gaming machines

Abstract

To increase fun of a reach-to-win notice performance.SOLUTION: When a ready-to-win performance as a result of success is executed, a high probability that three rows of performance patterns become a jackpot combination is suggested to a player according to certain execution of one of multiple special ready-to-win performances. The ready-to-win notice performance has a result of failure in addition to a result of success, and one of multiple special ready-to-win performances is executed with a probability less than "100%" or is not executed at all when a ready-to-win notice performance as a result of failure is executed, thus allowing the player to enjoy expecting completion of a ready-to-win notice performance as a result of success. Besides, failure in a jackpot in a first-half part of a special ready-to-win revival performance is suggested to the player when the special ready-to-win revival performance is executed after a ready-to-win notice performance, and a jackpot always occurs after suggesting to the player that a jackpot occurs in the latter half of the special ready-to-win revival performance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 38

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to gaming machines such as pachinko machines. [Background technology]

[0002] Some gaming machines are configured to display a symbol game image when the gaming ball lands validly in a predetermined starting area. This symbol game image is displayed in a state where the identification symbol is displayed in a variable state and then in a state where the variation is stopped, and the player is notified of the result of the judgment of whether they won or lost by the state of the identification symbol in the variable-stop state. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-073869 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Some gaming machines are designed to suggest to the player the reliability of a winning announcement by displaying an image of a preview effect in a symbol game. In this gaming machine, a numerical value is displayed as an image of the preview effect, and there is room for improvement in terms of the idea behind it.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a gaming machine that can improve the entertainment value of preview presentations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gaming machine (Example 6) described in claim 1 is a game machine that judges whether or not a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area (first starting hole 18) effectively, and when it judges that a game ball has entered a predetermined ball entry area (large winning hole 19) in an open state, a game control means (main control circuit 40) that performs a special game (jackpot game) in which a predetermined ball entry area (large winning hole 19) is opened, and an image display means that variably displays identification symbols (three rows of performance symbols) and then stops displaying them, and notifies the player of the result of the judgment of a win by stopping the identification symbols in a winning mode (jackpot combination), and the identification symbols in a losing mode (a combination of a losing reach / a combination of a complete loss). The sub-control circuit 60 is a chance presentation means (sub-control circuit 60) that performs a chance presentation (special reach presentation) during the variable display of the identification symbols to indicate to the player that the identification symbols are more likely to become a winning pattern than when the chance presentation is not being executed, and has a plurality of options (battle images BL1 to BL4) as executable chance presentations; and a chance advance notice presentation (lead to a successful ending) that makes the player expect that one of the plurality of chance presentations will be executed. and a notice performance means (sub-control circuit 60) capable of executing a special reach revival notice performance, wherein the chance performance means has as one of the plurality of options a chance performance of revival (special reach revival performance) having a first half suggesting to the player that the identification symbol will be in a losing mode (an image from when the battle image BL1 starts to be displayed in the special reach revival performance until the female silhouette W is temporarily defeated) and a second half suggesting that the identification symbol will be in a winning mode (an image from when the female silhouette W stands up in the special reach revival performance until she wins the fight again), and when the chance notice performance is executed, one of the plurality of options including the chance performance of revival is executed without fail, and the identification symbol display control means, when the revival chance performance is executed after the chance notice performance, always stops and displays the identification symbol in a winning mode after the second half of the revival chance performance is executed, and further comprises variable performance means capable of executing a variable performance which is a performance different from the chance notice performance and is made up of one or more variable number of unit performances during the variable display of the identification symbol, and the variable performance means, in each unit performance,a prediction image of one of a plurality of types of prediction images having different reliability that the identification symbol will stop and be displayed in a winning state in response to the prediction image being displayed, the reliability that the identification symbol will stop and be displayed in a winning state is suggested by the type of prediction image displayed in a unit performance, and the reliability that the identification symbol will stop and be displayed in a winning state is suggested by the number of prediction images displayed in one of the variable performances, the prediction performance means is capable of executing a predetermined performance and then executing either a success performance or a failure performance as a result performance of the predetermined performance, and when the success performance is executed after the predetermined performance, the chance prediction performance is executed as the success performance, and the probability that one of the chance performances out of the plurality of chance performances will be executed when the failure performance is executed after the predetermined performance is set to a probability lower than the probability that one of the chance performances out of the plurality of chance performances will be executed when the chance prediction performance is executed as the success performance after the predetermined performance, The predetermined effect and the chance notice effect are both effects that can be executed without using an operation means that can be operated by a player, the predetermined effect is executed in a state where a reach has not been achieved by an identification symbol, and the chance effect means starts one of a plurality of reach effects as the chance effect after the chance notice effect is executed. Its distinctive feature is that [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention (a perspective view showing the appearance of a pachinko gaming machine); [Figure 2] A diagram showing a game board [Figure 3] Figure showing the front frame [Figure 4] Block diagram showing the electrical configuration [Figure 5] (a) is a diagram showing a list of random number counters, (b) is a diagram showing a normal chart hit determination table, (c) is a diagram showing a normal chart fluctuation display time table, (d) is a diagram showing a normal chart game pattern table, (e) is a diagram showing a jackpot determination table, (f) is a diagram showing a fall determination table, (g) is a diagram showing a special chart 1 jackpot type table, (h) is a diagram showing a special chart 2 jackpot type table, (i) is a diagram showing a special chart 1 area, and (j) is a diagram showing a special chart 2 area. [Figure 6] (a) is a diagram showing the special chart 1 variation pattern table, (b) is a diagram showing the special chart 2 variation pattern table 1, and (c) is a diagram showing the special chart 2 variation pattern table 2. [Figure 7] 1A is a diagram showing a jackpot game pattern table, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing the main processing of the main control circuit. [Figure 8] Flowchart showing timer interrupt processing of the main control circuit [Figure 9] Flowchart showing the special diagram 2 processing of the main control circuit [Figure 10] 1A is a flowchart showing the time-saving count update process of the main control circuit, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing the variation pattern selection process. [Figure 11] Flowchart showing the fall determination process of the main control circuit [Figure 12] Flowchart showing the special diagram 1 processing of the main control circuit [Figure 13] (a) is a diagram for explaining the transition of game modes, and (b) and (c) are diagrams for explaining the transition of presentation modes. [Figure 14] (a) to (d) are diagrams showing background images of the effect symbol game, and (e) is a diagram showing a list of effect contents of the effect symbol game. [Figure 15] A diagram to explain normal effects and simultaneous stop effects for all figures [Figure 16] A diagram to explain the normal reach effect [Figure 17] A diagram to explain the special reach effect [Figure 18] (a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining the super time-saving effect, and (c) is a diagram for explaining the big win game effect. [Figure 19] 1A is a diagram for explaining the timing of Step-Up Preview Performance 1, and FIGS. 1B to 1D are diagrams showing a list of the performance contents of Step-Up Preview Performance 1. [Figure 20] Diagram to explain step 1 [Figure 21] Diagram to explain step 2 [Figure 22] Diagram to explain step 3 [Figure 23] Flowchart showing step-up notice performance process 1 of the sub-control circuit [Figure 24] A diagram showing a list of dialogue images [Figure 25] A diagram for explaining advance notice information notification performance 1 [Figure 26] A diagram to explain step-up preview performance 2 [Figure 27] (a) is a diagram showing the special chart 2 pre-reading reception area, (b) is a flowchart showing the step-up notice performance processing 2 of the sub-control circuit [Figure 28] 1A is a flowchart showing the main processing of the sub-control circuit, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing the timer interrupt processing. [Figure 29] 1A is a flowchart showing the received command analysis process of the sub-control circuit, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing the symbol game performance start process. [Figure 30] Figure 2 shows Example 2 (Figures a to f are for explaining the big win notice presentation, and g is a flowchart showing the big win notice presentation processing of the sub-control circuit) [Figure 31] A diagram to explain the consecutive big win notice performances [Figure 32] (a) is a flowchart showing the jackpot notice continuous performance processing of the sub-control circuit, (b) is a diagram showing the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area of ​​the sub-control circuit [Figure 33] (a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining the consecutive big win notice presentations, and (c) is a flowchart showing the notice determination process of the sub-control circuit. [Figure 34] FIG. 10 shows an example 3 (a diagram showing an image of a reach notice effect) [Figure 35] A diagram showing an image of a special jackpot announcement [Figure 36] Flowchart showing the reach notice performance processing of the sub-control circuit [Figure 37] 6 shows a sixth embodiment (a to d are diagrams for explaining reach notice effects, and e is a flowchart showing reach notice effect processing). [Figure 38] (a) to (e) are diagrams for explaining the special reach revival effect, and (f) is a flowchart showing the special reach revival effect processing) [Figure 39] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment (a diagram for explaining the revival notice performance) [Figure 40]FIG. 8 shows Example 8 (a diagram for explaining the second half of the special reach revival effect) [Figure 41] FIG. 9 shows Example 9 (a diagram for explaining the second half of the special reach revival effect) [Figure 42] FIG. 10 shows an example (a is a diagram showing the reliability of a cloud image, and b is a diagram showing an image of a performance symbol game). [Figure 43] FIG. 11 shows an example of an eleventh embodiment (a preview image) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] [Example 1] 1. Mechanical structure of the gaming machine The outer frame 1 in Figure 1 is installed on the machine tray of a pachinko parlor. The outer frame 1 is a vertically long rectangular frame with openings on the front and back, and an inner frame 3 is attached to the left end of the outer frame 1 via a hinge fitting 2. The inner frame 3 is a rectangular container with an opening on the front, and is rotatable relative to the outer frame 1 around the vertical axis of the hinge fitting 2 between a stored position where it is stored within the outer frame 1 and a pulled-out position where it is pulled out forward from within the outer frame 1. A vertical, flat game board 4 is attached to the inner frame 3, as shown in Figure 2. The game board 4 is made of a colorless, transparent synthetic resin and covers the front opening of the inner frame 3 from the front.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, a front frame 5 is attached to the hinge fitting 2. This front frame 5 is a rectangular frame with an opening 6, and a colorless, transparent window panel 7 that covers the opening 6 is fixed to the front frame 5. This front frame 5 is rotatable about the vertical axis of the hinge fitting 2 between a closed state in which it covers the game board 4 from the front and an open state in which it opens the game board 4, and the window panel 7 faces the game board 4 from the front across a gap when the front frame 5 is in the closed state. As shown in FIG. 3, an upper tray 8 and a lower tray 9 are fixed to the front frame 5 in two rows, one above the other. The upper tray 8 stores game balls, and the lower tray 9 stores game balls that the upper tray 8 cannot store. The upper tray 8 is equipped with an operation button 10 that can be operated by the player.

[0015] A launching device (not shown) is attached to the front frame 5. This launching device has a striking hammer that strikes the game balls and a launching motor that operates the striking hammer, and game balls are supplied to the striking hammer one by one from the upper tray 8. This launching device supplies a new game ball to the striking hammer each time the striking hammer strikes a game ball, and as shown in Figure 3, a launching handle 11 is connected to the launching device. This launching handle 11 is attached to the lower right corner of the front frame 5 so that it can be rotated around an axis oriented in the front-to-rear direction, and the force with which the striking hammer strikes the game ball is adjusted according to the amount of clockwise operation (angle of rotation) of the launching handle 11.

[0016] As shown in Figure 2, an outer rail 12 and an inner rail 13 are fixed to the front of the game board 4. An arc-shaped launch passage 14 is formed between the outer rail 12 and the inner rail 13, and game balls struck by the battering mallet rise from bottom to top within the launch passage 14. The outer rail 12 and the inner rail 13 define a game area 15 on the front of the game board 4. The game area 15 is a circular area connected to the exit at the top end of the launch passage 14, and game balls rising within the launch passage 14 are released into the game area 15 from the exit of the launch passage 14. A plurality of game pegs (not shown) are driven into the game area 15, and game balls released into the game area 15 fall within the game area 15 while colliding with the plurality of game pegs.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, a left-hitting area 16 and a right-hitting area 17 are set within the game area 15. The left-hitting area 16 is the area to the left of the center line of the game area 15, and when the amount of clockwise operation of the launch handle 11 is small, the game ball is released from the exit of the launch passage 14 into the left-hitting area 16. This type of hitting in which the game ball is released into the left-hitting area 16 is referred to as a left-hitting. The right-hitting area 17 is the area to the right of the center line of the game area 15, and when the amount of clockwise operation of the launch handle 11 is large, the game ball is released from the exit of the launch passage 14 through the left-hitting area 16 into the right-hitting area 17. This type of hitting in which the game ball is released into the right-hitting area 17 is referred to as a right-hitting.

[0018] As shown in Figure 2, a first starting hole 18 is fixed within the game area 15. This first starting hole 18 is pocket-shaped with an open top, allowing game balls to enter from the top. This first starting hole 18 is located across the left-hand hitting area 16 and the right-hand hitting area 17, allowing game balls to easily enter the first starting hole 18 from the top entrance when hitting from the left, but making it difficult for the ball to enter when hitting from the right. This first starting hole 18 corresponds to a predetermined starting area.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, a large prize opening 19 is fixed within the right-hand hitting area 17. This large prize opening 19 is shaped like a horizontally long box with an open front and is equipped with a door panel 20. This door panel 20 is rotatable about a horizontal axis (not shown) at its lower end between a vertically closed state and a horizontally open state, and in the closed state, it closes the front entrance of the large prize opening 19 so that game balls cannot enter. When a game ball is hit from the right with this door panel 20 open, the game ball falls onto the door panel 20 and rolls from front to back along the door panel 20, entering the entrance of the large prize opening 19. In other words, the large prize opening 19 is designed to allow game balls to enter when the game ball is hit from the right. This large prize opening 19 corresponds to a predetermined ball entry area.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, within the right-hand hitting area 17, a guide plate 21 is fixed below the big prize opening 19. This guide plate 21 slopes downward from right to left, and when the game ball is hit from the right, the game ball falls onto the guide plate 21 and then rolls from right to left along the guide plate 21. Within the right-hand hitting area 17, a normal starting opening 22 is fixed above the big prize opening 19. This normal starting opening 22 is U-shaped with openings on the top and bottom, and when the game ball is hit from the right, the game ball can pass through from the top to the bottom.

[0021] Within the game area 15, as shown in FIG. 2, a second starting hole 23 is fixed below the first starting hole 18. This second starting hole 23 has an open top and is equipped with an opening / closing member 24. This opening / closing member 24 is movable between a protruding state in which it protrudes forward from the front of the game board 4 and a recessed state in which it recesses backward, and the entrance at the top of the second starting hole 23 is closed when the opening / closing member 24 is in the protruding / retracted state to prevent the game ball from entering. The entrance of this second starting hole 23 is open when the opening / closing member 24 is recessed, and when the game ball is hit from the right while the second starting hole 23 is open, it rolls from right to left along the guide plate 21 and enters the entrance of the second starting hole 23. This second starting hole 23 corresponds to a predetermined starting area.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, an LED display 25 is fixed to the gaming board 4. This LED display 25 is disposed outside the gaming area 15, and displays the result of the winning or losing judgment on the LED display 25. A decorative frame 26 is fixed to the gaming board 4. This decorative frame 26 is colored and opaque, and has an opening 27. When viewed from the front, this decorative frame 26 has a frame-like shape that surrounds a display area E of a performance symbol display 28. As shown in FIG. 1, this performance symbol display 28 is made up of a color LCD display fixed within the inner frame 3, and the display area E is set to be a horizontally long rectangle. This performance symbol display 28 corresponds to a display, and the display area E of the performance symbol display 28 is visible to the player through the window panel 7, the opening 27 in the decorative frame 26, and the gaming board 4.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 3 , an electric light 29 is fixed to the front frame 5. This electric light 29 is located at the upper end of the front frame 5 and has multiple hemispherical LED covers 30. Each of these LED covers 30 is set to a translucent white color and houses an LED 31. Each of these LEDs 31 is a full-color LED whose color and brightness can be controlled, and each LED cover 30 is illuminated in a manner corresponding to the color and brightness of the LED 31 as it emits light. Two speakers 32 are fixed to the front frame 5. These speakers 32 face each other laterally across the electric light 29, and each speaker 32 outputs sound forward.

[0024] As shown in Figure 2, a notice effect device 33 is housed within the inner frame 3. This notice effect device 33 has a colored, transparent movable member 34 and is movable up and down between an upper limit position (see two-dot chain line) and a lower limit position (see solid line). The upper limit position of this notice effect device 33 is set above the display area E of the effect symbol display 28, and the notice effect device 33 is not visible to the player when in the upper limit position. The lower limit position of this notice effect device 33 is set to a position overlapping the display area E of the effect symbol display 28 from the front, and the notice effect device 33 is visible to the player when in the lower limit position. A full-color LED 35 (see Figure 4) with controllable color and brightness is housed within the movable member 34 of this notice effect device 33, and the movable member 34 emits light in a color corresponding to the lighting color of the LED 35 when the LED 35 is turned on. This movable member 34 is connected to a pulse motor 36 (see Figure 4) via an elevation mechanism (not shown), and is moved between an upper limit position and a lower limit position as the pulse motor 36 is driven and controlled in the forward and reverse directions.

[0025] 2. Electrical configuration of gaming machine The main control circuit 40 in Figure 4 is primarily a microcomputer, equipped with ROM, RAM, a CPU, and I / O. This main control circuit 40 controls game content such as the special symbol 1 lottery, special symbol 2 lottery, special symbol variable display, jackpot game, game status setting, normal symbol lottery, normal symbol variable display, and normal symbol game, and corresponds to game control means. The ROM of this main control circuit 40 stores a main processing program, a timer interrupt processing program, a normal symbol hit determination table, a normal symbol variable display time table, a normal symbol game pattern table, a jackpot determination table, a special symbol 1 jackpot type table, a special symbol 2 jackpot type table, a special symbol 1 variable pattern table, a special symbol 2 variable pattern table, a jackpot game pattern table, a normal symbol hit determination table, a normal symbol game pattern table, etc., and the RAM of the main control circuit 40 is set with a special symbol 1 area and a special symbol 2 area. This main control circuit 40 corresponds to determination means, special game means, and game control means.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 4, a first start gate sensor 41, a second start gate sensor 42, a normal map sensor 43, and a special prize gate sensor 44 are connected to the main control circuit 40. The first start gate sensor 41 detects game balls that have entered the first start gate 18, the second start gate sensor 42 detects game balls that have entered the second start gate 23, the normal map sensor 43 detects game balls that have passed through the normal start gate 22, and the special prize gate sensor 44 detects game balls that have entered the special prize gate 19. A start gate solenoid 45 and a special prize gate solenoid 46 are connected to the main control circuit 40. The start gate solenoid 45 operates the opening / closing member 24 of the second start gate 23, and the special prize gate solenoid 46 operates the door panel 20 of the special prize gate 19. An LED display 25 is connected to this main control circuit 40, and the main control circuit 40 controls the display content of the LED display 25 to perform variable special display.

[0027] The payout control circuit 50 in Figure 4 is mainly composed of a microcomputer. This payout control circuit 50 has ROM, RAM, and a CPU, and when the main control circuit 40 detects signals from the first start hole sensor 41, the second start hole sensor 42, and the large prize hole sensor 44, it sends a payout command to the payout control circuit 50. A prize ball payout device 51 is connected to this payout control circuit 50, and when the payout control circuit 40 detects a payout command from the main control circuit 40, it drives and controls the prize ball payout device 51 to pay out a unit number of game balls into the upper tray 8 as prize balls.

[0028] The sub-control circuit 60 in FIG. 4 is primarily a microcomputer. The main control circuit 40 sends commands to the sub-control circuit 60 according to the game progress. The sub-control circuit 60, in response to the commands from the main control circuit 40, sets the display content of the effect symbol display 28, the illumination content of the illumination device 29, the sound content of the speaker 32, and the operation content of the advance notice effect device 33. This sub-control circuit 60 has ROM, RAM, a CPU, I / O, an RTC, a drive circuit, a PWM circuit, a speaker circuit, and a motor circuit. The ROM stores programs for main processing, reception interrupt processing, and timer interrupt processing. The RAM functions as work memory, and the CPU executes the ROM programs for main processing, reception interrupt processing, and timer interrupt processing in response to commands from the main control circuit 40. The operation button 10 is connected to this sub-control circuit 60, and the sub-control circuit 60 detects the operation of the operation button 10 in response to the electrical signal from the operation button 10. This sub-control circuit 60 corresponds to a symbol game means, an advance notice effect means, an effect information display means, and an effect game means.

[0029] The drive circuit in Figure 4 is primarily a microcomputer. This drive circuit controls the effect symbol display 28 in accordance with the display content settings of the sub-control circuit 60 and includes ROM, RAM, a CPU, CGROM, CGRAM, and a VDP. The ROM stores an image control program for specifying image data, the RAM functions as work memory, and the CPU executes the program stored in the ROM. The CGROM stores image data for displaying images on the effect symbol display 28, and the VDP reads image data from the CGROM in response to commands from the CPU. The VDP expands the image data readout results into the CGRAM, synthesizes the expanded image data, and draws it in the CGRAM's frame buffer. The resulting image is output as an RGB signal to the effect symbol display 28, and the effect symbol display 28 displays the image in color in accordance with the RGB signal from the VDP.

[0030] The PWM circuit in Figure 4 is based on a microcomputer, and PWM controls the color and brightness of the multiple LEDs 31 in the illumination device 29 to cause the multiple LED covers 30 in the illumination device 29 to light up according to the settings for the illumination content, and PWM controls the color and brightness of the LEDs 35 in the notice display device 33 to cause the movable member 34 of the notice display device 33 to light up according to the settings for the illumination content. The speaker circuit in Figure 4 is based on a microcomputer, and controls both speakers 32 to output sounds from both speakers 32 at a scale, volume, and tone according to the settings for the sound content. The motor circuit in Figure 4 is based on a microcomputer, and drives and controls the pulse motor 36 in the forward and reverse directions to move the notice display device 33 between its upper and lower limit positions.

[0031] 3. Gaming function 3-1. Regular Play 3-1-1. General lottery When the game ball passes through the normal symbol starting hole 22, the value of the random number for determining whether the normal symbol is a hit or not is obtained in Fig. 5(a), and the result of the determination of whether the normal symbol is a hit or not is obtained from the normal symbol hit determination table in Fig. 5(b). This normal symbol hit determination table has non-electric support and electric support states set, and in the electric support state, the hit determination result is obtained with a higher probability than in the non-electric support state.

[0032] 3-1-2. General map change display When the result of the normal map hit / miss judgment is obtained, the normal map fluctuation display begins. This normal map fluctuation display starts by flashing a predetermined number of LEDs on the LED display 25 in a predetermined pattern, and then stops flashing in either a "normal map hit" or "normal map miss" mode. If the predetermined number of LEDs are judged to be a "normal map hit," they stop flashing in a "normal map hit mode," and if they are judged to be a "normal map miss," they stop flashing in a "normal map miss mode." The required time for this normal map fluctuation display is obtained from the normal map fluctuation display time table in Figure 5(c). This normal map fluctuation display time table assigns normal map fluctuation times to each of the "electric support state" and "non-electric support state," and a shorter normal map fluctuation display time is obtained in the "electric support state" compared to the "non-electric support state."

[0033] 3-1-3. Regular Play When the normal map variation display is stopped in the "normal map hit" mode, a normal map game pattern corresponding to the current game state is selected from the normal map game pattern table in Figure 5 (d), and normal map play is started according to the selection result of the normal map game pattern. This normal map play sets the second start port 23 in an open state, and in the "electric support state", the second start port 23 is opened once for a long time (6 seconds) as a normal map game, and in the "non-electric support state", the second start port 23 is opened once for a short time (1 second) as a normal map game.

[0034] 3-2. Special Chart 1 Game 3-2-1. Acquisition of special chart 1 game data When a game ball enters the first starting hole 18, the values ​​of the random numbers for determining whether a special symbol has been hit, the random number for determining the type of jackpot, the random number for determining whether a jackpot has been hit, and the value of the variable pattern random number are acquired as shown in FIG. 5(a), and the acquired results of the random number values ​​for determining whether a special symbol has been hit and the acquired results of the variable pattern random number values ​​are stored in RAM as a set of special symbol 1 game data. As shown in FIG. 5(i), special symbol 1 reserve areas 1 to 4 are set in this RAM, and the special symbol 1 game data is stored in the order of acquisition: "special symbol 1 reserve area 4," "special symbol 1 reserve area 3," "special symbol 1 reserve area 2," and "special symbol 1 reserve area 1." In other words, when special symbol 1 game data is stored in all of special symbol 1 reserve areas 1 to 4, the special symbol 1 game data in "special symbol 1 reserve area 4" is the oldest, and the special symbol 1 game data in "special symbol 1 reserve area 1" is the newest. A state in which special chart 1 game data is stored in all of special chart 1 holding areas 1 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 1 holding number being "4", a state in which special chart 1 game data is stored in three of special chart 1 holding areas 2 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 1 holding number being "3", a state in which special chart 1 game data is stored in two of special chart 1 holding areas 3 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 1 holding number being "2", a state in which special chart 1 game data is stored in one of special chart 1 holding areas 4 is referred to as the special chart 1 holding number being "1", and a state in which special chart 1 game data is not stored in any of special chart 1 holding areas 1 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 1 holding number being "0".

[0035] 3-2-2. Special Drawing 1 Lottery If special chart 1 game data is stored in the "special chart 1 reserve area 4," the special chart 1 lottery will be held on the condition that the current game is stopped. This game-stopped state refers to a state in which special chart 1 game, special chart 2 game, and jackpot game are all stopped, and the special chart 1 lottery is allowed during normal game play. This game-stopped state corresponds to a playable state, and a state in which either special chart 1 game, special chart 2 game, or jackpot game is being played corresponds to a non-playable state.

[0036] When the game is stopped and special symbol 1 game data is stored in the "special symbol 1 reserve area 4", the storage result of the value of the random number for determining whether the special symbol is a hit or a miss is detected from the "special symbol 1 reserve area 4", and in the "high probability state", a judgment result of either "hit" or "miss" is obtained from the jackpot judgment table for the high probability state in Figure 5(e) depending on the detection result of the value of the random number for determining whether the special symbol is a hit or a miss, and in the "normal probability state", a judgment result of either "hit" or "miss" is obtained from the jackpot judgment table for the normal probability state depending on the detection result of the value of the random number for determining whether the special symbol is a hit or a miss. The probability of determining a hit in this "normal probability state" is set lower than the probability of determining a hit in the "high probability state".

[0037] When a "jackpot" determination result is obtained from the jackpot determination table, the storage result of the value of the random number for determining the jackpot type is detected from the "Special Chart 1 Reserve Area 4", and the jackpot type according to the detection result of the value of the random number for determining the jackpot type is obtained from the Special Chart 1 jackpot type table in Figure 5 (g). This Special Chart 1 jackpot type table has two types of jackpot types set: "jackpot pattern 1" and "jackpot pattern 2", and when "jackpot pattern 1" is obtained, "electric support state 1" and "high probability state" are set, and when "jackpot pattern 2" is obtained, "electric support state 2" and "normal probability state" are set.

[0038] When the type of jackpot is determined in accordance with the obtained judgment result of "jackpot", the storage result of the value of the fluctuation pattern random number is detected from the "special chart 1 reserve area 4", and the special chart fluctuation pattern and special chart fluctuation display time according to the detection result of the value of the fluctuation pattern random number are selected from the special chart 1 fluctuation pattern table of Figure 6(a).When the judgment result of "miss" is obtained, the storage result of the value of the fluctuation pattern random number is detected from the "special chart 1 reserve area 4", and the special chart fluctuation pattern and special chart fluctuation display time according to the detection result of the value of the fluctuation pattern random number are selected from the special chart 1 fluctuation pattern table of Figure 6(a).

[0039] 3-2―3. Fall Lottery When a special chart variation pattern and special chart variation display time are selected, the storage result of the value of the random number for fall judgment is detected from the "special chart 1 reserve area 4", and either "fall occurred" or "no fall occurred" is selected from the fall judgment table in Figure 5(f) according to the detection result of the value of the random number for fall judgment. If "fall occurred" is selected as this judgment result, if the current game state is a "high probability state", the "high probability state" is canceled and the "normal probability state" is set instead of the "high probability state".

[0040] 3-2-4. Special Chart 1 Change Display When the special chart variation pattern and special chart variation display time are selected, the special chart 1 variation display will begin. This special chart 1 variation display causes a predetermined number of LEDs on the LED display 25 to start flashing in a predetermined pattern and then stop flashing, and if the predetermined number of LEDs are determined to be a miss, they stop flashing in the "special chart 1 miss" mode, and if they are determined to be a jackpot, they stop flashing in the "jackpot" mode according to the jackpot type judgment result. The time required from the start of this flashing to the end of the flashing depends on the selection result of the special chart variation display time.

[0041] 3-2-5. Jackpot games When the predetermined number of LEDs on the LED indicator 25 stop flashing in a manner corresponding to the jackpot type determination result, a jackpot game pattern corresponding to the jackpot type determination result is selected from the jackpot game pattern table shown in FIG. 7(a), and the jackpot game begins according to the selected jackpot game pattern. This jackpot game allows game balls to enter the jackpot entry port 19 by opening and closing the jackpot entry port 19, and corresponds to a special game. This jackpot game pattern has an opening period before the start of the first round and an ending period after the end of the final round. The opening period is a period during which the jackpot entry port 19 is closed, and is a waiting period during which the jackpot entry port 19 changes from a state in which game balls cannot enter to a state in which game balls can enter. The ending period is a period during which the jackpot entry port 19 is closed, and is a period during which the player is made aware that the jackpot game has ended. The period from the start of the opening period to the end of the ending period is called the jackpot game. This jackpot game corresponds to a special game.

[0042] The jackpot game pattern table in Figure 7(a) contains two types of patterns: "jackpot game pattern L" and "jackpot game pattern S." Each of these "jackpot game pattern L" and "jackpot game pattern S" consists of multiple rounds. In each round, the jackpot entry port 19 remains open until a time limit elapses, then closes for a set period of time. If the maximum number of game balls enters the jackpot entry port 19 before the time limit elapses, the jackpot entry port 19 closes for a set period of time without waiting for the time limit to elapse. In other words, each of "jackpot game pattern L" and "jackpot game pattern S" consists of multiple unit games. The first round begins upon the end of the opening period, and the ending period begins after the closing time has elapsed following the end of the final round. Jackpot game pattern L consists of 16 rounds and can award a large number of prize balls to the player. Jackpot game pattern L is triggered when "jackpot symbol 1" or "jackpot symbol 2" is selected. The jackpot game pattern S consists of five rounds and can pay out a small number of prize balls to the player. This jackpot game pattern S is played when "jackpot pattern 3" or "jackpot pattern 3" is selected in response to a jackpot being determined in the special drawing 2 lottery, but is not played if a jackpot is determined in the special drawing 1 lottery.

[0043] 3-2-6. Game status update 3-2-6-1. High probability state and normal probability state If "jackpot symbol 2" is selected, the "normal probability state" is set when the jackpot game ends, as shown in Figure 5(g), and if "jackpot symbol 1" is selected, the "high probability state" is set when the jackpot game ends. There is no limit set for the number of times this "high probability state" can continue, and the "high probability state" will continue until "fall" is drawn.

[0044] 3-2-6-2. Electric support state and non-electric support state If "Jackpot Pattern 1" is selected, "Electric Support State 1" is set when the jackpot game ends. This "Electric Support State 1" has a limit of "100 times," and if the "High Probability State" falls to the "Normal Probability State" in response to a "Fall" being drawn before the total number of times that the Special Chart 1 game and the Special Chart 2 game reach the limit, "Electric Support State 1" continues until the total number of times that the Special Chart 1 game and the Special Chart 2 game reach the limit "100 times." If the total number of times that the Special Chart 1 game and the Special Chart 2 game reach the limit "100 times," the "High Probability State" falls to the "Normal Probability State" in response to a "Fall" being drawn, and the "Non-Electric Support State" is set. If "Jackpot Pattern 2" is selected, "Electric Support State 2" is set when the jackpot game ends. This "electric support state 2" has a limit of "100 times," and "electric support state 2" switches to "non-electric support state" when the total number of times special chart 1 play and special chart 2 play reaches the limit.

[0045] 3-2-6-3. Special Chart 1 Pre-reading When the game ball enters the first starting hole 18 and the acquisition result of the special game data is stored in one of the special game data holding areas 1-4, a pre-determination of whether or not the game will be won, a pre-determination of the variation pattern, a pre-determination of the variation display time, and a pre-determination of whether or not the game will fall are made according to the acquisition result of the special game data. If the pre-determination result of whether or not the game will be won is a jackpot, a pre-determination of the jackpot type and a pre-determination of the game state are made. These pre-determinations of whether or not the game will be won and the pre-determination of the jackpot type are made in the above-mentioned procedure, and if the pre-determination result of whether or not the game will be won is a jackpot, a pre-determination of the game state is made according to the pre-determination result of the jackpot type. In other words, if the pre-determination result of the jackpot type is "jackpot symbol 1," a pre-determination of "electric support state 1" or "high probability state" is made, and if it is "jackpot symbol 2," a pre-determination of "electric support state 2" or "normal probability state" is made.

[0046] When a pre-determination of whether or not a win / loss has been made and a pre-determination of the game state has been made, the pre-determination result of whether or not a win / loss has been made and the pre-determination result of the game state are stored in RAM as a set of special chart 1 look-ahead data. As shown in Figure 5(i), special chart 1 look-ahead areas 1 to 4 are set in this RAM, and special chart 1 look-ahead data corresponding to the special chart 1 game data in "special chart 1 reserve area 4" is stored in "special chart 1 look-ahead area 4," special chart 1 look-ahead data corresponding to the special chart 1 game data in "special chart 1 reserve area 3" is stored in "special chart 1 look-ahead area 3," special chart 1 look-ahead data corresponding to the special chart 1 game data in "special chart 1 reserve area 2" is stored in "special chart 1 look-ahead area 2," and special chart 1 look-ahead data corresponding to the special chart 1 game data in "special chart 1 reserve area 1" is stored in "special chart 1 look-ahead area 1."

[0047] 3-3. Special Chart 2 Game 3-3-1. Acquisition of special chart 2 game data When the game ball enters the second starting hole 23 validly, the value of the random number for determining whether or not a special symbol has been hit, the value of the random number for determining the type of big win, the value of the random number for determining whether or not a ball has been hit, and the value of the variable pattern random number are acquired, and the acquired value of the random number for determining whether or not a special symbol has been hit - the acquired value of the variable pattern random number are stored in RAM as a set of special symbol 2 game data. As shown in Figure 5(j), special symbol 2 reserve areas 1 to 4 are set in this RAM, and the special symbol 2 game data is stored in the order of acquisition in the order of "special symbol 2 reserve area 4", "special symbol 2 reserve area 3", "special symbol 2 reserve area 2", and "special symbol 2 reserve area 1". A state in which special chart 2 game data is stored in all of these special chart 2 reserve areas 1 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 2 reserve number being "4", a state in which special chart 2 game data is stored in three of the special chart 2 reserve areas 2 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 2 reserve number being "3", a state in which special chart 2 game data is stored in two of the special chart 2 reserve areas 3 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 2 reserve number being "2", a state in which special chart 2 game data is stored in one of the special chart 2 reserve areas 4 is referred to as the special chart 2 reserve number being "1", and a state in which special chart 2 game data is not stored in any of the special chart 2 reserve areas 1 to 4 is referred to as the special chart 2 reserve number being "0".

[0048] 3-3-2. Special Drawing 2 Lottery The special drawing 2 lottery is held with priority over the special drawing 1 lottery, and if special drawing 2 game data is stored in the "special drawing 2 reserve area 4," the special drawing 2 lottery is held on the condition that the game is currently stopped. In other words, if both special drawing 1 game data and special drawing 2 game data exist, the special drawing 2 lottery is started according to the special drawing 2 game data, and the special drawing 1 lottery is started after all of the special drawing 2 game data has been drawn. This special drawing 2 lottery is held by detecting the special drawing 2 game data from the "special drawing 2 reserve area 4" and according to the detection result of the special drawing 2 game data, and the jackpot determination table in Figure 5(e) is used to determine whether or not the winning is won.

[0049] The special chart 2 jackpot type table in Figure 5(h) is used to determine the jackpot type of special chart 2. This special chart 2 jackpot type table has "jackpot pattern 1," "jackpot pattern 3," and "jackpot pattern 4" set, and when either "jackpot pattern 1" or "jackpot pattern 3" is obtained, "electric support state 1" and "high probability state" are set, and when "jackpot pattern 4" is obtained, "electric support state 2" and "normal probability state" are set.

[0050] To determine the special chart variation pattern and special chart variation display time for special chart 2, special chart 2 variation pattern table 1 in Figure 6(b) or special chart 2 variation pattern table 2 in Figure 6(c) is used. Special chart 2 variation pattern table 1 is used when the current game state is "electric support state 2" and when the number of continuations is "electric support state 1" with 200 or fewer times, and differs from special chart 1 variation pattern table in that the time-saving special chart variation pattern "PH07" and the time-saving special chart variation display time "1000 msec" are assigned when a miss is determined. Special chart 2 variation pattern table 2 is used when the current game state is "electric support state 1" with 201 or more times of continuation, and differs from special chart 2 variation pattern table 1 in that the time-saving special chart variation pattern "PH08" and the time-saving special chart variation display time "500 msec" are assigned when a miss is determined. The state in which the special chart fluctuation pattern is obtained from this special chart 2 fluctuation pattern table 2 is called the "super electric support state."

[0051] 3-3-3. Fall Lottery When a special chart variation pattern and special chart variation display time are selected, the storage result of the value of the random number for fall judgment is detected from the "special chart 2 reserve area 4", and either "fall occurred" or "no fall occurred" is selected from the fall judgment table in Figure 5(f) according to the detection result of the value of the random number for fall judgment. If "fall occurred" is selected as this judgment result, if the current game state is a "high probability state", the "high probability state" is canceled and the "normal probability state" is set instead of the "high probability state".

[0052] 3-3-4. Special Chart 2 Change Display When the special chart variation pattern and special chart variation display time for special chart 2 are selected, the special chart 2 variation display is performed for the required time according to the selection result of the special chart variation display time. This special chart 2 variation display starts flashing the multiple LEDs for special chart 2 of the LED display 25 in a predetermined pattern and then stops flashing, and when it is determined that there is a miss, the LEDs for special chart 2 stop flashing in the manner of "special chart 2 miss", and when it is determined that there is a jackpot, the LEDs stop flashing in the manner according to the judgment result of the jackpot type.

[0053] 3-3-5. Jackpot games When the LED for special chart 2 of the LED display 25 stops flashing in a manner corresponding to the result of the determination of the type of jackpot, a jackpot game pattern corresponding to the result of the determination of the type of jackpot is selected from the jackpot game pattern table of Figure 7(a), and jackpot game starts with the selected result of the jackpot game pattern. 3-3-6. Updating game status If either "Jackpot Pattern 1" or "Jackpot Pattern 3" is selected, "Electric Support State 1" and "High Probability State" will be set when the jackpot game ends, and if "Jackpot Pattern 4" is selected, "Electric Support State 2" and "Normal Probability State" will be set when the jackpot game ends.

[0054] 3-3-7. Special Chart 2 Prediction When the game ball enters the second starting hole 23, and the acquisition result of the special chart 2 game data is stored in one of the special chart 2 reserve areas 1 to 4, a pre-determination of whether or not the ball has been won, a pre-determination of the fluctuation pattern, a pre-determination of the fluctuation display time, and a pre-determination of whether or not the ball has fallen are made according to the acquisition result of the special chart 2 game data, and if the pre-determination result of whether or not the ball has been won is a jackpot, a pre-determination of the jackpot type and a pre-determination of the game state are made. These pre-determinations of whether or not the ball has been won and the pre-determination of the game state are made in the above-mentioned procedure, and the pre-determination results of whether or not the ball has been won and the pre-determination results of the game state are stored in RAM as a set of special chart 2 pre-read data. As shown in Figure 5(j), this RAM has special chart 2 pre-reading areas 1 to 4 set up, and special chart 2 pre-reading data corresponding to the special chart 2 game data in "special chart 2 reserve area 4" is stored in "special chart 2 pre-reading area 4", special chart 2 pre-reading data corresponding to the special chart 2 game data in "special chart 2 reserve area 3" is stored in "special chart 2 pre-reading area 3", special chart 2 pre-reading data corresponding to the special chart 2 game data in "special chart 2 reserve area 2" is stored in "special chart 2 pre-reading area 2", and special chart 2 pre-reading data corresponding to the special chart 2 game data in "special chart 2 reserve area 1" is stored in "special chart 2 pre-reading area 1".

[0055] 4. Processing Function of Main Control Circuit 40 4-1.Main processing When the power is turned on, the main control circuit 40 detects the main processing program of Fig. 7(b) from the ROM and disables interrupts in S1. Then, in S2, it updates the values ​​of each random number in Fig. 5(a) and enables interrupts in S3. The value of each random number is incremented by "1" from the current value, and when it is incremented to the upper limit, it is reset to "0" and added again.

[0056] 4-2. Timer interrupt processing When the main control circuit 40 sets interrupt permission in S3, it allows the timer interrupt process to start in S4. This timer interrupt process is executed at a fixed interval, and the random number update process in S3 is repeated during the waiting time from the end of the current timer interrupt process to the start of the next timer interrupt process.

[0057] 8 shows the timer interrupt processing of the main control circuit 40, in which the main control circuit 40 transmits the commands etc. set in the output buffer of the RAM in the previous timer interrupt processing to the sub-control circuit 60 in the output processing of S11 of the current timer interrupt processing. Then, in the random number update processing of S12, the values ​​of the random numbers in FIG. 5(a) are updated, and in the sensor detection processing of S13, the presence or absence of signals from the first start gate sensor 41, the second start gate sensor 42, the normal prize sensor 43, and the large prize gate sensor 44 is detected.

[0058] When the main control circuit 40 completes the sensor detection process of S13, it determines in S14 whether or not a signal from the normal symbol sensor 44 has been detected in the sensor detection process of S13. If it determines that a signal from the normal symbol sensor 44 has not been detected, it proceeds to S16, and if it determines that a signal from the normal symbol sensor 44 has been detected, it acquires the value of the random number for determining whether the normal symbol is a hit or miss in the normal symbol game data acquisition process of S15, and then proceeds to S16.

[0059] When the main control circuit 40 proceeds to S16, it determines whether a signal from the second start port sensor 42 has been detected in the sensor detection process of S13. If it determines that a signal from the second start port sensor 42 has not been detected, it proceeds to S19. If it determines that a signal from the second start port sensor 42 has been detected, it compares the special 2 reserved number with "4." If it determines that the special 2 reserved number is "4," it proceeds to S19. If it determines that the special 2 reserved number is less than "4," it acquires the special 2 game data in S17. Here, it stores the acquired special 2 game data in one of the special 2 reserve areas 1-4 according to the storage order, sets a special 2 reserve command in the output buffer, and proceeds to S18. This special 2 reserve command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 of the special 2 reserved number and is sent to the sub-control circuit 60 in the next timer interrupt process.

[0060] When the main control circuit 40 proceeds to S18, it performs a preliminary determination of whether or not a win has occurred, a preliminary determination of the fluctuation pattern, a preliminary determination of the fluctuation display time, a preliminary determination of the type of jackpot, a preliminary determination of whether or not a fall has occurred, and a preliminary determination of the game state on the results of the acquisition of the special chart 2 game data, and stores the preliminary determination results of whether or not a win has occurred and the game state as special chart 2 pre-read data in one of the special chart 2 pre-read areas 1 to 4 according to the storage order. Next, the stored result of the special chart 2 pre-read data is set in the output buffer of the RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 81 in the next timer interrupt process, and proceeds to S19.

[0061] When the main control circuit 40 transitions to S19, it determines whether a signal from the first start gate sensor 41 has been detected in the sensor detection process of S13. If it determines that a signal from the first start gate sensor 41 has not been detected, it transitions sequentially to the normal process of S22, the special pattern 2 process of S23, and the special pattern 1 process of S24. If it determines that a signal from the first start gate sensor 41 has been detected, it compares the special pattern 1 reserved number with "4." If it determines that the special pattern 1 reserved number is "4," it transitions sequentially to S22 through S24. If it determines that the special pattern 1 reserved number is less than "4," it acquires the special pattern 1 game data in S20. Here, the acquired special pattern 1 game data is stored in one of the special pattern 1 reserved areas 1 through 4 according to the storage order, and a special pattern 1 reserved command is set in the output buffer. This special pattern 1 reserved command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 of the special pattern 1 reserved number and is sent to the sub-control circuit 60 during the next timer interrupt process.

[0062] When the main control circuit 40 stores the acquisition result of the special chart 1 game data in S20, in S21 it performs a preliminary judgment of whether it is a win or not, a preliminary judgment of the fluctuation pattern, a preliminary judgment of the fluctuation display time, a preliminary judgment of the type of jackpot, a preliminary judgment of whether it will fall or not, and a preliminary judgment of the game state on the acquisition result of the special chart 1 game data, and stores the preliminary judgment results of whether it is a win or not and the game state as special chart 1 pre-read data in one of the special chart 1 pre-read areas 1 to 4 according to the storage order. Next, the stored result of the special chart 1 pre-read data is set in the output buffer of the RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60 in the next timer interrupt processing, and proceeds in order to S22 to S24. 4-3. General Map Processing

[0063] The main control circuit 40 determines whether the normal symbol is a hit or miss in the normal symbol processing of S22 based on the result of obtaining the value of the random number for determining whether the normal symbol is a hit or miss, and selects the normal symbol fluctuation display time according to the current game state from the normal symbol fluctuation display time table of Fig. 5 (c). Then, the result of the normal symbol hit or miss determination is announced in response to the normal symbol fluctuation display being executed based on the result of the selection of the normal symbol fluctuation display time. Here, when the result of the "normal symbol hit" determination is announced, a normal symbol play pattern according to the current game state is selected from the normal symbol play pattern table of Fig. 5 (d), and the game ball is allowed to enter the second starting hole 23 in response to the result of the selection of the normal symbol play pattern and the normal symbol play being performed.

[0064] 4-4. Special Drawing 2 Processing 9 shows the special chart 2 processing of S23, in which the main control circuit 40 selectively executes the special chart 2 lottery processing of S31, the time reduction count update processing of S32, the fall determination processing of S33, the special chart 2 variation stop processing of S34, the jackpot game start processing of S35, the jackpot game in progress processing of S36, and the jackpot game stop processing of S37 depending on the setting result of the value of the second pointer P2 in the RAM. The value of this second pointer P2 is initially set to "1" when the power is turned on.

[0065] 4-4-1. Special Drawing 2 Lottery Processing When the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "1," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the special chart 2 lottery process of S31. The value of this second pointer P2 is set to "1" when the game is stopped, and the main control circuit 40 determines whether special chart 2 game data is stored in the "special chart 2 reserve area 4" in the special chart 2 lottery process of S31. If it is determined that special chart 2 game data is not stored in the "special chart 2 reserve area 4," the special chart 2 lottery process is terminated, and if it is determined that special chart 2 game data is stored in the "special chart 2 reserve area 4," a win / loss determination, a fluctuation pattern determination, and a fluctuation display time determination are made based on the special chart 2 game data in the "special chart 2 reserve area 4," and if the win / loss determination result is a jackpot, a jackpot type determination is made. Then, the results of the hit / miss judgment, the results of the fluctuation pattern judgment, and the results of the jackpot type judgment are set in the output buffer of the RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60 as special chart 2 game data, and a fluctuation start command 2 is set in the output buffer of the RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60.

[0066] Figure 10(b) shows the variation pattern selection process executed by the main control circuit 40 in S31, and the main control circuit 40 sets the results of the determination of the special chart variation pattern and the determination of the special chart variation display time in the variation pattern selection process of Figure 10(b) to the output buffer of RAM. This main control circuit 40 determines whether the current game state is a "super electric support state" in S31a. If it determines that the current game state is a "super electric support state," it selects a special chart variation pattern and special chart variation display time from special chart 2 variation pattern table 2 in Figure 6(c) in S31b, and if it determines that it is "electric support state 1" or "electric support state 2," it selects a special chart variation pattern and special chart variation display time from special chart 2 variation pattern table 1 in Figure 6(b) in S31c.

[0067] When the RAM output buffer is set in S31 of FIG. 9(a), the main control circuit 40 starts the special chart variable display and organizes "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 1" to "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 4". This process erases the special chart 2 game data from "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 4". If the special chart 2 game data is stored in "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 3", the special chart 2 game data is shifted to "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 4". If the special chart 2 game data is stored in "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 2", the special chart 2 game data is shifted to "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 3". If the special chart 2 game data is stored in "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 1", the special chart 2 game data is shifted to "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 2". When the main control circuit 40 organizes "Special Chart 2 Reserve Area 1 to 4", it organizes "Special Chart 2 Look-Ahead Area 1" to "Special Chart 2 Look-Ahead Area 4" in the same procedure and sets the value of the second pointer P2 to "2".

[0068] 4-4-2.Time-saving count update process If the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "2," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the time-saving count update process in S32. Figure 10(a) shows the time-saving count update process. In S41, the main control circuit 40 determines whether the current game state is "electric support state 1," "electric support state 2," "super electric support state," or "non-electric support state." If the current game state is determined to be "non-electric support state," the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "3" in S48. If the current game state is determined to be "electric support state 1," "electric support state 2," or "super electric support state," the value of the time-saving count counter is incremented in S42. The value of this time-saving count counter measures the number of times the electric support state continues, and the main control circuit 40 sets a time-saving count command when the time-saving count counter is incremented. This time-saving count command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 of the result of adding the value of the time-saving count counter as the number of times the electric support state continues, and when the main control circuit 40 sets the time-saving count command, it sets the setting result of the time-saving count command in the output buffer of RAM in S43 to send it to the sub-control circuit 60, and then proceeds to S44.

[0069] When the main control circuit 40 transitions to S44 in Fig. 10(a), it determines whether the current gaming state is the "Power Support State 1". If it is determined here that the current gaming state is the "Power Support State 1", it transitions to S45 and compares the addition result of the value of the time shortening count counter with "201". If it is determined here that the value of the time shortening count counter is "201", the current gaming state is changed from the "Power Support State 1" to the "Super Power Support State" at S46, and a super power support command is set in the output buffer of the RAM at S47. This super power support command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 of the setting of the "Super Power Support State". When the main control circuit 40 sets the super power support command at S47, it sets "3" to the value of the second pointer P2 at S48.

[0070] If the main control circuit 40 determines at S44 in Fig. 10(a) that the current gaming state is not the "Power Support State 1", it determines at S49 whether the current gaming state is the "Power Support State 2". If it is determined here that the current gaming state is not the "Power Support State 2", it sets "3" to the value of the second pointer P2 at S48. If it is determined that the current gaming state is the "Power Support State 2", it compares the value of the time shortening count counter with the upper limit value "100" at S50. If it is determined here that the value of the time shortening count counter is not the upper limit value "100", it transitions to S48 and sets "3" to the value of the second pointer P2.

[0071] If the main control circuit 40 determines at S50 in Fig. 10(a) that the value of the time shortening count counter is the upper limit value "100", it changes the current gaming state from the "Power Support State 2" to the "Non-Power Support State" at S51, and sets a power support release command in the output buffer of the RAM at S52. This power support release command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 that the state has switched from the "Power Support State 2" to the "Non-Power Support State". When the main control circuit 40 sets the power support release command at S52, it sets "3" to the value of the second pointer P2 at S48.

[0072] 4-4-3. Fall Detection Process If the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "3," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the fall judgment process of S33. Figure 11 shows the fall judgment process of S33, in which the main control circuit 40 determines whether the current game state is a "high probability state" in S61. If it determines that the current game state is a "normal probability state," it sets the value of the second pointer P2 to "4" in S72, and if it determines that the current game state is a "high probability state," it proceeds to S62. Here, the value of the fall judgment random number is detected from the "special chart 2 reserve area 4," and a judgment result corresponding to the detection result of the value of the fall judgment random number is detected from the fall judgment table of Figure 5 (f).

[0073] When the main control circuit 40 detects the result of the determination of whether or not a fall has occurred in S62, it determines in S63 whether or not the detection result is "fall has occurred." If it determines that the detection result is "no fall," it sets the value of the second pointer P2 to "4" in S72, and if it determines that the detection result is "fall has occurred," it sets the "normal probability state" in place of the "high probability state" in S64, and sets this in the output buffer of the RAM to send a fall command to the sub-control circuit 60 in S65. This fall command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 that the "high probability state" has fallen to the "normal probability state," and is sent to the sub-control circuit 60 in the next timer interrupt process.

[0074] When the main control circuit 40 sets a fall command in the output buffer in S65, it determines in S66 whether the current game state is "electric support state 1." If it determines that the current game state is "electric support state 1," it compares the value of the time-saving count counter with "100" in S67. If it determines that the value of the time-saving count counter is less than "100," it changes "electric support state 1" to "electric support state 2" in S68, sets an electric support change command in the output buffer of RAM to send it to the sub-control circuit 60 in S69, and sets the value of the second pointer P2 to "4" in S72. This electric support change command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 that "electric support state 1" has been switched to "electric support state 2," and is sent to the sub-control circuit 60 in the next timer interrupt process.

[0075] When the main control circuit 40 determines in S67 that the value of the time-saving count counter is equal to or greater than "101," it changes the current game state from "electric support state 1" to "non-electric support state" in S70. Then, in S71, it sets an electric support change command in the output buffer of RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60, and in S72 it sets the value of the second pointer P2 to "4." This electric support cancel command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 that "electric support state 1" has been switched to "non-electric support state," and is sent to the sub-control circuit 60 in the next timer interrupt process.

[0076] If the current gaming state is the "super electric support state," the main control circuit 40 determines in S66 that the current gaming state is not the "electric support state 1," and changes the current gaming state from the "electric support state 1" to the "non-electric support state" in S70. Then, in S71, an electric support change command is set in the output buffer of RAM, and in S72, the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "4." That is, if the value of the time-saving count counter is "100" or less and it is determined that a fall has occurred in the "high probability state" or "electric support state 1," a low probability state is set, but the electric support state continues. If the value of the time-saving count counter is "101" or more and it is determined that a fall has occurred in the "high probability state" or "electric support state 1," a "low probability state" or "non-electric support state" is set.

[0077] 4-4-4. Special Chart 2 Change Stop Processing If the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "4," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the special chart 2 variation stop process of S34 in FIG. 9. Here, the timer value is added, and the result of the timer addition is compared with the result of the determination of the special chart variation display time. If the result of the timer addition has not reached the result of the determination of the special chart variation display time, the special chart 2 variation stop process is terminated. If the result of the timer addition has reached the result of the determination of the special chart variation display time, the special chart variation display is stopped in a manner corresponding to the result of the hit / miss determination, and a variation stop command 2 is set in the output buffer to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60. If the result of the hit / miss determination is "miss," the value of the second pointer P2 is initially set to "1," and if the result of the hit / miss determination is "jackpot," the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "5."

[0078] 4-4-5. Big win game start processing If the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "5", the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the jackpot game start process of S35 in Fig. 9. Here, the jackpot game is started with a jackpot game pattern according to the result of the jackpot type determination, a jackpot game start command is set in the output buffer to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60, and the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "6".

[0079] 4-4-6. Processing during jackpot play If the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "6," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the jackpot game in-progress process of S36 in Figure 9 and proceeds with the jackpot game according to the set result of the jackpot game pattern. The main control circuit 40 sets a round start command in the output buffer and sends it to the sub-control circuit 60 each time a round is started during a jackpot game. This round start command notifies the number of times the current round is, and the main control circuit 40 sets a round stop command in the output buffer and sends it to the sub-control circuit 60 each time a round is stopped during a jackpot game. If the main control circuit 40 has allowed the jackpot game to proceed to the end of the jackpot game pattern, it ends the jackpot game, sets a jackpot game end command in the output buffer to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60, and sets the value of the second pointer P2 to "7."

[0080] 4-4-7. Jackpot game stop processing If the value of the second pointer P2 is set to "7," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the jackpot game stop process of S37 and detects the jackpot type determination result. If the jackpot type determination result is "jackpot symbol 1" or "jackpot symbol 3," the game state is set to "high probability state" and "electric support state 1," the time-saving count update counter is reset to "0," and the value of the second pointer P2 is initially set to "1." Then, a "high probability command," "electric support command 1," and a time-saving count command 0 are set in the RAM output buffer to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60. This time-saving count command 0 notifies the sub-control circuit 60 that the number of times the electric support state has continued is "0 times." The "high probability command" notifies the sub-control circuit 60 that the "high probability state" has been set. The "electric support command 1" notifies the sub-control circuit 60 that the electric support state has been set to "100 times."

[0081] If the result of the jackpot type determination is "jackpot symbol 4," the main control circuit 40 sets the game state to "normal probability state" and "electric support state 2," resets the value of the time-saving count update counter to "0," and initializes the value of the second pointer P2 to "1." Then, it sets a "normal probability command," "electric support command 2," and time-saving count command 0 in the output buffer of the RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60. This "normal probability command" notifies the sub-control circuit 60 of the setting of the "normal probability state," and the "electric support command 2" notifies the setting of electric support state 2, with a limit value of "100 times."

[0082] 4-5. Special Drawing 1 Processing 12 shows the special chart 1 processing of S24, in which the main control circuit 40 selectively executes the special chart 1 lottery processing of S81, the time reduction count update processing of S82, the fall determination processing of S83, the special chart 1 variation stop processing of S84, the jackpot game start processing of S85, the jackpot game in progress processing of S86, and the jackpot game stop processing of S87 depending on the setting result of the value of the first pointer P1 in the RAM. The value of this first pointer P1 is initially set to "1" when the power is turned on.

[0083] 4-5-1. Special Drawing 1 Lottery Processing When the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "1", the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the special drawing 1 lottery process of S81. The value of this first pointer P1 is set to "1" when the game is stopped, and the main control circuit 40 determines whether special drawing 1 game data is stored in the "special drawing 1 reserve area 4" in the special drawing 1 lottery process of S71. If it is determined that special drawing 1 game data is not stored in the "special drawing 1 reserve area 4", the special drawing 1 lottery process is terminated, and if it is determined that special drawing 1 game data is stored in the "special drawing 1 reserve area 4", it determines whether special drawing 2 game data is stored in the "special drawing 2 reserve area 4".

[0084] If the main control circuit 40 determines that special chart 2 game data is stored in the "special chart 2 reserve area 4," it terminates the special chart 1 lottery process. If it determines that special chart 2 game data is not stored in the "special chart 2 reserve area 4," it performs a win / loss determination, a fluctuation pattern determination, and a fluctuation display time determination based on the special chart 1 game data in the "special chart 1 reserve area 4" in S81. If the win / loss determination result is a jackpot, it determines the jackpot type. These fluctuation pattern determinations and fluctuation display time determinations are performed according to the special chart 1 fluctuation pattern table in FIG. 6(a). The main control circuit 40 sets the win / loss determination results, fluctuation pattern determination results, and jackpot type determination results in the RAM output buffer to send them to the sub-control circuit 60 as special chart 1 game data, sets a fluctuation start command 1 in the RAM output buffer to send it to the sub-control circuit 60, and sets a special chart 1 reserve command in the RAM output buffer to send it to the sub-control circuit 60. This special chart 1 reserve command notifies the sub-control circuit 60 of the number of special chart 1 reserves.

[0085] When the main control circuit 40 sets the variation start command 1, etc., it starts the special chart variation display and then organizes "Special Chart 1 Reserve Area 1" to "Special Chart 1 Reserve Area 4". This process is performed in the same procedure as "Special Chart 2 Reserve Areas 1-4", and the main control circuit 40 also organizes "Special Chart 1 Read-Ahead Areas 1-4" in the same procedure, and then sets the value of the first pointer P1 to "2". In other words, the special chart 1 lottery process is given a lower priority than the special chart lottery 2 process, and if the special chart 2 reserved number is not "0", the special chart 2 lottery process is performed with priority over the special chart 1 lottery process, and the special chart 1 lottery process starts when the special chart 2 reserved number becomes "0".

[0086] 4-5-2.Time-saving count update process If the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "2", the main control circuit 40 executes the time-saving count update process of FIG. 10(a) in S82 and sets the value of the first pointer P1 to "3". 4-5-3.Fall detection process If the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "3", the main control circuit 40 executes the fall determination process of FIG. 11 in S83 and sets the value of the first pointer P1 to "4". 4-5-4. Special Chart 1 Change Stop Processing When the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "4", the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the special chart 1 variation stop processing of S84 in Fig. 12, and when the sum of the timer values ​​reaches the judgment result of the special chart variation display time, the special chart 1 variation display is stopped in a manner according to the judgment result of whether it is a hit or a miss, and the output buffer is set to send a variation stop command 1 to the sub-control circuit 60. Then, when the judgment result of whether it is a hit or a miss, the value of the first pointer P1 is initially set to "1", and when the judgment result of whether it is a hit or a miss, the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "5".

[0087] 4-5-5. Jackpot game start processing If the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "5", the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the jackpot game start process of S85. Here, the jackpot game starts with a jackpot game pattern according to the result of the jackpot type determination, sets a jackpot game start command in the output buffer to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60, and sets the value of the first pointer P1 to "6". 4-5-6. Processing during jackpot play If the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "6," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the jackpot game in-progress processing of S86 and proceeds with the jackpot game according to the set result of the jackpot game pattern. The main control circuit 40 sets a round start command in the output buffer and sends it to the sub-control circuit 60 each time a round is started during jackpot game. The main control circuit 40 sets a round stop command in the output buffer and sends it to the sub-control circuit 60 each time a round is stopped during jackpot game. If the final round during jackpot game is stopped, the main control circuit 40 sets a final round stop command in the output buffer and sends it to the sub-control circuit 60. If the jackpot game has progressed to the end of the jackpot game pattern, the main control circuit 40 ends the jackpot game, sets a jackpot game end command in the output buffer to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60, and sets the value of the first pointer P1 to "7."

[0088] 4-5-7. Jackpot game stop processing If the value of the first pointer P1 is set to "7," the main control circuit 40 proceeds to the jackpot game stop process of S87 and detects the jackpot type determination result. If the jackpot type determination result is "jackpot symbol 1," the game state is set to "high probability state" and "electric support state 1," the value of the time-saving count update counter is reset to "0," and the value of the first pointer P1 is initially set to "1." Then, the "high probability command," "electric support command 1," and the time-saving count command 0 are set in the output buffer of RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60. If the jackpot type determination result is "jackpot symbol 2," the main control circuit 40 sets the game state to "normal probability state" and "electric support state 2," resets the value of the time-saving count update counter to "0," and initially sets the value of the second pointer P1 to "1." Then, the "normal probability command", "electric support command 2" and time-saving count command 0 are set in the output buffer of the RAM to be sent to the sub-control circuit 60.

[0089] 5. Game mode explanation The game flow in Figure 13(a) shows how the game state changes, and Figures 13(b) and (c) show the relationship between the game mode and the presentation mode. When the power is turned on, the normal game mode is set. This normal game mode is a "low probability state" and a "non-electric support state." In the normal game mode, a left-hit image prompting the player to hit the game ball with the left is displayed on the presentation symbol display 28. When the player hits the game ball with the left in accordance with this left-hit image, the game ball enters the first starting hole 18, and when a jackpot is determined in response to the game ball entering the first starting hole 18, the low-probability time-saving mode or the high-probability time-saving mode is set.

[0090] The low-probability time-saving mode is a state in which the "low probability state" and "electric support state 2" are set, and is set when "jackpot symbol 2" is selected in response to a jackpot being determined in normal play mode. The high-probability time-saving mode is a state in which the "high probability state" and "electric support state 1" are set, and is set when "jackpot symbol 1" is selected in response to a jackpot being determined in normal play mode. In each of these low-probability time-saving mode and high-probability time-saving mode, a right-hit image prompting the player to hit the game ball to the right is displayed on the effect symbol display 28. If the player hits the game ball to the right in accordance with this right-hit image, the game ball will pass through the normal start hole 22, and in response to a high probability of a hit being determined, the second start hole 23 will be frequently opened for a long period of time. For this reason, the special symbol 2 reserved number is generated to be "3 to 4" for a long time as the game balls enter the second starting hole 23 at short time intervals, and the special symbol variable display time for time saving of "1000 msec" is frequently obtained from the special symbol 2 variable pattern table 1 in Figure 6 (b). Therefore, in each of the low-probability time-saving mode and the high-probability time-saving mode, the jackpot and miss determination process is repeated at shorter time intervals than in the normal game mode, so the probability of winning the next jackpot with fewer game balls consumed is increased. In other words, each of the low-probability time-saving mode and the high-probability time-saving mode is a state that is advantageous to the player compared to the normal game mode.

[0091] In low-probability time-saving mode, the game ball is hit from the right, and if the total number of times the special chart 1 lottery and the special chart 2 lottery (in reality, only the special chart 2 lottery) reaches the limit of "100 times" without being judged as a jackpot in low-probability time-saving mode, "electric support state 2" is replaced by "non-electric support state" and the game transitions to normal game mode. If "jackpot pattern 4" is selected in this low-probability time-saving mode in response to a jackpot being judged before the total number of times the special chart 1 lottery and the special chart 2 lottery reach the limit of "100 times", the low-probability time-saving mode is repeated, and if "jackpot pattern 1" or "jackpot pattern 3" is selected, the game transitions to high-probability time-saving mode. In this high-probability time-saving mode, the game ball is hit to the right, and if "jackpot symbol 4" is selected in response to a judgement of a jackpot, the low-probability time-saving mode is set, and if "jackpot symbol 1" or "jackpot symbol 3" is selected, the high-probability time-saving mode is set. This high-probability time-saving mode is a state in which a jackpot is judged with a higher probability than the low-probability time-saving mode, and is a state that is more advantageous to the player than the low-probability time-saving mode, and the degree of advantage to the player is higher in the "high-probability state" than in the "electric support state."

[0092] In high probability time-saving mode, whether or not a fall has occurred is determined each time a special chart 1 lottery and special chart 2 lottery are performed, and if it is determined that a fall has occurred when the total number of special chart 1 lottery and special chart 2 lottery does not exceed the limit of 100 times, a low probability state and electric support state 2 are set, and the game transitions from high probability time-saving mode to low probability time-saving mode. In this high probability time-saving mode, if the total number of special chart 1 lottery and special chart 2 lottery draws exceeds the limit of 100 times and it is determined that a fall has occurred, a low probability state and non-electric support state are set, and the game transitions from high probability time-saving mode to normal game mode.

[0093] If the total number of Special Chart 1 and Special Chart 2 draws reaches the limit of 201 without a "fall" being determined in the high-probability time-saving mode, the "high probability state" and "super-electric support state" are established. In this high-probability time-saving mode, the shortest special chart variation display time for the super-time-saving mode, "500 msec," is frequently obtained from the Special Chart 2 Variation Pattern Table 2 in Figure 6(c). Therefore, in the high-probability time-saving mode, the jackpot and miss determination process is repeated at even shorter intervals than in the high-probability time-saving mode, increasing the probability of winning the next jackpot with fewer game balls consumed. In other words, the high-probability time-saving mode is a more advantageous state for the player than the high-probability time-saving mode. If a "fall" is determined in the high-probability time-saving mode, the player will immediately fall from the high-probability time-saving mode to the normal game mode. This super-electric support state corresponds to the time-saving mode.

[0094] 6. Explanation of the performance mode The presentation mode specifies a background image as the presentation content when displaying an image for a presentation symbol game, and the presentation modes include normal mode, chance mode, speed mode, and super speed mode. Normal mode is the presentation mode when the normal game mode is set, and in normal mode, a normal background image imitating a cityscape is displayed in the display area E of the presentation symbol display 28, as shown in FIG. 14(a). Chance mode is the presentation mode common to both the low-probability time-saving mode and the high-probability time-saving mode, and in chance mode, a chance background image imitating four women is displayed in the display area E of the presentation symbol display 28, as shown in FIG. 14(b). Speed ​​mode is entered from chance mode when the total number of times the special symbol 1 and special symbol 2 are drawn exceeds the limit of 100 times when the high-probability time-saving mode is set, and in speed mode, a speed background image imitating an ancient land is displayed in the display area E of the presentation symbol display 28, as shown in FIG. 14(c). The super speed mode is entered from the speed mode when the high probability time-saving mode is set and the total number of times that the special chart 1 and special chart 2 are drawn exceeds the limit of 200 times. In the super speed mode, as shown in Figure 14(d), an image in which a "Rush" caption image is superimposed on a speed background image is displayed in the display area E of the performance pattern display 28 as a super speed background image.

[0095] 6-1. Behavior of the performance mode Figure 13(b) shows the behavior of the presentation mode when jackpot symbol 2 or jackpot symbol 4 is selected in response to a jackpot determination. In this case, the chance mode is set in response to the low-probability time-saving mode being set at the end of the jackpot game, and the chance background image is displayed from the first presentation symbol game. In this state, if a total of 100 special symbol 1 and special symbol 2 lotteries are performed without a jackpot being determined, the normal play mode is set, and the normal mode is set in response to the setting of the normal play mode, and the normal background image is displayed from the 101st presentation symbol game.

[0096] Figure 13(c) shows the behavior of the presentation mode when jackpot symbol 1 or jackpot symbol 3 is selected in response to a jackpot determination. In this case, the high-probability time-saving mode is set at the end of the jackpot game, and the chance background image is displayed from the first presentation symbol game. In this state, if a fall is determined to have occurred before a total of 100 special symbol 1 and special symbol 2 drawings are performed, the low-probability time-saving mode is set as the play mode, but as shown in the upper part of Figure 13(c), the chance background image continues to be displayed in response to the continuation of the chance mode as the presentation mode. Then, the normal mode is set from the 101st presentation symbol game, and the normal background image is displayed.

[0097] The bottom row of Figure 13(c) shows the behavior of the presentation mode when a total of 100 or more Special Chart 1 and Special Chart 2 drawings are performed without a fall being determined when the chance mode is set according to the high-probability time-saving mode. In this case, the speed mode is set from the 101st presentation symbol play, and a speed background image is displayed, giving the player the impression that the mode has been upgraded to high-probability time-saving mode. If this no-fall determination continues for more than 200 plays, the super speed mode is set according to the setting of the high-probability super time-saving mode, and the super speed background image is displayed from the next 201st play. If a fall is determined to occur when these super speed mode and speed mode are set, the normal mode is set according to the setting of the normal play mode, and the normal background image is displayed from the next play.

[0098] 6-2. Performance pattern play The image of the effect symbol game is started by the sub-control circuit 60 in time synchronization with the start of the special symbol 1 variable display or the special symbol 2 variable display, and ends in time synchronization with the end of the special symbol 1 variable display or the special symbol 2 variable display. This effect symbol game image is displayed superimposed on top of the background image corresponding to the effect mode, and in normal mode it is displayed superimposed on top of the normal background image. This effect symbol game image is displayed superimposed on top of the chance background image in chance mode, superimposed on top of the speed background image in speed mode, and superimposed on top of the super speed background image in super speed mode. This effect symbol game image corresponds to the image of the symbol game.

[0099] The image of the effect symbol game is a three-column display of effect symbols consisting of the numbers "1" to "9" in a scrolling and stopped state in the left, middle, and right columns, with the scrolling display of each column occurring in ascending order from "1" to "2" to "9" and then repeating from "9" back to "1." The scrolling display of each column stops at one of the numbers "1" to "9," with the odd numbers "1, 3, 5, 7, 9" in each column set to red and the even numbers "2, 4, 6, 8" in each column set to blue. Each of the effect symbols in the left column, middle column, and right column corresponds to a symbol element, the effect symbols in the three columns correspond to an identification symbol, the scrolling state corresponds to a changing state, the stopped scrolling state corresponds to a stopped changing state, and effect symbol game corresponds to a symbol game.

[0100] There are three types of combinations set for the three-column scrolling display when it is stopped: "jackpot combination," "miss reach combination," and "complete miss combination." A jackpot combination is a combination in which the three columns are identical to one another, and is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits a special chart variation pattern for a jackpot (PO01-PO05). A miss reach combination is a combination in which the left and right columns are identical to one another but the middle column is different, and is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits a special chart variation pattern for a miss (PH01-PH05). A complete miss combination is a combination in which the left and right columns are different, and is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits a special chart variation pattern for a miss (PH06-PH08). This jackpot combination corresponds to a win mode, and the miss reach combination and complete miss combination each correspond to a miss mode. This miss reach combination corresponds to a miss mode, and the jackpot combination corresponds to a win mode.

[0101] Figure 14(e) is a list of the effects of the effect symbol game, and there are five types of effects set for the effect symbol game: "normal effect," "all symbols simultaneous stop effect," "normal reach effect," "special reach effect," and "ultra-time-saving effect." The normal effect begins with the "start of the three-column scrolling display," and the "stop of the scrolling display" is set in the order of "left column," "right column," and "middle column." This normal effect is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits the special symbol variation pattern PH06 for a loss, and as shown in Figures 15(a), (b), (c), and (d), in the normal effect, the three-column scrolling display stops in the order of "left column," "right column," and "middle column," completing a "complete loss combination."

[0102] As shown in Figure 14(e), the simultaneous all-picture stop effect begins with the "start of three-column scrolling display," and the "stop of scrolling display" is set for all three columns simultaneously. This "simultaneous all-picture stop effect" is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits the special chart variation pattern PH07 for a miss in response to the number of reserved special charts 1 or 2 being "3 to 4." In the "simultaneous all-picture stop effect," as shown in Figures 15(a) and 15(d), a "complete miss combination" is completed when the three columns of scrolling display stop simultaneously. This simultaneous all-picture stop effect ends in the shortest time (1000 msec) of the special chart variation display times for the low-probability time-saving mode and the high-probability time-saving mode. In the low-probability time-saving mode and the high-probability time-saving mode, the variation display time is shortened in response to the high probability of selecting "special chart variation pattern PH07."

[0103] As shown in Figure 14(e), the normal reach effect begins with the "start of three-column scrolling display," and is set with a "decrease in scrolling speed" before the "stop of scrolling display" for the "middle column." This normal reach effect is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits the special chart variation pattern PH05 for a miss and the special chart variation pattern PO05 for a jackpot. As shown in Figures 16(a), (b), and (c), in the "normal reach effect," when the "stop of scrolling display" is performed in the order of the "left column" and "right column," the "left column" and "right column" enter the same reach state, and the scrolling display of the "middle column" is switched from normal speed to low speed in the reach state.

[0104] In the "normal reach presentation" for a miss, the scrolling display of the "middle column" stops at a presentation pattern different from the "left column" and "right column", and in the "normal reach presentation" for a miss, the miss reach combination is completed when the scrolling display of the final "middle column" stops, as shown in Figure 16(e). In the "normal reach presentation" for a jackpot, the scrolling display of this "middle column" stops at the same presentation pattern as the "left column" and "right column", and in the "normal reach presentation" for a jackpot, the jackpot combination is completed when the scrolling display of the final "middle column" stops, as shown in Figure 16(d).

[0105] As shown in Figure 14(e), the special reach effect begins with the "start of three-column scrolling display," and a "decrease in scrolling speed" is set for the "middle column" before the "stop of scrolling display." This special reach effect is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits the special chart variation patterns PH01-PH04 for misses and the special chart variation patterns PO01-PO04 for jackpots. In the "special reach effect," a reach state occurs when the "stop of scrolling display" is performed in the order of the "left column" and "right column," and the scrolling display of the "middle column" is switched from normal speed to low speed in the reach state. This special reach effect corresponds to a specific effect.

[0106] As shown in Figure 14(e), the special reach effect is set by "reducing the scrolling speed" for the "middle row" followed by "removing three rows," and in the special reach effect, three rows of effect symbols are removed in the reach state. This special reach effect is set by "removing three rows" followed by "displaying a battle image." Figure 17 shows battle images BL1 to BL4. Each of these battle images BL1 to BL4 begins displaying with the three rows of effect symbols removed, and is set to show the silhouette of a woman fighting an enemy dinosaur.

[0107] In the battle image BL1, the enemy is set to "dinosaur D1," as shown in Fig. 17(a). This battle image BL1 is set to depict the dinosaur D1 fighting a female silhouette W, and is displayed when the main control circuit 40 transmits the "special chart variation pattern PO01" for a jackpot and the "special chart variation pattern PH01" for a loss. In the battle image BL2, the enemy is set to "dinosaur D2," as shown in Fig. 17(b), and is displayed when the main control circuit 40 transmits the "special chart variation pattern PO02" for a jackpot and the "special chart variation pattern PH02" for a loss.

[0108] As shown in Figure 17(c), the enemy in battle image BL3 is set to "dinosaur D3," and is displayed when the main control circuit 40 transmits "special chart variation pattern PO03" for a jackpot and when it transmits "special chart variation pattern PH03" for a miss. As shown in Figure 17(d), the enemy in battle image BL4 is set to "dinosaur D4," and is displayed when the main control circuit 40 transmits "special chart variation pattern PO04" for a jackpot and when it transmits "special chart variation pattern PH04" for a miss. The reliability of jackpots for these battle images BL1 to BL4 is set to be highest in the order of "battle image BL4," "battle background BL3," "battle image BL2," and "battle image BL1" (see Figure 6).

[0109] Each of the battle images BL1 to BL4 has two possible endings: a winning ending and a losing ending. As shown in FIG. 17(e), the winning ending suggests that the female protagonist's silhouette W has won, and is displayed when the "special chart variation patterns PO01 to PO04" for a jackpot are transmitted. As shown in FIG. 17(f), the losing ending suggests that the female protagonist's silhouette W has lost, and is displayed when the "special chart variation patterns PH01 to PH04" for a losing reach are transmitted.

[0110] As shown in Figure 14(e), the special reach effect is a setting in which a "battle image display" is followed by a "three-row static display." As shown in Figure 17(e), in the special reach effect for a jackpot, the protagonist wins a fight in each of the battle images BL1 to BL4, and then a winning ending is displayed, followed by a three-row display of performance symbols in a jackpot combination. In the special reach effect for a miss, as shown in Figure 17(f), the protagonist loses a fight in each of the battle images L1 to BL4, and then a losing ending is displayed, followed by a three-row display of performance symbols in a miss reach combination.

[0111] The ultra-time-saving effect is a special effect that is only displayed in the high-probability ultra-time-saving mode, and is set by the sub-control circuit 60 when the main control circuit 40 transmits the special chart variation pattern PH08 for misses in the high-probability ultra-time-saving mode. This ultra-time-saving effect ends in the shortest time (500 msec) compared to the all-chart simultaneous stop effect, and in the high-probability ultra-time-saving mode, the variation display time is further shortened in response to the high probability of the "special chart variation pattern PH08" being selected. This ultra-time-saving effect begins with the "start of the three-column scrolling display," as shown in Figure 14(e), and the scrolling display stops in a different order from all other effects: "left column," "middle column," and "right column."

[0112] Figure 18 shows an image of the super time-saving effect. As shown in Figure 18(a), the super time-saving effect begins with an image in which the left, middle, and right columns of effect symbols simultaneously and simultaneously move downward from their initial positions at the top of the LCD screen of the effect symbol display 28. These three columns of effect symbols are displayed in the order left column → middle column → right column, and when stopped, they form a completely undesirable combination with an upward slope from right to left. This super time-saving effect displays the three columns of effect symbols in a diagonal arrangement that is different from the remaining effects, while the scrolling is stopped. The image of this super time-saving effect is superimposed on a super speed background image and includes an announcement image A1 for "hit right" and an announcement image A2 for time-saving information. Announcement image A1 encourages the player to hit right, and announcement image A2 numerically notifies the player of the number of times that the electric support state 1 has continued.

[0113] 6-3.Holding effect The reserved number is a display of the reserved number of special chart 1 or the reserved number of special chart 2. The reserved number of special chart 1 is displayed in normal mode, and the reserved number of special chart 2 is displayed in chance mode, speed mode, and super speed mode, and the reserved number of special chart 1 and the reserved number of special chart 2 are notified to the player as the number of cloud images C, as shown in FIG.

[0114] 6-4. Jackpot game performance The jackpot game effect displays a background image for the jackpot game effect in the display area E of the effect symbol display 28, and begins when the jackpot game starts and ends when the jackpot game ends. Figure 18(c) shows the background image for the jackpot game effect. This background image consists of an image of two dancing female silhouettes, and a "hit right" announcement image A1 is displayed superimposed in front of the background image for the jackpot game effect, encouraging the player to hit right.

[0115] 6-5. Prize ball winning performance During the jackpot game presentation, a prize ball acquisition presentation is performed. This prize ball acquisition presentation displays prize ball acquisition information superimposed on the background image for the jackpot game presentation, and is performed in presentation pattern 1 for 5-round jackpot games and presentation pattern 2 for 16-round jackpot games. This prize ball acquisition information counts up the number of prize balls that the player can acquire in the currently ongoing jackpot game from an initial value to an end value. The initial value of this prize ball acquisition information is set to "0" in presentation patterns 1 and 2, and the end value of the prize ball acquisition information is set to "400" in presentation pattern 1 and "1280" in presentation pattern 2.

[0116] The count-up display of the prize ball acquisition information is performed as the rounds progress. The update unit for this prize ball acquisition information is set to "80 / round," and in presentation pattern 1, the prize ball acquisition information is displayed as a count-up of "80" per round from the initial value "0" to the final value "400," and in presentation pattern 2, the prize ball acquisition information is displayed as a count-up of "80" per round from the initial value "0" to the final value "1280." During this jackpot game, a display area E1 is set on the presentation symbol display 28, and the prize ball acquisition information is displayed as a count-up in the display area E1, as shown in Figure 18(c).

[0117] 6-6. Step-up preview performance 1 Step-up notice performance 1 is executed when normal mode is set as the performance mode. This step-up notice performance 1 suggests to the player that the three rows of performance symbols will be a jackpot combination in this performance symbol game, and as shown in Figure 19 (a), it has three stages: step 1, step 2, and step 3. This step-up notice performance 1 corresponds to the notice performance, and each of steps 1 to 3 corresponds to a unit performance.

[0118] Step 1 begins after the scrolling display of three columns of effect symbols begins in the current effect symbol game, and ends in the three-column scrolling state before the scrolling of the left column of effect symbols stops in the current effect symbol game. This Step 1 indicates to the player that a reach state has occurred, and as shown in FIG. 19(b), three types of dialogue images 11 to 13 are set in Step 1. As shown in FIG. 20, each of the dialogue images 11 to 13 is displayed superimposed in front of the three columns of effect symbols, and the three columns of effect symbols become invisible to the player as each of the dialogue images 11 to 13 is displayed. Each of these dialogue images 11 to 13 is displayed with step information 1 of "Step 1" attached, and step information 1 corresponds to an identification image.

[0119] As shown in Fig. 20, the dialogue image 11 is set to include the text image "Reach!!" (see b), the dialogue image 12 is set to include the text image "Reach??" (see c), and the dialogue image 13 is set to include the text image "Oh???" (see d). These dialogue images 11 to 13 are assigned different degrees of reliability for the occurrence of a reach state, and as shown in Fig. 19(b), the reach reliability of the dialogue image 11 is set to the highest among the dialogue images 11 to 13, the reach reliability of the dialogue image 12 is set to the second highest among the dialogue images 11 to 13, and the reach reliability of the dialogue image 13 is set to the lowest among the dialogue images 11 to 13.

[0120] Step 2 of step-up preview performance 1 starts immediately after step 1, and as shown in Figures 21(a)(e), if step-up preview performance 1 ends at step 1 without progressing from step 1 to step 2, the dialogue images 11 to 13 are erased from the performance symbol display 28, and the scrolling display of the three columns of performance symbols becomes visible to the player again. These scrolling display of the three columns of performance symbols correspond to images that are different from all of the preview images. This step 2 indicates to the player that a special reach performance will occur, and three types of dialogue images, dialogue images 21 to 23, are set in step 2.

[0121] As shown in Figure 21, each of the dialogue images 21 to 23 is displayed superimposed in front of the three columns of effect symbols, and the three columns of effect symbols become invisible to the player as each of the dialogue images 21 to 23 is displayed. Each of these dialogue images 21 to 23 is displayed with step information 2 of "Step 2" attached, and step information 2 corresponds to an identification image. The dialogue image 21 is set to include the text image "Dinosaur Arrival!!" (see b), the dialogue image 22 is set to include the text image "Dinosaur Standby?" (see c), and the dialogue image 23 is set to include the text image "Dinosaur???" (see d). These dialogue images 21 to 23 have been assigned different degrees of reliability for the occurrence of a special reach effect, and as shown in Figure 19(c), the reliability of the special reach effect of dialogue image 21 is set to the highest among dialogue images 21 to 23, the reliability of the special reach effect of dialogue image 22 is set to the second highest among dialogue images 21 to 23, and the reliability of the special reach effect of dialogue image 23 is set to the lowest among dialogue images 21 to 23.

[0122] Step 3 of step-up notice performance 1 starts immediately after step 2, and as shown in Figures 22(a)(e), if step-up notice performance 1 ends at step 2 without progressing from step 2 to step 3, the line images 21 to 23 are erased from the performance symbol display 28, and the scrolling display of the three columns of performance symbols becomes visible to the player again. This step 3 indicates to the player that a jackpot has occurred, and three types of line images, line images 31 to 33, are set in step 3.

[0123] As shown in Fig. 22, each of the dialogue images 31 to 33 is displayed superimposed in front of the three rows of effect symbols, and the three rows of effect symbols become invisible to the player as each of the dialogue images 31 to 33 is displayed. Each of these dialogue images 31 to 33 is displayed with step information 3 of "Step 3" attached, and the step information 3 corresponds to an identification image. The dialogue image 31 is set to include the text image "Jackpot!!" (see b), the dialogue image 32 is set to include the text image "Jackpot?" (see c), and the dialogue image 33 is set to include the text image "Jackpot???" (see d). These dialogue images 31 to 33 are assigned different degrees of reliability with respect to the combination of the three rows of effect symbols resulting in a jackpot, and as shown in Fig. 19(d), the jackpot reliability of dialogue image 31 is set to the highest among dialogue images 31 to 33, the jackpot reliability of dialogue image 32 is set to the second highest among dialogue images 31 to 33, and the jackpot reliability of dialogue image 33 is set to the lowest among dialogue images 31 to 33. These dialogue images 31 to 33, 21 to 23, and 11 to 13 each correspond to a preview image.

[0124] The step-up notice performance process 1 in Figure 23 is started each time the sub-control circuit 60 receives special chart 1 game data or special chart 2 game data from the main control circuit 40, and the sub-control circuit 60 sets the performance content for the step-up notice performance 1 in accordance with the step-up notice performance process 1 in Figure 23, and executes the step-up notice performance 1 in the current performance pattern game using the setting result of the performance content.

[0125] The sub-control circuit 60 determines whether the current presentation mode is normal mode or not in S201 of Fig. 23. If it is determined that the current presentation mode is not normal mode, the processing ends, and if it is determined that it is normal mode, it determines whether or not to perform step-up notice presentation 1 in S202. This processing is performed according to the result of obtaining a random number value, and the sub-control circuit 60 determines that step-up notice presentation 1 will be performed with a set probability of "5%".

[0126] After completing S202, the sub-control circuit 60 detects the result of the determination of step-up notice performance 1 in S203. If the determination result here is that there is no step-up notice performance 1, the process ends, and if the determination result here is that there is a step-up notice performance 1, the process proceeds to S204. Here, the setting result of the three-column performance pattern combination for this performance pattern game is detected, and the combination detection result is compared with a complete miss. If it is determined here that the setting result of the three-column performance pattern combination is a jackpot or a miss reach, the process proceeds to step setting process 1-1 in S205, and if it is determined that the setting result of the three-column performance pattern combination is a complete miss, the process proceeds to step setting process 1-2 in S210.

[0127] Step setting process 1-1 and step setting process 1-2 each set the performance content of step 1, and in step setting process 1-1 of S205, the sub-control circuit 60 selects dialogue images 11 to 13 with high probability in the order of dialogue image 13 → dialogue image 12 → dialogue image 11 (see FIG. 24(a)). In step setting process 1-2 of S210, the sub-control circuit 60 selects dialogue images 11 to 13 with high probability in the order of dialogue image 11 → dialogue image 12 → dialogue image 13 (see FIG. 24(b)). That is, in step setting process 1-1 and step setting process 1-2, one of dialogue images 11 to 13 is selected so that the reliability of reach is highest when dialogue image 11 is displayed, the reliability of reach is second highest when dialogue image 12 is displayed, and the reliability of reach is lowest when dialogue image 13 is displayed.

[0128] When the sub-control circuit 60 completes step setting process 1-2 in S210, it completes step-up notice presentation process 1. In this case, step 2 and step 3 are not set, and step-up notice presentation 1 ends at step 1. In other words, when step-up notice presentation 1 ends with a single step 1, the reliability of reach, the reliability of special reach, and the reliability of the jackpot are the lowest.

[0129] After completing step setting process 1-1 in S205, the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S206 whether or not a special reach effect image (battle images BL1 to BL4) will be displayed in this effect symbol game based on the results of receiving the special symbol variation pattern. If it is determined that a special reach effect image will be displayed, the process proceeds to step setting process 2-1 in S207. If it is determined that a special reach effect image will not be displayed, the process proceeds to step setting process 2-2 in S211. Each of these step setting processes 2-1 and 2-2 sets the effect content for step 2, and in step setting process 2-1 in S207, the sub-control circuit 60 selects dialogue images 21 to 23 in the order of dialogue image 23, dialogue image 22, and dialogue image 21 with a high probability (see Figure 24(c)). In step setting process 2-2 of S211, this sub-control circuit 60 selects dialogue images 21 to 23 with high probability in the order of dialogue image 21 → dialogue image 22 → dialogue image 23 (see FIG. 24(d)). That is, in step setting process 2-1 and step setting process 2-2, one of dialogue images 21 to 23 is selected so that when dialogue image 21 is displayed, the reliability of the special reach effect is highest, when dialogue image 22 is displayed, the reliability of the special reach effect is second highest, and when dialogue image 23 is displayed, the reliability of the special reach is lowest.

[0130] When the sub-control circuit 60 completes step setting process 2-2 in S211, it completes step-up notice presentation process 1. In this case, step 3 is not set, and step-up notice presentation 1 ends at step 2. In other words, when step-up notice presentation 1 ends twice at step 1 and step 2, the reliability of reach, the reliability of special reach, and the reliability of the jackpot are the second lowest.

[0131] When the sub-control circuit 60 completes step setting process 2-1 in S207, it determines whether or not the three rows of effect symbols are set to a jackpot combination in this effect symbol game based on the result of the win / win reception in S208. If it determines that the three rows of effect symbols are set to a jackpot combination, it proceeds to step setting process 3-1 in S209, and if it determines that the three rows of effect symbols are not set to a jackpot combination, it proceeds to step setting process 3-2 in S212. Each of these step setting processes 3-1 and 3-2 sets the performance content of step 3, and in step setting process 3-1 of S209, the sub-control circuit 60 selects dialogue images 31 to 33 with a high probability in the order of dialogue image 33 → dialogue image 32 → dialogue image 31 (see Figure 24(e)), and in step setting process 3-2 of S212, it selects dialogue images 31 to 33 with a high probability in the order of dialogue image 31 → dialogue image 32 → dialogue image 33 (see Figure 24(f)). That is, in step setting process 3-1 and step setting process 3-2, one of dialogue images 31 to 33 is selected so that the reliability of a jackpot is highest when dialogue image 31 is displayed, the reliability of a jackpot is the second highest when dialogue image 32 is displayed, and the reliability of a jackpot is low when dialogue image 33 is displayed, and when step-up preview performance 1 ends three times from step 1 to step 3, the reliability of the reach, the reliability of the special reach, and the reliability of a jackpot are highest.

[0132] 6-7.Preview information announcement performance 1 25 shows an image of advance notice information notification performance 1. In this advance notice information notification performance 1, step information area ES1, step information area ES2, and step information area ES3 are set on performance symbol display 28, and when step-up advance notice performance 1 progresses to step 1, the performance content for step 1 is displayed in step information area ES1 (see a), when it progresses to step 2, the performance content for step 2 is displayed in step notification area ES2 (see b), and when it progresses to step 3, the performance content for step 3 is displayed in step notification area ES3 (see c). These performance contents for step 1, step 2, and step 3 are all erased when the combination of three columns of performance symbols is confirmed in the current performance symbol game, and continue to be displayed until step-up advance notice performance 1 ends.

[0133] Figure 25(d) is a list of preview information displayed in step information area ES1, where if dialogue image 11 is displayed in step 1, the number image "11" is displayed in step information area ES1 as preview information, if dialogue image 12 is displayed, the number image "12" is displayed in step information area ES1, and if dialogue image 13 is displayed, the number image "13" is displayed in step information area ES1. Figure 25(e) is a list of preview information displayed in step information area ES2, where if dialogue image 21 is displayed in step 2, the number image "21" is displayed in step information area ES2 as preview information, if dialogue image 22 is displayed, the number image "22" is displayed in step information area ES2, and if dialogue image 23 is displayed, the number image "23" is displayed in step information area ES2. 25(f) is a list of preview information displayed in the step information area ES3, in which when dialogue image 31 is displayed in step 3, the number image "31" is displayed in the step information area ES3 as preview information, when dialogue image 32 is displayed, the number image "32" is displayed in the step information area ES3, and when dialogue image 33 is displayed, the number image "33" is displayed in the step information area ES3. Each of these number images "11-13," "21-23," and "31-33" corresponds to performance information.

[0134] 6-8. Step-up preview performance 2 Step-up notice performance 2 is executed when the speed mode is set as the performance mode. This step-up notice performance 2 suggests to the player that when the number of reserved special symbols 2 is "4", the fourth performance symbol play corresponding to the special symbol 2 reserved area 1 will result in a jackpot combination of three rows of performance symbols, and as shown in Figure 26(a), it has three stages: step 1, step 2, and step 3. Step 1 suggests to the player that a reach state will occur in the fourth performance symbol play, and is performed in place of the first performance symbol play corresponding to the special symbol 2 reserved area 4. In this step 1, three types of dialogue images are set, namely, dialogue image 11 to dialogue image 13 in Figure 20, and the reliability of the reach of dialogue image 11 is set to the highest among dialogue images 11 to 13, the reliability of the reach of dialogue image 12 is set to the second highest among dialogue images 11 to 13, and the reliability of the reach of dialogue image 13 is set to the lowest among dialogue images 11 to 13.

[0135] Step 2 indicates to the player that a special reach effect will occur in the fourth effect symbol play, and is performed in place of the second effect symbol play corresponding to the special symbol 2 reserve area 3. Three types of dialogue images 21 to 23 in FIG. 21 are set in this step 2, and the reliability of the special reach of dialogue image 21 is set to the highest among dialogue images 21 to 23, the reliability of the special reach of dialogue image 22 is set to the second highest among dialogue images 21 to 23, and the reliability of the special reach of dialogue image 23 is set to the lowest among dialogue images 21 to 23.

[0136] Step 3 suggests to the player that the three rows of effect symbols will be a jackpot combination in the fourth effect symbol play, and is performed in place of the third effect symbol play corresponding to special symbol 2 reserve area 2. Three types of dialogue images 31 to 33 in FIG. 22 are set in this step 3, and the jackpot reliability of dialogue image 31 is set to the highest among dialogue images 31 to 33, the jackpot reliability of dialogue image 32 is set to the second highest among dialogue images 31 to 33, and the jackpot reliability of dialogue image 33 is set to the lowest among dialogue images 31 to 33.

[0137] As shown in Fig. 27(a), special chart 2 pre-read receiving areas 1 to 4 are set in the RAM of the sub-control circuit 60. These special chart 2 pre-read receiving areas 1 to 4 are areas in which the reception results of the special chart 2 pre-read data from the main control circuit 40 are stored, and the special chart 2 pre-read receiving area 4 is set to the highest priority for storing the special chart 2 pre-read data, the special chart 2 pre-read receiving area 3 is set to the second highest priority, the special chart 2 pre-read receiving area 2 is set to the third highest priority, and the special chart 2 pre-read receiving area 1 is set to the lowest priority. These special chart 2 pre-reading receiving areas 1 to 4 are organized in the same procedure as the special chart 2 pre-reading areas 1 to 4 of the main control circuit 40, and the special chart 2 pre-reading receiving area 1 always stores the same special chart 2 pre-reading data as the special chart 2 pre-reading area 1, the special chart 2 pre-reading receiving area 2 always stores the same special chart 2 pre-reading data as the special chart 2 pre-reading area 2, the special chart 2 pre-reading receiving area 3 always stores the same special chart 2 pre-reading data as the special chart 2 pre-reading area 3, and the special chart 2 pre-reading receiving area 4 always stores the same special chart 2 pre-reading data as the special chart 2 pre-reading area 4.

[0138] The step-up notice performance processing 2 in Figure 27(b) is activated every time the sub-control circuit 60 receives special chart 2 advance read data from the main control circuit 40 while the step-up notice performance 2 is stopped, and the sub-control circuit 60 sets the performance content in the step-up notice performance 2 in accordance with the step-up notice performance processing 2 in Figure 27(b), and executes the step-up notice performance 2 based on the performance content setting results for the fourth performance pattern play among the first to third performance pattern plays.

[0139] The sub-control circuit 60 determines whether the current presentation mode is speed in S221 of Fig. 27(b). If it is determined that the current presentation mode is not speed mode, the process ends. If it is determined that the current presentation mode is speed mode, the process determines whether the number of reserved special figures 2 is "4" in S222. If it is determined that the number of reserved special figures 2 is not "4", the process ends. If it is determined that the number of reserved special figures 2 is "4", the process proceeds to S223.

[0140] When the sub-control circuit 60 proceeds to S223, it detects the result of the special symbol change pattern pre-reading from the special symbol 2 pre-reading receiving area 1 corresponding to the fourth symbol play and compares the result of the special symbol change pattern detection with "PH07" for the all symbol simultaneous stop effect. If it determines that the special symbol change pattern detection result is for the all symbol simultaneous stop effect, it ends processing. If it determines that it is not for the all symbol simultaneous submission effect, it proceeds to S224, where it detects the result of the special symbol change pattern pre-reading from the special symbol 2 pre-reading receiving area 4 corresponding to the first symbol play, the special symbol 2 pre-reading receiving area 3 corresponding to the second symbol play, and the special symbol 2 pre-reading receiving area 2 corresponding to the third symbol play, and compares each of the detection results of the three special symbol change patterns with "PH07" for the all symbol simultaneous stop effect. If it determines that at least one of the detection results of the three special symbol change patterns is not for the all symbol simultaneous stop effect, it ends processing. If it determines that all of the detection results of the three special symbol change patterns are for the all symbol simultaneous stop effect, it proceeds to S225.

[0141] When the sub-control circuit 60 proceeds to S225, it determines whether or not to perform step-up notice performance 2. This process is performed according to the result of acquiring a random number value, and the sub-control circuit 60 determines that step-up notice performance 2 will be performed with a set probability of "5%." In other words, step-up notice performance 2 is started on the condition that the all-symbol simultaneous stop performance is predicted in all of the first to third performance symbol games, and that either the normal performance, normal reach performance, or special reach performance is predicted in the fourth performance symbol game.

[0142] When the sub-control circuit 60 completes S225, it detects the result of the determination of the step-up notice performance 2 in S226. If the determination result of the absence of the step-up notice performance 2 is detected here, the processing ends, and if the determination result of the presence of the step-up notice performance 2 is detected, the result of the pre-reading of the special chart variation pattern in the special chart 2 pre-reading receiving area 1 is compared with "PH06" for the normal performance in S227. This normal effect is a combination that results in a complete miss as the three columns of effect symbols scroll and stop in the order of left column → right column → middle column, and if the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S227 that the three columns of effect symbols will be a complete miss combination in a normal effect on the fourth effect symbol play, it selects dialogue images 11 to 13 with the probability of Figure 24(b) in step setting process 1-2 of S233, and if it determines that the three columns of effect symbols will be either a miss reach combination or a jackpot combination in a normal reach effect or a special reach effect, it selects dialogue images 11 to 13 with the probability of Figure 24(a) in step setting process 1-1 of S228.

[0143] 20 is an image of the first effect symbol game in step-up notice effect 2, and in the first effect symbol game, one of the dialogue images 11 to 13 is displayed after the scrolling display of three rows of effect symbols begins. When dialogue image 11 is displayed in this first effect symbol game, the reliability of reach in the fourth effect symbol game is the highest, when dialogue image 12 is displayed the reliability of reach is the second highest, and when dialogue image 13 is displayed the reliability of reach is the lowest.

[0144] The sub-control circuit 60 ends processing when it has completed S233 in Figure 27(b). In this case, step 2 and step 3 are not set, and step-up notice performance 2 ends at step 1. In other words, when step-up notice performance 2 ends in one step 1, the reliability of reach, the reliability of special reach, and the reliability of the jackpot are the lowest. Figure 21(e) is an image of the second performance symbol game when steps 2 and 3 are not set in step-up notice performance 2, and the second performance symbol game involves a simultaneous stop effect for all symbols.

[0145] 27(b), the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S229 whether a special reach effect will be performed in the fourth effect symbol play. This process is performed by comparing the special symbol variation pattern in the special symbol 2 pre-read data receiving area 1 with the "PO01-PO04" and "PH01-PH04" for the special reach effect. If the sub-control circuit 60 determines that a special reach effect will be performed in the fourth effect symbol play, it selects the dialogue images 21-23 in the step setting process 2-1 of S230 with the probability of Fig. 24(c). If it determines that a special reach effect will not be performed, it selects the dialogue images 21-23 in the step setting process 2-2 of S234 with the probability of Fig. 24(d).

[0146] The sub-control circuit 60 ends processing when S234 in Figure 27(b) is completed. In this case, step 3 is not set, and step-up preview performance 2 ends with two steps, 1 and 2. In other words, when step-up preview performance 2 ends with two steps, the reliability of reach, the reliability of special reach, and the reliability of the jackpot are the second lowest. Figure 22(e) is an image of the third performance symbol game when step 3 is not set in step-up preview performance 2, and the third performance symbol game involves a simultaneous stop effect for all symbols. Figures 21(b) to (d) are images of the second performance symbol game when step 2 is set in step-up preview performance 2, and one of the dialogue images 21 to 23 is continuously displayed during the second performance symbol game. When the dialogue image 21 is displayed in the second performance symbol game, the reliability of the special reach performance in the fourth performance symbol game is the highest, when the dialogue image 22 is displayed, the reliability of the special reach performance is the second highest, and when the dialogue image 23 is displayed, the reliability of the special reach performance is the lowest.

[0147] After completing S230 in Fig. 27(b), the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S231 whether the three-column effect symbols will be a jackpot combination in the fourth effect symbol play. This process is performed by comparing the special symbol variation pattern in the special symbol 2 pre-read data receiving area 1 with the jackpot "PO01-PO05". If the sub-control circuit 60 determines that the three-column effect symbols will be a jackpot combination in the fourth effect symbol play, it selects the dialogue images 31-33 in step setting process 3-1 in S232 with the probability of Fig. 24(e). If it determines that the three-column effect symbols will not be a jackpot combination, it selects the dialogue images 31-33 in step setting process 3-2 in S235 with the probability of Fig. 24(f).

[0148] 22(b) to (d) are images of the third effect symbol game when step 3 is set in step-up notice effect 2, and one of the dialogue images 31 to 33 is continuously displayed during the third effect symbol game. When dialogue image 31 is displayed during this third effect symbol game, the reliability of a jackpot during the fourth effect symbol game is the highest, when dialogue image 32 is displayed the reliability of a jackpot is the second highest, and when dialogue image 33 is displayed the reliability of a jackpot is the lowest.

[0149] 6-9.Preview information announcement performance 2 The preview information notification effect 2 is the same effect as the preview information notification effect 1, and as shown in Figure 25, when the step-up preview effect 2 progresses to step 1, the effect content for step 1 is displayed in the step information area ES1 (see a), when it progresses to step 2, the effect content for step 2 is displayed in the step notification area ES2 (see b), and when it progresses to step 3, the effect content for step 3 is displayed in the step notification area ES3 (see c). Figure 25(d) is a list of preview information displayed in the step information area ES1, Figure 25(e) is a list of preview information displayed in the step information area ES2, and Figure 25(f) is a list of preview information displayed in the step information area ES3. The effect content for step 1, the effect content for step 2, and the effect content for step 3 are all erased when a combination of three rows of effect symbols is confirmed in the fourth effect symbol game, and continue to be displayed until the step-up preview effect 2 ends.

[0150] 7-1.Main processing 28(a) from the ROM in response to power-on, and sets access permission to RAM in S101 and sets interrupt prohibition in S102. Then, in a random number update process in S103, the values ​​of multiple random numbers in RAM are updated, and after interrupts are permitted in S104, S102 to S104 are repeated. While interrupts are permitted, start of reception interrupt processing in S105 and timer interrupt processing in S106 are permitted.

[0151] 7-2. Receive interrupt processing The sub-control circuit 60 starts the reception interrupt process of S105 every time the STB signal is input to the INT terminal from the main control circuit 40. This reception interrupt process is executed with priority over the timer interrupt process of S106, and the sub-control circuit 60 stores the commands and the like sent by the main control circuit 40 in the output process of S11 in Fig. 8 in the reception buffer of RAM during the reception interrupt process.

[0152] 7-3.Timer interrupt processing The sub-control circuit 60 activates the timer interrupt process of S106 every time a timer interrupt signal is input at a fixed interval. Figure 28(b) shows the timer interrupt process of S106, in which the sub-control circuit 60 performs the received command analysis process of S111 and the prize ball acquisition effect process of S112. This prize ball acquisition effect process determines whether a 5-round jackpot game or a 16-round jackpot game will be played based on the jackpot type determination result from the main control circuit 40, and if it is determined that a 5-round jackpot game will be played, the prize ball acquisition effect is performed using effect pattern 1, and if it is determined that a 16-round jackpot game will be played, the prize ball acquisition effect is performed using effect pattern 2.

[0153] 7-3-1. Received command analysis processing Figure 29 (a) is the received command analysis process of S111, and the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S121 whether the special chart 1 pre-read data or the special chart 2 pre-read data from the main control circuit 40 is stored in the receive buffer. If it is determined that the special chart 1 pre-read data or the special chart 2 pre-read data is stored, step-up notice performance process 2 of S122 is executed. Step-up notice performance process 2 of Figure 27 (b) is executed in S122.

[0154] The sub-control circuit 60 determines whether the special symbol 1 game data or the special symbol 2 game data from the main control circuit 40 is stored in the receive buffer at S123 in Fig. 29(a). If it is determined that the special symbol 1 game data or the special symbol 2 game data is stored, the sub-control circuit 60 executes the pattern game performance start process of S124. Fig. 29(b) shows the pattern game performance start process of S124, and the sub-control circuit 60 detects the reception result of the special symbol 1 game data (the judgment result of whether or not there is a win, the judgment result of the type of jackpot, the judgment result of the special symbol variation pattern, and the judgment result of whether or not there is a fall) or the reception result of the special symbol 2 game data (the judgment result of whether or not there is a win, the judgment result of the type of jackpot, the judgment result of the special symbol variation pattern, and the judgment result of whether or not there is a fall) from the receive buffer at S141.

[0155] After completing S141 in FIG. 29(b), the sub-control circuit 60 sets a three-column combination of effect symbols in S142. These three columns of effect symbols are set as a "jackpot combination" if the hit / miss detection result is a "jackpot." If the hit / miss detection result is a "miss," they are set as a "miss-reaching combination" if the fluctuation pattern detection result is a miss "PH01-PH05." If the fluctuation pattern detection result is a miss "PH06, PH07, PH08," they are set as a "complete miss combination." After completing S142, the sub-control circuit 60 executes the step-up notice effect process 1 in FIG. 23 in S143. Then, in S144, video data corresponding to the detection result of the fluctuation pattern is detected from the CGROM, and the effect symbol display 28 starts displaying an image of the effect symbol game in response to the start of playback of the detected video data.

[0156] At S125 in Figure 29(a), the sub-control circuit 60 determines whether or not the fluctuation stop command 1 or fluctuation stop command 2 from the main control circuit 40 is stored in the receiving buffer, and if it determines that the fluctuation stop command 1 or fluctuation stop command 2 is stored, the sub-control circuit 60 performs the pattern game performance stop process at S125 to display the three columns of performance patterns as determined by the combination setting result at S124.

[0157] 29(a), the sub-control circuit 60 determines whether or not a jackpot game start command from the main control circuit 40 is stored in the receive buffer at S127, and if it determines that a jackpot game start command is stored, it starts playing back video data for the jackpot game presentation in a jackpot game presentation start process at S128, and accordingly starts displaying a background image for the jackpot game presentation on the presentation symbol display 28. This sub-control circuit 60 determines whether or not a jackpot game stop command from the main control circuit 40 is stored in the receive buffer at S129, and if it determines that a jackpot game stop command is stored, it stops playing back video data for the jackpot game presentation in a jackpot game presentation stop process at S130, and accordingly erases the background image for the jackpot game presentation.

[0158] According to the above-mentioned first embodiment, the following effects are achieved. One dialogue image is displayed in each of steps 1 to 3 of step-up preview performance 1. This makes it easier for the player to grasp the degree of step progression in one step-up preview performance 1, making it easier to recognize the high reliability of a jackpot from the degree of step progression. Moreover, the type of dialogue image displayed in each of steps 1 to 3 also suggests the high reliability to the player. This allows the player to enjoy comprehensively interpreting the high reliability from the two types of conditions in step-up preview performance 1, improving the appeal of step-up preview performance 1. Moreover, step 1 suggests the reliability of the occurrence of a reach state, and step 2 suggests the reliability of the occurrence of a special reach performance, thereby suggesting to the player the high reliability of the occurrence of an event other than a jackpot, further improving the appeal of the preview performance. This effect is similar to step-up preview performance 2. When Step-Up Notice Presentation 1 continues, the dialogue image for the current step is followed by the dialogue image for the next step, eliminating the frustration felt by the player as they wait for new dialogue images to be displayed. Moreover, when Step-Up Notice Presentation 1 ends in the current step, the dialogue image for the current step is followed by a scrolling image of three rows of presentation symbols that are different from all the dialogue images, making it easier for the player to grasp that Step-Up Notice Presentation 1 has ended. This effect is similar for Step-Up Notice Presentation 2.

[0159] In the preview information notification performance 1, a number image is displayed as preview information each time steps 1 to 3 are executed, and the number image display continues until the step-up preview performance 1 ends. Therefore, the player can know the progress of the step and the type of dialogue image by looking at the number image, making it easier to recognize the reliability. This effect is also true for the preview information notification performance 2. The high reliability that the three rows of performance symbols will be in a reach state is suggested to the player in step 1, the high reliability that the image of the special reach performance will be displayed is suggested to the player in step 2, and the high reliability of the jackpot is suggested to the player in step 3, so that the player can easily grasp the high reliability that the three rows of performance symbols will be a jackpot combination. Since step information is displayed together with a dialogue image for each of steps 1 to 3, it is possible to prevent the player from confusing steps 1 to 3 with each other.

[0160] In the above-mentioned Example 1, the dialogue image 11, the dialogue image 21, and the dialogue image 31 may each be displayed in gold, the dialogue image 12, the dialogue image 22, and the dialogue image 32 may each be displayed in red, and the dialogue image 13, the dialogue image 23, and the dialogue image 33 may each be displayed in green. In other words, in each of steps 1 to 3 of step-up advance notice performance 1 and steps 1 to 3 of step-up advance notice performance 2, the color in addition to the content of the dialogue image may be used to suggest to the player the high level of reliability. In the first embodiment, when the dialogue images 11 to 13, the dialogue images 21 to 23, and the dialogue images 31 to 33 are displayed, the speaker 32 may output a voice message corresponding to the dialogue image being displayed. In the above-mentioned Example 1, if an image different from any of the dialogue images 11 to 13, the dialogue images 21 to 23, and the dialogue images 31 to 33 is displayed in any of steps 1 to 3, a jackpot may be confirmed regardless of the number of steps executed in the step-up preview performance and the type of dialogue image.

[0161] [Example 2] 8. Big hit notice 1 Figures 30(a)-(f) show images of jackpot preview effect 1. This jackpot preview effect 1 indicates to the player that the three rows of display symbols will form a jackpot combination in the current display symbol game. It is achieved by displaying a preview image W of a woman superimposed on the three rows of display symbols while the three rows of display symbols are scrolling (see b). When this jackpot preview effect 1 is performed, a reach state always occurs (see d), and the three rows of display symbols form either a jackpot combination (see e) or a reach-to-win combination (see f). The reliability of this jackpot preview effect 1 is set to "3%." If jackpot preview effect 1 is performed during "100" display symbol games, the three rows of display symbols will form a jackpot combination "3" out of "100" times, and the three rows of display symbols will form a reach-to-win combination "97" times. This jackpot preview effect 1 corresponds to a unit display, and preview image W corresponds to the first image.

[0162] The jackpot notice effect process of Figure 30(g) is started each time the sub-control circuit 60 receives special symbol 1 game data from the main control circuit 40, and jackpot notice effect 1 is set in the jackpot notice effect process of Figure 30(g). The sub-control circuit 60 compares the value of counter N with "0" in S321. If it determines that "N>0", it subtracts "1" from the value of counter N in S325, and if it determines that "N=0", it proceeds to S322. This counter N measures the remaining number of effect symbol plays until the notice allowable period in which jackpot notice effect 1 can be set is reached, and is set to an initial value of "8" depending on whether the notice image W was displayed last time.

[0163] When the sub-control circuit 60 transitions to S322, it compares the current presentation mode with normal mode. If it determines that the current presentation mode is normal mode, it detects the result of the special chart change pattern determination from the reception result of the special chart 1 game data in S323, and compares the detected result of the special chart change pattern with "PH05" and "PO05" for normal reach presentation. If it determines that the detection result of the special chart change pattern is for normal reach presentation, it determines whether or not to perform jackpot notice presentation 1 in the jackpot notice presentation determination process in S324. This process detects the result of the hit / miss determination from the reception result of the special chart 1 game data, and is performed according to the hit / miss detection result so that the reliability of the jackpot for this presentation pattern game is "3%".

[0164] 9-1. Big hit notice continuous performance 11 The jackpot preview sequence 11 is performed on the fourth symbol play when the number of reserved symbols for Special Chart 1 is "4," suggesting to the player that the three-column display will result in a jackpot combination on the fourth symbol play. Figures 31(b) and (c) show images of the jackpot preview sequence 11. This jackpot preview sequence 11 superimposes a preview image W identical to the jackpot preview sequence 1 in front of the three-column display while the three-column display is scrolling, and is performed during the first symbol play (see b). The reliability of this jackpot preview sequence 11 is set to "1%" lower than that of the jackpot preview sequence 1. The player can identify the display of preview image W as the jackpot preview sequence 1 when the three-column display is in a ready-to-win state after the preview image W is displayed, and can identify the display of preview image W as the jackpot preview sequence 11 when the three-column display is not in a ready-to-win state.

[0165] 9-2. Big hit notice continuous performance 12 The jackpot notice continuous effect 12 is performed on the fourth play of the effect symbols when the number of reserved symbols for Special Chart 1 is "4," and suggests to the player that the three rows of effect symbols will form a jackpot combination on the fourth play of the effect symbols. Figures 31(b)-(e) show images of the jackpot notice continuous effect 12. This jackpot notice continuous effect 12 superimposes a notice image W in front of the three rows of effect symbols while they are scrolling, and is performed during the first and second play of the effect symbols. The reliability of this jackpot notice continuous effect 12 for a jackpot is set to "5%," which is higher than both the jackpot notice continuous effect 1 (3%) and the jackpot notice continuous effect 11 (1%).

[0166] 9-3. Big hit notice continuous performance 13 The jackpot notice sequence 13 is performed on the fourth symbol play when the number of reserved symbols for special symbol 1 is "4," and indicates to the player that the three rows of symbols will form a jackpot combination on the fourth symbol play. Figures 31(b)-(g) show images of the jackpot notice sequence 13. This jackpot notice sequence 13 superimposes a notice image W in front of the three rows of symbols while the three rows of symbols are scrolling. It is performed during the first, second, and third symbol play. The reliability of this jackpot notice sequence 13 for a jackpot is set to "10%," which is higher than the reliability of the jackpot notice sequence 12 (5%), and the reliability of the jackpot notice sequence 13 for the occurrence of a special reach effect is set to "100%."

[0167] 9-4. Big hit notice continuous performance 14 The jackpot preview sequence 14 is performed on the fourth symbol play when the number of reserved symbols for Special Chart 1 is "4," and indicates to the player that the three rows of symbols will form a jackpot combination during the fourth symbol play. Figures 31(b)-(h) show images of the jackpot preview sequence 14. This jackpot preview sequence 14 superimposes a preview image W in front of the three rows of symbols while the three rows of symbols are scrolling. It is performed during the first, second, third, and fourth symbol play. The reliability of this jackpot preview sequence 14 for a jackpot is set to "100%," which is higher than the reliability of the jackpot preview sequence 13 (10%). The reliability of the jackpot preview sequence 14 for the occurrence of a special reach effect is set to "100%," the same as the reliability of the jackpot preview sequence 13. These jackpot preview sequences 11-14 correspond to preview effects.

[0168] The jackpot announcement continuous display process of FIG. 32(a) is initiated by the sub-control circuit 60 each time it detects special symbol 1 pre-read data from the main control circuit 40 in S121 of FIG. 29(a). The sub-control circuit 60 sets jackpot announcement continuous display 11-14 in response to the jackpot announcement continuous display process. The sub-control circuit 60 compares the current display mode with normal mode in S301. If it determines that the current display mode is normal mode, it proceeds to S302 and compares the value of counter N with "0." This counter N is decremented to "0" after eight display symbol games have been completed in normal mode, based on the display symbol game in which the female image W was last displayed in each of jackpot announcement continuous display 11-14. If the sub-control circuit 60 determines that "N=0" in S302, it determines in S303 whether the special symbol 1 reserved number is "4." If it determines that the special symbol 1 reserved number is the maximum value of "4," it proceeds to S304.

[0169] As shown in Fig. 32(b), special chart 1 pre-reading receiving areas 1 to 4 are set in the RAM of the sub-control circuit 60. These special chart 1 pre-reading receiving areas 1 to 4 are areas in which the reception results of the special chart 1 pre-reading data from the main control circuit 40 are stored, and the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 4 is set to the highest priority for storing the special chart 1 pre-reading data, the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 3 is set to the second highest priority, the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 2 is set to the third highest priority, and the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 1 is set to the lowest priority. These special chart 1 pre-reading receiving areas 1 to 4 are organized in the same procedure as the special chart 1 pre-reading areas 1 to 4 of the main control circuit 40, and the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 1 always stores the same special chart 1 pre-reading data as the special chart 1 pre-reading area 1, the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 2 always stores the same special chart 1 pre-reading data as the special chart 1 pre-reading area 2, the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 3 always stores the same special chart 1 pre-reading data as the special chart 1 pre-reading area 3, and the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 4 always stores the same special chart 1 pre-reading data as the special chart 1 pre-reading area 4.

[0170] When the sub-control circuit 60 proceeds to S304 in Fig. 32(a), it determines whether "PH06" for a complete miss is stored as a pre-determination result of the special chart variation pattern in all of the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving areas 2 to 4. If it is determined that a pre-determination result of a special chart variation pattern other than a complete miss is stored in at least one of the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving areas 2 to 4, the process ends, and if it is determined that a pre-determination result of a special chart variation pattern for a complete miss is stored in all of the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving areas 2 to 4, it proceeds to S305. That is, for the consecutive big win notice performances 11 to 14, the results of advance determination of the special symbol variation pattern for normal performance are stored in all of the special symbol 1 advance reading receiving area 4 corresponding to the first performance symbol play, the special symbol 1 advance reading receiving area 3 corresponding to the second performance symbol play, and the special symbol 1 advance reading receiving area 2 corresponding to the third performance symbol play, and they are set when the three rows of performance symbols go through the normal performance and become a combination that is a complete miss in each of the first to third performance symbol play.

[0171] When the sub-control circuit 60 proceeds to S305, it determines whether or not the pre-determination results "PH01-04" and "PO01-04" of the special symbol variation pattern for the special reach effect are stored in the special symbol 1 pre-read receiving area 1 corresponding to the fourth effect symbol game. If it determines that the pre-determination results of the special symbol variation pattern for the special reach effect are stored in the special symbol 1 pre-read receiving area 1, it proceeds to the jackpot notice continuous effect determination process 3 in S306, and if it determines that the pre-determination results of the special symbol variation pattern for the special reach effect are not stored in the special symbol 1 pre-read receiving area 1, it proceeds to the jackpot notice continuous effect determination process 2 in S311.

[0172] When the sub-control circuit 60 moves to S306, it determines whether or not to perform the jackpot notice continuous performance 13. This process detects the result of the advance judgment of whether or not it will be a hit from the special chart 1 advance reading receiving area 1, and is performed according to the detection result of whether or not it will be a hit so that the reliability of the jackpot for the fourth performance symbol play is "10%". When the jackpot notice continuous performance 13 is performed, an image of the special reach performance is displayed after the three rows of performance symbols reach a reach state in the fourth performance symbol play, and after the conclusion of the special reach performance is displayed, the three rows of performance symbols are displayed in a jackpot combination or a reach-miss combination.

[0173] After completing S306, the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S307 whether the result of the judgment of the jackpot notice continuous performance 13 is a notice. If the judgment result is a notice, the value of the counter N is set to the initial value "8" in S310. If the judgment result is a no-notice, the sub-control circuit 60 determines whether to perform the jackpot notice continuous performance 14 in S308. This process is performed by determining whether a pre-judgment result of a win is stored in the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 1. If a pre-judgment result of a win is stored in the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 1, the sub-control circuit 60 determines to perform the jackpot notice continuous performance 14. If a pre-judgment result of a miss is stored, the sub-control circuit 60 determines not to perform the jackpot notice continuous performance 14. After completing S308, the sub-control circuit 60 detects the judgment result of the jackpot notice continuous performance 14 in S309. If no notice is detected here, the process ends. If a notice is detected, the process ends by setting the value of the counter N to "8" in S310. In other words, when the consecutive big win notice performance 14 is performed, the image of the special reach performance is displayed after the three rows of performance symbols reach a reach state with a probability of "100%" on the fourth performance symbol play, and after the conclusion of the special reach performance is displayed, the three rows of performance symbols are displayed in a big win combination with a probability of "100%".

[0174] When the sub-control circuit 60 moves to S311, it determines whether or not to perform the jackpot notice continuous performance 12. This process detects the result of the advance judgment of whether or not it will be a hit from the special chart 1 advance reading receiving area 1, and is performed according to the detection result of whether or not it will be a hit so that the reliability of the jackpot for the fourth performance symbol play is "5%". When the jackpot notice continuous performance 12 is performed, an image of a normal reach performance or an image of a normal performance is displayed in the fourth performance symbol play, and the three rows of performance symbols will be either a jackpot combination, a miss reach combination, or a complete miss combination.

[0175] After completing S311, the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S312 whether the result of the jackpot notice continuous performance 12 is no notice. If it determines that there is a notice, it sets the value of counter N to "8" in S310 and ends the process. If it determines that there is no notice, it determines in S313 whether to perform the jackpot notice continuous performance 11. This process detects the pre-determined result of the hit / miss from the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 1 and is performed according to the detection result so that the probability of a hit for the fourth performance symbol play is "1%." If the jackpot notice continuous performance 11 is performed, the fourth performance symbol play will display an image of a normal reach performance or a normal performance, and the three columns of performance symbols will be either a jackpot combination, a miss reach combination, or a complete miss combination. After completing S313, the sub-control circuit 60 proceeds to S314 and determines whether the result of the jackpot notice continuous performance 11 is no notice. If it is determined that there is no advance notice, the process ends, and if there is an advance notice, the value of counter N is set to "8" in S310 and the process ends.

[0176] According to the second embodiment, the following effects are achieved. One of the consecutive jackpot preview effects 11-14 was initiated on the condition that the start of the display of four preview symbol games was suspended. These consecutive jackpot preview effects 11-14 indicate to the player in advance that a three-row preview symbol combination will be displayed in the fourth preview symbol game using the same preview image W as the jackpot preview effect 1, and are performed with a variable number of preview symbol games, one or more of which are played. If the number of executions of the jackpot preview effect 1 in these consecutive jackpot preview effects 11-14 has not reached four, the three-row preview symbol combination in the fourth preview symbol game is determined to be a jackpot combination with a probability depending on the number of executions of the jackpot preview effect 1. This allows the player to enjoy waiting for the next jackpot preview effect 1 to occur after the end of the current jackpot preview effect 1. Moreover, if the number of executions of the jackpot preview effect 1 has reached four, the three-row preview symbol combination is always displayed in the fourth preview symbol game. Therefore, the player can enjoy waiting for the next big win notice consecutive performances 11 to 14 to occur with the goal that the number of times the big win notice performance 1 is executed reaches four times, and therefore the entertainment value of the big win notice consecutive performances 11 to 14 is improved overall.

[0177] When the start of display of four effect symbol games is on hold and jackpot notice effect 1 is performed for each of the first to fourth effect symbol games, three rows of effect symbols are always displayed in a red odd-numbered jackpot combination in the fourth effect symbol game, and it is announced that a high probability state and electric support state 1 are set. Therefore, the player can enjoy waiting for jackpot notice effect 1 to continue from the first effect symbol game to the fourth effect symbol game, further improving the entertainment value of jackpot notice continuous effects 11 to 14. When the big win notice performance 1 is performed as a one-off notice performance in the current performance symbol game, the player is notified that the target of the notice of the big win notice performance 1 is only the current performance symbol game in response to the three rows of performance symbols being in a reach state in the current performance symbol game, so it is possible to keep the player away from the useless act of looking forward to the occurrence of the next big win notice performance 1.

[0178] When the consecutive big win notice presentations 11 to 14 are performed, the execution of the one-off big win notice presentation 1 is restricted until eight performance symbol games are completed based on the performance symbol game in which the notice image W was last displayed. Therefore, the player will no longer mistakenly recognize the one-off big win notice presentation 1 as part of the consecutive big win notice presentations 11 to 14, and it is prevented that the player will mistakenly grasp the reliability of the notice image W as being high. In the above-mentioned Example 2, the jackpot notice performance 1 may be performed during each of the first and third performance symbol plays in the jackpot notice continuous performance 12. In other words, the jackpot notice performance 1 may be performed intermittently during the first to fourth four performance symbol plays. In this configuration, the jackpot notice performance 1 is performed again after the player feels that the repetition of the jackpot notice performance 1 has stopped, thereby improving the entertainment value of the jackpot notice continuous performance 12.

[0179] In the above-mentioned Example 2, it may be configured to allow the jackpot notice performance 1 to be performed when the game stop state continues for a certain period of time after the last notice image W is displayed in each of the jackpot notice consecutive performances 11 to 14. This game stop state is a state in which the special chart 1 game, the special chart 2 game, and the jackpot game are all stopped, and the special chart 1 reserved number is "0". In the above-mentioned Example 2, when the jackpot prediction continuous performance 14 is performed, an image of the special reach performance of the jackpot is always displayed on the fourth performance symbol play; when the jackpot prediction continuous performance 13 is performed, an image of the special reach performance of the jackpot or miss is always displayed on the fourth performance symbol play; and when the jackpot prediction continuous performance 11 or 12 is performed, an image of the special reach performance of the jackpot or miss is displayed on the fourth performance symbol play with a high probability in the order of jackpot prediction continuous performance 11 → jackpot prediction performance 12. In other words, instead of the occurrence of a jackpot on the fourth performance symbol play, the occurrence of the special reach performance of the jackpot or miss may be predicted. In this configuration, three consecutive jackpot prediction performances 1 are a prediction that suggests to the player a special reach performance with 100% reliability, and four consecutive jackpot prediction performances 1 are a prediction that suggests to the player both a special reach performance and a probability variable jackpot with 100% reliability.

[0180] [Example 3] 10. Big hit notice 2 Figure 33 shows an image of jackpot preview effect 2. This jackpot preview effect 2 indicates to the player that the three rows of symbols will form a jackpot combination in this symbol play. It is achieved by displaying a preview image W1 of a woman, different from the jackpot preview effect 1, superimposed on the three rows of symbols while the three rows of symbols are scrolling (see b). When this jackpot preview effect 2 is performed, a reach-to-win state is always generated, and the three rows of symbols will form either a jackpot combination or a reach-to-miss combination. This jackpot preview effect 2 is performed by the sub-control circuit 60 at S324 in Figure 30(g) based on the reception result of the special symbol 1 game data, and is performed based on the hit / miss detection result so that the reliability of the jackpot for this symbol play is "2%." The reliability of jackpot preview effect 2 is set to "2%," lower than that of jackpot preview effect 1. This big win notice performance 2 corresponds to the unit performance, the notice image W corresponds to the first image, and the notice image W1 corresponds to the second image.

[0181] 10-1. Big hit notice continuous performance 21 As shown in Fig. 34, the jackpot notice continuous performance 21 displays a female image W1 for the jackpot notice performance 2 in place of the female image W in the first performance symbol play (see bc). This jackpot notice continuous performance 21 is performed in accordance with the result of the detection of whether or not the sub-control circuit 60 has detected the result of a pre-determination of whether or not the jackpot has been won from the special symbol 1 advance reading receiving area 1 at S313 in Fig. 32, so that the reliability of the jackpot for the fourth performance symbol play is "0%." The reliability of the jackpot for the jackpot notice continuous performance 21 is set to "0%," which is lower than that of the jackpot notice performance 2. This jackpot notice continuous performance 21 is identifiable because the three rows of performance symbols do not reach a winning state in the first performance symbol play.

[0182] 10-2. Big hit notice continuous performance 22 The jackpot prediction sequence 22 is performed on the fourth symbol play when the number of reserved symbols for Special Symbol 1 is "4," suggesting to the player that the three symbols in a row will form a jackpot combination on the fourth symbol play. As shown in Figure 34, this jackpot prediction sequence 22 displays a female image W1 in place of the female image W during the first symbol play (see bc) and the second symbol play (see de). The sub-control circuit 60 detects the pre-determined result of the win / loss from the Special Symbol 1 pre-reading receiving area 1 at S311 in Figure 32, and performs the sequence according to the result of the detection so that the probability of a jackpot for the fourth symbol play is "3%." The probability of a jackpot for this jackpot prediction sequence 22 is higher than that of the jackpot prediction sequence 2 (2%) and the jackpot prediction sequence 21 (0%), but lower than that of the jackpot prediction sequence 12 (5%).

[0183] 10-3. Big hit notice continuous performance 23 The jackpot prediction sequence 23 is performed on the fourth symbol play when the number of reserved symbols for Special Symbol 1 is "4," suggesting to the player that the three symbols in the fourth symbol play will result in a jackpot combination. As shown in Figure 34, this jackpot prediction sequence 23 displays a female image W1 in place of the female image W during the first symbol play (see bc), the second symbol play (see de), and the third symbol play (see fg). The sub-control circuit 60 detects the pre-determined result of the win / loss from the Special Symbol 1 pre-reading receiving area 1 at S306 in Figure 32, and performs the sequence according to the result of the detection so that the probability of a jackpot for the fourth symbol play is "7%." The probability of a jackpot for this jackpot prediction sequence 23 is set higher than that for the jackpot prediction sequence 22 but lower than that for the jackpot prediction sequence 13.

[0184] 10-4. Big hit notice continuous performance 24 The jackpot announcement sequence 24 is performed on the fourth symbol play when the number of reserved symbols for special symbol 1 is "4," suggesting to the player that the third symbol combination in the fourth symbol play will result in an odd-numbered jackpot. As shown in FIG. 34, this jackpot announcement sequence 24 displays a female image W1 in place of the female image W during the first symbol play (see bc), the second symbol play (see de), the third symbol play (see fg), and the fourth symbol play (see h-k). The sub-control circuit 60 determines whether a pre-determination result for a win is stored in the special symbol 1 pre-reading receiving area 1 at S308 in FIG. 32. The jackpot announcement sequence 24 is set to have a jackpot probability of "90%." The jackpot probability of the jackpot announcement sequence 24 is set higher than that of the jackpot announcement sequence 23 but lower than that of the jackpot announcement sequence 14. These consecutive jackpot notice performances 21 to 24 correspond to notice performances.

[0185] The notice determination process of Fig. 33(c) selects one from notice performance group 1 consisting of jackpot notice performance 1 and jackpot notice consecutive performances 11-14, and notice performance group 2 consisting of jackpot notice performance 2 and jackpot notice consecutive performances 21-24, and when notice performance group 1 is selected, the sub-control circuit 60 sets jackpot notice performance 1 in accordance with the execution of the jackpot notice performance process of Fig. 30(g), and when notice performance group 2 is selected, the sub-control circuit 60 sets jackpot notice performance 2. When notice performance group 1 is selected, the sub-control circuit 60 sets one from jackpot notice performances 11-14 in accordance with the execution of the jackpot notice consecutive performance process of Fig. 32(a), and when notice performance group 2 is selected, the sub-control circuit 60 sets one from jackpot notice consecutive performances 21-24.

[0186] The notice determination process of Figure 33(c) is started each time the sub-control circuit 60 starts the timer interrupt process of Figure 28(b), and the sub-control circuit 60 adds "1" to the value of timer T in S341. The value of this timer T is incremented from "1" to "99" and then returned to "0" and added cyclically, and the sub-control circuit 60 detects the update result of the timer T value in S342 and determines whether the detected result of the timer T value is within the range of "0 to 49" in S343. If it determines that "0 ≤ T ≤ 49", it selects notice performance group 1, and if it determines that "50 ≤ T ≤ 99", it selects notice performance group 2.

[0187] According to the third embodiment, the following effects are achieved. On the condition that the start of displaying four effect symbol games is put on hold, one of jackpot notice consecutive performances 11-14 and jackpot notice consecutive performances 21-24 will start. These jackpot notice consecutive performances 11-14 and jackpot notice consecutive performances 21-24 suggest to the player in advance that a jackpot will occur on the fourth effect symbol game, and jackpot notice consecutive performances 11-14 consist of one to four highly reliable jackpot notice performances 1, while jackpot notice consecutive performances 21-24 consist of one to four low-reliability jackpot notice performances 2. When any of these jackpot notice consecutive performances 21-24 is performed, a jackpot will occur with a probability less than "100%" depending on the number of times jackpot notice performance 2 is performed; when any of jackpot notice consecutive performances 11-13 is performed, a jackpot will occur with a probability depending on the number of times jackpot notice performance 1 is performed; and when jackpot notice consecutive performance 14 is performed, a jackpot will always occur. Therefore, for the player, in addition to the enjoyment of waiting for the occurrence of the highly reliable jackpot notice performance 1, the player can enjoy the enjoyment of waiting for the next jackpot notice performance 1 to occur with the goal of the number of times the jackpot notice performance 1 is executed reaching four, and therefore the entertainment value of the jackpot notice consecutive performances 11 to 14 and the jackpot notice consecutive performances 21 to 24 is improved overall.

[0188] In the above-mentioned Example 3, a common reliability (for example, 7%) may be set for each of the jackpot notice consecutive performances 21 to 24, and the three rows of performance symbols may be configured to form a jackpot combination with the same probability in the fourth performance symbol play when the jackpot notice consecutive performances 21, 22, 23, and 24 are performed. In this configuration, when the jackpot notice consecutive performances 11 to 14 are performed, a jackpot occurs in the fourth performance symbol play with a probability depending on the number of times jackpot notice performance 1 is performed, and when the jackpot notice consecutive performances 21 to 24 are performed, a jackpot is displayed in the fourth performance symbol play with a fixed probability regardless of the number of times jackpot notice performance 2 is performed. For this reason, when the consecutive jackpot notice performances 11 to 14 are performed, the player can enjoy anticipating a repetition of the jackpot notice performance 1, and when the consecutive jackpot notice performances 21 to 24 are performed, the player can continue to expect a jackpot even if the repetition of the jackpot notice performance 2 is stopped early, so that the entertainment value of the consecutive jackpot notice performances 11 to 14 and the consecutive jackpot notice performances 21 to 24 is improved overall.

[0189] [Example 4] The probability variable jackpot notice continuous performance processing of Figure 35 (a) is executed by the sub-control circuit 60 in each of the jackpot notice continuous performance determination processing 1 of S313, the jackpot notice continuous performance determination processing 2 of S311, the jackpot notice continuous performance determination processing 3 of S306, and the jackpot notice continuous performance determination processing 4 of S308 in Figure 32, and the sub-control circuit 60 determines whether or not it has determined in S351 of the probability variable jackpot notice continuous performance processing that any of the jackpot notice continuous performances 11 to 14 will be performed. If the execution of any of the jackpot notice continuous performances 11 to 14 is detected here, the process proceeds to S352, and it is determined whether or not the advance determination result of the special chart fluctuation pattern in the special chart 1 advance reading receiving area 1 is for the special reach performance of the jackpot (PO01 to 04).

[0190] If the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S352 that a special reach effect for a jackpot will be executed on the fourth symbol play, it proceeds to S353, where it determines whether the jackpot type "Jackpot Symbol 1" for a 16-round probability jackpot is stored in the special symbol 1 pre-reading receiving area 1. If it determines that the jackpot type "Jackpot Symbol 1" is stored, it proceeds to S354, where it sets the attachment of a dialogue image C1 with a probability of 70%. This dialogue image C1 is attached to the preview image W for the first symbol play if it is determined that a jackpot preview continuous effect 11 will be executed; to the preview image W for the second symbol play if it is determined that a jackpot preview continuous effect 12 will be executed; to the preview image W for the third symbol play if it is determined that a jackpot preview continuous effect 13 will be executed; and to the preview image W for the fourth symbol play if it is determined that a jackpot preview continuous effect 14 will be executed.

[0191] Figure 35(b) shows the preview image W with the dialogue image C1 attached, and regardless of the number of times the jackpot preview effect 1 occurs, if the preview image W is displayed with the dialogue image C1 attached during the first, second, or third effect pattern play, a special reach effect will occur during the fourth effect pattern play with a probability of 70%, and the three rows of effect patterns will go through the special reach effect to form an odd-numbered combination for a special jackpot, and after 16 rounds of jackpot play, the ``electric support state 1'' and ``high probability state'' will be set, and the next effect pattern play will be played in chance mode.

[0192] In the above-mentioned Example 4, if the consecutive jackpot announcement performances 11 to 14 are performed with only the announcement image W attached and no dialogue image C1 attached, the three rows of presentation symbols will be considered to be a jackpot combination with the same common probability (for example, 5%) in the fourth presentation symbol play, and if the announcement image W is displayed with the dialogue image C1 attached in the first presentation symbol play of the consecutive jackpot announcement performance 11, if the announcement image W is displayed with the dialogue image C1 attached in either the first or second presentation symbol play of the consecutive jackpot announcement performance 12, if the announcement image W is displayed with the dialogue image C1 attached in either the first or third presentation symbol play of the consecutive jackpot announcement performance 13, or if the announcement image W is displayed with the dialogue image C1 attached in either the first to fourth presentation symbol play of the consecutive jackpot announcement performance 14, the three rows of presentation symbols will be considered to be a jackpot combination with the same common probability (for example, 70%) in the fourth presentation symbol play. These jackpot notice consecutive presentations 11 to 14 suggest to the player that the three rows of presentation symbols will form a jackpot combination in the fourth presentation symbol play, regardless of the number of times that jackpot notice presentation 1 is executed, with a probability related to the state of jackpot notice presentation 1, and a jackpot may occur in the fourth presentation symbol play even if the number of times the notice image W is displayed is small. In this case, the player will feel a sense of disappointment and then a great sense of enjoyment, improving the entertainment value of the jackpot notice consecutive presentations 11 to 14.

[0193] [Example 5] Dedicated preview images are set for the first, second, third, and fourth performance symbol games of the jackpot preview consecutive performances 21 to 24. Preview image W21 in Fig. 36(a) is displayed in place of preview image W1 in the first performance symbol game of the jackpot preview consecutive performances 21 to 24, preview image W22 in Fig. 36(b) is displayed in place of preview image W1 in the second performance symbol game of the jackpot preview consecutive performances 22 to 24, preview image W23 in Fig. 36(c) is displayed in place of preview image W1 in the third performance symbol game of the jackpot preview consecutive performances 23 to 24, and preview image W24 in Fig. 36(d) is displayed in place of preview image W1 in the fourth performance symbol game of the jackpot preview consecutive performances 24.

[0194] A chance-up image U2 is set for each of the jackpot notice consecutive effects 21 to 24. In the jackpot notice consecutive effect 21, this chance-up image U2 is attached to the notice image W21 in the first effect symbol game, in the jackpot notice consecutive effect 22, it is attached to the notice image W21 in the first effect symbol game or the notice image W22 in the second effect symbol game, in the jackpot notice consecutive effect 23, it is attached to one of the notice image W21 in the first effect symbol game, the notice image W22 in the second effect symbol game, and the notice image W23 in the third effect symbol game, and in the jackpot notice consecutive effect 24, it is attached to one of the notice image W21 in the first effect symbol game, the notice image W22 in the second effect symbol game, the notice image W23 in the third effect symbol game, and the notice image W24 in the fourth effect symbol game.

[0195] The chance up image U2 notifies the player that the reliability of a jackpot for the fourth effect symbol play has been increased by "10%" from the default value; when the chance up image U2 is displayed in the jackpot notice consecutive performance 21, the reliability of a jackpot for the fourth effect symbol play increases from "0%" to "10%"; when the chance up image U2 is displayed in the jackpot notice consecutive performance 22, the reliability of a jackpot for the fourth effect symbol play increases from "3%" to "13%"; when the chance up image U2 is displayed in the jackpot notice consecutive performance 23, the reliability of a jackpot for the fourth effect symbol play increases from "7%" to "17%"; and when the chance up image U2 is displayed in the jackpot notice consecutive performance 24, the reliability of a jackpot for the fourth effect symbol play increases from "90%" to "100%".

[0196] [Example 6] 11. Reach notice performance Figures 37(a)-(d) explain the reach notice effect. This reach notice effect suggests to the player that an image of a special reach effect will be displayed in the current effect symbol game, and is performed by operating the notice effect device 33. This notice effect device 33 is stationary at the uppermost position in a non-illuminating state before the scrolling display of the three columns of effect symbols begins (see a), and is operated to descend from the uppermost position to the lowermost position in a non-illuminating state after the scrolling display of the three columns of effect symbols begins (see b). This reach notice effect has a failure outcome and a success outcome. In a failure outcome, the notice effect device 33 rises from the lowermost position to the uppermost position while remaining in a non-illuminating state (see bc). In a success outcome, the notice effect device 33 changes from a non-illuminating state at the lowermost position to a red illuminating state, and then rises from the lowermost position to the uppermost position while illuminating red (see bdc), and the notice effect device 33 changes from an illuminating state to a non-illuminating state at the uppermost position. This reach notice effect corresponds to a chance notice effect, the effect in which the notice effect device 33 descends from the upper limit position to the lower limit position corresponds to a common effect, the ending in which the notice effect device 33 lights up at the lower limit position corresponds to a successful ending branching off from the common effect, and the ending in which the notice effect device 33 does not light up at the lower limit position corresponds to a failed ending branching off from the common effect.

[0197] The reach notice effect setting process of Figure 37(e) is started each time the sub-control circuit 60 receives special symbol 1 game data from the main control circuit 40 at S123 of Figure 29, and the sub-control circuit 60 determines whether or not to execute the reach notice effect in response to executing the reach notice effect process of Figure 37(e), and if it is determined that the reach notice effect will be executed, it executes the reach notice effect in the current effect symbol game. The sub-control circuit 60 determines in S301 whether the current effect mode is normal mode. If it determines that it is normal mode here, it proceeds to S302, and determines with a probability of "1 / 20" that the reach notice effect will be executed.

[0198] After completing S302, the sub-control circuit 60 detects the result of the determination of the reach notice effect in S303. If the determination result of the presence of the reach notice effect is detected here, the determination result of the special chart variation pattern is detected from the reception result of the special chart 1 game data in S304, and the detection result of the special chart variation pattern is compared with "PH01-04" and "PO01-04" for the special reach effect. If it is determined here that the detection result of the special chart variation pattern is not for the special reach effect, the reach notice effect is set to a failure ending in S306, and if it is determined that the detection result of the special chart variation pattern is for the special reach effect, the process proceeds to S305. Here, the reach notice effect is set to a success ending with a probability of "9 / 10" and to a failure ending with a probability of "1 / 10". That is, if the reach notice effect ends in a successful outcome, one of the special reach effects BL1 to BL4 will always occur, and if the reach notice effect ends in a failed outcome, one of the special reach effects BL1 to BL4 will occur with a low probability of less than 100%. These special reach effects are called battle images BL1 to BL4 and correspond to chance effects.

[0199] 12. Special Reach Revival Figures 38(a)-(e) show images of the special reach revival effect. This special reach revival effect begins after the scrolling speed of the middle row of effect symbols slows down during the reach state of the three-row effect symbols and the three-row effect symbols are erased in the middle row's slow-changing state. It is set to the same content as the battle image BL1 in which the female silhouette W fights the dinosaur D1 (see a). This special reach revival effect differs from the battle image BL1 in that the female silhouette W is always defeated (see b). The three rows of effect symbols are displayed in a provisional combination of a missed reach in response to the female silhouette W's initial defeat (see b). The image of this provisional defeat develops into a revival effect in which the female silhouette W stands up (see c), and the middle row of effect symbols are displayed in a scrolling state again in response to the start of the revival effect image (see c). The image of this revival effect develops into an image in which the female silhouette W fights the dinosaur D1 again (see d). This second fighting image ends with the female silhouette W always winning (see e), and the second scrolling display of the middle row of performance symbols stops with the same symbols as the left and right columns in response to the female silhouette W winning (see e). This special reach revival effect corresponds to a revival chance effect.

[0200] The special reach revival effect processing of Figure 38(f) is started by the sub-control circuit 60 following the reach notice effect processing of Figure 37(e), and the sub-control circuit 60 determines whether or not to display an image of the special reach revival effect in response to performing the special reach revival effect processing of Figure 38(f). The sub-control circuit 60 determines in S311 whether or not a successful ending has been set as the reach notice effect. If it is determined here that a reach notice effect of a successful ending has been set, then in S312 the detection result of the special chart variation pattern is compared with "PH01" and "PO01" for the battle image BL1. If it is determined here that the detection result of the special chart variation pattern is for the battle image BL1, then the process proceeds to S313, and a special reach revival effect is set in place of the special reach effect of the battle image BL1. In other words, the special reach revival effect is displayed in place of the special reach effect of the battle image BL1, which has the highest reliability, and when the reach preview effect ends with a successful outcome, either the special reach effect of the battle images BL2 to BL4 or the special reach revival effect is displayed, and when the special reach effect of the battle images BL2 to BL4 is displayed, the three rows of effect symbols will be a jackpot combination or a miss reach combination, and when the special reach revival effect is displayed, the three rows of effect symbols will always be a jackpot combination.

[0201] According to the sixth embodiment, the following effects are achieved. When a reach-up announcement with a successful ending is performed, one of the multiple special reach-up announcements is guaranteed to be executed, suggesting to the player that the probability of the three rows of symbols forming a jackpot combination is higher than that of the normal reach-up announcement, the all-symbol simultaneous stop announcement, and the normal announcement. This eliminates the player's disappointment when nothing happens despite a reach-up announcement with a successful ending, improving the appeal of the reach-up announcement. This reach-up announcement has a failure ending in addition to a successful ending, and when a reach-up announcement with a failure ending is performed, one of the multiple special reach-up announcements is executed or not executed with a probability of less than 100%, allowing the player to enjoy the anticipation of the reach-up announcement ending with a successful ending. Furthermore, when a special reach-up revival announcement is executed after a reach-up announcement, the first half of the special reach-up revival announcement suggests to the player that a jackpot will not occur, and the second half of the special reach-up revival announcement suggests to the player that a jackpot will occur, and the jackpot always occurs after the player is informed that a jackpot will occur. Therefore, the special reach revival performance changes the player's disappointment into great expectations, further improving the appeal of the reach advance notice performance.

[0202] In the above-mentioned Example 6, it is also possible to set one type of ending for the reach notice effect, such as by lowering the notice effector 33 from the upper limit position to the lower limit position in a non-illuminating state and then illuminating it at the lower limit position, and to configure the special reach effect to be executed whenever the reach notice effect is executed. In this configuration, it is preferable that when the special reach revival effect is executed as the special reach effect, the three rows of effect symbols are always set to a jackpot combination after the image of another fight at the winning end.

[0203] [Example 7] 13. Revival preview Figure 39 shows an image of a revival preview effect. This revival preview effect indicates to the player that a revival preview image will be displayed if the battle image BL1 following the reach preview effect results in a defeat. It is initiated by lowering the preview effect device 33 from its uppermost position to its lowermost position while remaining unlit at the defeat ending of the battle image BL1 (see b). This revival preview effect has both a failure ending and a success ending. A failure ending is achieved by raising the preview effect device 33 from its lowermost position to its uppermost position while remaining unlit. If the revival preview effect ends in a failure ending, the revival preview image is not displayed, and a miss-reach combination of three rows of effect symbols is confirmed. A success ending is achieved by lowering the preview effect device 33 to its lowermost position and emitting a white light, different from the reach preview effect (see c). If this revival preview effect ends in a success ending, a revival preview image is always displayed (see d), followed by a special reach revival effect image (see e), and the three rows of effect symbols are always a jackpot combination (see f). The revival preview of this successful ending corresponds to a specific performance.

[0204] The revival notice effect is set in S313 when the sub-control circuit 60 determines in S312 of Fig. 38(f) that the battle image BL1 is displayed, and is always set to a successful ending when the result of the judgment of the success or failure of the special chart 1 game data is a jackpot, and is always set to a failure ending when the result of the judgment of the success or failure of the special chart 1 game data is a miss. This sub-control circuit 60 corresponds to a specific effect means.

[0205] According to the seventh embodiment, the following effects are achieved. If the successful ending revival notice effect is executed in the first half of the special reach revival effect, the special reach revival effect progresses from the first half to the second half, and the three rows of effect symbols form a jackpot combination. If this successful ending revival notice effect is not executed in the first half of the special reach revival effect, the special reach revival effect ends in the first half (battle image BL1 of a failed ending), and the three rows of effect symbols form a miss reach combination. This allows the player to enjoy waiting for the successful ending revival notice effect to be executed during the special reach revival effect, improving the entertainment value of the special reach revival effect. In the above-mentioned Example 7, the ending of the revival announcement effect can be set to one type, such as by lowering the announcement effect device 33 from the upper limit position to the lower limit position in a non-illuminating state and then lighting up in white at the lower limit position, and when the revival announcement effect is executed, the first half of the special reach revival effect will always progress to the second half, resulting in a jackpot.

[0206] [Example 8] The effect member 101 in Figure 40 is colored and opaque, and is connected to a pulse motor (neither of which is shown) via a drive mechanism. This pulse motor operates to move the effect member 101 between a standby position (see b) below the effect symbol display 28 and an effect position (see c) where the effect member 101 overlaps the effect symbol display 28 from the front. The effect member 101 is invisible to the player in the standby position and visible to the player in the effect position. This effect member 101 is located below the symbol display area Ee of the effect symbol display 28 in the effect position. This symbol display area Ee is an area where three rows of effect symbols are displayed in a reach combination after a defeat outcome is displayed in the special reach revival effect, and from the player's perspective, the movement of the effect member 101 from the standby position to the effect position is the movement of the effect member 101 toward the reach three rows of effect symbols.

[0207] The sub-control circuit 60 controls the pulse motor to move the effect member 101 between the standby position and the effect position. As shown in FIG. 40(c), the sub-control circuit 60 moves the effect member 101 from the standby position to the effect position, instead of displaying an image of the revival effect after displaying three rows of effect symbols in the symbol display area Ee as a missed reach combination following a losing outcome in the special reach revival effect. When the effect member 101 is moved to the effect position, a colored, opaque smoke screen image resembling a smoke screen is superimposed in front of the effect symbols of the missed reach combination, thereby making the three rows of effect symbols invisible to the player. The sub-control circuit 60 changes the three rows of effect symbols from the missed reach combination to a jackpot combination while the three rows of effect symbols are invisible, and then erases the smoke screen image after changing the three rows of effect symbols to a jackpot combination, thereby making the three rows of effect symbols visible to the player. That is, from the player's line of sight, as the effect member 101 moves toward the three rows of effect symbols of the miss-and-reach combination, the three rows of effect symbols change from the miss-and-reach combination to the jackpot combination.

[0208] The above eighth embodiment has the following effects. When the effect member 101 moves toward the three-row effect symbols of the provisional combination of a miss reach in the special reach revival effect, the three-row effect symbols change from the provisional miss reach combination to the definite combination of a jackpot, improving the entertainment value of the revival chance effect. Moreover, since the three-row effect symbols are made invisible in response to a smoke screen image being displayed in front of the three-row effect symbols before the three-row effect symbols are changed from the miss reach combination to the jackpot combination, the player can enjoy the series of images in which the three-row effect symbols change from the miss reach combination to the jackpot combination without feeling any discomfort.

[0209] [Example 9] The upper unit member 111 in Figure 41 has a right-angled triangular shape when viewed from the front, and is connected to a pulse motor (neither of which is shown) via a drive mechanism. This pulse motor moves the upper unit member 111 between a standby position (see b) above the performance symbol display 28 and a performance position (see c) where the upper unit member 111 overlaps the performance symbol display 28 from the front. The upper unit member 111 is invisible to the player in the standby position, and visible to the player in the performance position. The lower unit member 112 in Figure 41 has a right-angled triangular shape when viewed from the front, and is connected to a pulse motor via the same drive mechanism as the upper unit member 111. This pulse motor moves the lower unit member 112 between a standby position (see b) below the performance symbol display 28 and a performance position (see c) where the lower unit member 112 overlaps the performance symbol display 28 from the front. The lower unit member 112 is invisible to the player in the standby position, and visible to the player in the performance position. These upper unit members 111 and lower unit members 112 come into contact with each other at the performance position to form a rectangular completed form, and in the standby position they are spaced apart to form an incomplete form, and in the completed form they overlap the pattern display area Ee of the performance pattern display device 28 from the front. This pattern display area Ee is the area that is displayed as a combination of three rows of performance symbols that are lost and reach after a losing outcome is displayed in the special reach revival performance, and the upper unit members 111 and lower unit members 112 hide the three rows of performance symbols from view from the front as they form a completed form at the performance position. These upper unit members 111 and lower unit members 112 correspond to unit members, and the completed form corresponds to an approaching form, and the incomplete form corresponds to a separating form.

[0210] The sub-control circuit 60 controls the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 between the completed form and the non-completed form in response to driving control of the pulse motor. As shown in Figure 41 (c), this sub-control circuit 60 changes the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 from the non-completed form to the completed form instead of displaying an image of the revival effect after displaying the outcome of a defeat in the special reach revival effect, and in response to the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 overlapping from the front with the three rows of effect symbols of the missed reach combination in the completed form, the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 hide the three rows of effect symbols so that they are invisible and difficult to see from the player.

[0211] The sub-control circuit 60 changes the three rows of effect symbols of a reach-to-miss combination into a jackpot combination when the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 are in a completed state, and after changing the three rows of effect symbols from a reach-to-miss combination to a jackpot, the three rows of effect symbols of the jackpot combination become visible to the player in response to operating the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 from a completed state to an incomplete state. In other words, from the player's line of sight, when the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 are in a completed state, the three rows of effect symbols become invisible as a reach-to-miss combination, and when the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 are in an incomplete state, the three rows of effect symbols become visible as a jackpot combination.

[0212] According to the above-mentioned embodiment 9, the following effects are achieved. As the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 are brought into a completed form, three rows of performance symbols of a combination of a miss reach become invisible, and as the upper unit member 111 and the lower unit member 112 are brought into an incomplete form, three rows of performance symbols appear as a combination of a big win, improving the entertainment value of the special reach revival performance.

[0213] [Example 10] 42(a) is a list of the types of cloud images C. These four types of cloud images C indicate the degree of expectation for the display of one of the five types of images of special reach effects, including the special reach revival effect, in place of the reach notice effect by the notice effect device 33. The color of the leftmost cloud image C corresponding to the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 4 indicates the degree of expectation for the special reach effect in the first effect symbol game, the color of the second cloud image C from the left end corresponding to the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 3 indicates the degree of expectation for the special reach effect in the second effect symbol game, the color of the third cloud image C from the left end corresponding to the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 2 indicates the degree of expectation for the special reach effect in the third effect symbol game, and the color of the rightmost cloud image C corresponding to the special chart 1 pre-reading receiving area 1 indicates the degree of expectation for the special reach effect in the fourth effect symbol game. The white cloud image C, green cloud image C, and red cloud image C suggest to the player that one of the five types of special reach effects, including the special reach revival effect, will be performed with a probability of less than 100%, and correspond to different chance notice effects. The gold cloud image C suggests to the player that one of the five types of special reach effects, including the special reach revival effect, will definitely be performed, and corresponds to chance notice effects. These five types of cloud images C are displayed when the effect symbol game is put on hold, and share the same display timing.

[0214] According to the above-mentioned embodiment 10, the following effects are achieved. When a golden cloud image C is displayed, a special reach effect always occurs, and when a white, green or red cloud image C is displayed, the special reach effect occurs with a probability of less than "100%", so that a player can enjoy the expectation of the golden cloud image C being displayed.

[0215] [Example 11] The display of preview image W21 in Figure 43(a) to the display of preview image W24 in Figure 43(d) are performed in place of the reach preview effect by the preview effect device 33, and are displayed for a certain period of time superimposed on the three columns of effect patterns when the three columns of effect patterns are scrolled during the current effect pattern game. These preview images W21 to W24 are the same type of images that share the same display start timing and display stop timing, and the three columns of effect patterns become invisible to the player when the preview images W21 to W24 are displayed, and become visible in the scroll state as the preview images W21 to W24 are erased. These preview images W21 to W24 suggest to the player with mutually different degrees of reliability that one of five types of special reach effects will occur, and as shown in Figure 43(e), when preview image W21 is displayed while three rows of effect symbols are scrolling in the current effect symbol game, images of five types of special reach effects including the special reach revival effect will not necessarily be displayed, when preview image W22 is displayed, they will be displayed with a high probability, when preview image W23 is displayed, they will be displayed with a low probability, and when preview image W24 is displayed, they will be displayed with an extremely low probability. The display of this preview image W21 corresponds to a chance preview effect, and the display of preview images W22 to W24 corresponds to another chance preview effect of the same type as the chance preview effect.

[0216] In the above-mentioned Examples 6 to 11 (excluding Example 10), when multiple effect symbol games are reserved, a reach notice effect may be performed as a pre-reading effect for the second and subsequent effect symbol games. In the above-mentioned first to eleventh embodiments, the present invention may be applied to a type 1, type 2 or type 3 pachinko gaming machine. The present invention is not limited to the above Examples 1 to 10, and is not limited to the wording of each claim, as long as it does not deviate from the scope of each claim, and extends to a range that can be easily substituted by a person skilled in the art, and improvements based on the knowledge that a person skilled in the art would normally have can be added as appropriate.

[0217] In addition to the inventions described in the claims, Examples 1 to 11 above also describe the following: [Reference Inventions 1-1 to 1-5], [Reference Invention 2-1], [Reference Inventions 3-1 to 3-7], [Reference Invention 4-1], [Reference Inventions 5-1 to 5-6], and [Reference Invention 6-1]. Some gaming machines are configured to display a symbol game image when a gaming ball validly enters a predetermined starting area. This symbol game image displays a distinguished symbol in a variable state and then in a stopped state, and the player is notified of the result of the win / loss determination based on the appearance of the distinguished symbol in the stopped state (see JP 2016-073869 A). Some gaming machines are configured to suggest to the player the reliability of the winning notification by displaying a preview effect image during the symbol game. In this gaming machine, a numerical value is displayed as the preview effect image, leaving room for improvement in terms of ingenuity. [Reference Inventions 1-1 to 1-5] and [Reference Invention 2-1] were made in consideration of the above circumstances, and their purpose is to provide a gaming machine that can improve the entertainment value of preview presentations.

[0218] [Reference Invention 1-1] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; A symbol game means for displaying a symbol game image to notify the player of the result of the winning or losing decision; a preview performance means capable of performing one or more variable number of unit performances, each of which displays one of two or more preview images, as one preview performance; The gaming machine is characterized in that the preview performance means indicates to the player the degree of reliability of the winning indication by the image of the pattern game by the number of times the unit performance is executed in one preview performance and the type of preview image displayed in each unit performance. According to the above means, one preview image is displayed for one unit effect. This makes it easier for the player to grasp the number of unit effects that occur in one preview effect, making it easier to recognize the level of reliability from the number of unit effects that occur. Moreover, the level of reliability is also suggested to the player by the type of preview image displayed in each unit effect. This allows the player to enjoy comprehensively interpreting the level of reliability from two types of conditions in the preview effect, improving the appeal of the preview effect.

[0219] [Reference Invention 1-2] The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 1-1] is characterized in that the preview performance means displays a preview image that makes the image of the pattern game difficult to see in each unit performance, and if the preview performance is to be continued, the next preview image is displayed consecutively to the current preview image. According to the above means, when the preview performance continues, the preview image of the next unit performance is displayed following the preview image of the current unit performance, so that the player does not feel annoyed waiting for the display of a new preview image. Moreover, when the preview performance ends in the current unit performance, the preview image of the current unit performance is displayed following the preview image of the current unit performance, so that the player can easily grasp that the preview performance has ended.

[0220] [Reference Inventions 1-3] The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 1-1] is characterized in that the preview performance means displays performance information related to the performance content of the unit performance each time the unit performance is executed, and is equipped with a performance information display means that continues to display the performance information until the preview performance ends. According to the above means, the effect information is displayed each time a unit effect is executed, and the display of the effect information continues until the preview effect ends. Therefore, by looking at the effect information, the player can know the number of occurrences of the unit effect, the type of preview image, etc., making it easier for the player to recognize the reliability.

[0221] [Reference Inventions 1-4] The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 1-1] is characterized in that when multiple unit performances are performed in a single preview performance, the preview performance means indicates the high degree of reliability of mutually different states related to a win in each of the multiple unit performances. According to the above means, the reliability of different states relating to a win, such as the occurrence of a reach state, the occurrence of a special reach effect, or the occurrence of a win confirmation effect, is suggested to the player in each unit effect, making it easier for the player to grasp the reliability of a win.

[0222] [Reference Inventions 1-5] The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 1-4] is characterized in that the pattern game means is capable of displaying an identified pattern in a pattern game image in a winning or losing state after passing through a reach state, and when an image of a specific effect is displayed in a reach state of the identified pattern, the identified pattern will be in a winning state with a higher probability than when it is not displayed, and the advance notice effect means performs two or more unit effects in one advance notice effect, including a unit effect that suggests to the player the high reliability that the identified pattern will be in a reach state and a unit effect that suggests to the player the high reliability that an image of a specific effect will be displayed. According to the above means, the high reliability that the identification pattern will be in a reach state is suggested to the player in one unit performance, and the high reliability that the image of a specific performance will be displayed is suggested to the player in another unit performance, so that it becomes easier for the player to grasp the high reliability that the identification pattern will be in a winning state.

[0223] [Reference Inventions 1-6] The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 1-1] is characterized in that the preview performance means displays an identification image for identifying each unit performance when multiple unit performances are performed in one preview performance. According to the above means, an identification image is displayed for each unit performance, making it easier for the player to distinguish between multiple unit performances.

[0224] [Reference Invention 2-1] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; A symbol game means for displaying a symbol game image to notify the player of the result of the winning or losing decision; The device is capable of performing one or more variable number of unit effects, each of which displays one of two or more preview images, as one preview effect, and is equipped with a preview effect means for suggesting to a player the degree of reliability that a specific event will occur in the image of the symbol game depending on the number of executions of the unit effects in one preview effect, A gaming machine characterized in that the preview performance means, when performing multiple unit performances in one preview performance, suggests to the player the degree of reliability that an event different from the specific event will occur in each of the two or more unit performances by the type of preview image. According to the above means, one preview image is displayed for one unit effect. This makes it easier for the player to grasp the number of unit effects that occur in one preview effect, and therefore makes it easier to recognize the reliability of a specific event from the number of unit effects that occur. Moreover, the reliability of the occurrence of an event other than a specific event, such as the occurrence of a reach state, the occurrence of a special reach effect, or a confirmed win, is suggested to the player for each of two or more unit effects, thereby improving the appeal of the preview effect.

[0225] [Reference Invention 3-1] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; A display that displays an image of a symbol game that notifies the player of the result of the winning or losing decision; A symbol game means for displaying an image of a symbol game on the display device, and suspending the start of displaying the image of the next symbol game until the display of the image of the symbol game is completed while the image of the symbol game is displayed on the display device; On the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games has been put on hold, a preview effect is performed to suggest to the player in advance that a predetermined image will be displayed in the target symbol game, the preview effect being targeted at one symbol game that is later in display order than the first time and before the final time, and the device is provided with a preview effect means that performs a unit effect using one or more variable number of images as one preview effect, The notice performance means performs a unit performance in one or more variable number of symbol games among a plurality of symbol games having a display order before the target symbol game, The gaming machine is characterized in that the symbol game means displays a predetermined image in the target symbol game with a probability according to the number of times the unit effect has been executed in one preview effect if the number of times has not reached N (N is an integer of 2 or more), and always displays the predetermined image in the target symbol game if N has been reached. According to the above means, a preview effect is initiated on the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games is pending. This preview effect is intended to inform the player in advance through an image that a predetermined image will be displayed in a symbol game that is later than the first and before the final symbol game among the three or more symbol games. It consists of a unit effect with a variable number of images (one or more). This unit effect is performed in one or more variable number of symbol games among multiple symbol games that have a display order prior to the target symbol game. If the number of executions of this unit effect has not reached N, the predetermined image is displayed in the target symbol game with a probability depending on the number of executions of the unit effect, allowing the player to enjoy waiting for the next unit effect to occur after the current unit effect has ended. Moreover, if the number of executions of the unit effect has reached N, the predetermined image is always displayed in the target symbol game. This allows the player to enjoy waiting for the next unit effect to occur with the goal of reaching N executions of the unit effect, thereby improving the overall entertainment value of the preview effect.

[0226] [Reference Invention 3-2] The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 3-1] is characterized in that the game control means is capable of setting a game state advantageous to the player on the condition that it has determined a win, and the pattern game means targets the pattern game having the final display order, and when N unit performances have been performed in N consecutive pattern games including the final pattern game, always displays a predetermined image in the final pattern game, and notifies the player with an image when a game state advantageous to the player has been set. According to the above means, when the start of display of N symbol games is suspended and a unit effect is performed for each symbol game from the first to the final game, a predetermined image is always displayed in the final N symbol game, and an image is displayed to notify the player that a game state advantageous to the player has been set. Therefore, the player can enjoy waiting for the unit effect to continue from the first symbol game to the final symbol game, further improving the entertainment value of the preview effect.

[0227] [Reference Invention 3-3] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; A display that displays an image of a symbol game that notifies the player of the result of the winning or losing decision; A symbol game means for displaying an image of a symbol game on the display device, and suspending the start of displaying the image of the next symbol game until the display of the image of the symbol game is completed while the image of the symbol game is displayed on the display device; On the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games has been put on hold, a preview effect is performed to suggest to the player in advance that a predetermined image will be displayed in the target symbol game, the preview effect being targeted at one symbol game that is later in display order than the first time and before the final time, and the device is provided with a preview effect means that performs a unit effect using one or more variable number of images as one preview effect, The advance notice performance means performs a unit performance in one or more variable number of symbol games among a plurality of symbol games having a display order before the target symbol game, and performs, as a unit performance, displaying a first image suggesting to the player that there is a high degree of reliability that a predetermined image will be displayed in the target symbol game, or displaying a second image suggesting to the player that there is a low degree of reliability, The gaming machine is characterized in that the pattern game means displays a predetermined image with a probability depending on the number of times the unit effect has been executed in the target pattern game if the number of times the unit effect has been executed using the first image in one preview effect has not reached N (N is an integer of 2 or more), and if N has been reached, the predetermined image is always displayed in the target pattern game, and if the number of times the unit effect has been executed using the second image in one preview effect has not reached N and has reached N, respectively, the predetermined image is displayed with a probability less than 100% depending on the number of times the unit effect has been executed in the target pattern game. According to the above means, a preview effect is started on the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games has been put on hold. This preview effect is targeted at one symbol game among the three or more symbol games whose display order is after the first and before the final one, and suggests to the player in advance with an image that a predetermined image will be displayed in that symbol game, and is composed of unit effects using one or more variable number of images. This unit effect is performed in one or more variable number of symbol games among multiple symbol games whose display order is before the target symbol game, and is performed as the display of a first image suggesting to the player that there is a high degree of confidence that the predetermined image will be displayed, or as the display of a second image suggesting to the player that there is a low degree of confidence. If the number of executions of the unit effect by this first image has not reached N times, a predetermined image is displayed in the target symbol game with a probability corresponding to the number of executions of the unit effect, and if N times has been reached, the predetermined image is always displayed in the target symbol game, and if the number of executions of the unit effect by the second image has not reached N times and if it has reached N times, the predetermined image is displayed with a probability of less than "100%" corresponding to the number of executions of the unit effect. Therefore, in addition to the enjoyment of waiting for the unit effect by the first image to occur, the player can also enjoy the enjoyment of waiting for the next unit effect to occur with the goal of the number of executions of the unit effect by the first image reaching N, which generally improves the entertainment value of the preview effect.

[0228] [Reference Invention 3-4] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; A display that displays an image of a symbol game that notifies the player of the result of the winning or losing decision; A symbol game means for displaying an image of a symbol game on the display device, and suspending the start of displaying the image of the next symbol game until the display of the image of the symbol game is completed while the image of the symbol game is displayed on the display device; In a state where the start of display of three or more symbol games is on hold, a symbol game whose display order is after the first time and before the final time is targeted, and a preview effect is performed to suggest to the player in advance by an image that a predetermined image will be displayed in the target symbol game, and the device is provided with a preview effect means for performing a unit effect by one or more variable number of images as one preview effect, The notice performance means performs a notice performance in one or more variable number of symbol games among a plurality of symbol games having a display order before the target symbol game, and is capable of performing a plurality of types of unit performances having different modes in one notice performance, The symbol game means displays a predetermined image in a target symbol game with a probability related to the mode of a unit performance and not related to the number of times of execution. According to the above means, a preview effect is initiated on the condition that the start of displaying three or more symbol games has been suspended. This preview effect is intended to inform the player in advance through an image that a predetermined image will be displayed in a symbol game that is later than the first and before the final symbol game among the three or more symbol games. It consists of unit effects with one or more variable number of images. This unit effect is performed in one or more variable number of symbol games among multiple symbol games that have a display order prior to the target symbol game, and has multiple mutually different forms. This preview effect suggests to the player that a predetermined image will be displayed in the target symbol game, regardless of the number of times the unit effect is executed, based on a probability related to the form of the unit effect. The predetermined image may be displayed in the target symbol game even if the number of occurrences of the unit effect is small. In this case, the player feels a sense of disappointment followed by great enjoyment, thereby improving the appeal of the preview effect.

[0229] [Reference Invention 3-5] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; A display that displays an image of a symbol game that notifies the player of the result of the winning or losing decision; A symbol game means for displaying an image of a symbol game on the display device, and suspending the start of displaying the image of the next symbol game until the display of the image of the symbol game is completed while the image of the symbol game is displayed on the display device; On the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games has been put on hold, a preview effect is performed to suggest to the player in advance that a predetermined image will be displayed in the target symbol game, the preview effect being targeted at one symbol game that is later in display order than the first time and before the final time, and the device is provided with a preview effect means that performs a unit effect using one or more variable number of images as one preview effect, The preview performance means performs a unit performance in one or more variable number of symbol games among a plurality of symbol games having a display order before the target symbol game, and displays a first image or a second image different from each other as a unit performance in each preview performance, The gaming machine is characterized in that the pattern game means displays a predetermined image in the target pattern game with a probability related to the number of times the unit performance is performed when a unit performance using a first image is performed as a preview performance, and displays a predetermined image in the target pattern game with a probability regardless of the number of times the unit performance is performed when a unit performance using a second image is performed as a preview performance. According to the above means, a preview effect is initiated on the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games is pending. This preview effect is targeted at one symbol game among the three or more symbol games whose display order is after the first and before the final one, and suggests to the player in advance through an image that a predetermined image will be displayed in that symbol game, and is composed of unit effects using one or more variable number of images. This unit effect is performed in one or more variable number of symbol games among multiple symbol games whose display order is before the target symbol game, and is performed as the display of a first image or a second image. When this preview effect is performed as a unit effect using the first image, the predetermined image is displayed in the target symbol game with a probability depending on the number of times the unit effect is executed, and when the preview effect is performed as a unit effect using the second image, the predetermined image is displayed in the target symbol game with a probability regardless of the number of times the unit effect is executed. Therefore, when the preview performance is performed as a unit performance using the first image, the player can enjoy anticipating the repetition of the unit performance, and when the preview performance is performed as a unit performance using the second image, the player can continue to feel excited about the specified image being displayed even if the repetition of the unit performance is quickly discontinued, which generally improves the entertainment value of the preview performance.

[0230] [Reference Invention 3-6] A gaming machine described in any one of [Reference Invention 3-1] to [Reference Invention 3-5], characterized in that the preview performance means is capable of performing two unit performances in an intermittent manner, sandwiched between pattern play in which no unit performance is performed, when two or more unit performances are performed in one preview performance. According to the above means, the unit performance is carried out again after the player feels that the repetition of the unit performance has been interrupted, thereby improving the appeal of the preview performance.

[0231] [Reference Invention 3-7] The notice performance means is capable of suggesting to the player that a predetermined image will be displayed in the current symbol game in response to a unit performance being performed solely in the current symbol game, regardless of whether the start of display of the symbol game is on hold or not, A gaming machine described in any one of [Reference Invention 3-1] to [Reference Invention 3-5], characterized in that the symbol game means displays an image indicating to the player that the current symbol game is the target symbol game after the unit performance in the current symbol game when a one-off unit performance is performed in the current symbol game. According to the above means, when the unit performance is performed as a one-off advance notice performance, the player is notified that the subject of the advance notice of the unit performance is only the current symbol game, so it is possible to keep the player away from the useless act of looking forward to the occurrence of the next unit performance.

[0232] [Reference Invention 3-8] The gaming machine described in any one of [Reference Invention 3-1] to [Reference Invention 3-5] is characterized in that the preview performance means is capable of suggesting to the player that a predetermined image will be displayed in the current symbol game in response to a unit performance being performed solely in the current symbol game, regardless of whether the start of display of the symbol game is on hold or not, and when a preview performance is performed, the execution of the one-off unit performance is restricted until a predetermined condition is met. According to the above means, when a preview effect is performed, the execution of a one-off unit effect is restricted until a predetermined condition is met, making it difficult for a one-off unit effect to occur. As a result, a player will no longer mistakenly recognize a one-off unit effect as part of a preview effect, and it is prevented from mistakenly assuming a high reliability for a predetermined image.

[0233] [Reference Invention 4-1] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; A display that displays an image of a symbol game that notifies the player of the result of the winning or losing decision; A symbol game means for displaying an image of a symbol game on the display device, and suspending the start of displaying the image of the next symbol game until the display of the image of the symbol game is completed while the image of the symbol game is displayed on the display device; On the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games has been put on hold, a preview effect is performed to suggest to the player in advance that a first predetermined image or a second predetermined image different from the first predetermined image will be displayed in the target symbol game, for one symbol game whose display order is later than the first and before the final game, and the device is provided with a preview effect means for performing a unit effect using one or more variable number of images as one preview effect, The notice performance means performs a unit performance in one or more variable number of symbol games among a plurality of symbol games having a display order before the target symbol game, The gaming machine is characterized in that the pattern game means displays a first predetermined image in the target pattern game with a probability depending on the number of times the unit effect has been executed in one preview effect if the number of times has not reached N (N is an integer of 2 or more), and always displays the first predetermined image in the target pattern game if N has been reached, and always displays a second predetermined image in the target pattern game if N has been exceeded. According to the above means, a preview effect is initiated on the condition that the start of display of three or more symbol games has been suspended. This preview effect is targeted at one symbol game among the three or more symbol games whose display order is later than the first and before the final one, and suggests to the player in advance through an image that a first or second predetermined image will be displayed in that symbol game, and is composed of unit effects with one or more variable number of images. This unit effect is performed in one or more variable number of symbol games among multiple symbol games whose display order is before the target symbol game. If the number of executions of this unit effect has not reached N, the first predetermined image is displayed in the target symbol game with a probability depending on the number of executions of the unit effect, allowing the player to enjoy waiting for the next unit effect to occur after the current unit effect ends. Moreover, when the number of executions of the unit effect reaches N times, the first predetermined image is always displayed in the target symbol game, and when it exceeds N times, the second predetermined image is always displayed in the target symbol game, so that the player can enjoy waiting for the next unit effect to occur with the goal that the number of executions of the unit effect will reach or exceed N times, and the entertainment value of the preview effect is improved overall.

[0234] [Reference Invention 5-1] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; a symbol game means for displaying an image of a symbol game on a predetermined display device, in which an identification symbol is displayed in a variable state and then in a state where the variation is stopped, and for notifying a player of a winning judgment result in response to the identification symbol being in a winning state in the variable stopped state, and for notifying a player of a losing judgment result in response to the identification symbol being in a losing state; a presentation game means for suggesting to a player that the identification symbols will be in a winning state with a higher probability than when the chance presentation is not being executed in response to a chance presentation being executed in a state where the identification symbols are fluctuating, and having a plurality of options as executable chance presentations; a notice performance means for performing a chance notice performance that suggests to a player that one of a plurality of chance performances will be performed; The effect game means has a revival chance effect as one of a plurality of options, the revival chance effect having a first half that suggests to the player that the identification symbol will be in a losing state and a second half that suggests to the player that the identification symbol will be in a winning state, and when the chance notice effect is executed, one of the plurality of options including the revival chance effect is executed without fail, The game machine is characterized in that the symbol game means always makes the identification symbol into a winning mode after the latter half of the revival chance performance is performed when the revival chance performance is performed after the chance notice performance. According to the above means, when a chance preview effect is performed, the player is suggested that there is a high probability that the identification symbol will become a winning symbol, in accordance with the fact that one of the multiple chance effects will definitely be executed. Therefore, the player will not feel disappointed that nothing happens despite the chance preview effect being performed, thereby improving the entertainment value of the chance preview effect. Moreover, when a revival chance effect is performed after a chance preview effect, the player is suggested in the first half of the revival chance effect that the identification symbol will not become a winning symbol, and after the player is suggested in the second half of the revival chance effect that the identification symbol will become a winning symbol, the identification symbol will definitely become a winning symbol. Therefore, the revival chance effect turns the player's disappointment into great hope, further improving the entertainment value of the chance preview effect.

[0235] [Reference Invention 5-2] The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 5-1] is characterized in that the pre-announcement performance means is capable of performing another chance pre-announcement performance that branches off to a different ending from a performance common to the chance pre-announcement performance, and the performance game means, when another chance pre-announcement performance is performed, performs or does not perform one of a plurality of chance performances including a revival chance performance with a probability of less than "100%." According to the above means, when another chance notice performance is performed, any of the multiple chance performances is performed or not performed with a probability of less than "100%", so the player can enjoy hoping that the chance notice performance will end with a different ending.

[0236] [Reference Invention 5-3] A gaming machine as described in [Reference Invention 5-1], characterized in that it is provided with a movable presentation member, the pattern game means displays the identification pattern in a temporary miss mode when the first half of the revival chance presentation is performed, and displays the identification pattern in a winning mode when the second half of the revival chance presentation is performed, and the presentation game means performs a presentation in which the movable member is moved toward the identification pattern in a temporary miss mode in the revival chance presentation as the second half of the revival chance presentation. According to the above means, when the performance member moves toward the identification symbol of the provisional mode of failure in the revival chance performance, the identification symbol of the winning mode is displayed, thereby improving the entertainment value of the revival chance performance.

[0237] [Reference Invention 5-4] A gaming machine as described in [Reference Invention 5-1], characterized in that it has a plurality of unit members that are operated between a close form in which they are close to each other and a separated form that is farther apart than the close form, and the pattern game means displays the identification pattern in a temporary miss form when the first half of the revival chance presentation is performed, and displays the identification pattern in a winning form when the second half of the revival chance presentation is performed, and the plurality of unit members make the identification pattern difficult to see for the player in response to being in the close form in front of the identification pattern of the temporary miss form in the revival chance presentation, and make the identification pattern easily visible to the player in response to being in the separated form in front of the identification pattern of the winning form, and the presentation game means performs an presentation in which the plurality of unit members are in the close form in front of the identification pattern of the temporary miss form in the revival chance presentation, and then in the separated form in front of the identification pattern of the winning form, as the second half of the revival chance presentation. According to the above means, when the plurality of unit members are brought into a close form in the revival chance presentation, the identifying symbols of the temporary miss mode become difficult to see, and when they are brought into a separated form, the identifying symbols of the big win mode become easy to see, thereby improving the entertainment value of the revival chance presentation.

[0238] [Reference Invention 5-5] The notice performance means is capable of performing another chance notice performance of the same type as the chance notice performance, The gaming machine described in [Reference Invention 5-1] is characterized in that when another chance preview effect is executed, the effect game means executes one of multiple options including a revival chance effect with a probability of less than "100%." According to the above means, when a chance notice performance is executed, a reach performance is always performed, and when another chance notice performance is executed, a reach performance is performed with a probability of less than "100%", so that a player can enjoy expecting the occurrence of a reach notice performance.

[0239] [Reference Inventions 5-6] A gaming machine as described in [Reference Invention 5-1], which is characterized in that it is provided with a specific presentation means for performing a specific presentation that suggests to the player that the revival chance presentation will progress from the first half to the second half, said presentation game means progressing the revival chance presentation from the first half to the second half if the specific presentation is executed in the revival chance presentation before the start of the second half, and ending the revival chance presentation in the first half if the specific presentation is not executed in the revival chance presentation before the start of the second half, and said pattern game means making the identified pattern a winning pattern if the revival chance presentation progresses to the second half, and making the identified pattern a losing pattern if it ends in the first half. According to the above means, if the specific effect is executed before the start of the second half of the revival chance effect, the revival chance effect progresses from the first half to the second half, and the identification symbol becomes a winning symbol. If this specific effect is not executed before the start of the second half of the revival chance effect, the revival chance effect ends in the first half, and the identification symbol becomes a losing symbol. Therefore, the player can enjoy waiting for the specific effect to be executed during the revival chance effect, thereby improving the entertainment value of the revival chance effect.

[0240] [Reference Invention 6-1] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; a symbol game means for displaying an image of a symbol game on a predetermined display device, in which an identification symbol is displayed in a variable state and then in a state where the variation is stopped, and for notifying a player of a winning judgment result in response to the identification symbol being in a winning state in the variable stopped state, and for notifying a player of a losing judgment result in response to the identification symbol being in a losing state; a presentation game means for suggesting to a player that the identification symbols will be in a winning state with a higher probability than when the chance presentation is not being executed in response to a chance presentation being executed in a state where the identification symbols are fluctuating, and having a plurality of options as executable chance presentations; A chance notice effect is performed to suggest to a player that one of a plurality of chance effects will be performed, and the game is provided with a notice effecting means having a plurality of options that share execution timing and differ in reliability as executable chance notice effects, The performance game means is The game machine has, as one of a plurality of options, a revival chance effect having a first half that suggests to the player that the identified symbol will be in a losing state and a second half that suggests that the identified symbol will be in a winning state, and when the chance notice effect is executed, one of the plurality of options including the revival chance effect is executed with a probability according to the reliability suggested by the chance notice effect, The symbol game means includes: This game machine is characterized in that when a revival chance performance is executed after a chance notice performance, the identification pattern is always made to be in a winning mode after the latter half of the revival chance performance is executed. According to the above means, when a chance notice effect is performed, the player is suggested that there is a high probability that the identified symbol will become a winning symbol, depending on whether one of the multiple chance effects is executed with a reliability corresponding to the type of chance notice effect. Moreover, when a revival chance effect is executed after a chance notice effect, the player is suggested in the first half of the revival chance effect that the identified symbol will not become a winning symbol, and after the player is suggested in the second half of the revival chance effect that the identified symbol will become a winning symbol, the identified symbol will always become a winning symbol. Therefore, the revival chance effect turns the player's disappointment into great hope, improving the entertainment value of the chance notice effect. [Explanation of symbols]

[0241] 18 is the first start port (start area), 19 is the big prize port (ball entry area), 23 is the second start port (start area), 28 is the performance pattern display device (display device), 33 is the advance performance device (movable member), 40 is the main control circuit (determination means, special game means, game control means), 60 is the sub-control circuit (pattern game means, advance performance means, performance information display means, performance game means, specific performance means), 101 is the performance member, W is the advance image (first image), and W1 is the advance image (second image).

Claims

[Claim 1] A game control means for determining whether a game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively and for performing a special game in which the predetermined ball entry area is opened when the game ball has entered a predetermined starting area effectively; an identification symbol display control means for causing the image display means to variably display an identification symbol and then to stop and display the identification symbol, and for notifying the player of a winning determination result by stopping and displaying the identification symbol in a winning state, and for notifying the player of a losing determination result by stopping and displaying the identification symbol in a losing state; a chance presentation means for suggesting to a player that the identification symbols are more likely to become a winning symbol than when the chance presentation is not being performed by performing a chance presentation during the variable display of the identification symbols, and having a plurality of options for executable chance presentations; and a notice performance means capable of executing a chance notice performance that makes a player expect that one of a plurality of chance performances will be performed, The chance production means The game machine has, as one of the plurality of options, a revival chance effect having a first half that suggests to the player that the identification symbol will be in a losing state and a second half that suggests to the player that the identification symbol will be in a winning state, and when the chance advance notice effect is executed, one of the chance effects of the plurality of options including the revival chance effect is executed without fail; The identification symbol display control means When the revival chance performance is executed after the chance notice performance, the identification symbol is always stopped and displayed in a winning state after the latter half of the revival chance performance is executed, Further provided is a variable performance means capable of executing a variable performance, which is a performance different from the chance notice performance and is composed of one or more variable number of unit performances, during the variable display of the identification pattern, The variable performance means is In each unit performance, one of a plurality of types of preview images having different reliability that the identification symbol will be stopped and displayed in a winning state in response to being displayed is displayed, The reliability of the identification symbol being stopped and displayed in a winning manner is suggested by the type of preview image displayed in the unit performance, and the reliability of the identification symbol being stopped and displayed in a winning manner is suggested by the number of preview images displayed in one variable performance. The preview production means After executing a predetermined effect, it is possible to execute either a success effect or a failure effect as a result effect of the predetermined effect, and when the success effect is executed after the predetermined effect, the chance notice effect is executed as the success effect, the probability that one of the chance effects will be executed when the failure effect is executed after the predetermined effect is set to a lower probability than the probability that one of the chance effects will be executed when the chance notice effect is executed as the success effect after the predetermined effect, The predetermined effect and the chance notice effect are both effects that can be executed without using an operation means that can be operated by a player, and the predetermined effect is executed in a situation where a reach has not been achieved by an identification pattern, The chance production means The gaming machine is characterized in that after the chance notice performance is executed, any one of a plurality of reach performances is started as the chance performance.

Images