (not shown) as a one-chip microcontroller including a CPU (not shown), ROM (not shown), and RAM (not shown), a timer circuit (not shown), a counter circuit (not shown), a clock generation circuit (not shown), and a signal transmission / reception circuit (not shown).

[0135] The dispensing control board 930 is equipped with input / output ports as connection means for communicating information with other devices. For example, it is connected to the main control board 920 and the relay device 950 for bidirectional information input / output communication, connected to the open / close detection switches 108, 109, the stored ball switch 591, and the dispensing count switch 592 for unidirectional information input communication only, and connected to the dispensing motor 542 for unidirectional information output communication only. The RAM of the dispensing control board 930 may be configured to have a backup function that allows it to maintain internal data for a certain period of time in the event of a power outage, similar to the RAM of the main control board 920, or it may be configured not to maintain internal data in the event of a power outage, unlike the RAM of the main control board 920.

[0136] The sub-control board 940 controls the operation of various performance devices, various light-emitting devices, various sound devices, etc., based on instructions from the main control board 920. The sub-control board 940 is equipped with input / output ports as means of connection to communicate with other devices. For example, it is connected to the main control board 920 for one-way information input communication only, to the input operation device 260 for bidirectional information communication only, and to the decorative pattern display device 479, etc., for one-way information output communication only.

[0137] <Various control processes> Next, the various control processes performed by the main control board 920 will be described. The control processes on the main control board 920 can be broadly divided into a main process that is started when power is restored from a power outage, and a timer interrupt process that is executed periodically (in this configuration, every 2ms (milliseconds)) by interrupting the main process.

[0138] First, the main processing performed by the main control board 920 will be explained with reference to Figure 11. Figure 11 is a flowchart of the main processing of the main control board 920 (abbreviated as "main control main processing" in Figure 11).

[0139] In the main processing of the main control board 920, first, a series of control start processes (program start process S1001 to random number initial setting process S1019) for starting up the main control board 920 and initializing various information are executed only once. After that, the following are repeatedly executed: interrupt disable process S1020 which disables interrupts; random number initial value update process S1021 which updates the values ​​of the winning random number initial value counter (part of RAM) for special symbols, the jackpot symbol random number initial value counter (part of RAM), and the winning random number initial value counter (part of RAM) for normal symbols; variation counter update process S1022 which updates the values ​​of the first variation type counter to the fourth variation type counter (part of RAM) for determining variation time, variation pattern, etc.; and interrupt enable process S1023 which enables interrupts. If a timer interrupt request occurs before the interrupt enable process S1023, the timer interrupt process is executed immediately after the interrupt enable process S1023.

[0140] In the series of control start processes, a program start process S1001 is executed to set an initial value in the stack pointer (a part of RAM) that controls the execution of the program, an interrupt mode setting process S1002 is executed to set the interrupt mode, and a start-up waiting process S1003 is executed to wait for a predetermined time until the payout control board 930 and the sub-control board 940 etc. start up.

[0141] After the startup standby process S1003, a determination process S2001 is performed to determine the output status of the setting signal from the rear setting switch 905 of the power supply / launch control board 900. If the determination process S2001 determines that the setting signal from the rear setting switch 905 is in the off state (S2001:N), then a determination process S1004 is performed to determine the output status of the initialization signal from the initialization switch 907 of the power supply / launch control board 900, a determination process S1005 is performed to determine the value of the power outage information (a part of the RAM), and a determination process S1007 is performed to determine the storage state of the saved information. Based on these determination results, it is determined whether or not to erase the saved information in the RAM. Here, saved information is information necessary to restore the game state to what it was before the power outage, and corresponds to a part of the RAM that was updated according to the progress of the game before the power outage. Examples include the value of the counter related to the unit game being played and the value of the counter stored due to a start-up win.

[0142] The storage state of the stored information is determined as follows: First, a checksum value is calculated for a predetermined range of storage area in RAM (checksum calculation process S1006). Then, it is determined whether the exclusive OR of the current checksum value and the RAM determination value, which is the two's complement of the checksum value calculated in the power outage monitoring process S1202 (see Figure 12) when the system transitioned to the previous power outage state, is "0" (determination process S1007). This determines whether the current checksum value and the checksum value at the time of the power outage transition are the same.

[0143] If the initialization signal is ON (S1004:Y), if the power outage information is not a predetermined power outage value indicating that the saved information was saved and the system terminated when transitioning to a power outage state (S1005:N), or if the saved information is not properly retained (S1007:N), then the RAM clear process S1008 is executed to erase the saved information in the RAM. After it is determined that the saved information is properly retained (S1007:Y), or after the RAM clear process S1008 has been executed, the hardware initialization process S1009 is executed to initialize the various devices connected to the main control board 920.

[0144] After the hardware initialization process S1009, a determination process S1010 is executed to determine whether the power outage information is a power outage value. If the power outage information is a power outage value (S1010:N), a RAM restore setting process S1011 is performed to initialize various information, including the restoration of retained information, and a restore command indicating the completion of the setting is set (restore command output process S1012). The restoration of retained information in the RAM restore setting process S1011 restores the control state of the main control board 920 to the control state immediately before the transition to the previous power outage state.

[0145] On the other hand, if the power outage information is not a power outage value (S1010:Y), the retained information is not restored, and various information is initialized (RAM initial setting process S1013), and an initialization command indicating the completion of the setting is output (initialization command output process S1014).

[0146] In addition, during the RAM recovery setting process S1011 and the RAM initial setting process S1013, the power outage information is set to a predetermined power supply value different from the power outage value, and any various error conditions such as fraud detection errors that occurred immediately before the transition to the previous power outage state are all cleared. Furthermore, either a recovery command or an initialization command is output from the main control board 920 to both the payout control board 930 and the sub-control board 940, and a predetermined initialization process is executed in each of the payout control board 930 and the sub-control board 940 that received the recovery command or initialization command.

[0147] After the initial RAM settings (determination process S1004 to initialization command output process S1014) according to the startup conditions, if the condition device was operating when the system transitioned to the previous power outage state, preparations are made to return to the special game state (special game state return preparation process S1015). Specifically, in the special game state return preparation process S1015, the operating status of the condition device and the continuous operation device for the special features is determined, and processing corresponding to the game state during the power outage is executed on the sub-control board 940.

[0148] After the special game state return preparation process S1015, it is determined whether the game is in a time-saving state or not by checking whether the time-saving state flag is set (determination process S1016). If the game is in a time-saving state (S1016:Y), a time-saving command is output (time-saving command output process S1017). On the other hand, if the game is not in a time-saving state (S1016:N), a non-time-saving command is output (non-time-saving command output process S1018). After that, the value of the winning random number counter (a part of the RAM area) related to the special symbols is initialized (random number initial setting process S1019).

[0149] On the other hand, in the determination process S2001, if it is determined that the setting signal from the rear setting switch 905 is in the ON state, indicating that the rear setting switch 905 is being operated by a predetermined key (S2001:Y), then the RAM clear process S2002 is executed, which erases the information in virtually the entire area of ​​the RAM 922. Specifically, in the RAM clear process S2002, the information in virtually all areas of the RAM 922, excluding the setting-corresponding information, is erased.

[0150] The setting information corresponds to each of the predetermined stages (nine types in this embodiment) of game modes, and the setting mode information corresponding to the game mode being set is stored in the RAM 922. Therefore, the RAM clear process S2002 erases information from virtually all areas of the RAM 922 of the main control board 920, except for the storage area for the setting information, and enables setting changes.

[0151] When the system is in a state where setting changes are permitted, a setting display signal is output to the setting display device 906 that identifies the game mode corresponding to the setting information stored in RAM 922. The setting display device 906 displays the setting display information corresponding to the setting display signal received from the main control board 920. In other words, the setting display device 906 displays the setting display information corresponding to the setting information stored in RAM 922.

[0152] Next, a setting change process S2003 is executed to change the game mode settings until the setting signal from the rear setting switch 905 is turned off. The setting signal from the rear setting switch 905 is turned off when the rear setting switch 905 is not operated by a predetermined key.

[0153] The game mode setting is changed by pressing the initialization switch 907 while the rear setting switch 905 is operated by a predetermined key. Specifically, in this state, each time the main control board 920 receives an initialization signal based on the pressing of the initialization switch 907, the setting information is changed sequentially. Specifically, a predetermined order for cyclically selecting from nine predetermined game modes (for example, ...→T1→T2→T3→M1→M2→M3→B1→B2→B3→T1→T2→...) is predetermined, and the selected game mode is changed sequentially according to this order each time the initialization switch 907 is pressed.

[0154] Each time such a change is made, a value corresponding to the selected game mode is stored in RAM 922 as setting information. Each time the setting information stored in RAM 922 is changed, a setting display signal corresponding to the setting information is output to the setting display device 906, and setting display information corresponding to the changed setting information is displayed on the setting display device 906.

[0155] Therefore, the person responsible for changing the settings, such as the manager of the amusement arcade, can complete the selection of the game mode by repeatedly pressing the initialization switch 907 until the desired game mode is selected for the pachinko machine 100, while the rear setting switch 905 is operated with a predetermined key, and then inserting a game ball into the upper middle start prize device 431A or the lower middle start prize device 431B. Thus, the setting change process S2003 ends when a game ball is inserted into the middle start prize devices 431A or 431B after the game mode has been selected by pressing the initialization switch 907.

[0156] If the setting signal from the rear setting switch 905 is turned off (S2004:Y), the RAM change setting process S2005 is executed, which initializes various information in the RAM 922, excluding information related to the setting of the game mode (i.e., setting correspondence information). As a result, the startup of the main control board 920 is effectively completed, and it is confirmed that the game will proceed in the game mode corresponding to the setting correspondence information stored in the RAM 922.

[0157] After the RAM change setting process S2005, the setting command output process S2006 is executed, which outputs a setting command indicating the completion of the RAM 922 setting to the payout control board 930. Upon receiving the setting command output by the main control board 920, the payout control board 930 can recognize that the main control board 920 is transitioning to normal game processing and can also recognize which game mode will be operated in. After the setting command output process S2006, the processing from the special game state return preparation process S1015 onwards is executed.

[0158] Next, the timer interrupt processing performed by the main control board 920 will be explained with reference to Figure 12. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the timer interrupt processing (abbreviated as "main control interrupt processing" in the figure) performed by the main control board 920.

[0159] In the timer interrupt processing of the main control board 920, first, the interrupt start processing S1201 is executed to initiate the timer interrupt. Specifically, a predetermined value is set in the interrupt control register. This disables interrupts other than this timer interrupt. After that, the power outage monitoring processing S1202 to the external information output processing S1221, which are related to the actual control of the pachinko machine 100, such as controlling the progress of the game and monitoring various sensors, are executed sequentially. However, if the game progress is stopped based on the detection of various irregularities (S1207:Y), the control signal output processing S1208 to the external information output processing S1221 are not executed. Finally, the interrupt enable processing S1222, which enables the next timer interrupt, is executed, and the timer interrupt processing for this time is completed. The following sections will explain each of the main processes individually.

[0160] In the power outage monitoring process S1202, the value of the power outage information (a portion of the RAM) is updated based on the output status of the power outage signal output from the power monitoring unit 911 of the power monitoring board 910. Specifically, the output status of the power outage signal is checked three times, and if the ON state is detected all three times, it is determined that a power outage has occurred. If it is not determined that a power outage has occurred in this check, the power outage information is maintained at the powered value.

[0161] On the other hand, if the power outage monitoring process S1202 determines that a power outage is occurring, the following processes are executed. First, the power outage information value is changed from the power supply value set in the RAM recovery setting process S1011 or the RAM initial setting process S1013 (see Figure 11) to a predetermined power outage value. Also, a checksum value is calculated for a predetermined range of memory areas in the RAM, and the two's complement of that checksum value is set as the RAM judgment value. As a result, the pachinko machine 100 enters an infinite loop in which it does not perform any actual control, such as the progress of the game or monitoring of various sensors, and the state of the RAM after the RAM judgment value has been set is maintained based on the backup power. Furthermore, because the output status of the power outage signal is checked three times, each timer interrupt process is executed twice after the initial detection of the power outage signal.

[0162] In the random number update process S1203, the winning random number counter for special symbols, the jackpot symbol random number counter, the stop pattern selection counter, and the winning random number counter for regular symbols are updated. Specifically, if the value of the winning random number counter for special symbols is different from the specified maximum value (for example, "576"), it is changed to a value that is "1" greater than the current value. If the value of the winning random number counter for special symbols is the specified maximum value, it is changed to the specified minimum value ("0"). However, if the changed value is the same as the cyclic initial value for the winning random number counter for special symbols, the value of the winning random number counter for special symbols is set to the same value as the winning random number initial value counter, and the cyclic initial value is also set to the same value as the winning random number initial value counter.

[0163] The jackpot symbol random number counter, the stop pattern selection counter, and the winning random number counter for regular symbols are updated in the same manner as the winning random number counter for special symbols. However, the update range determined by the specified maximum and minimum values ​​for each counter is set to a value unique to each counter, and multiple counters are updated asynchronously. The cyclic initial value of each counter refers to an initial value counter unique to each counter. For example, the winning random number counter for special symbols and the winning random number initial value counter for special symbols have the same value range, the jackpot symbol random number counter and the jackpot symbol random number initial value counter have the same value range, and the winning random number counter for regular symbols and the winning random number initial value counter for regular symbols have the same value range.

[0164] In the random number initial value update process S1204, the winning random number initial value counter for special symbols, the winning symbol random number initial value counter, and the winning random number initial value counter for regular symbols are updated. Specifically, if the value of the winning random number initial value counter for special symbols is different from the specified maximum value (for example, "576"), it is changed to a value that is "1" greater than the current value. If the value of the winning random number initial value counter for special symbols is the specified maximum value, it is changed to the specified minimum value ("0"). The symbol random number initial value counter for special symbols and the winning random number initial value counter for regular symbols are updated in the same way as the winning random number initial value counter for special symbols, except that the specified maximum and minimum values ​​are values ​​unique to those counters.

[0165] In the fluctuation counter update process S1205, the values ​​of the first to fourth fluctuation type counters, which are used to determine the fluctuation time, fluctuation pattern, etc., are updated. Specifically, if the value of the first fluctuation type counter is different from the specified maximum value (for example, "187"), it is changed to a value that is "1" greater than the current value, and if the value of the first fluctuation type counter is the specified maximum value, it is changed to the specified minimum value ("0"). The second to fourth fluctuation type counters are also updated in the same manner as the first fluctuation type counter, except that the specified maximum and minimum values ​​are values ​​unique to those counters.

[0166] Furthermore, the winning random number counters for special symbols and regular symbols, the jackpot symbol random number counter, the stop pattern selection counter, and each variation type counter do not necessarily have to be configured as described above. At least a part of the above counters may be configured in other ways. For example, a configuration that updates from a fixed initial value without using an initial value counter may be used, or a configuration that uses a random number generation IC without using a program and references the value as needed may be used.

[0167] In the game stop determination process S1206, if the fraud detection information is a fraud detection value, it is updated to a game stop value, and various information for stopping the game is set. On the other hand, if the fraud detection information is not a fraud detection value or is already a game stop value, the processes for stopping the game are not executed and the game stop determination process S1206 terminates. The fraud detection information is set to a fraud detection value when various fraudulent activities are detected in the fraud detection process S1211. In the determination process S1207, it is determined whether or not the game is stopped based on whether or not the fraud detection information is a game stop value.

[0168] In the control signal output processing S1208, signals are output to control various notification devices such as the special symbol display device 471 for the first special symbol, the special symbol display device 472 for the second special symbol, and the ordinary symbol display device 473 for ordinary symbols, based on the control data stored in the output buffer. In addition, signals are output to control various actuators such as the ball feed solenoid 332, launch solenoid 334, right entry restriction solenoid 462, down entry restriction solenoid 463, up entry restriction solenoid 464, and switching solenoid 465, based on the control data stored in the output buffer.

[0169] In the switch reading process S1209, the signal states from the middle start prize switch 441A, 441B, the right start prize switch 442, the lower large prize switch 443, the upper large prize switch 444, the combination activation switch 445, the start switch 446, the non-specific passage switch 447, the specific passage switch 448, and the general prize switches 449A, 449B are read, and changes in the detection state of the game balls due to the various switches are detected.

[0170] Specifically, in the switch reading process S1209, the signal states from various switches are read into the input buffer (a part of the RAM) twice with a predetermined time interval between them. For each signal from a switch, the change in the detection state of each switch is detected based on the signal state read the first time (hereinafter abbreviated as "first signal state"), the signal state read the second time (hereinafter abbreviated as "second signal state"), and the detection state detected by the previous timer interrupt (hereinafter abbreviated as "previous detection state"). Then, for each switch, if the previous detection state was off, and the first signal state is on and the second signal state is on, it is determined that the switch has transitioned to the on state, and a detection flag (a part of the RAM) corresponding to the type of switch is set. Furthermore, as explained in the power outage monitoring process S1202, even if the power supply is interrupted, each timer interrupt process is executed twice. Therefore, even if the various switches are turned on immediately after the power supply is interrupted, the detection flags for the various switches can be set accurately.

[0171] In the timer update process S1210, various timers (a predetermined area of ​​RAM) used for displaying the fluctuations of special symbols and regular symbols, controlling each game state, and monitoring for fraudulent activity are updated.

[0172] In the fraud detection process S1211, fraudulent activities such as forcibly inserting game balls into various prize-winning devices or forcibly activating various prize-winning devices are detected. Specifically, the system detects situations in which there is a high probability that fraudulent activities have occurred, such as forcibly moving the right-start prize-winning device 432, the lower large prize-winning device 433, and the upper large prize-winning device 434 to an entry-permitting position, guiding game balls to a specific passage in the lower large prize-winning device 433 by vibration, inducing forced malfunctions of the right-start prize-winning device 432, the lower large prize-winning device 433, and the upper large prize-winning device 434 by radio waves, guiding game balls to various prize-winning devices by magnetic attraction, and guiding game balls to the upper middle-start prize-winning device 431A, the lower middle-start prize-winning device 431B, the right-start prize-winning device 432, the lower large prize-winning device 433, and the upper large prize-winning device 434 at an abnormal timing.

[0173] In the prize detection response process S1212, control is performed based on the detection of game balls by various switches provided on the game board 400. Specifically, based on the detection of game balls by the upper middle start prize switch 441A (see Figure 10) and the lower middle start prize switch 441B (see Figure 10), if the middle start prize switch detection flag is set, the middle start prize counter (a predetermined area in RAM) and the first payout counter (a predetermined area in RAM) are updated. Also, based on the detection of game balls by the right start prize switch 442 (see Figure 10), if the right start prize switch detection flag is set, the first payout counter is updated. Furthermore, if the lower big prize switch detection flag is set based on the detection of a game ball by the lower big prize switch 443 (see Figure 10), or if the upper big prize switch detection flag is set based on the detection of a game ball by the upper big prize switch 444 (see Figure 10), the big prize counter (a predetermined area in RAM) and the second payout counter (a predetermined area in RAM) are updated.

[0174] In the launch control process S1213, launch-related information for controlling the launch of game balls by the launching device 330 is updated. Specifically, the operation flag of the ball feeding solenoid 332 that drives the ball feeding mechanism 331 and the operation flag of the launching solenoid 334 that drives the launching mechanism 333 are updated.

[0175] In the input signal monitoring process S1214, it is detected whether the intermediate block 103 (see Figures 1 and 2) is closed to the outer frame 101 (see Figures 1 and 2) based on the output status of the signal from the open / close detection switch 108 (see Figure 10) via the dispensing control board 930. Also, it is detected whether the front block 102 (see Figures 2 and 3) is closed to the intermediate block 103 (see Figures 2 and 3) based on the output status of the signal from the open / close detection switch 109 via the dispensing control board 930 (see Figure 10).

[0176] In the dispensing status monitoring process S1215, information indicating the dispensing control status output from the dispensing control board 930 is monitored, and various dispensing status commands corresponding to the dispensing control status are set as needed. Upon receiving a dispensing status command, the sub-control board 940 causes the decorative pattern display device 479, the upper left sound device 281, and the upper right sound device 282, etc., to execute notifications according to the type of dispensing status command.

[0177] In the payout signal output processing S1216, various prize ball commands are set based on the values ​​of the first payout counter and the second payout counter as needed, and output to the payout control board 930. The first payout counter and the second payout counter are updated according to the setting of prize ball commands. For example, the first payout counter is incremented by 1 each time a game ball corresponding to one win is detected, and decremented by 1 each time a prize ball command based on that win is set. The payout control board 930 requests a prize ball command from the main control board 920 each time it executes control to dispense the number of game balls corresponding to that win (for example, 3 balls) (more specifically, a little before the payout is completed), and if the payout of prize balls is continuing, the main control board 920 outputs further prize ball commands. The second payout counter is updated in response to winnings with a different number of prize balls than the first payout counter (for example, 13 balls). When the payout control board 930 receives a prize ball command based on the value of the second payout counter, the payout control board 930 executes control to pay out the number of game balls corresponding to that prize ball command.

[0178] In the special symbol-related processing S1217, the right to hold the unit game related to the first special symbol and the control of the unit game related to the first special symbol are executed. Specifically, in the right to hold the unit game related to the first special symbol, the operation control of the special symbol hold display device 476 related to the first special symbol is executed. Furthermore, in the control of the unit game related to the first special symbol, the operation control of the special symbol display device 471 related to the first special symbol is executed, and if a jackpot is won in the first special symbol lottery, the operation control of the lower jackpot device 433 and the upper jackpot device 434 is further executed.

[0179] Furthermore, in the special symbol-related processing S1217, the right to hold the unit game related to the second special symbol and the control of the unit game related to the second special symbol are executed. Specifically, in the right to hold the unit game related to the second special symbol, the operation control of the special symbol hold display device 477 related to the second special symbol is executed. In addition, in the control of the unit game related to the second special symbol, the operation control of the special symbol display device 472 related to the second special symbol is executed, and if a jackpot is won in the second special symbol lottery, the operation control of the lower jackpot device 433 and the upper jackpot device 434 is further executed.

[0180] In the normal symbol-related processing S1218, the right to hold the unit game related to the normal symbol and the control of the unit game related to the normal symbol are executed. Specifically, in the right to hold the unit game related to the normal symbol, the operation control of the normal symbol hold display device 478 is executed. Furthermore, in the control of the unit game related to the normal symbol, the operation control of the normal symbol display device 473 related to the normal symbol is executed, and if the normal symbol lottery is won, the operation control of the right start prize device 432 is also executed.

[0181] In the display control process S1219, output data is synthesized to specifically operate the special symbol display devices, such as the special symbol display device 471 for the first special symbol, the special symbol display device 472 for the second special symbol, the special symbol hold display device 476 for the first special symbol, and the special symbol hold display device 477 for the second special symbol, based on various information updated in the special symbol-related process S1217. The synthesized output data is output to each device in the control signal output process S1208 based on the next timer interrupt.

[0182] In the motor control process S1220, the operation control of various motors is performed. In the external information output process S1221, output data to be output to external devices such as a data display device (not shown) or a management device (not shown) electrically connected to the pachinko machine 100 is set.

[0183] <Variable display of decorative pattern 610> Next, with reference to Figures 13 to 19, the display of the decorative symbols 610 in the decorative symbol display device 479 of the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 13 is a front view of the decorative symbols 610.

[0184] More specifically, Figures 13(A) and 13(C) are front views of the decorative pattern 610 displayed in the first display mode, and Figures 13(B) and 13(D) are front views of the decorative pattern 610 displayed in the second display mode. As will be explained in more detail later, in Figure 13 and Figures 14 to 19, which will be explained later, the hatching applied to the characters constituting the first identification information unit 612 represents the colors used to color the characters.

[0185] As shown in Figure 13, the decorative pattern 610 comprises a base portion 611 positioned on the lower side of the decorative pattern 610, a first identification information portion 612 positioned above the base portion 611, and a second identification information portion 613 positioned in front of the base portion 611.

[0186] The base portion 611 is the design of the base on which the character, which serves as the first identification information unit 612, is placed, and is a part that is composed of common (identical) display content regardless of the type of decorative design 610. Note that in Figure 13 and Figures 14 to 19 described later, in order to facilitate understanding of the drawings, hatching to indicate coloring is not applied to the base portion 611, unlike the first identification information unit 612.

[0187] The first identification information unit 612 is the part that constitutes the identification information of the decorative pattern 610. In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the first identification information unit 612 is composed of seafood characters as identification information, and the type of decorative pattern 610 can be identified according to the type of seafood character that constitutes the first identification information unit 612. Therefore, the display content of the first identification information unit 612 differs according to the type of decorative pattern 610.

[0188] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, nine types of characters (more specifically, characters of marine life) such as octopuses and pufferfish are set as characters constituting the first identification information unit 612. For example, Figures 13(A) and 13(B) show a decorative pattern 610 in which the first identification information unit 612 is composed of an octopus character as identification information, and Figures 13(C) and 13(D) show a decorative pattern 610 in which the first identification information unit 612 is composed of a pufferfish character as identification information.

[0189] In other words, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, nine types of decorative patterns 610 are prepared according to the type of character that constitutes the first identification information unit 612, and these nine types of decorative patterns 610 can be identified (distinguished) from one another by the display content (i.e., the type of character) of the character that constitutes the first identification information unit 612.

[0190] The second identification information unit 613, like the first identification information unit 612, is a part that constitutes the identification information of the decorative pattern 610, and its display content differs depending on the type of decorative pattern 610. The second identification information unit 613 is composed of numerical values ​​(digits) as identification information. In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, nine types of numerical values ​​from "1" to "9" are set as the numerical values ​​that constitute the second identification information unit 613.

[0191] Furthermore, the second identification information unit 613 does not necessarily have to consist solely of identification information such as numerical values. It may be a configuration that includes at least identification information, for example, a combination of identification information and a drawing unit that depicts content unrelated to the identification information. For example, in the example shown in Figure 13, the second identification information unit 613 may be a configuration that consists of a combination of various numerical values ​​as identification information, such as "1" or "2," and circular drawing units that are arranged decoratively behind each numerical value, regardless of the numerical value itself.

[0192] Each numerical value constituting the second identification information unit 613 is associated one-to-one with the type of character constituting the first identification information unit 612. For example, as shown in Figures 13(A) and 13(B), the octopus character constituting the first identification information unit 612 is associated with "1" as the second identification information unit 613. Also, as shown in Figures 13(C) and 13(D), the pufferfish character constituting the first identification information unit 612 is associated with "2" as the second identification information unit 613 (see Figures 13(C) and 13(D)). Similarly, each of the seven characters constituting the first identification information unit 612, excluding the octopus and pufferfish, is associated one-to-one with each number from "3" to "9".

[0193] In other words, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the identification information for the decorative pattern 610 is composed of a combination of identification information constituting the first identification information unit 612 (i.e., the type of character) and identification information constituting the second identification information unit 613 (i.e., a numerical value).

[0194] Furthermore, the identification information of the decorative pattern 610 does not necessarily have to be a combination of character type and numerical value; it may consist only of character type, or only of numerical value. In other words, the decorative pattern 610 does not necessarily have to include both the first identification information unit 612 and the second identification information unit 613 as identification information; it may be configured to include only the first identification information unit 612, or to include only the second identification information unit 613.

[0195] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the display modes of the decorative symbols 610 in the display of the decorative symbols 610 performed by the decorative symbol display device 497 include a first display mode and a second display mode.

[0196] The display mode of the first identification information unit 612 differs between the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode and the decorative pattern 610 in the second display mode. More specifically, the decorative pattern 610 in the second display mode is displayed in a simplified manner compared to the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode. In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the display mode of the base unit 611 and the second identification information unit remains unchanged regardless of whether the decorative pattern 610 is displayed in the first or second display mode.

[0197] In the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode, the first identification information unit 612 displays its content (in this embodiment, a character of a fish or shellfish) in a multi-colored manner.

[0198] The octopus character (see Figure 13(A)) that constitutes the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode has a specific region PA composed of the main parts of the octopus character, a region PB11 on the outer edge of the eye of the character, a region PB12 inside the region PB11 of the eye, and a region PB13 inside the region PB12 of the eye, and each of these regions PA, PB11, PB12, and PB13 is colored in a different color.

[0199] Furthermore, the specific region PA is not limited to the octopus character, but is a region composed of the main parts of each character that constitutes the first identification information unit 612, and is a region provided for all characters that constitute the first identification information unit 612. For example, the specific region PA for the octopus character as the first identification information unit 612 is the region of the octopus character excluding the eyes.

[0200] Therefore, while a specific area PA for an octopus character is defined as the area that occupies most of the character, the specific area PA does not necessarily have to be the largest area of ​​the character. It may be a predetermined area (for example, the character's head) regardless of its occupancy rate within the character.

[0201] Furthermore, the pufferfish character (see Figure 13(C)) that constitutes the first identification information section 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode has a specific region PA composed of the main parts of the pufferfish character, a ventral region PB21 of the character, a region PB22 on the outer edge of the eye of the character, a region PB23 inside the eye region PB22, and a lip region PB24 of the character, and each of these regions PA, PB21, PB22, PB23, and PB24 is colored in a different color.

[0202] In Figures 13(A) and 13(C), examples are shown of the case where the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode is an octopus or a pufferfish character. However, in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode, even if the character constituting the first identification information unit 612 is one of the seven other characters besides the octopus and pufferfish, the display content of the first identification information unit 612 is displayed in a multi-color manner, similar to the case of the octopus and pufferfish described above.

[0203] In Figures 13(A) and 13(C), the differences in color included in the first identification information section 612 of the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode are represented by differences in hatching.

[0204] For example, in the example shown in Figure 13(A), the color of a specific region PA in the octopus character (for example, red) is represented by hatching with parallel solid lines (hereinafter, this hatching will also be referred to as "normal hatching"), while the colors of regions other than the specific region PA in the character (i.e., regions PB11, PB12, PB13) are represented by hatching other than normal hatching.

[0205] Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 13(A), the color of region PB11 (e.g., white) is represented by dot hatching, the color of region PB12 (e.g., brown) is represented by dot hatching on a smaller scale than region PB11, and the color of region PB13 (e.g., black) is represented by solid fill hatching.

[0206] In the example shown in Figure 13(C), the color of a specific area PA (for example, blue) in the pufferfish character that constitutes the first identification information unit 612 is represented by normal hatching, and the colors of areas other than the specific area PA in the character (i.e., areas PB21, PB22, PB23, PB24) are represented by hatching other than normal hatching.

[0207] Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 13(C), the color of region PB21 (e.g., gray) is represented by dot hatching, the color of region PB22 (e.g., white) is represented by dot hatching on a larger scale than region PB21, the color of region PB23 (e.g., black) is represented by fill hatching, and region PB24 (e.g., pink) is represented by dot hatching on a smaller scale than regions PB21 and PB22.

[0208] In addition, in Figure 13 and Figures 14 to 19 described later, the normal hatching applied to the specific area PA of each character constituting the first identification information unit 612 is drawn at an angle corresponding to the color of each specific area PA, regardless of whether the display mode of the decorative pattern 610 is the first display mode or the second display mode.

[0209] Therefore, for example, as shown in Figure 13, the normal hatching applied to the specific area PA in the octopus character is upward-sloping normal hatching (see Figure 13(A)), while the normal hatching applied to the specific area PA in the pufferfish character is downward-sloping normal hatching (see Figure 13(C)). This indicates that the color of the specific area PA in the octopus character is different from the color of the specific area PA in the pufferfish character.

[0210] A specific area PA (i.e., the area of ​​the main part of the character) is assigned a color that characterizes that character. For example, the specific area PA of an octopus character is assigned red, and the specific area PA of a pufferfish character is assigned blue. In other words, the specific area PA of each character constituting the first identification information unit 612 is colored with a color that allows each character to be identified.

[0211] Furthermore, the color used to color a specific area PA, that is, the color that characterizes the character (a color that allows each character to be identified), may consist of a single hue without variations in shade, or it may consist of a single hue with variations in shade (i.e., at least one of the lightness or saturation is different), regardless of whether the display mode of the decorative pattern 610 is the first display mode or the second display mode. In other words, regardless of whether the display mode of the decorative pattern 610 is the first display mode or the second display mode, the specific area PA may be monotonously filled with a predetermined hue without variations in shade, or it may be colored with a predetermined hue with variations in shade.

[0212] Furthermore, the colors used to color a specific area PA may consist of multiple colors that are different in color but fall within a predetermined range of continuous colors on the color wheel. For example, in the octopus character shown in Figure 13(A), the specific area PA may be colored using colors ranging from red to orange on the color wheel.

[0213] Furthermore, for each region other than the specific region PA (for example, regions PB11, PB12, and PB13 in the octopus character), the colors used to color each region may consist of a single hue without variations in shade, a single hue with variations in shade, or multiple colors with different shades that fall within a predetermined range of contiguous areas on the color wheel.

[0214] The color of the specific area PA does not necessarily have to be different for each character type (i.e., each type of decorative pattern 610); it may be configured so that the same color is set for some characters. The second identification information unit 613 may also be configured to color each numerical value with the color of the specific area PA of the character corresponding to that numerical value.

[0215] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode displays the content of the first identification information unit 612 (in this embodiment, a character of a fish or shellfish) in a manner with fewer colors than the content of the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode.

[0216] In the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode, the octopus character (see Figure 13(B)) that constitutes the first identification information unit 612 is colored with a common color (same color) across specific areas PA, PB11, PB12, and PB13.

[0217] More specifically, in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode, the octopus character constituting the first identification information unit 612 is colored with the color of the specific area PA (for example, red) of the octopus character in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode, for the entire area consisting of a specific area PA, area PB11, area PB12, and area PB13.

[0218] In the example shown in Figure 13(B), the fact that these areas are colored in the same color is indicated by applying normal hatching to the specific areas PA, PB11, PB12, and PB13 of the octopus character that constitute the first identification information section 612 of the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode.

[0219] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 13(B), the common normal hatching is made into normal hatching at the same angle as the specific area PA (see Figure 13(A)) in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode, thereby indicating that these areas PA, PB11, PB12, and PB13 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode are colored with the same color as the specific area PA in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode.

[0220] Therefore, in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode, the octopus character constituting the first identification information unit 612 has its overall color (i.e., specific area PA, area PB11, area PB12, and area PB13) consolidated (commonly matched) with the color of specific area PA in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode. As a result, the number of colors of the character is reduced compared to the number of colors of the octopus character displayed in a multi-colored manner in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode (see Figure 13(A)).

[0221] Furthermore, in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode, the pufferfish character (see Figure 13(D)) that constitutes the first identification information unit 612 is colored in the same color in specific area PA, area PB21, area PB22, area PB23, and area PB24.

[0222] More specifically, the character of the octopus in the first identification information part 612 of the decorative pattern 610 in the second display mode is colored with the color (for example, blue) of the specific area PA of the character of the octopus in the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode in the entire area composed of the specific area PA, the area PB21, the area PB22, the area P23, and the area PB24.

[0223] In the example shown in FIG. 13(D), by applying common normal hatching to the specific area PA, the area PB21, the area PB22, the area PB23, and the area PB24 in the character of the octopus that constitutes the first identification information part 612 of the decorative pattern 610 in the second display mode, it is shown that these areas are colored with the same color.

[0224] Also, in the example shown in FIG. 13(D), by making the common normal hatching the same as the normal hatching at the same angle as the specific area PA (see FIG. 13(C)) in the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode, it is shown that these areas PA, PB21, PB22, PB23, PB24 in the decorative pattern 610 in the second display mode are colored with the same color as the color of the specific area PA in the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode.

[0225] Therefore, in the decorative pattern 610 in the second display mode, for the character of the octopus that constitutes the first identification information part 612, as in the case of the character of the octopus described above, the color of its entirety (that is, the specific area PA, the area PB21, the area PB22, the area PB23, and the area PB24) is aggregated to the color of the specific area PA in the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode, so the number of colors of the character is reduced compared to the number of colors of the character of the octopus displayed in a multicolor mode in the decorative pattern 610 in the first display mode (see FIG. 13(C)).

[0226] In FIGS. 13(B) and 13(D), the case where the first identification information part 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is a character of an octopus or a prawn is illustrated. However, in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode, for each of the seven types of characters other than the octopus and the prawn that constitute the first identification information part 612, the characters are displayed in a smaller number of colors than the number of colors of the corresponding characters in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode, similar to the case of the octopus and the prawn described above.

[0227] Therefore, in the pachinko machine 100 of the present embodiment, the display content (in this embodiment, a character of seafood) of the first identification information part 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode is displayed in a multicolor mode, while the display content of the first identification information part 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is displayed in a mode with a smaller number of colors than that of the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode. That is, in the pachinko machine 100 of the present embodiment, the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is displayed in a simplified mode compared to the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode in terms of the number of colors for displaying the first identification information part 612.

[0228] Further, in the pachinko machine 100 of the present embodiment, the display content (in this embodiment, a character of seafood) of the first identification information part 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode is displayed in a mode with a low transmittance (that is, low transparency or opaque), while the display content of the first identification information part 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is displayed with a higher transmittance than that of the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode.

[0229] Furthermore, in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode, the transparency of the area inside the outline of the display content of the first identification information unit 612 may be increased while retaining the outline of the display content of the first identification information unit 612. This makes it easier to recognize the outer shape (outline) of the display content of the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode. Therefore, for example, when the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is displayed in a scrolling manner from top to bottom, it is easier for the player to recognize the outline of the display content (character) of the first identification information unit 612, and thereby it is easier for the player to identify the type of the first identification information unit 612.

[0230] In the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode, the transparency of the display content of the first identification information unit 612 is higher than that of the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode, resulting in a larger portion of the background image being transparent to the decorative pattern 610. In other words, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is displayed in a simplified manner compared to the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode, in that the increased transparency allows for a larger portion of the background to be visible (i.e., it becomes transparent or semi-transparent).

[0231] In Figure 13 and Figures 14 to 19 described later, the difference in transparency of the first identification information section 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode and the difference in transparency of the first identification information section 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is expressed by the difference in the thickness of the drawing lines used to draw the first identification information section 612 and the scale of normal hatching.

[0232] More specifically, the higher the transparency, the thinner the drawing lines are made, and the higher the transparency, the larger the scale of normal hatching (i.e., the wider the spacing between the lines that make up the hatching) is applied, thereby indicating that the transparency of the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode is higher than the transparency of the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode.

[0233] In the following explanation, for convenience, the transparency of the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the first display mode will also be referred to as "opaque," and the transparency of the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 of the second display mode will also be referred to as "semi-transparent."

[0234] Figures 14 to 19 are screen diagrams showing examples of screen transitions for the variable display of decorative patterns 610 executed by the decorative pattern display device 479. In each of the figures from 14 to 19, in order to facilitate understanding of the diagrams, if there are multiple identical components in each decorative pattern 610 displayed on the decorative pattern display device 479, the numbering assigned to some of these components (for example, decorative pattern 610 or first identification information unit 612) may not be assigned to the remaining components.

[0235] Figures 14 and 15 show examples of the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479 before the variable display of the special pattern and decorative pattern 610 begins.

[0236] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the decorative symbols 610 are displayed in a variable manner by the three rows of symbols 620L, 620M, and 620R arranged horizontally on the display screen of the decorative symbol display device 479.

[0237] More specifically, the display of the decorative patterns is achieved by scrolling (moving) multiple types (more specifically, nine types) of decorative patterns 610, arranged in ascending or descending order vertically, in each pattern row 620L, 620M, and 620R, from top to bottom.

[0238] In the following explanation, of the three rows of symbols 620L, 620M, and 620R, the leftmost symbol row 620L will also be referred to as the left symbol row 620L, the rightmost symbol row 620R will also be referred to as the right symbol row 620R, and the middle symbol row 620M will also be referred to as the middle symbol row 620M.

[0239] The display screen of the decorative symbol display device 479 has pre-set active lines. An "active line" is a line on which the game state transitions to a special game state when a winning symbol from the decorative symbol 610 is displayed as a stopping symbol.

[0240] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, five active lines are set. Specifically, as shown in Figure 14(A), there are three rows of active lines L1, L2, and L3 extending vertically in a direction intersecting the scrolling direction of the decorative pattern 610 (horizontal direction), an active line L4 extending upward to the right, and an active line L5 extending downward to the right.

[0241] Note that the number of active lines to be set does not necessarily have to be five; one or more appropriate numbers can be set. For example, it may be configured with three active lines: the upper line, the lower line, and the middle line, or it may be configured with one active line, such as the middle line.

[0242] If a jackpot is won in the special symbol lottery (first special symbol lottery, second special symbol lottery), the decorative symbols 610 in each symbol row 620L, 620M, and 620R will stop and be displayed in a predetermined combination (for example, a combination of identical decorative symbols 610) corresponding to the jackpot symbol on one of the set valid lines.

[0243] In the example shown in Figure 14(A), the stopped decorative symbol 610, which is about to change, does not stop on a winning symbol on any of the active lines L1, L2, L3, L4, or L5. In other words, in this example, it indicates that in the unit game related to the special symbols (first special symbol, second special symbol) played in the previous round, a jackpot was not won in the first special symbol lottery or the second special symbol lottery.

[0244] As shown in FIG. 14(A), before the start of the variable display of the special symbol and the decorative symbol 610, the decorative symbols 610 of each symbol column 620L, 620M, 620R are all displayed in the first display mode.

[0245] That is, before the start of the variable display of the decorative symbol 610, the display content of the first identification information portion 612 in the decorative symbol 610 (specifically, the character of seafood) is displayed in an opaque and multicolored manner. Each specific area PA of each character constituting the first identification information portion 612 in each decorative symbol 610 is colored with the color characterizing the character.

[0246] Also, as shown in FIG. 14(A), before the start of the variable display of the special symbol and the decorative symbol 610, each character constituting the first identification information portion 612 in each decorative symbol 610 is in a state of being seated in contact with the upper surface of the pedestal portion 611 as a whole. In the following description, the posture of each character in a state of being in contact with the upper surface of the pedestal portion 611 as a whole is also referred to as the "seated posture".

[0247] As shown in FIG. 14(B), before starting the variable display (scroll display) in the downward direction from top to bottom, each decorative symbol 610 displayed in each symbol column 620L, 620M, 620R maintains the first display mode, and the first identification information portion 612 moves upward away from the pedestal portion 611 without the pedestal portion 611 changing its position. In the following description, the posture of each character in a state of being separated from the pedestal portion 611 by the upward movement is also referred to as the "jump posture".

[0248] Thus, in the pachinko machine 100 of the present embodiment, before starting the variable display in the downward direction from top to bottom, the first identification information portion 612 of the decorative symbol 610 moves upward from bottom to top, which is the direction opposite to the variable display direction of the decorative symbol 610 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as the "variable direction"). Therefore, the variable direction of the decorative symbol 610 can be suggested to the player by its moving direction.

[0249] Furthermore, if a character (first identification information unit 612) that was in a seated position before the start of the variable display of the decorative pattern 610 transitions to a jumping position, the upward movement distance H1 of the character may be a predetermined fixed distance, or it may be a variable distance that changes depending on the state of the game, such as the expected value for special pattern drawing, or the state of the pachinko machine 100, such as a value set by the rear setting switch 905 (setting corresponding information).

[0250] After the characters of each decorative pattern 610 displayed in each pattern row 620L, 620M, and 620R transition to a jumping posture, the decorative pattern display device 479 displays a water surface 615 for each decorative pattern 610, as shown in Figures 15(A) and 15(B). The water surface 615 gradually moves (rises) upward relative to the character (first identification information unit 612) in each decorative pattern 610, starting from below the character.

[0251] As shown in Figures 15(A) and 15(B), the characters constituting the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 are displayed in an opaque and multicolored manner for the portion above the water surface 615, and in a semi-transparent and colorless (reduced color) manner for the portion below the water surface 615.

[0252] As the water level 615 rises relative to the character, the portion of the character above the water level 615 that is displayed in an opaque and multi-colored manner gradually decreases, while the portion below the water level 615 that is displayed in a semi-transparent and limited-colored manner gradually increases. In other words, the decorative pattern 610, which was displayed in the first display manner before the water level 615 appeared, gradually switches to the second display manner from the bottom as the water level 615 rises.

[0253] Thus, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, before the decorative symbol 610 begins to move from top to bottom, the decorative symbol 610 gradually switches from a first display mode to a second display mode in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the decorative symbol 610, from bottom to top. Therefore, the direction in which the display mode of the decorative symbol 610 switches can indicate to the player the direction of movement of the decorative symbol 610.

[0254] In this embodiment of the pachinko machine 100, the display patterns of the base 611 and the second identification information unit 613 do not change even when the water level 615 rises. However, similar to the first identification information unit 612, the display patterns of the parts of the base 611 and the second identification information unit 613 that are below the water level 615 may change to a different pattern when the water level 615 gradually rises.

[0255] As shown in Figure 15(C), when the water level 615 rises above the first identification information unit 612, the decorative patterns 610 in each pattern row 620L, 620M, and 620R are all displayed in the second display mode. In other words, when the water level 615 rises above the first identification information unit 612, the display content of the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative patterns 610 is semi-transparent and displayed in a mode with fewer colors (reduced colors) compared to when the decorative patterns 610 are in the first display mode.

[0256] As shown in Figures 15(A) to 15(C), while the decorative pattern 610 switches from the first display mode to the second display mode due to the rise of the water level 615, the characters (first identification information unit 612) of each decorative pattern 610 are maintained in a jumping position.

[0257] When the water level 615 rises and the decorative pattern 610 switches to the second display mode, the display of the decorative pattern 610 begins to change, and each decorative pattern 610 displayed in each pattern row 620L, 620M, and 620R changes rapidly from top to bottom (scrolls). In the following explanation, the display of the decorative pattern 610 that changes rapidly from top to bottom will also be referred to as "high-speed change".

[0258] Therefore, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, as a preparatory step before the display of the decorative symbols 610 begins, the character moves from a seated position to a jumping position and the display mode of the decorative symbols 610 is simplified (i.e., displayed in a second display mode). The direction of the character's movement and the direction in which the display is simplified during this preparatory step make the player aware of the subsequent direction of the decorative symbols 610's variation, thereby making them anticipate the start of the display of the decorative symbols 610's variation.

[0259] Figure 16(A) shows an example of the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479 when the decorative pattern 610 is changing at high speed. In Figure 16(A) and the subsequent figures described later in Figure 16(B) and so on, the rapidly changing decorative pattern 610 is schematically represented by three thick downward-pointing arrow lines arranged horizontally.

[0260] Although not shown in the diagram, when the decorative symbols 610 are changing rapidly, the player can faintly see the decorative symbols 610 in which the character (first identification information unit 612) is in a jumping position. In other words, after the decorative symbols 610 of each symbol row 620L, 620M, and 620R switch from the first display mode to the second display mode, the character constituting the first identification information unit 612 starts changing rapidly while maintaining the jumping position.

[0261] During high-speed fluctuations, the decorative patterns 610 displayed in the second display mode can be visually identified. In other words, in the case of high-speed fluctuating decorative patterns 610, the first identification information unit 612 is displayed in a simplified display mode, and because the amount of information is reduced due to the simplification, it becomes possible to identify the type of character (first identification information unit 612) of each decorative pattern 610. For example, because the number of colors is reduced due to the simplification of the first identification information unit 612, the characters of the high-speed fluctuating decorative patterns 610 can be recognized as rapidly moving blocks of color, and as a result, even during high-speed fluctuations, the type of character can be identified by the difference in the recognized colors.

[0262] Furthermore, the rapidly changing decorative pattern 610 is displayed in a simplified second display mode by the first identification information unit 612, and as an effect of the rapid change, the transparency of the decorative pattern 610 is increased (the display is fainter). Therefore, when the decorative pattern 610 is changing rapidly, the background image (not shown) displayed behind the decorative pattern 610 becomes visible through it.

[0263] After a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) has elapsed since the start of the changing display of the decorative symbols 610 in each symbol column 620L, 620M, and 620R, the changing speed of the left symbol column 620L decreases, resulting in a slow-speed changing display. In the following explanation, the changing display of the decorative symbols 610 that occurs at a slow speed after a high-speed changing display will also be referred to as "slow-speed changing".

[0264] Figures 16(B) and 17 show examples of the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479 when the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern column 620L is fluctuating at a slow speed. In Figure 16(B) and subsequent figures from Figure 16(C) onward, a thin downward arrow line is added to indicate that the decorative pattern 610 is fluctuating at a slow speed.

[0265] As shown in Figure 16(B), the slowly fluctuating decorative pattern 610 is displayed in a second display mode. That is, the content displayed by the first identification information unit 612 for the slowly fluctuating decorative pattern 610 is displayed in a reduced-color (fewer colors) and semi-transparent manner compared to when the decorative pattern 610 is in the first display mode.

[0266] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 16(B), the characters (first identification information unit 612) of each decorative pattern 610 are in a seated position. In other words, when the display of the decorative pattern 610 changes from high-speed to low-speed, the characters of each decorative pattern 610 change from a jumping position to a seated position accordingly.

[0267] After the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern column 620L transitions to slow fluctuation, the decorative pattern display device 479 displays the water surface 615 again for each decorative pattern 610, as shown in Figures 17(A) and 17(B). The water surface 615 gradually moves (rises) upward relative to the character (first identification information unit 612) in each decorative pattern 610, from below the character in that character, as the decorative pattern 610 moves slowly from top to bottom.

[0268] As shown in Figures 17(A) and 17(B), when the water surface 615 is displayed while the decorative pattern 610 is fluctuating at a low speed, unlike when the water surface 615 is displayed before the start of the fluctuating display of the decorative pattern 610 (see Figures 15(A) and 15(B)), the characters constituting the first identification information unit 612 in the decorative pattern 610 are displayed in a semi-transparent and colorless manner (reduced color) manner for the portion above the water surface 615, and in an opaque and multi-colored manner for the portion below the water surface 615.

[0269] As the water level 615 rises relative to the character, the semi-transparent and limited-color portion of the character above the water level 615 gradually decreases, while the opaque and multi-color portion below the water level 615 gradually increases. In other words, the decorative pattern 610, which was displayed in the second display mode before the water level 615 appeared, gradually switches from the bottom to the first display mode as the water level 615 rises. That is, after transitioning to slow fluctuation, the decorative pattern 610 gradually switches from the second display mode to the first display mode in the opposite direction to the direction of fluctuation of the decorative pattern 610.

[0270] As shown in Figure 17(C), when the water level 615 rises above the first identification information unit 612, the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern row 620L is displayed entirely in the first display mode. The decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern row 620L stops moving (scrolling) from top to bottom after the water level 615 rises above the first identification information unit 612 and the display mode of the decorative pattern 610 is completely in the first display mode.

[0271] In other words, the water level 615 rises above the first identification information unit 612, and as a result, the display content of the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern row 620L changes in transparency from semi-transparent to opaque, and is displayed in a multi-colored manner with an increased number of colors, after which the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern row 620L is displayed in a stopped state.

[0272] Therefore, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, before the decorative symbols 610 of the left symbol column 620L are displayed, the display mode of the decorative symbols 610 is displayed in a more complex manner compared to the decorative symbols 610 of the second display mode, in terms of the transparency and number of colors used to display the first identification information unit 612.

[0273] Furthermore, since the slowly fluctuating decorative symbol 610 gradually switches from a second display mode to a first display mode in the opposite direction to the direction of its fluctuation (i.e., from bottom to top) before the stop indication, the direction in which the display mode of the decorative symbol 610 switches can suggest to the player that the fluctuation display of the decorative symbol 610 moving in a predetermined direction of fluctuation (i.e., from top to bottom) will stop.

[0274] Here, as shown in Figures 17(A) to 17(C), while the decorative patterns 610 in the left pattern row 620L switch from the second display mode to the first display mode due to the rise of the water level 615, the characters (first identification information unit 612) of each decorative pattern 610 are maintained in a seated position.

[0275] Furthermore, at a predetermined time during the period from when the decorative pattern 610 of the left pattern row 620L transitions from high-speed fluctuation to low-speed fluctuation until the decorative pattern 610 of the left pattern row 620L is displayed in a stopped state, the decorative pattern 610 of the right pattern row 620R transitions from high-speed fluctuation to low-speed fluctuation, for example, as shown in Figure 17(B). When the decorative pattern 610 of the right pattern row 620R is in a low-speed fluctuation state, similar to the case of the decorative pattern 610 of the left pattern row 620L described above, the decorative pattern 610 is displayed in a second display mode, and the character constituting the first identification information unit 612 assumes a seated position.

[0276] Figure 18 shows an example of the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479 after the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern column 620L has stopped displaying.

[0277] After the decorative pattern 610 of the left pattern column 620L is displayed in a stopped state, as shown in Figure 18(A), the decorative pattern 610 of the left pattern column 620L maintains the first display mode while increasing the size of the character (first identification information unit 612) and changing the character's posture from a seated posture to a jumping posture.

[0278] Furthermore, if the character (first identification information unit 612) that was in a seated position transitions to a jumping position after the decorative pattern 610 is displayed in a stopped position, the upward movement distance H2 of the character may be a predetermined fixed distance, or it may be a variable distance that changes depending on the state of the game, such as the expected value (expected rate) for the special pattern lottery, or the state of the pachinko machine 100, such as a value set by the rear setting switch 905 (setting corresponding information). The expected value (expected rate) is a numerical representation of the probability (percentage) when the probability (percentage) of winning the pattern lottery or transitioning to a predetermined game state differs when a predetermined performance is performed compared to when the performance is not performed. The expected value (expected rate) of a predetermined performance can be controlled by the main control board 920 and the sub-control board 940 to make the execution rate of the predetermined performance different for winning and losing, or for whether or not there is a transition to a game state.

[0279] The value of the travel distance H2 may be different from or the same as the travel distance H1 described above. Furthermore, in a configuration where the travel distance H1 is a variable distance depending on the state of the game or pachinko machine 100, the travel distance H1 may be configured to be a variable distance depending on that state, while the travel distance H2 may be configured to be a distance unrelated to that state. Furthermore, in a configuration where both the travel distance H1 and the travel distance H2 are variable distances depending on the state of the game or pachinko machine 100, the travel distance H1 and the travel distance H2 may both correspond to the same state, or they may correspond to different states.

[0280] As shown in Figure 18(A), when the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern column 620L changes the posture of the character constituting the first identification information unit 612 to a jumping posture, the numerical value constituting the second identification information unit 613 is also enlarged in the same way as the character. At this time, the enlarged numerical value (second identification information unit 613) may be configured to perform a predetermined action, such as rotating once around a vertical axis passing approximately through the center of the numerical value as the axis of rotation.

[0281] Furthermore, in a configuration in which the second identification information unit 613 consists of a combination of identification information and a drawing unit on which content unrelated to the identification information is drawn, the size of the drawing unit (for example, a circular drawing unit decoratively arranged behind each numerical value) may increase in size along with the size of the numerical value as identification information, or the size of the drawing unit may not change even if the size of the numerical value increases.

[0282] When the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern column 620L becomes larger and transitions to a jumping posture after the stop display (see Figure 18(A)), the character (first identification information unit 612) continues to shrink back to its original size (standard size) while maintaining the first display mode, as shown in Figure 18(B), and the character's posture changes from a jumping posture to a seated posture.

[0283] At this time, the numerical values ​​(second identification information unit 613), which were enlarged in the same way as the character after the decorative pattern 610 stopped displaying, are also reduced in size and returned to their original size. Once the character constituting the first identification information unit 612 returns to its original size and the transition to a seated position is complete, the display of the decorative pattern 610 in the left pattern column 620L stops completely.

[0284] After the display of the decorative symbols 610 in the left symbol column 620L has completely stopped, the decorative symbols 610 that were moving slowly in the right symbol column 620R have transitioned to the first display mode and then stopped being displayed. Subsequently, the characters constituting the first identification information unit 612 enlarge and transition to a jumping posture, and then come to a complete stop as shown in Figure 18(C).

[0285] Thus, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the first identification information unit 612 moves from bottom to top, which is the opposite direction to the movement direction of the decorative symbol 610, before the display of the decorative symbol 610's variation completely stops. Therefore, the direction of this movement can indicate to the player that the decorative symbol 610, which was moving in a predetermined variation direction (i.e., from top to bottom), has come to a complete stop. Furthermore, since the size of the character in the first identification information unit 612 changes before the display of the decorative symbol 610's variation completely stops, the player can recognize that the decorative symbol 610 that was stopped in the left symbol column 620L constitutes part of the confirmed display.

[0286] Although the process by which the decorative pattern 610 of the right pattern row 620R transitions from the second display mode to the first display mode, and the process by which the character (first identification information unit 612) enlarges and transitions to a jumping posture after the stop display are not illustrated, they are carried out in the same manner as in the case of the left pattern row 620L, as explained with reference to Figures 17 and 18(A).

[0287] Furthermore, after the display of the decorative symbols 610 in the left symbol row 620L has completely stopped, and at a predetermined time before the display of the decorative symbols 610 in the left symbol row 620L has completely stopped, the decorative symbols 610 in the middle symbol row 620M transition from high-speed fluctuation to low-speed fluctuation, for example, as shown in Figure 18(C). When the decorative symbols 610 in the middle symbol row 620M are changing at a low speed, similar to the case of the decorative symbols 610 in the left symbol row 620L described above, the decorative symbols 610 are displayed in the second display mode, and the characters constituting the first identification information unit 612 assume a seated position.

[0288] Figure 19 shows an example of the display content of the decorative symbol display device 479 after the decorative symbol 610 of the right symbol column 620R has stopped displaying.

[0289] After the display of the decorative symbol 610 in the right symbol row 620R has completely stopped, the decorative symbol 610 in the middle symbol row 620M, which had been moving slowly, transitions from the second display mode to the first display mode, and then stops displaying as shown in Figure 19(A). Although the process of the decorative symbol 610 in the middle symbol row 620M transitioning from the second display mode to the first display mode is not illustrated here, it is carried out in the same way as in the case of the left symbol row 620L, which was explained with reference to Figure 17.

[0290] After the decorative symbol 610 of the middle symbol row 620M is displayed in a stopped state, as shown in Figure 19(B), the decorative symbol 610 of the middle symbol row 620M, while maintaining the first display mode as described above for the left symbol row 620L, enlarges the size of the character (first identification information unit 612) and changes the character's posture from a seated posture to a jumping posture.

[0291] In the middle symbol row 620M, when the decorative symbol 610 enlarges and transitions to a jumping position, unlike in the left symbol row 620L and right symbol row 620R described above, a roughly concentric ripple pattern 618 is displayed behind the decorative symbol 610, as shown in Figure 19(B). This allows the player to recognize that when the ripple pattern 618 is displayed, a confirmation display occurs for each of the decorative symbols 610 in the three symbol rows 620L, 620M, and 620R.

[0292] When the decorative symbol 610 in the middle symbol row 620M stops displaying, the character (first identification information unit 612) enlarges and transitions to a jumping posture (see Figure 19(B)). Subsequently, as shown in Figure 19(C), while maintaining the first display mode, the character's size is reduced to its original size, similar to the case of the left symbol row 620L described above, and the character's posture transitions from a jumping posture to a seated posture. Once the character's transition to a seated posture is complete, the display of the decorative symbol 610 in the middle symbol row 620M completely stops.

[0293] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment described above, the entire first identification information unit 612 (fish and shellfish characters) of each decorative symbol 610 is simplified in terms of the number of colors and transparency (i.e., changed to a semi-transparent and color-limited form) before the display of the decorative symbols 610 begins. However, the area of ​​the first identification information unit 612 that is simplified before the display of the decorative symbols 610 begins does not necessarily have to be the entire first identification information unit 612, and it may be a configuration in which at least a part of the first identification information unit 612 is simplified.

[0294] Furthermore, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment described above, the entire first identification information unit 612 (fish and shellfish characters) in each decorative symbol 610 is made more complex in terms of the number of colors and transparency (i.e., changed to an opaque and multi-colored form) before the display of the decorative symbols 610 is stopped. However, the area of ​​the first identification information unit 612 that is made more complex before the display of the decorative symbols 610 is stopped does not necessarily have to be the entire first identification information unit 612, and it may be a configuration in which at least a part of the first identification information unit 612 is made more complex.

[0295] Here, the operation and effects of the pachinko machine 100 according to this embodiment will be explained.

[0296] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the sub-control board 940, which acts as a control means for controlling the display content (for example, decorative pattern 610) displayed by the decorative pattern display device 479, is configured to perform at least two types of control as a control to display the first identification information unit 612 of the decorative pattern 610 as a predetermined display target on the decorative pattern display device 479: a movement display control that moves the display target (i.e., the first identification information unit 612) in a predetermined direction, from top to bottom; and a movement preparation control that, before the movement display control, moves the display target in the opposite direction to the predetermined direction (i.e., from bottom to top), and after the movement in the opposite direction, starts moving in the predetermined direction. Furthermore, in the movement preparation control, the control means is configured to perform display control that simplifies the display manner of at least a part of the predetermined display target, for example, in terms of the number of colors and transmittance of the display target.

[0297] Therefore, the first identification information unit 612, which is a predetermined display target, is first moved in the opposite direction to the predetermined direction by movement preparation control before being moved in the predetermined direction by movement display control. Thus, before the decorative pattern 610, which includes the predetermined display target (first identification information unit 612), is moved in the predetermined direction, the direction of movement of the decorative pattern 610 (i.e., the predetermined direction) can be indicated by the direction of movement of the first identification information unit 612 by movement preparation control, which is performed as a preparatory step before the movement takes place (i.e., the direction opposite to the predetermined direction).

[0298] Furthermore, the first identification information unit 612, which is a predetermined display target, has its display mode simplified in at least a portion of it during the movement preparation control for the predetermined display target (i.e., before it is moved from top to bottom). This simplification suggests to the player that the decorative pattern 610, including the predetermined display target (first identification information unit 612), will subsequently move in the predetermined direction. This allows the player to recognize the simplification as a preparatory step for the movement of the decorative pattern 610 in the predetermined direction, and thus, when the player recognizes the simplification, they can expect the movement of the decorative pattern 610 in the predetermined direction to begin.

[0299] In this way, before the first identification information unit 612, which is a predetermined display target, moves in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction, and the display pattern of at least a part of the predetermined display target is simplified, it is possible to make it easier for the player to be impressed by the start of the movement of the decorative pattern 610, including the first identification information unit 612, in the predetermined direction. As a result, the enjoyment of the game can be enhanced by the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479, which displays changes in identification information such as the decorative pattern 610.

[0300] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the sub-control board 940, which acts as a control means for controlling the display content (for example, decorative patterns 610) displayed by the decorative pattern display device 479, is configured to perform at least two types of control: a first display control that moves and displays the first identification information unit 612 of the decorative pattern 610 as a predetermined display target on the decorative pattern display device 479 in a first display mode (specifically, an opaque and multi-colored mode); and a second display control that moves and displays (high-speed fluctuation) the predetermined display target in a second display mode (specifically, a semi-transparent and limited-color mode) that simplifies the display mode of at least a part of the predetermined display target, at a faster speed than the movement in the first display control.

[0301] Therefore, the first identification information unit 612, which is a predetermined display object that is moved and displayed in a predetermined direction, is displayed in a second display mode in which at least a part of the display mode is simplified when the display object is moved and displayed at a higher speed than when it is moved and displayed in the first display mode. This makes it possible to emphasize (add emphasis to) the change in the speed of the movement of the predetermined display object in a predetermined direction by the difference in the display mode of the predetermined display object, thereby improving the enjoyment of the game through the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479 that displays changes in identification information such as decorative patterns 610.

[0302] Furthermore, in high-speed moving displays, the designated display object is displayed in a second display mode in which at least a portion of the display method is simplified. As a result of this simplification, the amount of information is reduced, making it possible to identify the designated display object even in high-speed moving displays. In addition, since the display method of at least a portion of the designated display object is simplified in high-speed moving displays, the load on display control when performing such high-speed moving displays can be reduced.

[0303] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the sub-control board 940, which acts as a control means for controlling the display content (for example, decorative pattern 610) displayed by the decorative pattern display device 479, is configured to perform at least the following as a control to display the first identification information unit 612 of the decorative pattern 610 as a predetermined display target on the decorative pattern display device 479: a movement display control that moves the display target (i.e., the first identification information unit 612) in a predetermined direction, from top to bottom; and a movement stop control that, after the movement display control, moves the display target to a direction other than the predetermined direction (for example, the opposite direction to the predetermined direction or a direction intersecting the predetermined direction), and stops the movement to the predetermined direction after moving to the other direction. Furthermore, in the movement stop control, the control means is configured to perform display control that complicates the display mode of at least a part of the predetermined display target, for example, in terms of the transmittance and number of colors of the display target.

[0304] Therefore, the first identification information unit 612, which is the designated display target, is moved to a direction other than the designated direction after it has moved in the designated direction (i.e., from top to bottom) but before that movement stops. Depending on the direction of this movement, it is possible to suggest to the player that the movement of the designated display target, which was moving in the designated variable direction, has stopped.

[0305] Furthermore, the first identification information unit 612, as a predetermined display target, can indicate to the player that the movement of the predetermined display target will stop after the first identification information unit 612 has been made more complex in the display pattern of at least a part of the predetermined display target during the movement stop control of the predetermined display target (i.e., before the movement in the predetermined direction is stopped).

[0306] In this way, before the movement of the first identification information unit 612 as a predetermined display target in the predetermined direction is stopped, the predetermined display target moves in the opposite direction to the predetermined direction, and the display pattern of at least a part of the predetermined display target becomes more complex. This makes it easier to impress upon the player that the movement of the decorative pattern 610, including the first identification information unit 612, in the predetermined direction has stopped. As a result, the enjoyment of the game can be enhanced by the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479, which displays changes in identification information such as the decorative pattern 610.

[0307] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, a sub-control board 940, which controls the display content (for example, decorative patterns 610) displayed by a decorative pattern display device 479 that performs variable display using a plurality of decorative patterns 610 each provided with a base portion 611 which is a common portion having common display content and a first identification information portion 612 which is a different portion having different display content, is configured to perform at least two types of control for displaying the plurality of decorative patterns 610 on the decorative pattern display device 479: a first display control that displays the plurality of decorative patterns 610 in a first display mode, and a second display control that, in relation to the first display control, displays the plurality of decorative patterns 610 in a second display mode that simplifies the display mode of at least a part of the different portion (first identification information portion 612) without changing the display mode of the common portion (base portion 611), for example, in terms of the number of colors and transmittance of the display target.

[0308] Therefore, the display modes of each difference in the multiple decorative patterns 610 (i.e., the first identification information unit 612) can be made different between the first display mode and the second display mode. This makes it easier for players to remember the differences that characterize each decorative pattern 610, and thus the enjoyment of the game can be enhanced by the display content of the decorative pattern display device 479, which displays variations in identification information such as the decorative patterns 610.

[0309] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 20 to 91. In the pachinko machine 100 of the second embodiment, measures have been taken to suitably increase the attention given to the pachinko machine 100, which is configured to allow multiple types of stages to be set.

[0310] In the following description, components identical to those in the pachinko machine 100 of the above-described embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the "first embodiment") are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted. Furthermore, the components described below as the second embodiment may be added to the components of the pachinko machine 100 by combining them with the components or a plurality of components of the first embodiment described above, or they may be provided in place of some of the components of the pachinko machine 100 of the first embodiment described above.

[0311] The pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment is configured to display one of several types of stages prepared in advance as stages for display effects (hereinafter, such effects are also referred to as "variation effects") that include the display of variable decorative symbols that can be displayed on the decorative symbol display device 479, on the decorative symbol display device 479. Hereinafter, the stages of the variation effects will be simply referred to as "stages," and in particular, the stage displayed on the decorative symbol display device 479 will also be referred to as the "display target stage."

[0312] The control for setting Stage 1 as the display target stage involves the sub-control board 940 storing information corresponding to Stage 1, which is set as the display target stage, in the storage area that stores information corresponding to the display target stage. In this embodiment, a pachinko machine 100 is described in which four types of stages, consisting of Stage A, Stage B, Stage C, and Stage D, are prepared as stages that can be set as the display target stage.

[0313] A "stage" includes elements such as the types of decorative symbols 610 and 1610 (see Figures 13 and 21) displayed during the variation animation, the types of backgrounds 1630 (see Figure 21) that serve as the background image for the decorative symbols 1610 during the variation animation, the melody of the variation sound output in sync with the variation animation, the specifications of the pressing device 261 (e.g., the stiffness of the operation), and the images (e.g., characters) that appear during the variation animation. One stage is composed of one or more of these elements. Differences between stages are created by differences in at least some of the one or more elements that make up the stage.

[0314] Figure 20(A) is a screen diagram showing an example of the screen displaying the variable animation shown on the decorative pattern display device 479, and Figure 20(B) is an explanatory diagram for explaining the characteristics of each of the four types of stages. Figure 21 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the variable animation performed in each stage.

[0315] As shown in Figure 20(A), in the variation animation, decorative symbols 1610 arranged horizontally so as to display the results of the special symbol lottery (first special symbol lottery, second special symbol lottery), and a background image 1630 which serves as the background image for the decorative symbols 1610 are displayed. The data for the decorative symbols 1610 and the background 1630 are stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940, and the sub-control board 940 displays the decorative symbols 1610 and the background 1630 together on the decorative symbol display device 479.

[0316] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, only one row of decorative symbols 1610 is displayed for each of the three rows of symbols arranged horizontally, and the decorative symbols 1610 in that row are sequentially switched according to a predetermined arrangement, thereby executing the display of the decorative symbols 1610 (part of the variation effect). The display of the decorative symbols 1610 may also be configured to scroll vertically in each symbol row, similar to the first embodiment described above.

[0317] As shown in Figure 20(B), the four types of stages (stages A to D) that are available for display are each different in the type of decorative patterns 610 and 1610 that appear on each stage, as well as the type of background 1630 that appears on each stage.

[0318] Specifically, the decorative symbols that appear during the variation performance of Stage A are decorative symbols 1610 that include a character (for example, an octopus) as identification information 1612 similar to that of the first identification information unit 612 (see Figure 13), and a numerical value (for example, 1) as identification information 1613 similar to that of the second identification information unit 613 (see Figure 13), as shown in Figure 21(A). The decorative symbols 1610 that appear in Stage A are designated as symbol type A.

[0319] The background 1630 that appears during the variation animation of Stage A is a daytime background image with the sun in the sky, as shown in Figure 21(B). This background 1630 that appears in Stage A is referred to as background type A.

[0320] The decorative symbols that appear during the variation animation of Stage B are decorative symbols 1610 that include a numerical value (for example, 1) as identification information 1613, as shown in Figure 21(C). In other words, in Stage B, symbols that look different from the symbols of symbol type A set in Stage A are set. The decorative symbols 1610 that appear in Stage B are referred to as symbol type B.

[0321] The background 1630 that appears during the variation animation in Stage B is composed as an "evening" background image, as shown in Figure 21(D), where the sun is setting below the horizon. In other words, in Stage B, the background 1630, which is a display part unrelated to the appearance of the decorative symbols 1610 in the variation animation, is set to a different type of content than the background type A set in Stage A. The background 1630 that appears in Stage B is referred to as background type B.

[0322] The decorative symbols that appear during the variation animation of Stage C are decorative symbols 1610 that include a character (for example, an octopus) as identification information 1612, as shown in Figure 21(E). In other words, in Stage C, symbols that look different from both symbols of symbol type A and symbols of symbol type B are set. The decorative symbols 1610 that appear in Stage C are designated as symbol type C.

[0323] The background 1630 that appears during the variation animation in Stage C is composed as a "night" background image with the moon in the sky, as shown in Figure 21(F). In other words, in Stage C, the background 1630, which is a display part unrelated to the appearance of the decorative symbols 1610 in the variation animation, is set to a type of content different from both the content of background type A and the content of background type B. The background 1630 that appears in Stage C is referred to as background type C.

[0324] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, of the stages A to D that are prepared to be set as display target stages, the above three types of stages A to C are configured such that, as will be described in detail later, the display target stage is sequentially switched by the control of the pachinko machine 100 (more specifically, the control of the sub-control board 940) each time a predetermined condition (hereinafter referred to as the "display target stage switching condition") is met.

[0325] The conditions for switching the display target stage include, for example, when a special symbol variation display is performed a predetermined number of times (for example, 20 times) in the current display target stage, when a predetermined lottery (hereinafter also referred to as the "stage end lottery") performed by the sub-control board 940 each time a special symbol variation display is performed is won (i.e., when the end of the current display target stage is selected), and when a predetermined variation effect (for example, a variation effect using the variation sounds X, Y, and Z described later as background sounds) is performed.

[0326] Furthermore, the conditions for switching the displayed stage do not necessarily require that the number of times the special symbol variation display is performed (hereinafter also simply referred to as "number of variation display executions") be the same for all stages; the number of variation display executions, which is the condition for this, may be configured to differ from stage to stage. In addition, the probability of winning in the stage-end lottery may be configured to differ from stage to stage.

[0327] Furthermore, in addition to a configuration in which the display target stage is sequentially switched from stages A to C when the conditions for switching the display target stage are met as the game progresses, or alternatively, a configuration in which the display target stage is sequentially switched from stages A to C when the player operates the push operation device 261 during a predetermined period (for example, during standby and during variable display when the game is not in progress).

[0328] Stage D is a special stage that temporarily appears when the displayed stage is one of Stages A through C, and a predetermined condition is met (for example, when a low-probability (e.g., 3%) win is selected in a predetermined lottery).

[0329] The decorative pattern that appears on stage D is the decorative pattern 610 described in the first embodiment above (see Figure 21(G)). More specifically, the decorative pattern that appears on stage D includes a character (e.g., an octopus) as the first identification information unit 612 and a numerical value (e.g., 1) as the second identification information unit 613, and is configured as a pattern in which the character is seated on the base unit 611. In other words, on stage D, a pattern that looks different from any of the patterns of patterns A to C is set. The decorative pattern 610 that appears on stage D is referred to as pattern type D.

[0330] The background 1630 that appears during the variation animation in Stage D is composed of an "underwater" background image (see Figure 21(H)). In Figure 21(H), this "underwater" background image is represented by a downward-sloping hatching line. In other words, in Stage D, the background 1630, which is a display part unrelated to the appearance of the decorative symbols 610 in the variation animation, is set to a content different from any of the background types A to C. The background 1630 that appears in Stage D is referred to as background type D.

[0331] As shown in Figure 20(B), Stages A, B, C, and D each have different music (musical tones) output as background sounds for the fluctuating effects displayed in each stage, tailored to the image of each stage. In the following, the music output as background sounds for the fluctuating effects (fluctuating displays) will also be referred to as "fluctuating sounds."

[0332] Specifically, the sound effects used in the Stage A variation include variation sound A (more specifically, variation sounds A1-A3) and variation sound X, which are musical pieces with a melody that matches the "daytime" image represented by background pattern A.

[0333] The fluctuating sounds used in the Stage B fluctuating effect are fluctuating sound B (more specifically, fluctuating sounds B1-B3) and fluctuating sound Y, which are musical pieces with a melody that matches the "evening" image represented by background pattern B. Fluctuating sound B and fluctuating sound Y are different in style from the fluctuating sounds (fluctuating sound A, fluctuating sound X) used in Stage A.

[0334] The fluctuating sounds used in the fluctuating effects of Stage C are fluctuating sound C (more specifically, fluctuating sounds C1-C3) and fluctuating sound Z, which are musical pieces with a melody that matches the "night" image represented by background pattern C. In other words, fluctuating sound C and fluctuating sound Z are different in style from the fluctuating sounds used in Stage A (fluctuating sound A, fluctuating sound X) and the fluctuating sounds used in Stage B (fluctuating sound B, fluctuating sound Y).

[0335] The variation sound used in the variation effect of Stage D is variation sound D, which is music with a melody that matches the "underwater" image represented by background pattern D.

[0336] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the variation sounds used in the variation effects of each stage (stages A to D) consist of multiple types of variation sounds, each having the same musical style but with different tones and melodies, creating a different atmosphere for each stage.

[0337] Specifically, fluctuating sound A consists of three types of fluctuating sounds (fluctuating sound A1, fluctuating sound A2, and fluctuating sound A3) that have different atmospheres, while all sharing the same musical style as the "daytime" image indicated by background pattern A (for example, a bright samba-style sound). The musical sound data for each of fluctuating sound A (fluctuating sound A1 to A3) is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940.

[0338] The fluctuation sounds A1, A2, and A3 all consist of musical tones that are common to all of the following periods (for example, the period until a reach is displayed) from the start of the fluctuation performance in which they are played as background music (i.e., from the start of the fluctuation display of the decorative symbol 1610) (for example, the period until a reach is displayed), regardless of whether the fluctuation performance is a fluctuation performance with a reach display or a fluctuation performance without a reach display (hereinafter, the fluctuation performance will also be referred to as a "losing fluctuation"). The portion of the fluctuation sound after the predetermined period consists of musical tones according to the type of fluctuation performance (i.e., the type of fluctuation display of the decorative symbol 1610). Therefore, immediately after the start of the fluctuation performance, it is impossible or difficult to determine whether the fluctuation performance is a losing fluctuation or a fluctuation performance with a reach display based on the fluctuation sounds A1, A2, and A3.

[0339] Like fluctuation sounds A1, A2, and A3, fluctuation sound X has a musical tone that matches the "daytime" image indicated by background pattern A on stage A, but it is a fluctuation sound that has a different atmosphere from any of fluctuation sounds A1, A2, and A3. The musical tone data for fluctuation sound X is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940.

[0340] Furthermore, the portion of the fluctuating sound X from the start of the fluctuating effect for the predetermined period may be the same musical tone as the portion of the fluctuating sounds A1, A2, and A3 described above for the predetermined period, or it may be a musical tone with different content.

[0341] If the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sound X is the same musical tone as the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sounds A1, A2, and A3 described above, it is impossible or difficult to determine immediately after the start of the fluctuation performance whether the background sound played in the fluctuation performance is fluctuation sound A (more specifically, one of fluctuation sounds A1 to A3) or fluctuation sound X.

[0342] If the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sound X is a musical tone with different content from the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sounds A1, A2, and A3 described above, it is possible to determine whether the background sound played in the fluctuation effect is fluctuation sound A or fluctuation sound X immediately after the start of the fluctuation effect.

[0343] Fluctuation Sound B consists of three different fluctuation sounds (fluctuation sound B1, fluctuation sound B2, and fluctuation sound B3) that have a musical style that matches the "evening" image indicated by background pattern B (for example, a bright jazz-like sound), but each has a different atmosphere. The musical sound data for each of fluctuation sounds B (fluctuation sound B1 to B3) is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940.

[0344] The fluctuating sounds B1, B2, and B3 all consist of musical tones that are common to all fluctuating sounds, regardless of whether the fluctuating sound is a fluctuating sound accompanied by a reach display or a losing fluctuating sound, for a predetermined period (for example, the period until a reach display appears) from the start of the fluctuating sound effect in which they are played as background music (i.e., from the start of the fluctuating display of the decorative symbol 1610). The portion of the fluctuating sounds after this predetermined period consists of musical tones corresponding to the type of fluctuating sound effect (i.e., the type of fluctuating display of the decorative symbol 1610). Therefore, immediately after the start of the fluctuating sound effect, it is impossible or difficult to determine whether the fluctuating sound effect is a losing fluctuating sound or a fluctuating sound effect accompanied by a reach display based on the fluctuating sounds B1, B2, and B3.

[0345] Fluctuation sound Y, like fluctuation sounds B1, B2, and B3, has a musical tone that evokes the "evening" image shown by background pattern B on stage B, but it is a fluctuation sound with a different atmosphere from any of fluctuation sounds B1, B2, and B3. The musical tone data for fluctuation sound Y is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940.

[0346] Furthermore, the fluctuating sound Y may be the same musical tone as the portion of the fluctuating sounds B1, B2, and B3 described above for the predetermined period after the start of the fluctuating effect, or it may be a musical tone with different content.

[0347] If the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sound Y is the same musical tone as the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sounds B1, B2, and B3 described above, it is impossible or difficult to determine immediately after the start of the fluctuation performance whether the background sound played in the fluctuation performance is fluctuation sound B (more specifically, one of fluctuation sounds B1 to B3) or fluctuation sound Y.

[0348] If the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sound Y is a musical tone with different content from the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sounds B1, B2, and B3 described above, it is possible to determine whether the background sound played in the fluctuation effect is fluctuation sound B or fluctuation sound Y immediately after the start of the fluctuation effect.

[0349] The fluctuating sound C consists of three different fluctuating sounds (fluctuating sound C1, fluctuating sound C2, and fluctuating sound C3) that have a musical tone (for example, a dark minor key sound) that matches the "night" image indicated by the background pattern C, but each has a different atmosphere. The musical sound data for each fluctuating sound C (fluctuating sound C1 to C3) is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940.

[0350] The fluctuating sounds C1, C2, and C3 all consist of musical tones that are common to all fluctuating sounds, regardless of whether the fluctuating sound is a fluctuating sound accompanied by a reach display or a losing fluctuating sound, for a predetermined period (for example, the period until a reach display appears) from the start of the fluctuating sound effect in which they are played as background sounds (i.e., from the start of the fluctuating display of the decorative symbol 1610). The portion of the fluctuating sounds after this predetermined period consists of musical tones corresponding to the type of fluctuating sound effect (i.e., the type of fluctuating display of the decorative symbol 1610). Therefore, immediately after the start of the fluctuating sound effect, it is impossible or difficult to determine whether the fluctuating sound effect is a losing fluctuating sound or a fluctuating sound effect accompanied by a reach display based on the fluctuating sounds C1, C2, and C3.

[0351] The fluctuating sound Z, like fluctuating sounds C1, C2, and C3, has a musical tone that matches the "night" image indicated by background pattern C in stage C, but it is a fluctuating sound with a different atmosphere from any of the fluctuating sounds C1, C2, and C3. The musical sound data for fluctuating sound Z is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940.

[0352] Furthermore, the fluctuating sound Z may be the same musical tone as the portion of the fluctuating sounds C1, C2, and C3 described above for the predetermined period after the start of the fluctuating effect, or it may be a musical tone with different content.

[0353] If the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sound Z is the same musical tone as the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sounds C1, C2, and C3 described above, it is impossible or difficult to determine immediately after the start of the fluctuation performance whether the background sound played in the fluctuation performance is fluctuation sound C (more specifically, one of fluctuation sounds C1 to C3) or fluctuation sound Z.

[0354] If the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sound Z is a musical tone with different content from the predetermined period portion of fluctuation sounds C1, C2, and C3 described above, it is possible to determine whether the background sound played in the fluctuation effect is fluctuation sound C or fluctuation sound Z immediately after the start of the fluctuation effect.

[0355] The fluctuating sound D is composed of a musical style (for example, a bright, poppy sound) that matches the "underwater" image indicated by background pattern D. The musical tone data for each fluctuating sound D is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM of the sub-control board 940.

[0356] When the sub-control board 940 executes a variation effect in one of the stages designated as the display target stage, it outputs a sound based on musical tone data corresponding to one of the multiple types of variation sounds prepared for each stage, synchronized with the variation effect, from the sound devices 281 and 282 (see Figure 10). As a result, each time the display target stage is switched, the variation sound corresponding to the switched stage is output in synchronization with the corresponding variation effect.

[0357] Furthermore, in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the stiffness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 (i.e., the reaction force to the pressing operation on the pressing device 261) is configured to be changeable by control from the sub-control board 940. The sub-control board 940 performs control to change the stiffness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 when one stage is set as the display target stage. More specifically, the sub-control board 940 controls the operating feel of the pressing device 261 to be different for each fluctuating sound in each stage.

[0358] Specifically, in Stage A, as shown in Figure 21(B), in the variation performance where variation sound A1 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 1; in the variation performance where variation sound A2 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 2, which is harder than hardness level 1; in the variation performance where variation sound A3 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 3, which is harder than hardness level 2; and in the variation performance where variation sound X is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 4, which is harder than hardness level 3.

[0359] In Stage B, as shown in Figure 21(B), in the variation performance where variation sound B1 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 1; in the variation performance where variation sound B2 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 2, which is harder than hardness level 1; in the variation performance where variation sound B3 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 3, which is harder than hardness level 2; and in the variation performance where variation sound Y is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 4, which is harder than hardness level 3.

[0360] In Stage C, as shown in Figure 21(B), in the variation performance where variation sound C1 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 1; in the variation performance where variation sound C2 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 2, which is harder than hardness level 1; in the variation performance where variation sound C3 is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 3, which is harder than hardness level 2; and in the variation performance where variation sound Z is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 4, which is harder than hardness level 3.

[0361] In Stage D, as shown in Figure 21(B), during the variation effect where the variation sound D is played as background sound, the hardness of the operating feel of the pressing device 261 is set to hardness level 4.

[0362] In this embodiment, each of the hardness levels from 1 to 4 is assigned to each fluctuating sound in each stage, meaning that the range of hardness levels that can be set is the same for each stage. However, the range of hardness levels that can be set may differ for each stage.

[0363] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the machine is configured to provide the player with real-time explanations of the transition status of the variation effects in each of the multiple types of stages (more specifically, stages A to C) that are sequentially switched when the above-mentioned conditions for switching the display target stage are met. (That is, the transition status of the variation sounds played as background music for the variation effects)

[0364] Furthermore, since the variation effects of each stage can be distinguished by the variation sound output as background sound for that variation effect, the variation effect transition status in each stage set as the display target stage is also the variation effect transition status in each stage set as the display target stage. In other words, the system is configured to explain the variation effect transition status in each stage set as the display target stage to the player in real time.

[0365] Figure 22(A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of the display screen of the decorative pattern display device 479, and Figure 22(B) is an enlarged view of the area NE in Figure 22(A). Note that in Figure 22(A), the display content within area NE is omitted to facilitate understanding of the drawing.

[0366] As shown in Figure 22(A), a region NE is provided on a part of the display screen of the decorative pattern display device 479. Region NE is a region that can map and show the flow of transitions of the variation effects displayed on the display screen of the decorative pattern display device 479 in response to the variation display of special patterns. The display of this region NE may have a selection function that allows the player to choose whether or not to display it by operating the input operation device 260, or it may be displayed during the variation display without any selection operation by the player, under the control of the sub-control board 940.

[0367] The sub-control board 940 has a dedicated layer for displaying map 1801 and arrow 1802 (see Figure 22(B)) within area NE, separate from other layers that display various elements constituting the variation effect, such as decorative patterns 1610 and background 1630. Map 1801 and arrow 1802 displayed within area NE are displayed semi-transparently, ensuring the visibility of each element constituting the variation effect. Therefore, the usable range for the variation effect is set to the same size as when map 1801 is not displayed in area NE, allowing for the display of patterns in a larger size, and ensuring that the size of characters displayed in conjunction with the variation effect is not limited by map 1801. Note that area NE does not necessarily need to be displayed semi-transparently; it may be configured so that the display portion behind it is not visible when it is displayed in front of the patterns and characters constituting the variation effect.

[0368] Area NE is positioned in a corner (specifically, the lower right corner) on the display screen of the decorative pattern display device 479 where the visibility of each element constituting the variation effect (for example, the decorative pattern 1610 and the background 1630) is not easily impaired. In this respect, even when the map 1801, arrow 1802, etc. are displayed within Area NE, the visibility of each element constituting the variation effect is suitably ensured. It should be noted that Area NE does not necessarily have to be positioned in a corner away from each element constituting the variation effect; it may also be positioned to largely overlap the front of each element (for example, overlapping more than half of each element constituting the variation effect).

[0369] As shown in Figure 22(B), in area NE, a map 1801 showing the transition flow of the variation effect corresponding to the variation display of special symbols is displayed on the upper, middle, and lower sides of area NE, respectively.

[0370] Map 1801 is a map of the branching patterns of transitions in the variable effects (variable sounds) in each stage set as the target stage for display. As shown in Figure 22(B), it consists of tags that indicate various states such as "Start" and "End (1)", tags that indicate information that can identify variable sounds (i.e., variable effects) such as "Variable Sound A1", and dotted lines that show the paths connecting these tags. Initially, the entire map 1801 (all tags and paths) is displayed in a predetermined initial color (for example, blue).

[0371] Here, referring to map 1801, the flow of transitions in the variation effects in the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment will be explained. In Stage A, after the variation effect with variation sound A1 playing as background sound is started, the process branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the display target stage are met (specifically, when a predetermined number of special symbols are displayed in variation form, or when the stage end lottery is won), whether Stage A ends, whether a variation effect with variation sound A2 playing as background sound is executed, or whether a variation effect with variation sound X playing as background sound is executed.

[0372] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, fluctuation sound X is a fluctuation sound used as background sound for fluctuation effects that can be selected with a relatively low probability (for example, 3%) after each fluctuation display in Stage A that uses fluctuation sounds A1 to A3 as background sound. Furthermore, since the switching condition is met by the execution of a fluctuation effect that uses fluctuation sound X as background sound, Stage A always ends after the fluctuation effect in which fluctuation sound X is played as background sound has finished. Thus, fluctuation sound X is a rare fluctuation sound that can only be heard with a low probability in Stage A.

[0373] If the conditions for switching the display target stage are not met after the start of the variation effect with variation sound A1 playing as background sound, the sub-control board 940 performs a lottery to determine whether variation sound A2 or variation sound X is selected.

[0374] After the variation effect starts with variation sound A2 playing as background sound, the game branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met, whether stage A ends, whether the variation effect with variation sound A2 playing as background sound is executed, or whether the variation effect with variation sound X playing as background sound is executed.

[0375] If the conditions for switching the display target stage are not met after the start of the variation effect with variation sound A2 playing as background sound, the sub-control board 940 performs a lottery to determine whether variation sound A3 or variation sound X is selected.

[0376] After the variation effect starts with variation sound A3 playing as background sound, the game branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met, resulting in either ending Stage A, executing a variation effect with variation sound A1 playing as background sound, or executing a variation effect with variation sound X playing as background sound.

[0377] If the conditions for switching the display target stage are not met after the start of the variation effect with variation sound A3 playing as background sound, the sub-control board 940 performs a lottery to determine whether variation sound A1 or variation sound X is selected.

[0378] After Stage A ends, the displayed stage switches to Stage B. In Stage B, after the variation effect starts with variation sound B1 playing as background sound, the game branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met, either ending Stage B or executing the variation effect with variation sound B2 playing as background sound.

[0379] After the variation effect starts with variation sound B2 playing as background sound, the game branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met, whether stage B ends, whether the variation effect with variation sound B2 playing as background sound is executed, or whether the variation effect with variation sound Y playing as background sound is executed.

[0380] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, fluctuation sound Y is a fluctuation sound used as background sound for fluctuation effects that can be selected with a relatively low probability (for example, 3%) after each fluctuation display in Stage B that uses fluctuation sound B2 or fluctuation sound B3 as background sound. Furthermore, since the switching condition is met by the execution of a fluctuation effect that uses fluctuation sound Y as background sound, Stage B always ends after the end of a fluctuation effect in which fluctuation sound Y is played as background sound.

[0381] Therefore, fluctuating sound Y is a rare fluctuating sound that can only be heard at a low probability in Stage A. Furthermore, since fluctuating sound Y does not appear after a fluctuating display with fluctuating sound B1 as the background sound, it is an even rarer fluctuating sound than fluctuating sound X in Stage A.

[0382] If the conditions for switching the display target stage are not met after the start of the variation effect with variation sound B2 playing as background sound, the sub-control board 940 performs a lottery to determine whether variation sound B3 or variation sound Y is selected.

[0383] After the variation effect starts with variation sound B3 playing as background sound, the game branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met, resulting in either ending stage B, executing a variation effect with variation sound B1 playing as background sound, or executing a variation effect with variation sound Y playing as background sound.

[0384] If the conditions for switching the display target stage are not met after the start of the variation effect with variation sound B3 playing as background sound, the sub-control board 940 performs a lottery to determine whether variation sound B1 or variation sound Y is selected.

[0385] After Stage B ends, the displayed stage switches to Stage C. In Stage C, after the variation effect starts with variation sound C1 playing as background sound, the game branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met, either ending Stage C or executing the variation effect with variation sound C2 playing as background sound.

[0386] After the variation effect begins with variation sound C2 playing as background sound, the game branches depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met, either ending stage C or executing a variation effect with variation sound C3 playing as background sound.

[0387] After the variation effect starts with variation sound C3 playing as background sound, the game branches into two paths depending on whether the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met: Stage C ends, a variation effect with variation sound C1 playing as background sound is executed, or a variation effect with variation sound Z playing as background sound is executed.

[0388] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, fluctuation sound Z is a fluctuation sound used as background sound for a fluctuation effect that can be selected with a relatively low probability (for example, 3%) only after a fluctuation display in stage C that uses fluctuation sound C3 as background sound. Furthermore, since the switching condition is met by the execution of a fluctuation effect that uses fluctuation sound Z as background sound, stage C always ends after the fluctuation effect in which fluctuation sound Z is played as background sound has finished.

[0389] Therefore, fluctuation sound Z is a rare fluctuation sound that can only be heard at a low probability in Stage C. Furthermore, since fluctuation sound Z does not appear after any fluctuation display that uses fluctuation sound C1 or fluctuation sound C2 as background sound, it is an even rarer fluctuation sound than fluctuation sound X in Stage A or fluctuation sound Y in Stage B.

[0390] Furthermore, when displaying the result of a jackpot win using fluctuation sounds X, Y, Z, etc., which can be heard at a lower probability compared to other fluctuation sounds, the player may be given different benefits in the subsequent special game state compared to when a jackpot is won with other fluctuation sounds. For example, in machines that use animation, a live-action video may be displayed as a benefit during the special game state, or the fluctuation sound when the result of a jackpot win is displayed may suggest the likelihood of transitioning to a probability variation game state, thus suggesting the likelihood of the benefits to be given to the player afterward.

[0391] If the conditions for switching the display target stage are not met after the start of the variation effect with variation sound C3 playing as background sound, the sub-control board 940 performs a lottery to determine whether variation sound C1 or variation sound Z is selected.

[0392] As shown in Figure 22(B), the region NE displays frames 1803, 1804, and 1805, which enclose each tag and path corresponding to each stage A to C in map 1801. Inside each frame 1803, 1804, and 1805, stage display units 1806, 1807, and 1808 are displayed, respectively, which can identify the stage corresponding to each tag and path contained within that frame. Note that each frame 1803, 1804, and 1805, and each stage display unit 1806, 1807, and 1808 are displayed in a predetermined initial color (for example, blue) in the initial state.

[0393] In region NE, an arrow 1802 extending to the right is displayed below map 1801. The further to the right arrow 1802 is (i.e., closer to the tip of the arrow), the harder the push button (pressure control device 261) feels to operate (i.e., the greater the reaction force to the press operation on the pressure control device 261). Initially, arrow 1802 is displayed in a predetermined initial color (for example, blue).

[0394] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, the map 1801 and arrow 1802 are displayed during gameplay (i.e., during periods other than the special game state) provided that a mode for displaying the map 1801 and arrow 1802 within area NE (hereinafter also referred to as the "map display mode") is selected. It should be noted that the map 1801 and arrow 1802 may also be displayed during the special game state.

[0395] The map display mode and the map non-display mode (a mode in which map 1801 and arrow 1802 are not displayed) are configured to be arbitrarily selectable (switchable) by the player performing a predetermined operation on the pachinko machine 100 (for example, a predetermined operation on the input operation device 260).

[0396] Furthermore, the map display mode and the map hiding mode may be switched at predetermined timings by the control of the sub-control board 940. For example, the modes may be switched according to the result of a predetermined lottery performed by the sub-control board 940 each time a special symbol variation display is performed, or the modes may be switched according to the result of a predetermined lottery performed by the sub-control board 940 when a starting prize related to a special symbol is achieved. Alternatively, the map display mode may be always selected (i.e., map 1801 and arrow 1802 are always displayed) without providing a map hiding mode.

[0397] The display control of map 1801 and arrow 1802 is performed by the sub-control board 940. Specifically, when the map display mode is set (selected), the sub-control board 940 draws map 1801 and arrow 1802 on a dedicated layer for displaying map 1801 and arrow 1802, and displays map 1801 and arrow 1802 within area NE by overlaying them with other layers that display each element that constitutes the variation effect.

[0398] The sub-control board 940 updates the display of map 1801 and arrow 1802 sequentially according to the transition status of the variation performance during gameplay, except when a special game state is in progress. The sub-control board 940 hides map 1801 and arrow 1802 when a special game state begins (i.e., when a variation performance corresponding to that special game state begins). When a special game state ends, the sub-control board 940 redisplays map 1801 and arrow 1802 in the state they were in before the start of the special game state, and updates their display sequentially according to the subsequent transition status of the variation performance.

[0399] Here, we will explain an example of how the display of map 1801 and arrow 1802 displayed in area NE changes. Figures 23 to 28 are schematic diagrams showing an example of how the display within area NE changes as the variable animation progresses (the game progresses).

[0400] For example, when Stage A is set as the stage to be displayed, as shown in Figure 23(A), the stage display unit 1806, which is labeled "Stage A," changes from its initial color to a predetermined stage display color (for example, green), and the frame 1803 changes from its initial color to a predetermined frame display color (for example, navy blue). This allows the player to understand that Stage A is about to begin.

[0401] In each drawing, stage display sections such as stage display section 1806, which are colored with the stage display color, are marked with a hatching line that rises to the right, and frames such as frame 1803, which are colored with the predetermined frame display color, are represented by thick solid lines.

[0402] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 23(A), the "Start" tag in map 1801 changes from its initial color to a predetermined tag display color (for example, red). In each drawing, dot hatching is applied to each tag in map 1801 that has been colored with the tag display color.

[0403] Furthermore, the path from the "Start" tag to the "Variation Sound A1" tag, which corresponds to the background sound of the first variation effect in Stage A, changes from a dotted line of the initial color to a solid line of a predetermined path display color (for example, red). This allows the player to understand that the background sound of the next variation effect to be executed is Variation Sound A1. In each diagram, solid lines colored with the path display color are represented as thick solid lines.

[0404] When the first variation animation begins in Stage A (i.e., when the variation display of decorative pattern 1610 begins), the tag "Variation Sound A1" changes from its initial color to the tag display color, as shown in Figure 23(B).

[0405] Additionally, the path extending downwards from the "Variation Sound A1" tag to the branching point directly below it changes to a solid line of the path display color. This allows the player to understand that after the current variation effect (specifically, a variation effect with Variation Sound A1 as the background sound) ends, they are at a branching point where either Stage A ends, Stage A continues and transitions to Variation Sound A2, or transitions to Variation Sound X.

[0406] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 23(B), when the tag for "Fluctuating Sound A1" changes to the tag display color, a predetermined area on the base end side of arrow 1802 changes from its initial color to a predetermined arrow display color (for example, red). More specifically, the area corresponding to hardness level 1 (see Figure 21(B)) from the base end of arrow 1802 toward the tip is colored with the arrow display color.

[0407] This allows the player to understand that, in the variation performance with variation sound A1 as the background sound, the feel of operating the push button (i.e., the pressing operation device 261) is one level harder than the initial state, at hardness level 1. In each diagram, the area colored with the arrow indicator color in arrow 1802 is filled with hatching.

[0408] If a variation effect using variation sound A1 as background sound ends and then a variation effect using variation sound A2 as background sound begins, as shown in Figure 24(A), the path from the "Variation Sound A1" tag to the "Variation Sound A2" tag will change to a solid line of the path display color, and the "Variation Sound A2" tag will change to the tag display color.

[0409] Additionally, the path from the "Variable Sound A2" tag to the branching point directly below it changes to a solid line of the path display color. This allows players to understand that after the variation effect with Variable Sound A2 as the background sound ends, they are at a branching point where either Stage A ends, Stage A continues and transitions to Variable Sound A3, or transitions to Variable Sound X.

[0410] As the tag for "Variable Sound A2" changes to its tag display color, the area corresponding to hardness level 2 (see Figure 21(B)) from the base to the tip of arrow 1802 is colored with the arrow display color. In this case, as shown in Figure 24(A), the area of ​​arrow display color on arrow 1802 expands towards the tip compared to when the variation effect with Variable Sound A1 as the background sound begins. This allows the player to understand that the feel of operating the push button in the variation effect with Variable Sound A2 as the background sound is harder than the feel of operating the push button in the variation effect with Variable Sound A1 as the background sound.

[0411] If a variation effect using variation sound A2 as background sound ends and then a variation effect using variation sound A3 as background sound begins, as shown in Figure 24(B), the path from the "Variation Sound A2" tag to the "Variation Sound A3" tag will change to a solid line of the path display color, and the "Variation Sound A3" tag will change to the tag display color.

[0412] Additionally, the path from the "Variable Sound A3" tag to the branching point directly below it changes to a solid line of the path display color. This allows players to understand that after the variation effect with Variable Sound A3 as the background sound ends, they are at a branching point where either Stage A ends, Stage A continues and transitions to Variable Sound A1, or transitions to Variable Sound X.

[0413] As the tag for "Variable Sound A3" changes to its tag display color, the area corresponding to hardness level 3 (see Figure 21(B)) from the base end of arrow 1802 toward the tip is colored with the arrow display color. In this case, as shown in Figure 24(B), the area of ​​arrow display color on arrow 1802 expands toward the tip compared to when the variation effect with variation sound A2 as the background sound is started. As a result, the player can understand that the feel of operating the push button in the variation effect with variation sound A3 as the background sound is harder than the feel of operating the push button in the variation effect with variation sound A1 or variation sound A2 as the background sound.

[0414] When a variation performance using variation sound A3 as background sound ends and then a variation performance using variation sound X as background sound begins, as shown in Figure 25(A), the path from the "Variation Sound A3" tag to the "Variation Sound X" tag changes to a solid line of the path display color, and the "Variation Sound X" tag changes to the tag display color. Also, the path from the "Variation Sound X" tag to the "End (6)" tag changes to a solid line of the path display color. This allows the player to understand that Stage A ends when the variation performance using variation sound X as background sound ends.

[0415] As the tag for "Variable Sound X" changes to the tag display color, the area corresponding to hardness level 4 (see Figure 21(B)) from the base end to the tip of arrow 1802 is colored with the arrow display color. In this embodiment, the colored area of ​​arrow 1802 corresponding to hardness level 4 is the entire area from the base end to the tip of arrow 1802, as shown in Figure 25(A). This allows the player to understand that the feel of operating the push button in a variation performance with variable sound X as the background sound is harder than the feel of operating the push button in a variation performance with any of variation sounds A1 to A3 as the background sound, and that this hardness is at its maximum.

[0416] At the moment when the variation effect with variation sound X as the background sound ends, as shown in Figure 25(B), the tag "End (6)" changes to the tag display color, and the path from the "End (6)" tag to the "Variation Sound B1" tag changes to a solid line of the path display color. This allows the player to understand that Stage A has ended and that the background sound for the next variation effect to be executed is variation sound B1.

[0417] Next, as shown in Figure 26(A), the stage display unit 1806 returns to its initial color, the stage display unit 1807, which is labeled "Stage B," changes to the stage display color, the frame 1803 returns to its initial color, and the frame 1804 changes to the frame display color. This allows the player to understand that Stage B is about to begin.

[0418] When the first variation animation (i.e., a variation animation with variation sound B1 as background sound) begins in Stage B, as shown in Figure 26(B), the tag for "Variation Sound B1" changes to the tag's display color, and the path extending downward from the "Variation Sound B1" tag to the branching point directly below it changes to a solid line of the path's display color. This allows the player to understand that after the current variation animation (specifically, the variation animation with variation sound B1 as background sound) ends, Stage B will either end or Stage B will continue and transition to variation sound B2. In other words, in Stage B, as in the case of Stage A described above, the player can understand that after the current variation animation ends, the game will branch into one of several variation animations.

[0419] In Stage B and Stage C, which follows Stage B, the display patterns of map 1801 and arrow 1802 within area NE change as the variable effects progress, similar to the case of Stage A described above.

[0420] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, when the display target stage switches from stage A to stage B, as shown in Figure 26(B), the display configuration of each tag and path corresponding to stage A before the switch (i.e., each tag and path within frame 1803) is maintained even after switching to stage B.

[0421] Even when the displayed stage switches from Stage B to Stage C, the display format of each tag and route corresponding to Stage B before the switch, and the display format of each tag and route corresponding to Stage A before Stage B, are both maintained.

[0422] However, when the displayed stage switches from stage C to stage A, the entire map 1801 (all tags and routes) returns to its initial state. In other words, in this embodiment, the display mode of map 1801 is configured such that the display returns to its initial state after each transition, where the displayed stage switches from stage A to stage C.

[0423] Alternatively, the display configuration may be configured such that each time the display target stage is switched, the display mode of each tag and route corresponding to the previous stage is reset. For example, when the display target stage is switched from Stage A to Stage B, the display mode of each tag and route corresponding to Stage A (i.e., each tag and route within frame 1803) may be returned to its initial state.

[0424] Here, we illustrate a case where, in Stage A, after the variable sound effect with variable sound A1 as the background sound, the variable sound effect with variable sound A2 as the background sound, and the variable sound effect with variable sound A3 as the background sound have each been executed once (i.e., after going through the states in Figures 23 and 24 above), Stage A continues and returns to the variable sound effect with variable sound A1 as the background sound, and the transition of the second cycle of the variable sound effect, starting from the variable sound effect with variable sound A1 as the background sound, begins.

[0425] In the transition of the second round of variation effects in Stage A, if a variation effect using variation sound A1 as the background sound is started, the path from the tag "Variation sound A3" to the tag "Variation sound A1" will change to a solid line of the path display color, as shown in Figure 27(A).

[0426] The variation effect in the second cycle of the variation effect in Stage A, which uses variation sound A1 as the background sound, is the second execution following the variation effect in the first cycle of the variation effect which also used variation sound A1 as the background sound.

[0427] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, each time a stage that can be set as a display target stage (i.e., stages A to C) is set, if the same tag on the map 1801 is passed over two or more times as a result of continuing that stage, the tag display color of the corresponding tag becomes darker as the number of times it is passed over increases.

[0428] Therefore, as in the example above, when the transition to the second variation effect in Stage A begins, and the variation effect with variation sound A1 as the background sound starts for the second time, the tag display color for the "Variation Sound A1" tag changes to a darker color. In each diagram, the darkness of the tag display color is represented by increasing the density of the dots used as hatching. For example, the "Variation Sound A1" tag in Figure 27(A) has denser dot hatching than the same tag in Figure 23(B).

[0429] Next, as shown in Figure 27(B), the path portion extending downward from the "Variable Sound A1" tag to the branching point directly below it is left as a solid line in the path display color, while everything else returns to its initial state (i.e., a dotted line in the initial color).

[0430] In the transition of the second round of variation effects in Stage A, if a variation effect using variation sound A1 as background sound ends and then a variation effect using variation sound A2 as background sound begins, this will be the second time variation sound A2 is used. In this case, as shown in Figure 28(A), the tag display color for the "Variation Sound A2" tag will change to a darker color.

[0431] In addition, in this case as well, similar to the transition of the variation effect in the first loop in Stage A, the path from the "Variation Sound A1" tag to the "Variation Sound A2" tag changes to a solid line of the path display color, and the path portion from the "Variation Sound A2" tag to the branching point directly below it also changes to a solid line of the path display color.

[0432] In the transition of the second round of variation effects in Stage A, if a variation effect with variation sound A2 as the background sound ends and then a variation effect with variation sound X as the background sound begins, this is the first time that the tag on map 1801 corresponding to variation sound X (i.e., the tag for variation sound X connected to the tag for variation sound A2) is traversed. Therefore, in this case, as shown in Figure 28(B), the tag for variation sound X connected to the tag for variation sound A2 changes from its initial color to the tag color corresponding to the first time it is traversed.

[0433] As a result, even in the second round of variation effects in Stage A, the intensity of the tag display color will differ between the "Variation Sound A1" and "Variation Sound A2" tags, which have been passed through twice, and the "Variation Sound X" and "Variation Sound A3" tags, which have been passed through once. Therefore, the intensity of the tag color (tag display color) corresponding to each variation sound can be used to understand how many times each variation sound available in that stage has been used in total while Stage 1, which is set as the target stage for display, continues (i.e., how many times each variation effect using each variation sound as background sound has been executed in total), by the intensity of the tag color (tag display color).

[0434] Furthermore, in the transition of the second round of variation effects in Stage A, if a variation effect with variation sound A2 as the background sound ends and then a variation effect with variation sound X as the background sound begins, the paths from the "variation sound A2" tag to the "variation sound X" tag, and the paths from the "variation sound X" tag to the "end (4)" tag will change to solid lines of the path display color.

[0435] Therefore, even in the transition of the second round of variation effects in Stage A, the tags corresponding to each variation effect that transitions in that second round (more specifically, the tags corresponding to each variation sound used in each variation effect) are connected by solid lines of the route display color, allowing the player to understand what kind of transition the second round of variation effects in Stage A will follow.

[0436] In this embodiment of the pachinko machine 100, the intensity of the color used to color the tag corresponding to the variation sound (tag display color) changes according to the total number of times that variation sound has been used. However, instead, each tag corresponding to the variation sound used in each lap may be colored with a tag display color of an intensity corresponding to the number of laps in that lap each time the laps in Stage 1 are updated. This allows the player to understand which lap of the variation effect is being performed in Stage 1, which is set as the display target stage, by the intensity of the tag display color used to color each tag corresponding to the variation sound.

[0437] Alternatively, each time the lap count in Stage 1 is updated, the tags corresponding to the fluctuating sounds may be reset to their initial state (initial color), so that each tag corresponding to the fluctuating sounds used in each lap is always colored with the same intensity of tag display color.

[0438] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, for example, by performing a predetermined operation on the pachinko machine 100 (for example, a predetermined operation on the input operation device 260), the machine is configured to allow switching between a full display of the map 1801 as shown in Figures 23 to 28 described above, and an enlarged partial display in which a part of the map 1801 is enlarged and displayed within area NE.

[0439] Furthermore, the sub-control board 940 may control the display of the entire map 1801 and the enlarged portion display at predetermined timings without any operation by the player. For example, the sub-control board 940 may control the display of the entire map 1801 and the enlarged portion display at predetermined timings depending on the result of a lottery performed each time a special symbol variation is displayed.

[0440] The overall display of map 1801 allows users to grasp the entire flow of transitions in the variation effects, while the enlarged partial display of map 1801 clearly shows the current position on map 1801 (i.e., the variation effect currently being executed) and the candidate for the subsequent situation (candidate for the next transition destination) without expanding the area NE.

[0441] The sub-control board 940 controls the display mode of the map 1801 when the display of the entire map 1801 is set to be displayed within area NE. When the map display mode is set to display an enlarged portion of the map 1801, the sub-control board 940 displays within area NE a range of the enlarged map 1801 (hereinafter, the map will also simply be referred to as "enlarged map 1801") that includes at least the tag corresponding to the current position and the tags corresponding to the candidate destinations for subsequent transitions, compared to when the entire map is displayed. The sub-control board 940 controls the display range of the map 1801 in accordance with the progress of the fluctuation effect and controls its display mode in the same way as when the entire map is displayed.

[0442] Figure 29 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an enlarged view of map 1801. More specifically, Figure 29(A) is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged view of map 1801 corresponding to the example in Figure 23(B) described above, and Figure 29(B) is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged view of map 1801 corresponding to the example in Figure 24(A) described above.

[0443] If the display mode of map 1801 is an enlarged partial display, and the current position is a variation performance with variation sound A1 as the background sound, then, as shown in Figure 29(A), the range of the enlarged map 1801 that includes the tag "Variation Sound A1", the tags "Variation Sound A2" and "Variation Sound X" corresponding to the candidate transition destination after the variation performance with variation sound A1 as the background sound ends, and the tags "End (1)" to "End (3)" will be displayed within area NE.

[0444] In the enlarged view, pointer 1821 flashes at the branching point located directly below the current position. Since pointer 1821 is displayed at branching points on the path of map 1801, the player can be clearly informed of the branching point and the current position directly above it (i.e., the ongoing variation animation).

[0445] Furthermore, pointer 1821 is displayed at the branching point of the path between a common variable animation (the variable animation currently being executed) and the next variable animations that can be executed. Note that "the next variable animations that can be executed" include the variable animations corresponding to tags (for example, the "Variable Sound B1" tag) located at the end of the path extending from the tag corresponding to the end of the display target stage (for example, the "End (1)" tag), i.e., the first variable animation in the next stage.

[0446] In other words, pointer 1821 functions as progress information, indicating the situation from the current position, which represents the ongoing variation animation, until it reaches the start information corresponding to the timing when the next variation animation (selection animation) will begin.

[0447] If the display mode of map 1801 is an enlarged partial display, and a variation performance with variation sound A2 as the background sound starts after a variation performance with variation sound A1 as the background sound has ended, map 1801 displayed in area NE (more specifically, the enlarged map 1801) moves relative to area NE in the upper left direction (arrow MX direction). As a result, the display range of map 1801 in area NE changes to include the "Variation Sound A2" tag, the "Variation Sound A3" tag and the "Variation Sound X" tag and the tags from "End (3)" to "End (5)" which correspond to the candidate transition destination after the variation performance with variation sound A1 as the background sound has ended (see Figure 29(B)).

[0448] In the pachinko machine 100 of this embodiment, even if the display range of the enlarged map 1801 within area NE changes, the position of the pointer 1821 within area NE does not change vertically or horizontally before and after the change (i.e., before and after the update of the display range). In other words, when a transition in the variation effect occurs, the enlarged map 1801 moves relative to area NE so that the next branching point becomes the display position of the pointer 1821.

[0449] Therefore, when the enlarged view of map 1801 is selected, the pointer 1821 is displayed (flashing) at a fixed position within area NE, making it easier for the player to identify the branching point of interest on map 1801, and clearly indicating to the player the branching point and their current position directly above it (i.e., the currently running variation effect).

[0450] In addition to the map of the transition flow of the variable effects, as shown in map 1801 above, it is also possible to map the transition flow of the display target stage and display both of these maps in area NE.

[0451] Figures 30 and 31 are schematic diagrams showing an example of how the map is displayed in the variation animation. As shown in Figures 30 and 31, in the variation animation, the region NE is configured as a region that is long horizontally (left to right). The horizontally long region NE consists of the left region NE1 and the right region NE2 which is adjacent to the right of the left region NE1.

[0452] In area NE1, the left side of area NE displays map 1901, which maps the flow of transitions in the variable effects, and the right side of area NE2 displays map 1902, which maps the flow of transitions in the target stage.

[0453] Map 1902 consists of tags corresponding to each of the stages A to C that can be set as the display target stage, and dotted lines indicating the paths connecting each of these tags. In the embodiment described above, a configuration was illustrated in which the display transitions to a predetermined other stage when the conditions for switching the display target stage are met. However, in this variation effect, when the conditions for switching the display target stage are met, it is determined by lottery whether to transition to a predetermined other stage or to continue with the current display target stage. This lottery is performed by the sub-control board 940.

[0454] Map 1901 is configured similarly to Map 1801 described above, except that when the conditions for switching the displayed stage are met (i.e., when a predetermined number of special symbol variations are displayed, when the stage end lottery is won, or when a variation effect with variation sounds X, Y, and Z as background sounds is performed), it branches into either transitioning to another predetermined stage or continuing on the currently displayed stage.

[0455] The changes in the display modes of map 1901, which is fully displayed in the left region NE1, and map 1902, which is fully displayed in the right region NE2, are controlled by the sub-control board 940, similar to the case of map 1801 described above (see Figures 23 to 28).

[0456] When the player selects to display an enlarged portion of the map, as shown in Figure 31, the left area NE1 displays an enlarged portion of map 1902, and the right area NE2 displays an enlarged portion of map 1901. Switching between the full display and the enlarged portion display of maps 1901 and 1902, and changes in the display mode of the enlarged portion of each map 1901 and 1902, are controlled by the sub-control board 940, as in the case of map 1801 described above. Alternatively, the system may be configured so that only one of the selected maps, 1901 or 1902, is displayed in an enlarged portion.

[0457] Pointer 1921A is displayed at the branching point located directly below the current position (i.e., the currently running variation animation) in the enlarged view of map 1901. Similar to the pointer 1821 described above (see Figure 29), Pointer 1921A is configured so that its position does not change vertically or horizontally within region NE (more specifically, the left-side region NE1).

[0458] Since pointer 1921A is displayed at a branching point in the path between a common variable animation (a variable animation currently running) and multiple variable animations that can be executed next, pointer 1921A functions as first progress information indicating the situation from the current position indicating the variable animation currently running until reaching the start information (start information related to the start of a variable animation) corresponding to the timing when the next variable animation (selected animation) will start.

[0459] Pointer 1921B is displayed at the branching point located directly below the current position (i.e., the stage currently set as the target stage) in the enlarged view of map 1902. Pointer 1921B is also configured so that its position does not change vertically or horizontally within region NE (more specifically, the right-hand region NE2).

[0460] Since pointer 1921B is displayed at a branching point in the path between a common variable animation (the stage set as the display target stage) and the multiple stages to which it can transition next, pointer 1921B functions as second progress information indicating the situation from the current position, which indicates the display target stage, to the start information (start information related to the start of the display target stage) corresponding to the timing when the next stage (selection animation) starts.

[0461] In the example shown in Figure 29 above, the configuration was such that the structure of a part of map 1801 is more easily seen by displaying an enlarged portion of map 1801 compared to the overall display. However, instead of displaying an enlarged portion of map 1801, or in addition to such an enlarged portion display, a different display mode may be used.

[0462] Figures 32 and 33 are schematic diagrams showing the variable animation corresponding to the enlarged display of map 1801. In this variable animation, a map-corresponding block display 1852 is used as a display in place of the enlarged display of map 1801 described above. The map-corresponding block display 1852 allows the player to grasp the length of time until the branching point in which multiple types of animations are performed, and then indicates the time (timing) when another animation will be performed, based on the current time and the length (distance) until the branching point.

[0463] The map-compatible block display 1852 is configured to be switchable between the full display of map 1801 and the enlarged portion display by the player, similar to the enlarged portion display of map 1801. Alternatively, the display may be configured to switch between the full display and the enlarged portion display of map 1801 at predetermined timings by the control of the sub-control board 940, without any player intervention.

[0464] The map-corresponding block display 1852 is a display in which blocks 1853 corresponding to each variation effect on map 1801 are arranged in accordance with the branching paths on map 1801.

[0465] For example, if the current position on map 1801 (i.e., the currently running variation effect) is a variation effect with variation sound A1 as the background sound, then the variation effects that can be transitioned to after the end of that variation effect are a variation effect with variation sound A2 as the background sound, or a variation effect with variation sound B1 as the background sound that is performed in stage B after the end of stage A (see Figure 23(B)). In such a case, the map-corresponding block display 1852 displayed in area NE consists of a block 1853 for "variation sound A1", and blocks 1853 for "variation sound A2", "variation sound X", and "variation sound B1", which are arranged horizontally below the block 1853 for "variation sound A1".

[0466] Each block 1853 that makes up the map-compatible block display 1852 is displayed in a predetermined initial color (for example, blue) in its initial state. Blocks 1853 corresponding to the currently running variation effect in the map-compatible block display 1852 are displayed in a predetermined block display color (for example, red). In the example shown in Figure 32(A), the currently running variation effect is a variation effect with variation sound A1 as the background sound, so the block 1853 for "Variation Sound A1" is displayed in the block display color, while the other blocks are displayed in their initial colors.

[0467] In each drawing, tags colored with the block display color are marked with dot hatching. The color changes of each block 1853 in the map-corresponding block display 1852 are controlled by the sub-control board 940, similar to the color changes of each tag in map 1801.

[0468] Within area NE, a blinking pointer 1821 is displayed at a predetermined position. At the start timing of the variation effect (i.e., the start timing of the variation display of the decorative pattern 1610), the block 1853 corresponding to the variation effect (more specifically, the block 1853 corresponding to the background sound of the variation effect) is displayed at a position where its upper edge overlaps with the pointer 1821. For example, at the start timing of a variation effect with variation sound A1 as the background sound, as shown in Figure 32(A), the block 1853 of "Variation Sound A1" corresponding to the variation effect is displayed at a position where its upper edge overlaps with the pointer 1821.

[0469] Pointer 1821 is configured such that its position within area NE does not change vertically or horizontally, even when the display of the map-corresponding block display 1852 is updated, similar to the case where an enlarged portion of the map 1801 is displayed as described above. Therefore, if the map-corresponding block display 1852 moves upward (in the direction of arrow MX1) within area NE as the fluctuation effect progresses, the map-corresponding block display 1852 will move upward relative to pointer 1821.

[0470] Therefore, as the variation effect with variation sound A1 as the background sound progresses, the pointer 1821 gradually moves from the top to the bottom of the block 1853 of "Variation Sound A1," as shown in Figure 32(B). In the following, the movement of the pointer 1821 relative to the map-corresponding block display 1852 or block 1853 (more specifically, the block 1853 corresponding to the variation effect currently being executed) as the map-corresponding block display 1852 moves upward may be simply referred to as "movement of pointer 1821."

[0471] The movement speed of the map-corresponding block display 1852 is equal to the speed at which the pointer 1821, positioned at the top of block 1853 when the variation effect begins, reaches the bottom of 1853 when the variation effect ends. Therefore, the top of each block 1853 functions as start information corresponding to the start timing of the variation effect corresponding to that block 1853. The bottom of block 1853 functions as end information corresponding to the end timing of the variation effect corresponding to that block 1853, and also functions as information indicating the branching point at which one of the next multiple types of variation effects to be executed will begin.

[0472] In other words, if the variable sound effect using variable sound A1 as the background sound is currently being executed, the upper end of the "Variable Sound A1" block indicates start information corresponding to the start timing of the currently being executed variable sound effect, and the lower end indicates end information corresponding to the end timing of the currently being executed variable sound effect. Furthermore, the upper ends of each of the "Variable Sound A2", "Variable Sound X", and "Variable Sound B1" blocks 1853, which are located below the "Variable Sound A1" block 1853, indicate start information corresponding to the start timing of the next executable variable sound effect, and the lower ends indicate end information corresponding to the end timing of the next executable variable sound effect.

[0473] In the map-compatible block display 1852, the block 1853 corresponding to the currently running variation effect and each block 1853 corresponding to a variation effect that can be transitioned to after the end of the current variation effect are such that, for example as shown in Figure 32(A), the lower end of the former block 1853 (end information corresponding to the end timing of the variation effect corresponding to the block 1853) and the upper end of the latter block 1853 (start information corresponding to the start timing of the variation effect corresponding to the block 1853) coincide in the vertical direction. Therefore, the map-compatible block display 1852 takes into consideration the temporal continuity between the currently running variation effect and the next variation effect to be executed.

[0474] In the map-corresponding block display 1852, the position that is the lower end of block 1853 corresponding to the currently running variation effect (a common variation effect) and the upper end of each of the multiple types of variation effects (selection effects) to which the currently running variation effect may be transitioned after the end of the current variation effect indicates a branching point in which one of the multiple types of variation effects will be executed after the execution of the currently running variation effect.

[0475] In the map-compatible block display 1852, the pointer 1821 is displayed between the top edge of the block 1853 corresponding to the currently running variation effect (start information corresponding to the start timing of the variation effect) and the top edges of each of the blocks 1853 corresponding to the multiple types of variation effects that are candidates for the next transition destination (start information corresponding to the start timing of each of these variation effects).

[0476] In other words, the pointer 1821 displayed for the map-corresponding block display 1852 functions as progress information, indicating the situation from the current position, which indicates the currently running variation animation, until it reaches the start information corresponding to the timing when the next variation animation (i.e., one of several variation animations that are candidates for the next transition destination) begins.

[0477] Furthermore, the pointer 1821 displayed for the map-compatible block display 1852, which can represent the temporal continuity between the currently executing variation effect and the next variation effect, is displayed between the upper end of the block 1853 corresponding to the currently executing variation effect and the lower end of the block 1853 (i.e., the branching point at which one of the multiple types of variation effects that are candidates for the next transition destination is executed). Therefore, the pointer 1821 also functions as progress information indicating the current time relative to the branching point at which one of the multiple types of variation effects that are candidates for the next transition destination is executed.

[0478] Therefore, in the map-corresponding block display 1852, the player can be made aware of the branching timing of the next variation animation corresponding to the lower end of the block 1853 corresponding to the variation animation currently being executed, relative to the current point indicated by the pointer 1821 (i.e., the timing when one of the multiple types of variation animations that are candidates for the next transition will be executed). This makes it possible to create an expectation in the player regarding the variation animation that will be executed at that branching timing from among the multiple types of variation animations that are candidates for the next transition (for example, an expectation of a variation animation with a high probability of winning a jackpot).

[0479] In the explanation of the variation effect using the map-corresponding block display 1852, the example given is that each block 1853 constituting the map-corresponding block display 1852 has a fixed length LA in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) (see Figure 32(A)). Therefore, the upward movement speed of the map-corresponding block display 1852 in this variation effect basically differs according to the variation time of the variation effect being executed. Here, each block 1853 constituting the map-corresponding block display 1852 may be configured to include a function that displays the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of each block 1853 with different lengths corresponding to the variation display time. In this case, when the length to the bottom end of the map-corresponding block display 1852 becomes identifiable to the player, if the variation display time is long, it is possible to suggest to the player that a variation display with a reach display such as a super reach or special reach that lasts a long time will be executed, and a variation display with a high expectation of transitioning to a big win will begin.

[0480] After the end of a variation effect using variation sound A1 as background sound, if a variation effect using variation sound A2 as background sound is started as the next variation effect from among several candidate variation effects for the next transition, as shown in Figure 33(A), the "Variation Sound A2" block 1853 is positioned adjacent to the "Variation Sound A1" block 1853, directly below the "Variation Sound A1" block 1853, with its upper edge matching the lower edge of the "Variation Sound A1" block 1853.

[0481] As a result, when the variation effect with variation sound A1 as the background sound ends, the pointer 1821 that has reached the bottom of block 1853 of "Variation Sound A1" remains at the top of block 1853 corresponding to the next variation effect to be executed (i.e., block 1853 of "Variation Sound A2"), and moves from the top to the bottom of block 1853 of "Variation Sound A2" as the variation effect with variation sound A2 as the background sound begins.

[0482] On the other hand, blocks 1853 corresponding to variation effects that were not executed after a variation effect with variation sound A1...

Claims

[Claim 1] A lottery method for conducting a predetermined lottery, A game control means that generates a special game state which is more advantageous than the normal game state when the result of the lottery by the lottery means is a predetermined result, A display unit capable of displaying at least a predetermined fluctuation display and a result display corresponding to the lottery result, An effect control means that selects the effect of the variable display based on the lottery result of the lottery means, and controls the display unit to execute the selected effect of the variable display, The system includes a holding means for suspending the execution of the aforementioned variable display up to a predetermined upper limit number of times, The aforementioned performance control means is A first display means that enables the display of a predetermined first display object in a predetermined display area, The system includes a second display means that enables the display of a predetermined second display object in the predetermined display area after the first display object has been displayed, Multiple different types of second display targets are set to be displayed after the first display target is displayed by the first display means, and the operation mode of the operation means that can be operated by the player can be made different depending on the type of second display target displayed, and the expected degree that the lottery result by the lottery means will be the predetermined result differs depending on whether the operation mode is a predetermined first operation mode or a predetermined second operation mode different from the first operation mode. A gaming machine characterized in that, when the first display object is displayed by the first display means, the display of the first display object starts from a position different from the display position of the second display object during the operation validity period, a display effect is performed such that the first display object gradually approaches the display position of the second display object during the operation validity period, and after the execution of the display effect, the operation validity period begins and a specific effect corresponding to the player's operation is performed when the first display object and the second display object are displayed in close proximity, or a display effect different from the specific effect is performed when the second display object is not displayed.

Images