Gaming machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine capable of adjusting game value acquisition performance appropriately.SOLUTION: There exist a common three-token winning combination and a shooting-order three-token winning combination as winning modes of a small combination won doubly with a big bonus (BB) in a normal state. When stop operation is performed in a recommended shooting order in which a first reel R1 of a first reel R1 to a third reel R3 is stopped first in a game in which the common three-token winning combination is won in an internal lottery, a three-token small combination for which a dividend of the number of fed tokens or more is set can be won. When the stop operation is performed in a recommended shooting order in a game in which a shooting-order three-token winning combination is won in the internal lottery, a one-token small combination for which a dividend of less than the number of fed tokens is set can be won.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, gaming machines (rotary gaming machines, slot machines) having a plurality of reels with symbols arranged on the outer peripheral surface have been known. This type of gaming machine assigns a certain gaming value to gaming media such as medals and pachinko balls, and conducts a game to obtain such a gaming value. Further, this type of gaming machine performs an internal lottery and starts the rotation of a plurality of reels upon a rotation start operation by a player, and controls to stop the plurality of reels in a manner corresponding to the result of the internal lottery upon a stop operation by the player. Then, the result of the game is determined by the symbol combination displayed on the winning determination line in the state where the plurality of reels have stopped, and payouts such as medals are made according to the result of the game.

[0003] In recent years, gaming machines having an instruction function of varying the winning probability of a minor winning combination by providing instruction information for assisting the winning of a minor winning combination where a gaming value is paid out upon winning, and making it easier to obtain a gaming value such as a medal in an AT state where the instruction information can be provided have received favorable reviews.

[0004] In such a gaming machine having an instruction function, there is known a method of maintaining a gaming state in which a special winning combination has been won and activating the instruction function, and overlappingly winning the special winning combination with a minor winning combination having a payout set to be less than the number of gaming values inputted in order to inhibit the special winning combination from winning (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, in the method of having the above-mentioned special roles be won in conjunction with minor roles that have a payout less than the number of game value invested, it is a concern that even in AT mode, games will easily occur where only a payout of less game value than the number of game value invested will be received, which will reduce the performance of acquiring game value in AT mode.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a gaming machine that can suitably adjust the performance of acquiring gaming value. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention relates to a gaming machine comprising: a plurality of reels on which multiple types of symbols are arranged on their outer circumferential surfaces; an internal lottery means for performing an internal lottery to determine whether multiple types of winning combinations, including minor and special winning combinations, are achieved; a reel control means for rotating the plurality of reels for each game and stopping the rotating reels in a manner corresponding to the result of the internal lottery when a stopping operation is triggered; and a game state control means that allows setting a normal state in which an internal lottery is performed with the special winning combination as the target of the lottery, and a special state to which the player transitions upon winning the special winning combination, wherein a winning combination is achieved when a combination of symbols indicating a predetermined winning form for each winning combination is displayed on the active line, and when a minor winning combination is achieved, a game value corresponding to the payout of the minor winning combination is paid out, wherein in the normal state, The invention relates to a gaming machine in which there are two winning patterns for the aforementioned minor role that can be won in conjunction with a special role, and in a game in which the reel control means obtains the first winning pattern through internal lottery, if the stopping operation is performed in a specific order in which a specific reel among the plurality of reels is stopped first, it is possible to win a minor role with a payout set to be greater than or equal to the number of game values ​​invested, and in a game in which the second winning pattern is obtained through internal lottery, if the stopping operation is performed in the specific order in which the reels are stopped, it is possible to win a minor role with a payout set to be less than the number of game values ​​invested, and the probability of the first winning pattern being determined by internal lottery is at least greater than 1 / 400, and the probability of the second winning pattern being determined by internal lottery is higher than that of the first winning pattern.

[0009] In this invention, there are two winning patterns for minor roles that are won in conjunction with special roles under normal conditions: a first winning pattern and a second winning pattern. The game results in a specific sequence of operations differ between the first and second winning patterns. Specifically, when the first winning pattern is obtained, a minor role with a payout equal to or greater than the number of game value invested becomes possible in a specific sequence of operations. When the second winning pattern is obtained, a minor role with a payout equal to or less than the number of game value invested becomes possible in a specific sequence of operations. Thus, in this invention, even with a specification that allows for the simultaneous winning of special roles and minor roles in order to prevent the winning of special roles, the game value acquisition performance can be suitably adjusted by providing cases where the payout is less than the number of game value invested and cases where the payout is equal to or greater than the number of game value invested. Furthermore, in this invention, since the probability of the first winning pattern being determined by internal lottery is at least 1 / 400, it is almost certain that there will be at least one opportunity for a payout equal to or greater than the number of game value invested in the 400 games referenced in so-called short-term tests. Furthermore, in this invention, since the probability of the second winning pattern being determined by internal lottery is higher than that of the first winning pattern, the rate of acquiring game value when the game is played according to a specific sequence of operations can be stabilized. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the housing of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a diagram illustrating the functional block of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a diagram illustrating the internal lottery table in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This figure illustrates the manner in which minor prizes are awarded in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This figure illustrates the winning patterns for minor roles and replays in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This figure illustrates the arrangement of symbols on the reels in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the pressing order of stop buttons and winning combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the pressing order of stop buttons and winning combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between winning combinations and symbol combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between winning combinations and symbol combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between winning combinations and symbol combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between winning combinations and symbol combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between winning combinations and symbol combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] It is a diagram for explaining the relationship between winning combinations and symbol combinations in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] It is a transition diagram of game states in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] It is a transition diagram of effect states in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] It is a transition diagram of game sections in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] It is a diagram showing the configuration of a three-card winning combination in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] It is a diagram showing the configuration of bell a3 in the batting order in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] It is a diagram showing the configuration of bell b3 in the batting order in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] It is a diagram showing the configuration of bell e3 in the batting order in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] It is a diagram comparing the expected values of the payout rates for each game state in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] It is a diagram showing the relationship between the game section, the effect state, and the state of the section display in the embodiment of the present invention and the conventional method. [Figure 25] It is a diagram showing an example of a specific notification effect in the gaming machine of the embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. Note that each of the embodiments described below does not unduly limit the content of the present invention described in the claims. Also, not all of the configurations described in each embodiment are essential constituent elements of the present invention.

[0012] 1. Configuration FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration (excluding the reel unit) of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] The gaming machine of the present embodiment is a so-called slot machine or a rotary drum gaming machine, and is a type of gaming machine that conducts a game using medals as a game medium.

[0014] The gaming machine of this embodiment houses a reel unit consisting of a first reel R1 to a third reel R3 (multiple reels) within a box-shaped enclosure consisting of a storage box BX, an upper front door UD, and a lower front door DD. Below the reel unit storage space PS inside the storage box BX is a power supply unit EU, which incorporates a power supply and is equipped with various switches such as a power switch ES, a setting change key cylinder KS, and a setting change button BS, as well as a hopper unit HP, which serves as a medal dispensing device. The hopper unit HP includes a medal storage tank MT for storing medals used in the game, a dispensing motor consisting of a stepping motor (not shown), and a rotating disc (not shown) pivotally supported by the dispensing motor. The rotating disc is driven to rotate by the dispensing motor, allowing medals to be dispensed one at a time. Furthermore, when the amount of medals stored in the medal storage tank MT reaches a certain level, the hopper unit HP sends the excess medals to the cash box CB. Furthermore, within the casing of the gaming machine of this embodiment, for example, a main board MAIN is mounted above the reel unit storage space PS, and a sub-board SUB is mounted to the side of the reel unit storage space PS. These control boards (main board MAIN, sub-board SUB) are equipped with a CPU (an example of calculation means), ROM (an example of an information storage medium), RAM (an example of a temporary storage means), etc., to control the operation of the gaming machine. In this embodiment, a setting change key cylinder KS and a setting change button BS are provided on the power supply unit EU, but the setting change key cylinder KS and the setting change button BS may also be provided on the surface of the main board MAIN.

[0015] The first to third reels R1 to R3 shown in Figure 1 are each divided into 20 regions (each region referred to as a "frame") at regular intervals on their outer surface, and one of several types of patterns is arranged in each frame. The first to third reels R1 to R3 are pivotally supported by a stepping motor (reel driving means: not shown) and are rotationally driven around the axis of the stepping motor. By controlling the number of pulses and pulse width of the stepping motor's drive pulses, they are designed to be stopped in frame units (units of predetermined rotation angle and predetermined rotation amount). In other words, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, the stepping motor rotates the first to third reels R1 to R3 in response to drive pulses supplied from the control board, and when a drive pulse for full-phase excitation is supplied from the control board, the rotation of the stepping motor stops, and the first to third reels R1 to R3 stop as a result.

[0016] The upper front door UD and the lower front door DD are designed to open and close independently. The upper front door UD is equipped with a display window DW that allows observation of the rotation and stopped states of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3. When the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 are stopped, three symbols (upper, middle, and lower) that are arranged consecutively on the outer surface of each of the multiple types of symbols arranged at regular intervals on the outer surface of each of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 can be observed from the front of the gaming machine through the display window DW.

[0017] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, each reel is provided with upper, middle, and lower display positions for observing the symbols through the display window DW, and the active lines are set by the combination of the display positions of each reel. In this gaming machine of this embodiment, the number of tokens required for one game, the so-called prescribed number of tokens, is set to 3, and when tokens equivalent to the prescribed number of tokens are inserted, the active line L1, which is formed by the middle display position of each reel, is activated.

[0018] The game result is determined by the combination of symbols that stop on the active lines in the display window DW. If the combination of symbols on the active lines corresponds to a predetermined winning combination, the winning combination is considered to have been achieved, and medals are dispensed from the hopper unit HP.

[0019] The upper front door UD is equipped with a game information display unit DS and a section indicator SEC. The game information display unit DS consists of LEDs, lamps, a 7-segment display, etc., and displays various game information such as the number of medal credits, the number of medals paid out or acquired in one game, and the total number of medals paid out or acquired in BB state. The section indicator SEC (an example of a specific notification means) notifies whether the player is in an advantageous section and AT state by turning the built-in LEDs on and off.

[0020] Furthermore, the upper front door UD is equipped with a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying game effects. This LCD displays various videos (or images) to assist or enhance the gameplay. In addition, in this embodiment of the gaming machine, multiple speakers SP are provided on the upper front door UD and the lower front door DD for displaying game effects. These speakers SP output various sounds to assist or enhance the gameplay.

[0021] Furthermore, the lower front door DD is equipped with various operating means. These operating means include a bet button (insertion means) B0 for inserting credited (stored) tokens, a start lever (game start means) SL for initiating the game by rotating the first reel R1 to the third reel R3, and stop buttons (stopping means) B1 to B3 for initiating the game by stopping each of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3, which are rotated by stepping motors.

[0022] In this embodiment of the gaming machine, when a player inserts a medal into the medal slot MI or presses the bet button B0, the machine is set to a ready state where rotation control of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 can be started. When the player presses the start lever SL, the control board starts the rotation of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 by driving the stepping motor, and an internal lottery is performed using random values. Once the rotation speed of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 has increased to a predetermined speed, the operation of pressing the stop buttons B1 to B3 is permitted (activated).

[0023] Subsequently, when the player presses stop buttons B1 to B3 at any time, the stop switches (stop signal output means: for example, a photosensor, a continuity sensor, a pressure sensor, etc.) built into each of the stop buttons B1 to B3 are activated, changing the reel stop signal input to the control board from the off state to the on state.

[0024] Furthermore, when the player releases stop buttons B1 to B3 at any time, the stop switches corresponding to each of the stop buttons B1 to B3 turn off, changing the reel stop signal input to the control board from the ON state to the OFF state.

[0025] The control board then stops the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 at a stopping position corresponding to the result of an internal lottery, based on the change in the reel stop signal state from the off state to the on state, which changes in response to the timing of pressing and releasing the stop buttons B1 to B3.

[0026] Furthermore, a medal payout slot MO and a medal receiving tray MP are provided at the bottom of the lower front door DD, and the number of medals corresponding to the game result are dispensed from the hopper unit HP through the medal payout slot MO to the medal receiving tray MP. When medals are dispensed according to the game result, if medal credit (internal storage) is permitted, some or all of the dispensed medals are credited up to the credit limit (50 medals in this embodiment), and the display value of the credit indicator, which consists of a 7-segment display on the game information display unit DS, is changed in accordance with the change in the number of medal credits.

[0027] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of the gaming machine according to this embodiment.

[0028] The gaming machine of this embodiment is controlled by a gaming control means (main board MAIN and sub-board SUB) 100. The gaming control means 100 is powered by the operation of the power switch ES, which supplies power from the power supply unit EU, and receives input signals from input means such as a medal insertion switch 210, a bet switch 220, a start switch 230, a stop switch 240, a setting change permission switch 250, and a setting change switch 260. It performs various calculations to execute the game and controls the operation of output means such as a reel unit 310, a hopper unit (payout device) HP, a display device 330, and an audio device 340 based on the calculation results. The functions of the gaming control means 100 are realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.), ASICs (gate arrays, etc.), ROM (an example of an information storage medium), or RAM, and software consisting of a given program pre-stored in ROM, etc.

[0029] The game control means 100 includes a setting change means 103, an input acceptance means 105, a random number generation means 110, an internal lottery means 120, a reel control means 130, a prize determination means 140, a payout control means 150, a replay processing means 160, a game state control means 170, an AT control means 175, a communication control means 177, a performance control means 180, a game information storage means 190a, and a performance information storage means 190b. In this embodiment, the setting change means 103, input acceptance means 105, random number generation means 110, internal lottery means 120, reel control means 130, prize determination means 140, payout control means 150, replay processing means 160, game state control means 170, AT control means 175, and communication control means 177 are realized by the CPU of the main board MAIN executing various programs, and the performance control means 180 is realized by the CPU of the sub-board SUB executing various programs. Furthermore, the game information storage means 190a is composed of the main ROM and main RAM mounted on the main board MAIN, and the performance information storage means 190b is composed of the sub-ROM and sub-RAM mounted on the sub-board SUB. Furthermore, the various programs executed by the CPU of the main board MAIN are stored in the main ROM of the game information storage means 190a, and the various programs executed by the CPU of the sub-board SUB are stored in the sub-ROM of the performance information storage means 190b.

[0030] The setting change means 103 controls the change of setting values ​​stored in the setting value storage area 1913 provided in the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a. In this embodiment, depending on the state of the setting change permission switch 250 when the power is turned on, it is possible to switch between starting in game mode and starting in setting change mode. When the setting key is inserted into the setting change key cylinder KS and the setting key is turned clockwise from the initial position, the signal state of the setting change permission switch 250 becomes ON. When the power switch ES is activated in this state and power is supplied from the power supply unit EU, the setting change means 103 starts the game machine in setting change mode. In this embodiment, it is possible to select a setting value from six setting values ​​from setting 1 to setting 6, and the probability of winning the internal lottery changes so that the expected value of the payout rate increases from setting 1 to setting 6. In this embodiment, the setting values ​​are expressed in the order of setting 1 < setting 2 < setting 3 < setting 4 < setting 5 < setting 6.

[0031] Furthermore, in the setting change mode, when the setting change button BS is pressed, the setting change switch 260 is activated. The setting change means 103 receives an input signal from the setting change switch 260 and changes the setting value in the order of setting 1 → setting 2 → ... setting 6 → setting 1 → ... and confirms the setting value based on the game start signal from the start switch 230, which is activated when the start lever SL is pressed. The confirmed setting value is then stored in the setting value storage area 1913. In this embodiment, the signal state of the setting change permission switch 250 is changed to the off state by returning the setting key inserted into the setting change key cylinder KS to its initial position, thereby transitioning from the setting change mode to the game mode.

[0032] In this embodiment, when the power is turned on with the setting change key cylinder KS in its initial position, the gaming machine is started in game mode based on the fact that the signal state of the setting change permission switch 260 is off. In this embodiment, in game mode, the game can be played, but the setting values ​​cannot be changed, and in setting change mode, the setting values ​​can be changed, but the game cannot be played.

[0033] Furthermore, in the setting change mode, the setting change means 103 performs an initialization process to initialize the information stored in a predetermined storage area of ​​the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a. In particular, with respect to the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a, the information stored in the lottery flag storage area 1915, the game state storage area 1916, the performance state storage area 1918, the high probability transition counter 1919, the AT stock count counter 1920, the AT game count counter 1921, the clear counter 1922, and the ceiling counter 1924 is initialized by the initialization process in the setting change mode. More specifically, the game information storage means 190a's main RAM has memory areas other than the lottery flag memory area 1915, game state memory area 1916, performance state memory area 1918, high probability transition counter 1919, AT stock count counter 1920, AT game count counter 1921, clear counter 1922, and ceiling counter 1924 designated as information retention areas, and the information stored in these memory areas of the main RAM other than the information retention areas is initialized. For this reason, in the main RAM, the setting value memory area 1913 and the credit information memory area 1914 are designated as information retention areas, and the information stored in these memory areas is retained without being initialized by the initialization process in setting change mode.

[0034] The coin insertion receiving means 105 accepts the insertion of coins for each game and, based on the insertion of a prescribed number of coins (3 coins), performs a process to activate the game start operation on the start lever SL (game start operation means). In this embodiment of the game machine, the first press of the start lever SL, which has been activated based on the insertion of a prescribed number of coins, is accepted as the game start operation, which triggers the rotation of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 and also triggers the execution of an internal lottery.

[0035] In this embodiment of the gaming machine, when a medal is inserted into the medal slot MI, the medal insertion switch 210 is activated, and the insertion reception means 105 sets the inserted medals to the inserted state, up to a predetermined number. In this embodiment of the gaming machine, the credit information storage area 1914 provided in the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a can store (store) up to 50 medals as credits. When the bet button B0 is pressed while medals are stored as credits in the gaming machine, the bet switch 220 is activated, and the insertion reception means 105 sets the medals stored as credits in the credit information storage area 1914 to the inserted state, up to a predetermined number.

[0036] The random number generation means 110 is a means for generating random numbers for drawing lots. The random numbers can be generated, for example, by a 16-bit random number circuit that generates 65,536 random numbers from 0 to 65,535 without repetition within one cycle. In this embodiment, "random numbers" include not only values ​​that are generated randomly in a mathematical sense, but also values ​​that, even if their generation is regular, can function as effectively random numbers because the timing of their acquisition is irregular.

[0037] The internal lottery means 120 is a means for performing an internal lottery to determine whether a winning combination is achieved based on a start signal from a start switch 230, which is activated by the player's game start operation on the start lever SL (the first press operation on the activated start lever SL), and performs lottery table selection processing, random number determination processing, lottery flag setting processing, and the like.

[0038] In the lottery table selection process, it is determined which of the multiple internal lottery tables stored in the main lottery table storage area 1910 provided in the main ROM of the game information storage means 190a will be used to perform the internal lottery. In the game machine of this embodiment, three types of internal lottery tables (internal lottery table 1 to internal lottery table 3) as shown in Figure 4 are stored in the main lottery table storage area 1910. In each internal lottery table, various roles such as replays, small wins, and bonuses, as well as misses (failures), are associated with each of the multiple random values ​​(for example, 65,536 random values ​​from 0 to 65,535). In this embodiment, for each of the six setting values, three types of internal lottery tables are prepared, and the probability of obtaining some winning patterns in the internal lottery differs depending on the setting value, and the correspondence between roles and random values ​​is set so that the expected value of the payout rate increases as the setting value increases.

[0039] In this embodiment of the gaming machine, there are 39 types of small wins, and as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the following are set as winning patterns for the small wins: batting order bell group a (batting order bell a3 to batting order bell a6), batting order bell group b (batting order bell b3 to batting order bell b6), batting order bell group c (batting order bell c3 to batting order bell c6), batting order bell group d (batting order bell d3 to batting order bell d6), batting order bell group e (batting order bell e3 to batting order bell e6), batting order bell group f (batting order bell f3 to batting order bell f6), batting order bell group g (batting order bell g3 to batting order bell g6), batting order bell group h (batting order bell h3 to batting order bell h6), watermelon, cherry a, cherry b, cherry c, special win, batting order 3-coin win (an example of a second winning pattern), common 3-coin win (an example of a first winning pattern), JAC1, JAC2, and JAC3.

[0040] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, replays 1 to 3 are provided, and as shown in Figure 6, normal replay a, normal replay b, and normal replay c are set as the winning patterns for replays.

[0041] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, the probability of winning a minor role is the same in internal lottery table 1 and internal lottery table 2, the probability of winning a replay is higher in internal lottery table 2 than in internal lottery table 1, replays are not included in the lottery in internal lottery table 3, and the lottery method for minor roles in internal lottery table 3 is different from that of internal lottery table 1 and internal lottery table 2, and the probability of winning a minor role is higher in internal lottery table 3 than in internal lottery table 1 and internal lottery table 2.

[0042] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, a Big Bonus (BB: an example of a special role) is provided as a bonus, and the Big Bonus (BB) is subject to drawing in the internal drawing table 1.

[0043] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, the game state can be set to a normal state, a BB (Big Bonus) established state, and a BB state (an example of a special state). In the lottery table selection process, one of internal lottery tables 1 to 3 is selected as the internal lottery table to be used for internal lottery, depending on the game state.

[0044] In this embodiment, the probability of winning bonuses and replays does not change depending on the setting value, but the probability of winning some minor roles changes depending on the setting value, with the probability of winning JAC1 and JAC2 increasing as the setting value increases.

[0045] In the random number determination process, based on the start signal from the start switch 230, a random number value (random number for drawing) is obtained from the random number generation means 110 for each game, and the internal drawing table stored in the main drawing table storage area 1910 provided in the main ROM of the game information storage means 190a is referenced to determine whether or not a winning combination has been achieved based on the obtained random number value.

[0046] In the lottery flag setting process, based on the result of the random number determination process, the lottery flag corresponding to the winning role is set from a non-winning state (first flag state, off state) to a winning state (second flag state, on state). In the gaming machine of this embodiment, if two or more roles are won simultaneously, the lottery flag corresponding to each of the two or more roles that were won simultaneously is set to a winning state. The lottery flag setting information is stored in the lottery flag storage area 1915 provided in the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a.

[0047] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, there are two types of lottery flags: one that allows the winning state to be carried over to subsequent games until a win is achieved (carry-over flag), and another that resets to a non-winning state regardless of whether a win is achieved, without carrying over the winning state to subsequent games (carry-over non-flag). The former carry-over flag is associated with the Big Bonus (BB), while the latter carry-over non-flag is associated with the Small Win and Replay. In the lottery flag setting process, for example, if a Big Bonus (BB) is won in the internal lottery, the winning state of the Big Bonus (BB) lottery flag is carried over until a Big Bonus (BB) is achieved. At this time, the internal lottery means 120 also performs an internal lottery to determine the win or loss of Small Wins and Replays, even in games where the winning state of the Big Bonus (BB) lottery flag has been carried over. In other words, in the lottery flag setting process, in a game where the winning state of the bonus lottery flag associated with the carryover flag has been carried over, if a small win or replay is won, the lottery flags corresponding to two or more types of wins, consisting of the bonus lottery flag that has already been won and the small win or replay lottery flag that was won in the internal lottery, are set to the winning state.

[0048] The reel control means 130, based on a start signal from the start switch 230 which is activated when the player operates the start lever SL to start playing, starts the rotation drive of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 with a stepping motor, and controls the operation to enable the stopping operation by pressing the stop buttons B1 to B3 (stop operation means) corresponding to the reels that are rotating steadily at a predetermined speed (approximately 80 rpm: a rotation speed of approximately 80 rotations per minute), and also controls the first reel R1 to the third reel R3, which are being rotated by the stepping motor, in a manner corresponding to the setting state of the lottery flag (result of the internal lottery).

[0049] Then, when the stop operation for stop buttons B1 to B3 is enabled, the reel control means 130, upon activation of the stop switch 240 by the player pressing stop buttons B1 to B3, supplies a drive pulse for full-phase excitation to the stepping motor of the reel unit 310 based on the reel stop signal from the stop switch 240, thereby controlling the stopping of each reel from the first reel R1 to the third reel R3.

[0050] In other words, each time one of the stop buttons B1 to B3 is pressed, the reel control means 130 determines the stopping position of the reel corresponding to the pressed button among the first reel R1 to the third reel R3, and controls the reel to stop at the determined stopping position. In this gaming machine, pressing stop button B1 corresponds to the operation to stop the first reel R1, pressing stop button B2 corresponds to the operation to stop the second reel R2, and pressing stop button B3 corresponds to the operation to stop the third reel R3. In other words, in this gaming machine, if the order in which the stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed changes, the stopping order of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 changes. In this embodiment, among the first reels R1 to the third reels R3, the stop operation corresponding to the first reel to stop is referred to as the first stop operation, the stop operation corresponding to the second reel to stop is referred to as the second stop operation, and the stop operation corresponding to the last reel to stop is referred to as the third stop operation. The stop of the reel corresponding to the first stop operation may be referred to as the first stop, the stop of the reel corresponding to the second stop operation as the second stop, and the stop of the reel corresponding to the third stop operation as the third stop. In this embodiment, the order of operations for stopping the first reel R1 (an example of a specific reel) first may be referred to as the recommended batting order (an example of a specific operation order), and the order of operations for stopping the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first may be referred to as the irregular batting order.

[0051] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, for the first reel R1 to the third reel R3, the rotating reel corresponding to the pressed stop button stops within 190ms from the time the stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed. When stopping the rotating reels within 190ms from the time the stop button is pressed, the stopping position of each rotating reel is determined within a range of 0 to 4 frames (a predetermined pull-in range) from the time the stop button is pressed until the reel stops. The reel control means 130 controls the rotating reel corresponding to the pressed stop button so that, on the outer surface of the rotating reel corresponding to the pressed stop button, if the symbol corresponding to the winning combination in the internal lottery is located within a range of 0 to 4 frames relative to the display position on the active line at the time the stop button is pressed, the symbol corresponding to the winning combination for which the lottery flag is set to a winning state is displayed at the display position on the active line.

[0052] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 7, the red 7 symbol "Red 7", white 7 symbol "White 7", bar symbol "BAR", special symbol 1 "SP1", special symbol 2 "SP2", watermelon symbol 1 "WM1", watermelon symbol 2 "WM2", cherry symbol "CH", bell symbol "BL", and replay symbol "RP" are arranged on the outer circumferential surfaces of the first reels R1 to the third reels R3 that constitute the reel unit 310. When drawing symbols that are within 4 frames from the press detection position onto the active line, symbols arranged at intervals of 4 frames or less on the outer circumferential surface of each reel can be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, which is the position of the reel at the time the stop switch 240 is activated (when the press of the stop button is detected). In this embodiment, the press detection position is the upper display position of each reel.

[0053] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, the reel unit 310 is equipped with a reel index 315 which is a photosensor, and the reel control means 130 can monitor the current rotation state of the reel by determining the rotation angle (number of rotation steps of the rotation axis of the stepping motor) from the reference position of the reel (the frame detected by the reel index 315) based on the reference position signal detected by the reel index 315 each time the reel rotates once. In other words, the reel control means 130 can obtain the position of the reel when the stop switch 240 is activated by determining the rotation angle of the reel from the reference position.

[0054] Furthermore, the reel control means 130 determines the stopping position of the rotating reel by referring to the stop control table stored in the stop control table storage area 1911 provided in the main ROM of the game information storage means 190a.

[0055] In the stop control table, the correspondence between the pressed position (the position of the reels at the time the stop switch 240 is activated, or the time the stop button is pressed) and the actual stop position is set according to the setting of the lottery flag. In addition, the stop control table may also set a correspondence between the pressed position and the number of sliding frames, which indicates the amount of rotation from the pressed position to the actual stop position, according to the setting of the lottery flag.

[0056] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, priority is set for small wins, replays, and bonuses in the order of "replay > bonus" and "small win > bonus," and the stop control table is set so that a stop position including the symbols that constitute the winning pattern of the highest priority win is selected according to the priority assigned to each win.

[0057] Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, in the stop control table that is referenced when multiple types of small wins are set to a winning state in the internal lottery, there are two cases in which the stop position is set according to the number of symbol combinations that can be displayed on the active line to indicate a winning form (number priority control), and the stop position is set according to the number of medals paid out based on the predetermined payout for the small win (payout priority control). When the stop position is set according to the number of symbol combinations that can be displayed on the active line to indicate a winning form, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set so that the stop position that allows for a larger number of symbol combinations that can be displayed on the active line to indicate a winning form is given priority. When the stop position is set according to the number of medals paid out, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set so that the stop position that allows for a larger number of medals paid out based on the payout for the small win corresponding to the symbol displayed at the display position on the active line (a stop position that allows for the winning of a small win with a high payout) is given priority. However, when the stopping position is set according to the number of medals dispensed, if there are multiple stopping positions with the same number of medals dispensed, the priority of each stopping position is treated as the same and the stopping position is set relative to the press detection position. Similarly, when the stopping position is set according to the number of symbol combinations indicating winning patterns that can be displayed on the active line, if there are multiple stopping positions with the same number of symbol combinations indicating winning patterns that can be displayed on the active line, the priority of each stopping position is treated as the same and the stopping position is set relative to the press detection position.

[0058] Then, in the internal lottery, if a batting order bell belonging to any of the following categories is selected, such as batting order bells a3-a6, batting order bells b3-b6, batting order bells c3-c6, batting order bells d3-d6, batting order bells e3-e6, batting order bells f3-f6, batting order bells g3-g6, or batting order bells h3-h6, the stop control table, which is referenced, has a correct batting order set for each batting order bell, as shown in Figure 8.

[0059] In the stop control table, which is referenced when any of the batting order bells are won, the stop positions relative to the press detection positions are set so that if stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in the correct batting order, an 8-coin prize is awarded. If stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in a different order than the correct batting order, the stop positions relative to the press detection positions are set so that there are cases where a 1-coin prize is awarded and cases where no prize is awarded (missed prize). In Figure 8, "1-coin prize (1 / 2)" means that there is a 1 / 2 probability of winning a 1-coin prize in that press order, and a 1 / 2 probability of missing a prize. Also in Figure 8, "1-coin prize (1 / 4)" means that there is a 1 / 4 probability of winning a 1-coin prize in that press order, and a 3 / 4 probability of missing a prize. Furthermore, "Single-coin win (3 / 4)" in Figure 8 means that there is a 3 / 4 probability of winning a single-coin win in that pressing sequence, and a 1 / 4 probability of missing the win.

[0060] Furthermore, when a bell is won in each batting order, in the correct batting order, the symbols that constitute the winning combination of 8 coins are preferentially displayed on the active line due to payout priority control, and in the batting order different from the correct batting order, the symbols that constitute the winning combination of 1 coin are preferentially displayed on the active line due to quantity priority control, with the stop position relative to the press detection position set in each stop control table. In this embodiment, by using payout priority control and quantity priority control according to the press order, it is possible to win 8 coins while avoiding the 1 coin winning combination in the correct batting order, and to win 1 coins while avoiding the 8 coin winning combination in the batting order different from the correct batting order.

[0061] In this embodiment, for the order bell groups a, b, e, and f, the correct order is only valid when the game is in a Big Bonus (BB) state. In the normal state, if an order bell is won, even if the stop operation is performed according to the correct order, there is a 1 / 2 probability of winning a single-coin prize and a 1 / 2 probability of missing a prize. In other words, in the normal state, for the order bell groups a, b, e, and f, even if the stop operation is performed in a manner that allows for winning an 8-coin prize in the BB state, the stop position is determined by quantity priority control to avoid winning an 8-coin prize. On the other hand, for the order bell groups c, d, g, and h, the correct order is valid in both the normal state and the BB state, and in either game state, the stop position is determined by payout priority control to prioritize winning an 8-coin prize.

[0062] Furthermore, in the stop control table referenced when a watermelon is won in the internal lottery, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set such that there are cases where four small wins are achieved and cases where no wins are achieved.

[0063] Furthermore, in the stop control table referenced when Cherry A or Cherry B is won in the internal lottery, the button press detection position is set so that there are cases where a 3-coin win occurs and cases where a 1-coin win occurs. Due to the payout priority control, the 3-coin win takes precedence over the 1-coin win.

[0064] Furthermore, in the stop control table referenced when cherry c is won in the internal lottery, as shown in Figure 9, the stop positions relative to the press detection position are set so that an 8-coin small win is always awarded, but the 8-coin small win that is awarded differs depending on the order of the stop operation. When cherry c is won, if stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in turn 1 to 4, where the first reel R1 or the second reel R2 is stopped first, small wins 6 to 10 are awarded and a stop pattern indicating a middle cherry appears. If stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in turn 5 and 6, where the third reel R3 is stopped first, small win 3 or small win 4 is awarded. In particular, in this embodiment, when cherry c is won and the stop operation is performed at turn 5, the turn bell awards small win 3, which is an 8-coin small win corresponding to turn 5, and when cherry c is won and the stop operation is performed at turn 6, the turn bell awards small win 4, which is an 8-coin small win corresponding to turn 6.

[0065] Furthermore, in the stop control table referenced when a special role is won in the internal lottery, as shown in Figure 9, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set so that an 8-coin small role is always awarded, but the 8-coin small role awarded differs depending on the order of the stop operation. When a special role is won, if stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in turn 1 to 4, where the first reel R1 or the second reel R2 is stopped first, small role 5 is awarded and a stop pattern indicating a winning combination appears. If stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in turn 5 and 6, where the third reel R3 is stopped first, small role 3 or small role 4 is awarded. In particular, in this embodiment, when a special role is won and the stop operation is performed in turn 5, small role 3, which is the 8-coin small role associated with turn 5, is awarded in the turn order bell, and when a special role is won and the stop operation is performed in turn 6, small role 4, which is the 8-coin small role associated with turn 6, is awarded in the turn order bell.

[0066] Furthermore, in the stop control table referenced when a 3-coin batting order win is achieved, as shown in Figure 9, a correct batting order is set for the 3-coin batting order win. When stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in the correct batting order, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set so that a 3-coin win is achieved. When stop buttons B1 to B3 are pressed in a different order than the correct batting order, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set so that a 1-coin win is achieved. In particular, in this embodiment, when a 3-coin batting order win is achieved, a 1-coin win is achieved in the recommended batting order where the first reel R1 is stopped first, while an irregular batting order where the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first becomes the correct batting order and results in a 3-coin win.

[0067] Furthermore, in the stop control table referenced when a common three-coin combination is won, as shown in Figure 9, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set so that a three-coin combination is always awarded regardless of the order of the stop operations.

[0068] Furthermore, in the stop control table referenced when JAC1 is won in the internal lottery, the stop position relative to the button press detection position is set so that an 8-coin payout is guaranteed. In the stop control table referenced when JAC2 is won in the internal lottery, the stop position relative to the button press detection position is set so that a 3-coin payout is guaranteed. In the stop control table referenced when JAC3 is won in the internal lottery, the stop position relative to the button press detection position is set so that a 1-coin payout is guaranteed.

[0069] Furthermore, for the various replay winning patterns such as normal replay a, normal replay b, and normal replay c, the stop position relative to the press detection position is set so that one of the replays included in the winning pattern will always result in a win, regardless of the type of stop operation.

[0070] Furthermore, regarding the Big Bonus (BB), it can only be awarded if it is won alone in the normal state. When a BB is established, there are no misses, and a minor role or replay with a higher priority than the Big Bonus (BB) is always awarded at the same time. Therefore, the stop control table is set to prevent the Big Bonus (BB) from being awarded by setting the stop position relative to the button press detection position.

[0071] The prize determination means 140 performs prize determination processing to determine whether a winning combination has been achieved based on the stopping patterns of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3. Specifically, while referring to the prize determination table stored in the prize determination table storage area 1912 provided in the main ROM of the game information storage means 190a, it determines whether the combination of symbols displayed on the active line when all of the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 have stopped is a predetermined winning combination. The prize determination table is then prepared so that, as shown in Figures 10 to 15, it can determine whether a Big Bonus (BB), Replay 1 to Replay 3, and Small Win 1 to Small Win 39 have been achieved based on the combination of symbols displayed on the active line when each reel has stopped.

[0072] In this embodiment of the gaming machine, if a winning combination is achieved based on the result of the winning determination means 140, a winning process is executed. For example, if a minor winning combination is achieved, the payout control means 150 performs a medal payout process; if a replay is achieved, the replay processing means 160 performs a replay process; and if a bonus is achieved, the game state control means 170 performs a game state transition process to change the game state.

[0073] The payout control means 150 performs payout control processing related to the payout of medals according to the game result. Specifically, when a minor win occurs, it determines the number of medals to be paid out in the game based on the predetermined payout for each win, and controls the hopper unit HP (payout device) to pay out the number of medals corresponding to the determined payout.

[0074] The hopper unit HP dispenses the number of medals specified by the dispensing control means 150. The hopper unit HP is equipped with a dispensing medal detection switch 325 that operates each time a medal is dispensed, and the dispensing control means 150 is configured to manage the number of medals actually dispensed from the hopper unit HP based on the input signal from the dispensing medal detection switch 325.

[0075] If medal credit storage (storage storage) is permitted, instead of actually dispensing medals by the hopper unit HP, a credit addition process is performed to virtually dispense medals by adding the number of payouts to the number of credits (number of medals stored as credits) stored in the credit information storage area 1914 of the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a.

[0076] The replay processing means 160 performs a replay process (re-play process) when a replay is awarded, which sets the machine to the same preparation state as the previous game without requiring the player to insert any tokens they possess for the next game. In other words, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, when a replay is awarded, an automatic insertion process is performed in which a number of tokens equivalent to the prescribed number required to play the next game is automatically inserted without using the player's tokens (including credit tokens), and the machine waits for the next game start operation by pressing the start lever SL with the number of active lines corresponding to the prescribed number of tokens inserted set.

[0077] As shown in Figure 16, the game state control means 170 performs a game state transition process to transition the game state between the normal state, the BB (Big Bonus) established state, and the BB state. In this embodiment, information indicating the current game state is stored in the game state storage area 1916 provided in the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a. The conditions for transitioning game states may be one condition or multiple conditions. If multiple conditions are defined, the game state can be transitioned to another game state based on the fulfillment of one of the multiple predetermined conditions, or on the fulfillment of all of the multiple predetermined conditions.

[0078] The normal state is the initial state among several types of game states, and it is possible to transition from the normal state to the BB established state or the BB state. Specifically, if a Big Bonus (BB) is won in the normal state but the Big Bonus (BB) is not awarded, the game transitions to the BB established state, and if a Big Bonus (BB) is won in the normal state and the Big Bonus (BB) is awarded, the game transitions to the BB state. In the normal state, the internal lottery is conducted by referring to internal lottery table 1, one of the internal lottery tables 1 to 3 shown in Figure 4, in which the probability of winning a replay is set to approximately 1 / 7.3 or higher and the Big Bonus (BB) is set as the target of the lottery.

[0079] The BB (Big Bonus) state is a game state that is entered when, in the normal state, a Big Bonus (BB) is selected in the internal lottery but is not awarded. In this state, an internal lottery is conducted referring to Internal Lottery Table 2, one of the Internal Lottery Tables 1 to 3 shown in Figure 4, where the probability of winning a replay is higher than that of Internal Lottery Table 1, so no misses (failures) occur, and the Big Bonus (BB) is excluded from the lottery.

[0080] Furthermore, in the Big Bonus (BB) state, the lottery flag corresponding to the Big Bonus (BB) remains in a winning state until the Big Bonus (BB) is awarded. In this embodiment, since the symbol combination indicating the winning form of the Big Bonus (BB) is not displayed on the active lines in the Big Bonus (BB) state, once the game state transitions to the Big Bonus (BB) state, it will not transition to the Big Bonus (BB) state again.

[0081] The BB state is a game state that is entered when a combination of symbols indicating a Big Bonus (BB) win is displayed on an active payline. Of the internal lottery tables 1 to 3 shown in Figure 4, internal lottery is performed by referring to internal lottery table 3, which has a different method of drawing small wins than internal lottery table 1 and internal lottery table 2.

[0082] Furthermore, in the BB state, the game state control means 170 determines whether the termination condition has been met based on the total number of medals dispensed during gameplay in the BB state. If it is determined that a predetermined number of medals (for example, 83 medals) has been dispensed, the game state control means 170 terminates the BB state and returns the game state to the normal state. In this embodiment, the count information regarding the number of medals dispensed in the BB state is stored in the game state storage area 1916.

[0083] As shown in Figure 17, the AT control means 175 changes the performance state between several types of performance states, including the initial performance state, the normal performance state, and the AT state. Under predetermined conditions, it sets the performance state to the AT state, determines whether the termination condition for the AT state is met based on the value of the AT stock counter 1920 and the value of the AT game counter 1921, and controls the termination of the AT state when the termination condition for the AT state is met. In this embodiment, information indicating the current performance state is stored in the performance state storage area 1918 provided in the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the game is in AT state, the AT control means 175 displays information corresponding to the correct batting order (an example of instruction information) on the main display unit 300, which consists of a 7-segment display provided on the game information display unit DS, when a 3-coin batting order win or a batting order bell is won, thereby providing correct batting order notification to assist in winning the 3-coin small win included in the 3-coin batting order win or the 8-coin small win included in the batting order bell. Additionally, the performance control means 180 displays an image corresponding to the correct batting order on the liquid crystal display LCD when a 3-coin batting order win or a batting order bell is won, providing a prize-winning assistance performance to assist in winning the 3-coin small win included in the 3-coin batting order win or the 8-coin small win included in the batting order bell. This allows for Assist Time gameplay, where medals are easier to acquire than when the game is in the initial performance state or normal performance state. In this embodiment, the function for executing Assist Time gameplay in the advantageous section is the instruction function, and the processing that affects the execution of Assist Time gameplay is the processing related to the instruction function.

[0084] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 18, the AT control means 175 allows setting a normal section (non-advantageous section) and an advantage section. In the normal section, the performance state is fixed to the initial performance state, and a lottery for transitioning to the advantage section is conducted. If the lottery for transitioning to the advantage section is won, the advantage section is started, and the performance state can be set to the AT state, provided that the system is in the advantage section.

[0085] The AT control means 175 then performs a lottery for transitioning to the advantageous section in each game during the normal section if the performance state is in the normal state or the BB established state. In the normal state, the advantageous section is won based on the internal lottery obtaining one of the following winning patterns: batting order bell group a, batting order bell group b, batting order bell group c, batting order bell group d, batting order bell group e, batting order bell group f, batting order bell group g, batting order bell group h, watermelon, cherry a, cherry b, cherry c + BB, special role + BB, batting order 3-coin role + BB, common 3-coin role + BB, normal replay b, normal replay c, or Big Bonus (BB). In the normal state, there is a possibility of obtaining the normal replay a winning pattern, but in that case, the advantageous section is not won. Furthermore, when a Big Bonus (BB) is established, the player wins a favorable period based on whether one of the following winning patterns is obtained through internal lottery: batting order bell group a, batting order bell group b, batting order bell group c, batting order bell group d, batting order bell group e, batting order bell group f, batting order bell group g, batting order bell group h, watermelon, cherry a, cherry b, cherry c, special role, normal replay b, or normal replay c. When a Big Bonus (BB) is established, there are cases where the winning pattern of batting order 3-coin role, common 3-coin role, or normal replay a is obtained, but in those cases the player does not win a favorable period.

[0086] In the advantageous section transition lottery, the random number obtained for the internal lottery is compared with the advantageous section transition lottery table stored in the main lottery table storage area 1910, and it is determined whether or not the player has won the advantageous section (advantageous section win) based on the comparison result. In the advantageous section transition lottery table, the random number used for the internal lottery is assigned either a win or a loss, and if the random number obtained for the internal lottery is associated with a win in the advantageous section transition lottery table, it is determined that the player has won the advantageous section.

[0087] The AT control means 175, upon winning an advantageous period in the normal period, performs an advantageous period transition process based on the fact that an advantageous period has been won, starting the advantageous period from the next game after the game in which the advantageous period was won, and setting the performance state to either the normal performance state or the AT state. In this embodiment, when an advantageous period is won due to a winning method other than a guaranteed role (cherry c and special role), the performance state is set to the normal performance state in the advantageous period transition process, and when an advantageous period is won due to a guaranteed role (cherry c and special role), the performance state is set to the AT state in the advantageous period transition process. In this embodiment, a low probability mode and a high probability mode can be set as the AT lottery mode in the normal performance state, and when the performance state is in the normal performance state, it remains in one of the lottery modes, and when transitioning the performance state to the normal performance state, a mode determination lottery is performed, and the lottery mode is determined according to the result of the mode determination lottery. The mode determination lottery involves obtaining a random value between 0 and 255 in association with the stop operation corresponding to the third stop of a game that transitions the performance state to the normal performance state, and obtaining either the low probability mode or the high probability mode associated with these random values ​​as the lottery result. In this embodiment, the mode determination lottery is performed in a manner in which the low probability mode is more likely to be selected than the high probability mode. A game that transitions the performance state to the normal performance state refers to a game in which an advantageous section is won, or a game in which the AT state ends in the advantageous section. In a game in which an advantageous section is won, the mode determination lottery is performed as part of the advantageous section transition process, and in a game in which the AT state ends in the advantageous section, the mode determination lottery is performed as part of the process of returning the performance state to the normal performance state.

[0088] Furthermore, the winning patterns for the advantageous section transition lottery may be set to two types, for example, low probability win and high probability win, and the advantageous section transition process may be configured to decide whether to transition to the low probability mode or the high probability mode. In this case, if the result of the advantageous section transition lottery is a low probability win, the lottery mode can be set to the low probability mode in the advantageous section transition process, and if the result of the advantageous section transition lottery is a high probability win, the lottery mode can be set to the high probability mode in the advantageous section transition process.

[0089] The AT control means 175 performs an AT lottery (an example of processing related to the instruction function) when the game state is in a BB (Big Bonus) state and the performance state is in a normal performance state during the advantageous section. Specifically, the AT lottery is performed based on the internal lottery obtaining one of the following winning patterns: order bell group a, order bell group b, order bell group c, order bell group d, order bell group e, order bell group f, order bell group g, order bell group h, watermelon, cherry a, cherry b, cherry c, special role, order 3-coin role, common 3-coin role, normal replay a, normal replay b, or normal replay c. In this embodiment, the AT lottery is not performed when the game state is in a normal state or a BB state. However, the system may be configured to perform the AT lottery in at least one of the cases where the game state is in a normal state and when the game state is in a BB state.

[0090] In the AT lottery, when a winning pattern that triggers the execution of the AT lottery is obtained, a random value in the range of 0 to 255 is acquired. The acquired random value is compared with the AT lottery table stored in the main lottery table storage area 1910, and it is determined whether or not the AT lottery has been won according to the comparison result. In the AT lottery table, AT wins or losses are assigned to the random values ​​for the AT lottery, and it is determined that the AT lottery has been won if the acquired random value is associated with an AT win in the AT lottery table. In this embodiment, the probability of obtaining an AT win differs between the low probability mode and the high probability mode, with the probability of obtaining an AT win being set higher in the high probability mode than in the low probability mode. However, in this embodiment, for guaranteed roles (cherry c and special roles), an AT win result is always obtained in the AT lottery in both the low probability mode and the high probability mode.

[0091] In this embodiment, if a winning pattern other than the batting order bell and the batting order 3-coin combination is obtained, the AT lottery is performed before the stop operation on the first reel R1 to the third reel R3 is activated. However, in the case of the AT lottery when the batting order bell and the batting order 3-coin combination are won, the AT lottery is performed when the 1-coin combination included in the won batting order bell and batting order 3-coin combination is awarded. Therefore, in a game in which the batting order bell is won, the AT lottery is not performed if the 8-coin combination is awarded or if no combination is awarded. Similarly, in a game in which the batting order 3-coin combination is won, the AT lottery is not performed if the 3-coin combination is awarded. Alternatively, when the batting order bell is won, the AT lottery may be performed at the same trigger as when other winning patterns are obtained, and the result of the AT lottery may be invalidated based on the fact that the 1-coin combination was not awarded. Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the first stop operation when a batting order bell is won is to stop the first reel R1, a single-coin small win is guaranteed. Therefore, the AT lottery may be performed when the first stop operation is to stop the first reel R1. Thus, in this embodiment, the recommended batting order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first is treated more favorably in terms of the AT lottery than the irregular batting order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first. In addition, if a winning pattern that triggers the execution of the AT lottery is obtained, the AT lottery may be performed on the condition that the stop operation was performed in the recommended batting order, regardless of the winning pattern obtained in the internal lottery.

[0092] Furthermore, when the AT control means 175 is in a low probability mode during normal performance, it updates the value of the high probability transition counter 1919 when a 1-coin small win occurs in a game in which a batting order bell is won (an example of processing related to the instruction function). However, if an 8-coin small win occurs even if a batting order bell is won, or if no win occurs, the value of the high probability transition counter 1919 is not updated. In other words, the recommended batting order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first is treated more favorably in terms of transitioning to the high probability mode than the irregular batting order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first. In this embodiment, when the game is in a normal performance state and transitions to a low probability mode, a predetermined value "255" is set in the high probability transition counter 1919, and the AT control means 175 performs a high probability transition subtraction value lottery when a batting order bell is won to determine the subtraction value related to updating the high probability transition counter 1919 to either "3" or "29", and subtracts the determined subtraction value from the value of the high probability transition counter 1919.

[0093] The high probability transition subtraction value lottery works by obtaining a random value between 0 and 255 when a single-coin win occurs in a game where a batting order bell is won, and then using either "3" or "29", which are pre-associated subtraction values, as the lottery result.

[0094] The AT control means 175 then determines that the conditions for transitioning to high probability mode have been met based on the fact that the value of the high probability transition counter 1919 has reached its initial value of "0" in low probability mode, and transitions the lottery mode to high probability mode. In the state of staying in high probability mode during normal performance, the AT control means 175 performs a fall-out lottery based on the winning of the following: order bell group a, order bell group b, order bell group c, order bell group d, order bell group e, order bell group f, order bell group g, order bell group h, order 3-coin combination, or common 3-coin combination. In the fall-out lottery, the random value obtained for the internal lottery is compared with the fall-out lottery table stored in the main lottery table storage area 1910, and it is determined whether or not the fall-out lottery has been won according to the comparison result. In the fall-out lottery table, random values ​​for internal lotteries, which are associated with the winning patterns that trigger the fall-out lottery, are assigned either a fall-out win or a loss. If the random values ​​obtained for the internal lottery are associated with one of the following: batting order bell group a, batting order bell group b, batting order bell group c, batting order bell group d, batting order bell group e, batting order bell group f, batting order bell group g, batting order bell group h, batting order 3-coin combination, or common 3-coin combination, and are associated with a fall-out win in the fall-out lottery table, then it is determined that the fall-out lottery has been won. In this embodiment, the AT control means 175 determines that the high probability termination condition has been met based on the fact that a fall-out win has been obtained in the fall-out lottery, and transitions the lottery mode to the low probability mode.

[0095] In this embodiment, when transitioning from the performance state to the normal performance state, the AT control means 175 sets a predetermined value "1024" to the ceiling counter 1924 and performs a process (an example of a process related to the instruction function) in which a subtraction value corresponding to the result of an internal lottery is subtracted from the value of the ceiling counter 1924 each time a game is played in the normal performance state. In particular, in this embodiment, when a batting order bell is won, the value of the ceiling counter 1924 is subtracted on the condition that a 1-coin small win is achieved, and the value of the ceiling counter 1924 is not updated if an 8-coin small win is achieved or if no wins are achieved. In other words, the recommended batting order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first is treated more favorably in terms of updating the ceiling counter 1924 than the irregular batting order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first.

[0096] The AT control means 175 then controls the transition of the performance state from the normal performance state to the AT state based on whether the result of the AT lottery is an AT win or whether the value of the ceiling counter 1924 reaches the initial value "0". Furthermore, based on the decision to transition to the AT state, the AT control means 175 adds a fixed value of "1" to the AT stock counter 1920, and when the performance state is transitioned to the AT state upon the end of a game in which the conditions for transitioning to the AT state have been met (a game in which an AT win lottery result was obtained or a game in which the value of the ceiling counter 1924 reaches the initial value "0"), it subtracts a fixed value of "1" from the AT stock counter 1920 and sets a value of "30", which corresponds to the number of games played that constitutes the end condition of the AT state, to the AT game counter 1921.

[0097] The AT control means 175 then causes an assist time game to be played based on the performance state being the AT state, and each time an assist time game is played, a fixed value "1" equivalent to one game is subtracted from the value of the AT game counter 1921. In this embodiment, when a batting order bell belonging to batting order bell group a, batting order bell group b, batting order bell group c, or batting order bell group d is won in the AT state, a correct batting order notification and prize-winning assistance performance is performed to notify the correct batting order.

[0098] In this embodiment, when the AT control means 175 notifies the correct batting order for the batting order bell and the batting order 3-coin combination, the operation instruction number corresponding to the correct batting order corresponding to the winning batting order bell ("03" (batting order 3), "04" (batting order 4), "05" (batting order 5), "06" (batting order 6)) is displayed on the main display 300. In this embodiment, since batting order 3, batting order 4, batting order 5, and batting order 6 are the correct batting orders for the batting order 3-coin combination, an arbitrary operation instruction number determined by lottery in the game in which the batting order 3-coin combination is won is displayed on the main display 300.

[0099] Furthermore, the AT control means 175, when the performance state is in the AT state during the advantageous section, performs an additional bonus lottery (an example of processing related to the instruction function) based on whether a watermelon, cherry a, cherry b, cherry c, or special role has been won in the internal lottery. In the additional bonus lottery, when a winning pattern that triggers the execution of the additional bonus lottery is obtained, a random value in the range of 0 to 255 is obtained, and the obtained random value is compared with the additional bonus lottery table stored in the main lottery table storage area 1910, and it is determined whether or not the additional bonus lottery has been won according to the comparison result. In the additional bonus lottery table, either an additional bonus win or a loss is assigned to the random value for the additional bonus lottery, and it is determined that the additional bonus lottery has been won when the random value obtained for the additional bonus lottery is associated with an additional bonus win in the additional bonus lottery table. Note that in the additional bonus lottery performed when a guaranteed role (cherry c and special role) is obtained, an additional bonus win result is always obtained. In this embodiment, the AT control means 175 adds a fixed value "1" to the AT stock counter 1920 based on the fact that it has obtained a lottery result of winning an additional bonus in the bonus lottery.

[0100] Then, when the value of the AT game counter 1921, which is deducted by a fixed amount each time an assist time game is played in the AT state, reaches its initial value of "0", the AT control means 175, if the number of AT stocks > 0, deducts a fixed value of "1" from the value of the AT stock counter 1920 and resets the value of the AT game counter 1921 to "30" to continue the AT state. If the number of AT stocks = 0, the AT control means 175 determines that the termination condition has been met because the number of AT games = 0 and the number of AT stocks = 0, and returns the performance state to the normal performance state.

[0101] In this embodiment, the AT control means 175 sets the value of the clear counter 1922 provided in the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a to the initial value "0" during the advantageous section transition process. In the advantageous section, the value of the clear counter 1922 is updated according to the difference in the number of medals in each game. The value corresponding to the number of medals paid out (for example, "8" if 8 medals were paid out, and "0" if no winning combinations were achieved and no payouts were made) is subtracted by the number of medals inserted into the game (3 medals) to obtain the calculation result for the difference in the number of medals in that game. This calculation result is then added to the value of the clear counter 1922 in an update process. The AT control means 175 also determines that the conditions for ending the advantageous section have been met if the value of the clear counter 1922 exceeds a threshold (for example, 2400). The value of the clear counter 1922 is controlled so that it does not fall below the initial value of "0". For example, if the value of the clear counter 1922 at the start of the game is "2", and as a result of playing the game, no winning combinations are achieved and no medals are paid out, the calculation result of the difference in medals for that game will be "-3". Adding this calculation result to the value of the clear counter 1922 would fall below the initial value of "0", but the updated value of the clear counter 1922 is set to the initial value of "0" as the lower limit for counting. In addition, if a replay is achieved during the game, the game in which the replay was achieved is treated as if a medal equivalent to the prescribed number of medals for that game was paid out, and the difference in medals is calculated accordingly. For the next game, which is provided free of charge due to the replay, even if no actual medals are inserted, it is treated as if a medal equivalent to the prescribed number of medals for that game was inserted, and the difference in medals is calculated accordingly. The update of the clear counter 1922 may be based on the pure difference in the number of tokens, by subtracting a value equivalent to the number of tokens inserted and adding a value equivalent to the number of tokens paid out, and it is possible for the value of the clear counter 1922 to be less than "0".

[0102] Furthermore, during the advantageous period, unless the conditions for ending the advantageous period are met, the clear counter 1922 will be updated even if a transition occurs in the game state or performance state.

[0103] Furthermore, the AT control means 175 performs initialization processing to initialize the information stored in a predetermined storage area of ​​the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a based on the end of the advantageous period. In particular, with respect to the main RAM of the game information storage means 190, the information stored in the performance state storage area 1918, the high probability transition counter 1919, the AT stock count counter 1920, the AT game count counter 1921, the clear counter 1922, and the ceiling counter 1924 is initialized by the initialization processing that accompanies the end of the advantageous period. More specifically, storage areas other than the performance state storage area 1918, the high probability transition counter 1919, the AT stock count counter 1920, the AT game count counter 1921, the clear counter 1922, and the ceiling counter 1924 in the main RAM of the game information storage means 190a are designated as information holding areas, and the information stored in storage areas other than the information holding areas of the main RAM is initialized. Therefore, when initialization processing is performed due to the end of the advantageous period, unlike when initialization processing is performed in setting change mode, in addition to the setting value storage area 1913 and the credit information storage area 1914, the lottery flag storage area 1915 and the game state storage area 1916 are also designated as information retention areas, and the information stored in these storage areas is retained without being initialized by the initialization processing due to the end of the advantageous period. When initialization processing is performed due to the end of the advantageous period, the performance state is initialized to the initial performance state, and the values ​​of the high probability transition counter 1919, AT stock count counter 1920, AT game count counter 1921, clear counter 1922, and ceiling counter 1924 are initialized to their initial values ​​(for example, 0), and the game returns to the normal period.

[0104] In this embodiment, since initialization processing is performed upon the end of the advantageous section and the game returns to the normal section, if the value of the clear counter 1922 exceeds a threshold while the game is in the AT state, the initialization processing upon the end of the advantageous section forces each AT state to terminate and the performance state is initialized to the initial performance state, and the values ​​of the high probability transition counter 1919, AT stock counter 1920, AT game counter 1921, clear counter 1922, and ceiling counter 1924 are initialized to their initial values ​​(for example, 0). Also, if the value of the clear counter 1922 exceeds a threshold while the game is in any other performance state, the initialization processing upon the end of the advantageous section forces the currently held performance state to terminate and the performance state is initialized to the initial performance state, and the values ​​of the high probability transition counter 1919, AT stock counter 1920, AT game counter 1921, clear counter 1922, and ceiling counter 1924 are initialized to their initial values ​​(for example, 0). In this embodiment, the performance state is not initialized by turning the power on / off. However, if the system is started in setting change mode, and initialization processing is performed in setting change mode, the performance state will be initialized to the initial performance state, and the values ​​of the high probability transition counter 1919, AT stock counter 1920, AT game counter 1921, clear counter 1922, and ceiling counter 1924 will be initialized to their initial values ​​(for example, 0).

[0105] In this embodiment, the advantageous period begins when the advantageous period transition lottery is won in the normal period, and within the advantageous period, the performance state is set to the AT state under predetermined conditions to play the assist time game. However, even if the AT state ends, the advantageous period is maintained as long as the conditions for ending the advantageous period are not met. In other words, in this embodiment, since the advantageous period continues even after the AT state ends, there are cases where the player remains in the advantageous period even if the performance state transitions to a performance state different from the AT state.

[0106] Furthermore, the AT control means 175 lights up an LED built into the section indicator SEC to indicate that the system is in AT mode when it is in AT mode during a favorable section, and controls the system to turn off the LED built into the section indicator SEC when the AT mode ends. In this embodiment, the LED built into the section indicator SEC is turned off when it is in a normal section or when it is in a different performance state than AT mode during a favorable section. In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether or not the system is in AT mode by checking the lighting status of the section indicator SEC.

[0107] In this embodiment, the AT control means 175 starts or stops a specific notification, which is a notification that the player is in the AT state, based on the performance state in which the player is in the advantageous section. For example, the specific notification is started when the performance state transitions to the AT state, and the specific notification is stopped when the AT state ends. In particular, in this embodiment, there are cases where the advantageous section continues even after the AT state ends, but the specific notification not only ends when the AT state ends and the advantageous section ends, but also when the AT state ends and the advantageous section continues.

[0108] The section indicator SEC does not need to be provided exclusively as in this embodiment, and may be used in conjunction with the main indicator 300. For example, the presence or absence of the AT state may be indicated by switching the illumination and extinguishing of the dot display section that displays decimal points on the 7-segment display, and the dot display section may be turned off in performance states other than the AT state, and illuminated in the AT state to provide specific notification. In addition, when the AT state starts, the LED built into the section indicator SEC lights up to immediately notify that the player is in the AT state, but the period from the start of the AT state until a predetermined number of games have been played may be designated as a non-notification period in which the player is not notified that they are in an advantageous period, or until the first correct hit order notification in the AT state is performed, it may be designated as a non-notification period in which the player is not notified that they are in an advantageous period.

[0109] The communication control means 177 controls the output of a specific external signal to external devices such as the data counter 410 and the hall computer 420 when the performance state is in the AT state during the advantageous section. In this embodiment, the specific external signal is output to the external device via the external central terminal board from the main board. The output of the specific external signal is based on the game start operation of the start lever SL for the first game (1st game) in each set of the AT state. Alternatively, the specific external signal may be output based on the completion of the last game (30th game) in each set of the AT state. In this embodiment, the output of a specific external signal corresponding to each set of the AT state allows the external device to count the number of AT state sets that have been played.

[0110] The performance control means 180 controls display performances performed using the display device 330 (an example of a performance device) and sound performances performed using the sound device 340 (an example of a performance device) based on performance data stored in the performance data storage area 1926 provided in the sub-ROM of the performance information storage means 190b. For example, in response to the occurrence of game events such as inserting medals, operations on the bet button B0, start lever SL, stop buttons B1 to B3, and changes in the game state, it controls the execution of performances to enhance or assist the game according to the progress of the game by lighting or flashing lamps and LEDs, changing the display content of the liquid crystal display LCD, or outputting sound from the speaker SP. The content of the performances to be performed in the game is determined by referring to the performance lottery table stored in the sub-lottery table storage area 1927 provided in the sub-ROM of the performance information storage means 190b, according to the game state, performance state, results of internal lottery, etc. In this embodiment, image data corresponding to the progress of the game is read from the sub-ROM's performance data storage area 1926 into an image buffer 1928 provided in the sub-RAM, and an image based on the image data read into the image buffer 1928 is output to the liquid crystal display LCD. Sound data corresponding to the progress of the game is read from the sub-ROM's performance data storage area 1926 into a sound buffer 1929 provided in the sub-RAM, and sound based on the sound data read into the sound buffer 1929 is output from the speaker SP.

[0111] The performance control means 180 then controls the display device 330 and sound device 340 to execute an award assistance performance that notifies the correct batting order when a batting order bell or a batting order 3-coin win is achieved, thereby assisting in the winning of 8-coin and 3-coin small wins, when the performance state is in AT state.

[0112] Furthermore, the performance control means 180 controls the execution of a remaining count display performance, which displays the remaining number of games until the AT state ends on the display device 330, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), when the game is being played in AT state. In the remaining count display performance, when the value of the AT game counter 1921 is decreased by playing the game, the display content is changed so that the remaining number of games decreases to reflect that decrease.

[0113] Furthermore, the performance control means 180 controls the execution of a specific notification performance that notifies the player that the stop operation should be performed in the recommended order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first. In particular, in this embodiment, the performance control means 180 executes the specific notification performance in the normal section when the stop operation is performed in an irregular order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first, and in the advantageous section when the player is in the normal performance state and the stop operation is performed in an irregular order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first. As a specific notification performance, for example, a warning display including the message "Left press recommended" can be displayed on a display device 330 such as a liquid crystal display LCD. The specific notification performance may also be executed in response to the first stop operation in an irregular order, the second stop operation in an irregular order, or the third stop operation in an irregular order. Alternatively, the specific notification performance may be executed after all reels have stopped if an irregular order was used. Furthermore, the trigger for determining whether the order of the stopping operations is an irregular batting order and the trigger for executing the specific notification effect do not have to be the same. For example, the first stopping operation may trigger a determination of whether or not it is an irregular batting order, and if it is determined to be an irregular batting order, the third stopping operation may trigger the execution of the specific notification effect.

[0114] The functional block configuration of this embodiment can also be applied to computer systems (including game systems). In these systems, the function of the computer can be realized by downloading a program that enables the computer to function as the game control means 100 of this embodiment from an information storage medium such as a CD or DVD, or from a web server on the internet via a network. In the above computer system, the medal insertion switch 210, bet switch 220, start switch 230, stop switch 240, etc., can be realized by virtually assigning their functions to operating means such as a keyboard, pointing device (mouse, etc.), touch panel, or controller. In the above computer system, the reel unit 310, hopper unit HP, etc., are not essential configuration requirements, and the functions of these device units can be virtually realized by controlling the images displayed on the display (display device 330).

[0115] 2. The method of this embodiment In this embodiment, there are two types of winning patterns for small wins that occur in conjunction with the Big Bonus (BB) in the normal state: the common 3-coin win and the order-based 3-coin win. Both the common 3-coin win and the order-based 3-coin win are winning patterns that allow for the acquisition of a 3-coin small win. The common 3-coin win is a winning pattern in which only a 3-coin small win is acquired, and a 3-coin small win is acquired regardless of whether the stop operation is performed in the recommended order or an irregular order. On the other hand, the order-based 3-coin win is a winning pattern in which a 3-coin small win and a 1-coin small win occur in conjunction, and a 1-coin small win is acquired when the stop operation is performed in the recommended order, while a 3-coin small win is acquired when the stop operation is performed in an irregular order. Below, we will explain the control for the order-based 3-coin win that allows for the acquisition of a 1-coin small win while avoiding the acquisition of a 3-coin small win in the recommended order.

[0116] Figure 19 shows the composition of the small wins included in the 3-coin batting order win. The 3-coin batting order win is a winning pattern in which the 3-coin small wins, small wins 15 and 16, and the 1-coin small wins, small wins 17, 18, 38, and 39, are all won at the same time.

[0117] In games where a three-symbol batting order combination is won, if the stopping operation is performed according to the recommended batting order, a quantity-priority control is used to determine the stopping position of the first reel R1. The candidates for symbols that will be displayed on the active line when the first reel R1 stops are the replay symbol "RP", watermelon symbol 1 "WM1", and watermelon symbol "WM2". There are 9 symbol combinations when the replay symbol "RP" is displayed on the active line, while there are 2 symbol combinations each when the watermelon symbol 1 "WM1" and watermelon symbol 2 "WM2" are displayed on the active line. In addition, the replay symbol "RP" is arranged on the first reel R1 in a positional relationship that allows it to be displayed on the active line regardless of the button press detection position. Therefore, in a game where a three-symbol batting order win occurs, when the first reel R1 is stopped first, the first reel R1 will stop so that the replay symbol "RP", which has the largest number of symbol combinations indicating a winning pattern that can be displayed on the active line, is displayed on the active line. At the point when the first reel R1 stops in a manner that displays the replay symbol "RP" on the active line, the small wins that are possible to win among the three-symbol batting order wins are small win 15, small win 17, small win 18, small win 38, and small win 39.

[0118] In this embodiment, in a game where a 3-coin batting order combination is won, the stopping position of the second stop reel is determined in such a way that the winning of a 3-coin combination is completely avoided at the second stop reel in the recommended batting order, and only a winning of a 1-coin combination is possible.

[0119] For example, when stopping the second reel R2 at the second stop, the possible symbols that can be displayed on the active line are the bell symbol "BL", the bar symbol "BAR", the watermelon symbol 1 "WM1", the replay symbol "RP", and the special symbol 2 "SP2". When the bell symbol "BL" is displayed on the active line, there is one symbol combination, while when the bar symbol "BAR", the watermelon symbol 1 "WM1", the replay symbol "RP", and the special symbol 2 "SP2" are displayed on the active line, there are two symbol combinations each. Also, on the second reel R2, the replay symbol "RP" is positioned so that it can be displayed on the active line regardless of the button press detection position. Therefore, when stopping the second reel R2 at the second stop, the second reel R2 will stop so that the replay symbol "RP", which has the largest number of symbol combinations indicating a winning pattern that can be displayed on the active line, is displayed on the active line. Then, when the second reel R2 stops, the possible winning combinations are combination 17 and combination 18, and the winning combination of 3 coins is completely avoided at the time of the second stop. Furthermore, the white 7 symbol "White 7" assigned to the third reel R3 for combination 17 and the cherry symbol "CH" assigned to the third reel R3 for combination 18 are positioned such that they can be displayed on the active line regardless of the position where either symbol is pressed and detected. Therefore, regardless of the timing of the stopping operation to stop the third reel R3, either combination 17 or combination 18 will always be won.

[0120] For example, when the third reel R3 is stopped at the second stop, the possible symbols that can be displayed on the active line are the replay symbol "RP", the white 7 symbol "White 7", and the cherry symbol "CH". When the replay symbol "RP" is displayed on the active line, there is one symbol combination, while when the white 7 symbol "White 7" and the cherry symbol "CH" are displayed on the active line, there are four symbol combinations each. As previously mentioned, the white 7 symbol "White 7" and the cherry symbol "CH" are arranged in a positional relationship on the third reel R3 that allows either symbol to be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position. Therefore, when the third reel R3 is stopped at the second stop, the third reel R3 will stop in a way that displays the white 7 symbol "White 7" or the cherry symbol "CH" on the active line, as this will result in the largest number of symbol combinations indicating a winning pattern that can be displayed on the active line. Then, when the third reel R3 stops, the possible winning combinations are combinations 17, 18, 38, and 39, and the 3-coin combination is completely avoided when the second reel stops. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the replay symbol "RP" assigned to the second reel R2 for combinations 17 and 18 is arranged in a position that allows it to be displayed on the active line regardless of the button press detection position, so regardless of the timing of the stopping operation to stop the second reel R2, either combination 17 or 18 will always be awarded.

[0121] Thus, in this embodiment, when a game in which a 3-coin batting order combination is won is stopped using the recommended batting order, the winning of small prize 16 is avoided at the first stop, the winning of small prize 15 is avoided at the second stop, and each reel stops in a manner that ensures either small prize 17 or small prize 18 is won. In other words, in this embodiment, when a game in which a 3-coin batting order combination is won is stopped using the recommended batting order, the possibility of winning the 3-coin small prize is eliminated by the second stop, creating a situation where only the 1-coin small prize can be won. On the other hand, when a game in which a 3-coin batting order combination is won is stopped using an irregular batting order, the winning of the 3-coin small prize is prioritized by the payout priority control, and since the symbols assigned to each reel with respect to the symbol combinations indicating the winning form are symbols that can be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, either small prize 15 or small prize 16 is guaranteed to be won.

[0122] In this embodiment, a common 3-coin combination and a batting order 3-coin combination are provided as ways to win small wins that hinder the winning of a Big Bonus (BB) in the normal state and the BB-established state, and the reason for this is as follows.

[0123] First, in this embodiment, by reducing the number of opportunities to win the 8-coin combination in the BB state compared to the normal state, it is possible to keep the payout rate in the BB state low and increase the payout rate when the BB is established. In other words, by lowering the medal acquisition performance in the BB state, it is possible to improve the medal acquisition performance of the AT state, which is executed when the BB is established. Furthermore, since it is necessary to design the payout rate in the BB state to exceed the payout rate in the normal state, the lower the payout rate in the normal state can be, the lower the payout rate in the BB state can be designed to be.

[0124] In this embodiment, where the game is played in AT mode (hereinafter referred to as "AT game") while a Big Bonus (BB) is established, it is necessary to avoid having any misses (failures) as a result of the internal lottery in order to maintain the BB established state. Also, if a relatively high probability of winning a Big Bonus (BB) is not secured in the normal state, it will not be possible to quickly transition from the normal state to the BB established state. For this reason, in the normal state, the Big Bonus (BB) can be awarded as often as possible in conjunction with small wins, and control that prioritizes the awarding of small wins (hereinafter referred to as "small win priority control") can be used to avoid awarding a Big Bonus (BB) and transition to the BB established state. The winning patterns of small wins that are awarded in conjunction with a Big Bonus (BB) can be used to hinder the awarding of a Big Bonus (BB) and maintain the BB established state.

[0125] However, in normal play, if a Big Bonus (BB) and a minor role are won simultaneously, the payout of medals due to the minor role tends to increase the payout rate in normal play. Therefore, conventionally, a minor role with the lowest payout of 1 medal was set up to prevent the Big Bonus (BB) from being won, and by having this minor role and the Big Bonus (BB) be won simultaneously, the improvement in the payout rate in normal play was kept to a minimum.

[0126] By designating a single-coin win as a win that hinders the acquisition of a Big Bonus (BB), it is possible to suppress the increase in the payout rate in normal mode. However, since the way wins occur in BB mode does not change compared to normal mode, the frequency of winning single-coin wins increases in BB mode. Consequently, during AT gameplay, each time a single-coin win, which was designed to hinder the acquisition of a Big Bonus (BB), is achieved, the player's number of tokens decreases.

[0127] In this embodiment, in order to prevent the winning of a Big Bonus (BB), a common 3-coin combination and a batting order 3-coin combination are provided as winning patterns that overlap with the Big Bonus (BB) in the normal state, and by making it possible to win small wins with a payout greater than the number of coins inserted, the decrease in payouts during AT gameplay can be suppressed.

[0128] By the way, if the winning patterns for small wins that hinder the winning of Big Bonus (BB) are limited to a common 3-coin win without a 3-coin win in a specific batting order, the payout rate in games that are not in AT state (hereinafter referred to as "non-AT games"), including normal gameplay, will be higher compared to when a 3-coin win in a specific batting order is provided. In this embodiment, as described above, considering that the medal acquisition performance in AT games decreases due to small wins that hinder the winning of Big Bonus (BB), the system is designed so that players can receive payouts exceeding the number of medals inserted. However, if this results in a higher payout rate in normal state, it becomes necessary to design a higher payout rate in BB state, which in turn affects the design of the payout rate when BB is established and cannot be reflected in the medal acquisition performance of AT games.

[0129] Therefore, in this embodiment, in addition to the common 3-coin combination, a batting order 3-coin combination is provided as a way to win small wins that hinder the winning of the Big Bonus (BB). For the batting order 3-coin combination, it is made impossible to win a 3-coin combination in the recommended batting order, and a 1-coin combination with a payout less than the number of coins inserted is awarded. This design suppresses the increase in the payout rate in the normal state, and consequently, suppresses the increase in the payout rate in the BB state.

[0130] In other words, in this embodiment, even if the specifications allow for simultaneous wins of both a Big Bonus (BB) and a minor role in order to prevent the winning of a Big Bonus (BB), the medal acquisition performance can be suitably adjusted by providing cases where the payout is less than the number of medals inserted and cases where the payout is greater than or equal to the number of medals inserted.

[0131] In particular, in this embodiment, by providing a 3-coin batting order payout, it is possible to suppress the high payout rate in non-AT games because a 1-coin payout is awarded when the stopping operation is performed exclusively in the recommended batting order, while suppressing the decrease in the payout rate in AT games by assisting in the awarding of the 3-coin payout. It is also possible to omit the correct batting order notification and awarding assistance animation for the 3-coin batting order payout in AT games. Furthermore, even in AT games, there may be conditions that must be met for the correct batting order notification and awarding assistance animation to be executed when the 3-coin batting order payout is won, and these may only be performed when these conditions are met. In addition, multiple types of AT states may be provided, such as an AT state in which the correct batting order notification and awarding assistance animation are performed when the 3-coin batting order payout is won, and an AT state in which the correct batting order notification and awarding assistance animation are not performed when the 3-coin batting order payout is won.

[0132] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by providing a common 3-coin combination and a batting order 3-coin combination with different degrees of influence on the payout rate, the payout rate during non-AT (Automatic Trigger) gameplay can be suitably adjusted by adjusting the winning ratios of these combinations. Specifically, if the common 3-coin combination is more likely to be won than the batting order 3-coin combination, the payout rate during non-AT gameplay can be improved, and if the batting order 3-coin combination is more likely to be won than the common 3-coin combination, the payout rate during non-AT gameplay can be suppressed.

[0133] Furthermore, when a 3-coin batting order combination is won, if the stopping operation is performed according to the recommended batting order, the 1-coin combination may not always be awarded, and a missed combination may occur. However, since it is necessary to avoid awarding the 3-coin combination in the recommended batting order when a 3-coin batting order combination is won, it is preferable to avoid awarding the 3-coin combination at the first or second stop, while missing the 1-coin combination at either the second or third stop.

[0134] Furthermore, if a single-coin payout is missed in the recommended batting order when a three-coin payout is achieved, there is a concern that if there is only one type of three-coin payout, a strategy element may emerge that improves the rate of winning the single-coin payout by stopping the reels at a specific button-press detection position. Therefore, by providing multiple types of three-coin payouts and making the stopping pattern at the first stop in the recommended batting order common when each three-coin payout is achieved, it is possible to eliminate the strategy element by making it impossible to determine which three-coin payout has been achieved.

[0135] In this embodiment, as described above, by assigning the role of inhibiting the winning of Big Bonus (BB) to the common 3-coin combination and the order 3-coin combination, it is possible to suppress the decrease in medal acquisition performance during AT gameplay. However, even if an order 3-coin combination is provided, which suppresses the increase in payout rate compared to the common 3-coin combination, there is a concern that the payout rate during non-AT gameplay will increase compared to the conventional case where the small role that inhibits the winning of Big Bonus (BB) is a 1-coin small role, and this is won in conjunction with the Big Bonus (BB) in the normal state.

[0136] Therefore, in this embodiment, as winning patterns for the batting order bell, a winning pattern in which a single-coin small win is guaranteed when the stop operation is performed in the recommended batting order, and a winning pattern in which a single-coin small win may be missed, can be appropriately adjusted. In this embodiment, as winning patterns for the batting order bell in which a single-coin small win is guaranteed in the recommended batting order, there are batting order bell group e, batting order bell group f, batting order bell group g, and batting order bell group h, and as winning patterns for the batting order bell in which a single-coin small win may be missed in the recommended batting order, there are batting order bell group a, batting order bell group b, batting order bell group c, and batting order bell group d. Below, we will explain the control when the stop operation is performed in the recommended batting order, using batting order bell a3, batting order bell b3, and batting order bell e3 as examples.

[0137] Figure 20 shows the composition of the small wins included in the batting order bell a3. The batting order bell a3 is a winning pattern in which the 8-coin small win (small win 1) and the 1-coin small wins (small wins 17, 19, 22, 23, 29, and 38) are all won simultaneously.

[0138] In a game where the batting order bell a3 is won, if the stopping operation is performed according to the recommended batting order, quantity priority control is used to determine the stopping position of the first reel R1. The candidates for symbols that will be displayed on the active line when the first reel R1 stops are the bell symbol "BL", the replay symbol "RP", the red 7 symbol "Red 7", the bar symbol "BAR", special symbol 1 "SP1", and special symbol 2 "SP2". The number of symbol combinations when the bell symbol "BL" is displayed on the active line is 1, the number of symbol combinations when special symbol 1 "SP1" and special symbol 2 "SP2" are displayed on the active line is 2 each, and the number of symbol combinations when the replay symbol "RP", red 7 symbol "Red 7", and bar symbol "BAR" are displayed on the active line is 4 each. In this embodiment, the replay symbol "RP" is arranged on the first reel R1 in a positional relationship that allows it to be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, and the stopping pattern of the first stop reel in the recommended batting order is standardized when a batting order bell is won. Therefore, when the first reel R1 is stopped first in a game in which a batting order bell a3 is won, the first reel R1 stops so that the replay symbol "RP", which has the largest number of symbol combinations indicating a winning pattern that can be displayed on the active line, is displayed on the active line. At the point when the first reel R1 stops in a manner that displays the replay symbol "RP" on the active line, the small wins that can be won among the small wins included in the batting order bell a3 are small win 17 and small win 38.

[0139] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8, for the batting order bell group a and batting order bell group c, if the stop operation is performed in the recommended batting order, a single-coin small win is awarded with a probability of 1 / 4. Taking batting order bell a3 as an example, when the first reel R1 stops, the small wins 17 and 38 that can be awarded are both assigned the white 7 symbol "white 7" on the third reel R3. From the symbol arrangement shown in Figure 7, the press detection positions that allow the white 7 symbol "white 7" to be displayed on the active line for the third reel R3 are positions 2 to 6, and the white 7 symbol "white 7" can be displayed on the active line with a probability of 5 / 20 = 1 / 4. In addition, for small win 17, the replay symbol "RP" is assigned to the second reel R2, which can be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, so whether or not a single-coin small win is awarded depends on the press detection position for the third reel R3. In other words, in a game where the batting order bell a3 is won, if the stopping operation is performed in the recommended batting order, there is a 1 / 4 probability that a single-coin small win will occur depending on the detected pressing position of the second stop reel or the third reel R3 which becomes the third stop reel, and there is a 3 / 4 probability that neither win will occur, resulting in a missed win. Thus, for batting order bells belonging to the batting order bell group a and batting order bell group c, a single-coin small win will occur in the recommended batting order with a 1 / 4 probability and a missed win will occur with a 3 / 4 probability, using the same method as when batting order bell a3 is won.

[0140] Figure 21 shows the composition of the small wins included in the batting order bell b3. The batting order bell b3 is a winning pattern in which the 8-coin small win (small win 1) and the 1-coin small wins (small wins 18, 20, 21, 24, and 39) are all won simultaneously.

[0141] In a game where the batting order bell b3 is won, if the stopping operation is performed according to the recommended batting order, quantity priority control is used to determine the stopping position of the first reel R1. The candidates for symbols that will be displayed on the active line when the first reel R1 stops are the bell symbol "BL", the replay symbol "RP", the red 7 symbol "Red 7", the bar symbol "BAR", special symbol 1 "SP1", and special symbol 2 "SP2". The number of symbol combinations when the bell symbol "BL" is displayed on the active line is 1, the number of symbol combinations when special symbol 1 "SP1" and special symbol 2 "SP2" are displayed on the active line is 2 each, and the number of symbol combinations when the replay symbol "RP", red 7 symbol "Red 7", and bar symbol "BAR" are displayed on the active line is 4 each. As previously described, the replay symbol "RP" is arranged on the first reel R1 in a position that allows it to be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, and the stopping pattern of the first reel in the recommended batting order is standardized when a batting order bell is won. For this reason, when the first reel R1 is stopped first in a game in which a batting order bell b3 is won, the first reel R1 stops so that the replay symbol "RP", which has the largest number of symbol combinations indicating a winning pattern that can be displayed on the active line, is displayed on the active line. At the point when the first reel R1 stops in a manner that displays the replay symbol "RP" on the active line, the small wins that can be won among the small wins included in the batting order bell b3 are small win 18 and small win 39.

[0142] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8, for the batting order bell group b and batting order bell group d, if the stop operation is performed in the recommended batting order, a single-coin small win occurs with a probability of 3 / 4. Taking batting order bell b3 as an example, when the first reel R1 stops, the small wins 18 and 39 that can be won are both assigned the cherry symbol "CH" on the third reel R3. From the symbol arrangement shown in Figure 7, the press detection positions that allow the cherry symbol "CH" to be displayed on the active line for the third reel R3 are positions 0 to 1 and positions 7 to 19, and the cherry symbol "CH" can be displayed on the active line with a probability of 15 / 20 = 3 / 4. In addition, for small win 18, the replay symbol "RP" is assigned to the second reel R2, which can be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, so whether or not a single-coin small win occurs depends on the press detection position for the third reel R3. In other words, in a game where the batting order bell b3 is won, if the stopping operation is performed in the recommended batting order, there is a 3 / 4 probability that a single-coin prize will be awarded depending on the detected pressing position of the second or third stop reel R3, and a 1 / 4 probability that neither prize will be awarded, resulting in a missed win. Thus, for batting order bells belonging to the batting order bell group b and batting order bell group d, a single-coin prize will be awarded in the recommended batting order with a 3 / 4 probability and a missed win will occur with a 1 / 4 probability, using the same method as when batting order bell b3 is won.

[0143] Figure 22 shows the composition of the small wins included in the batting order bell e3. The batting order bell e3 is a winning pattern in which the 8-coin small win (small win 1) and the 1-coin small wins (small wins 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, and 29) are all won simultaneously.

[0144] In a game where the batting order bell e3 is won, if the stopping operation is performed according to the recommended batting order, a number-priority control is used to determine the stopping position of the first reel R1. The candidates for symbols that will be displayed on the active line when the first reel R1 stops are the bell symbol "BL", the replay symbol "RP", the red 7 symbol "Red 7", the bar symbol "BAR", special symbol 1 "SP1", and special symbol 2 "SP2". The number of symbol combinations when the bell symbol "BL" is displayed on the active line is 1, the number of symbol combinations when special symbol 1 "SP1" and special symbol 2 "SP2" are displayed on the active line is 2 each, the number of symbol combinations when the red 7 symbol "Red 7" and bar symbol "BAR" are displayed on the active line is 4 each, and the number of symbol combinations when the replay symbol "RP" is displayed on the active line is 6. As previously described, the replay symbol "RP" is arranged on the first reel R1 in a position that allows it to be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, and the stopping pattern of the first reel in the recommended batting order is standardized when a batting order bell is won. For this reason, when the first reel R1 is stopped first in a game in which a batting order bell e3 is won, the first reel R1 stops so that the replay symbol "RP", which has the largest number of symbol combinations indicating a winning pattern that can be displayed on the active line, is displayed on the active line. At the point when the first reel R1 stops in a manner that displays the replay symbol "RP" on the active line, the small wins that can be won among the small wins included in the batting order bell e3 are small win 17 and small win 18.

[0145] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8, for the order bell groups e, f, g, and h, a single-coin win is guaranteed when the stop operation is performed in the recommended order. Taking order bell e3 as an example, when the first reel R1 stops, the possible wins 17 and 18 are assigned to the third reel R3 as either the white 7 symbol "white 7" (win 17) or the cherry symbol "CH" (win 18). As shown in the symbol arrangement in Figure 7, the third reel R3 can display either the white 7 symbol "white 7" or the cherry symbol "CH" on the active line regardless of the press detection position. Furthermore, for wins 17 and 18, the second reel R2 is assigned the replay symbol "RP", which can be displayed on the active line regardless of the press detection position, so a single-coin win is guaranteed regardless of the press detection position of the second reel R2 and the third reel R3. Thus, for batting order bells belonging to groups e, f, g, and h, one small win is guaranteed in the recommended batting order using the same method as when batting order bell e3 is won.

[0146] In this embodiment, to address the inconvenience that the payout rate during non-AT gameplay increases compared to the conventional method due to the common 3-coin combination and the 3-coin combination in the order of hitting that hinders the winning of the Big Bonus (BB), the medal acquisition performance can be suitably adjusted by providing a hitting order bell that always awards a 1-coin combination in the recommended hitting order, and a hitting order bell that may not award a 1-coin combination in the recommended hitting order. For example, the degree to which the winning of a 1-coin combination in the recommended hitting order affects the payout rate can be adjusted by adjusting the winning ratio of hitting order bells group a to d and hitting order bells group e to h. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the payout rate during non-AT gameplay can be suitably adjusted by dividing the winning rate of a 1-coin combination in the recommended hitting order bells, where a missed 1-coin combination may occur in the recommended hitting order, into multiple stages. For example, the degree to which the winning of a 1-coin combination affects the payout rate can be adjusted by adjusting the winning ratio of hitting order bells group a and c and hitting order bells group b and d.

[0147] Regarding the batting order bell in which a single small winning combination may be missed in the recommended batting order, in this embodiment, the winning rate of a single small winning combination is set to two levels of 1 / 4 and 3 / 4, but it may be one level or three levels or more. Also, the winning rate of a single small winning combination when a stop operation is performed in the recommended batting order for each batting order bell can be arbitrarily set, for example, it may be 1 / 2 or the like.

[0148] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram comparing the medal acquisition performance (here, the expected value of the payout rate) in each game state in this embodiment.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 23, in the normal state, the relationship is Batting Orders 1, 2 < Batting Orders 3 to 6, and even in the BB establishment state, the relationship is Batting Orders 1, 2 < Batting Orders 3 to 6. That is, in the normal state and the BB establishment state, from the perspective of the expected value of the payout rate, the irregular batting order of stopping the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first is more advantageous than the recommended batting order of stopping the first reel R1 first. Regarding the BB state, there is no bias in the expected value of the payout rate depending on the order of the stop operation.

[0150] Also, as shown in FIG. 23, when comparing the differences in the expected values of the payout rates between game states, regarding Batting Orders 3 to 6, the relationship is Normal State < BB State < BB Establishment State, and in the game method of stopping the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first, it can be seen that in the BB state, the expected value of the payout rate is higher than in the normal state, and furthermore, in the BB establishment state, the expected value of the payout rate is higher than in the BB state.

[0151] In a specification where the medal acquisition performance is higher for Batting Orders 3 to 6 (game method of stopping the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first) than for Batting Orders 1, 2 (game method of stopping the first reel R1 first) as in this embodiment, it is necessary to design the expected value of the payout rate at a high level for Batting Orders 3 to 6 so as not to fall below the lower limit of the range of the payout rate defined by the rules.

[0152] In this embodiment, by designing the expected value of the payout rate in the BB state to be low, even if the expected value of the payout rate in the BB state is increased, it is possible to ensure that it does not exceed the upper limit of the payout rate range stipulated by the regulations, and the amount by which the expected value of the payout rate in the BB state is lowered can be secured to ensure design flexibility. Furthermore, regarding the BB state, since it is required that the medal acquisition performance in the BB state exceeds the medal acquisition performance in the normal state, in order to lower the expected value of the payout rate in the BB state, it becomes necessary to design the expected value of the payout rate in the normal state to be low.

[0153] However, comparing the medal acquisition performance of the normal state and the BB state is a comparison with the gameplay method that has the highest expected payout rate in the normal state. This means the comparison will be between batting order 3-6, which has the highest expected payout rate, and this becomes an obstacle to designing the medal acquisition performance of the BB state to be lower.

[0154] Therefore, in order to reduce the medal acquisition performance in the normal state, which serves as an indicator for designing the medal acquisition performance in the BB state, the desired effect can be obtained by making the control rules for stopping the reels different in the normal state compared to when a BB is established and when a bell is won in the order of play, thereby restricting the winning of high-paying small roles. However, in a specification like this embodiment, where the first reel R1 is recommended when playing in the normal performance state during the advantageous section, it may be necessary to maintain the relative magnitude of the expected value of the payout rate for each order of stopping operations in the normal state and the BB established state in order to treat the second reel R2 or third reel R3 as unfavorable.

[0155] Therefore, in this embodiment, we provide order bell groups a, b, e, and f as order bell groups with different control rules in the normal state and the BB (Big Bonus) state, and order bell groups c, d, g, and h as order bell groups with common control rules in both the normal state and the BB state. By making it impossible to win an 8-coin small win in the normal state for order bell groups a, b, e, and f, we can lower the expected value of the payout rate in the normal state while maintaining the relative magnitude of the expected value of the payout rate between the order of stop operations, and as a result, we can obtain the effect of securing a reduction in the expected value of the payout rate in the BB state.

[0156] In this embodiment, the explanation of the gameplay method in which a reel other than the first reel R1 is stopped first was given using the example of a design where the expected value of the payout rate is the same. However, if the difference is only slight, the reels do not need to be exactly the same.

[0157] In this embodiment, there are two types of winning combinations for small wins that can be won in conjunction with a Big Bonus (BB) in the normal state: Cherry C and Special Wins. These winning combinations (guaranteed wins) produce a specific outcome when the reel stops in the order of stopping the first reel R1 or the second reel R2 first. If Cherry C or a Special Win is won in the normal section, the transition to the AT state is confirmed during the advantageous section transition process. If Cherry C or a Special Win is won in the advantageous section, the AT lottery is guaranteed to be won, and the transition to the AT state is confirmed. In other words, the outcome of the middle cherry that appears in a game where Cherry C is won, and the winning combination that appears in a game where a Special Win is won, are outcomes that allow the player to definitively understand the transition to the AT state.

[0158] In this embodiment, the performance state can be set to the AT state when the game state is in the BB (Big Bonus) established state. This is to avoid a situation that is disadvantageous to the player due to the restriction on the winning of 8-coin small wins for certain bell sequences in the normal state. If the guaranteed win was designed to be awarded in the normal state without overlapping with the Big Bonus (BB), then there would be a difference in behavior between when the guaranteed win is awarded in the normal section and normal state, and when the guaranteed win is awarded in the normal section and BB established state. Specifically, when the guaranteed win is awarded in the normal section and normal state, the transition to the AT state is delayed until the Big Bonus (BB) is awarded and the game transitions to the BB established state, while when the guaranteed win is awarded in the normal section and BB established state, the game immediately transitions to the AT state.

[0159] In particular, in this embodiment, since the initialization process when a setting value is changed resets the system to the normal section and normal state, there is a concern that inconsistencies in behavior when a winning combination is achieved may occur immediately after a setting value change and at other times.

[0160] Therefore, in this embodiment, by ensuring that a guaranteed win always coincides with a Big Bonus (BB) in the normal state, the behavior when a guaranteed win occurs immediately after a setting value change and at other times can be made consistent. In this way, this embodiment ensures fairness in gameplay by eliminating inconsistencies in behavior when a guaranteed win occurs depending on the current game state.

[0161] Furthermore, in this embodiment, with respect to the batting order bell groups a to h, the stop control is configured such that if the first stop operation stops the second reel R2 or the third reel R3, which is different from the correct batting order, a single-coin small win may not be awarded. This is because, in designing a high-payout specification, the correct batting order is biased towards batting orders 3 to 6, which stop the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first, and this configuration suppresses the increase in the payout rate during non-AT gameplay in these operation sequences. In particular, in this embodiment, even if the stop operation is performed according to batting orders 3 to 6 when a batting order bell is won in the normal performance state, there is no penalty for subsequent games. Therefore, if there is a large discrepancy in the payout rate during non-AT gameplay between batting orders 1 and 2 and batting orders 3 to 6, it becomes difficult to eliminate the strategic element that it is better to play batting orders 3 to 6, even considering that AT lottery cannot be received. Therefore, if the first stop operation stops the second reel R2 or the third reel R3, which is different from the correct spinning order, the probability of winning a single-coin prize can be reduced to 1 / 4, thereby suppressing the increase in the payout rate during non-AT gameplay for spinning orders 3 through 6.

[0162] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a batting order bell is won, if the stopping operation follows the correct batting order, an 8-coin small win can always be achieved. However, even if the stopping operation follows the correct batting order, an 8-coin small win may not be achieved unless the stopping operation is performed at a specific press detection position on any of the reels. In this case, the requirement to perform the stopping operation at a specific press detection position only applies to at least one of the first, second, and third stopping operations. The requirement to perform the stopping operation at a specific press detection position may depend on the order of the stopping operations, such as only the first stopping operation. Alternatively, the requirement to perform the stopping operation at a specific press detection position may apply only to specific reels (there may be one or more specific reels) among the first reel R1 to the third reel R3. In other words, in this application, the fact that an 8-coin winning combination (hereinafter referred to as the correct winning combination) can be won in a specific sequence of operations means that the correct winning combination may always be won in a specific sequence of operations, or that even in a specific sequence of operations, there may be cases where the correct winning combination is won and cases where it is not won. Furthermore, in this application, the specific operation modes include operation modes in which the sequence of stop operations is specified but the press detection position is not specified, and operation modes in which both the sequence of stop operations and the press detection position are specified.

[0163] Furthermore, when a lottery for transitioning to the advantageous section is held during the normal section, it is preferable to obtain a lottery result for winning the advantageous section and transition to the advantageous section, except in cases where certain winning patterns are obtained. In this embodiment, when a winning pattern other than normal replay a is obtained during gameplay in the normal section, a lottery result for winning the advantageous section can be obtained. By configuring the game to always transition to the advantageous section except in cases where the winning pattern of normal replay a is obtained, the duration of stay in the normal section can be reduced. In this embodiment, when the BB is established, stopping the first reel R1 first versus stopping the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first results in a higher expected value of medal acquisition. In the normal section, processing related to transitioning to the advantageous section is executed in conjunction with the results of an internal lottery, and there is no difference in the degree of advantage regardless of which reel is stopped first. Therefore, if the game stays in the normal section for a long time, a strategy element arises in which the gameplay method of stopping the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first becomes advantageous. Furthermore, if players can determine whether or not they are in an advantageous zone, it becomes easy for them to switch their playing method after realizing they are in a normal zone. For this reason, by making the probability of transitioning to an advantageous zone extremely high, it is possible to minimize situations where it is advantageous to stop the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first. In particular, the method of increasing the advantageous zone transition rate mentioned above is suitable for a game specification in which the advantageous zone transition process is performed according to the result of an internal lottery, and instead of setting differences in the process associated with providing operation instruction information during the advantageous zone, the value obtained by dividing the sum of the number of medals paid out in the BB state and the number of medals paid out due to the correct play order notification in assist time play (the so-called instruction-inclusive payout ratio) does not exceed 70%, and a similar game specification is adopted in this embodiment as well.

[0164] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the player is in the advantageous section while in the BB (Big Bonus) state, a ceiling function is incorporated to ensure that the player transitions to the AT (Attack Time) state at least once before the advantageous section ends. This prevents the advantageous section from ending without transitioning to the AT state during a series of advantageous sections, and without the player being notified of the correct sequence of plays to win an 8-coin payout. In this embodiment, the value of the ceiling counter 1924 is updated when the player is in the normal performance state in the advantageous section, and is updated by a fixed value each time the game is played. In the case of a winning sequence bell, the update is permitted only on the condition that a 1-coin payout is achieved. However, the value may be updated according to the result of an internal lottery, or according to the result of the game, such as winning a payout. Furthermore, regarding the updating of the ceiling counter value, it is preferable to allow the value of the ceiling counter 1924 to approach a predetermined value when the stopping operation is performed in the order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first (batting order 1, 2), and not allow the value of the ceiling counter 1924 to approach a predetermined value when the stopping operation is performed in the order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first (batting order 3 to 6). The reason for setting up a specification that ensures the game transitions to the AT state at least once during a series of advantageous periods is to minimize the possibility of falling below the lower limit of the payout rate range in the so-called new mid-term test (1600G). In particular, in this embodiment, the medal acquisition performance in the operation order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first (batting order 3 to batting order 6) is higher than the medal acquisition performance in the operation order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first (batting order 1, 2), and the medal acquisition in the operation order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first (batting order 1, 2) is difficult. Therefore, if the advantageous period continues for a long period without transitioning to the AT state even once, there is a possibility that the payout rate will be too low. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a ceiling function and allow the updating of the value of the ceiling counter 1924, which is necessary for activating the ceiling function, with respect to the operation order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first (batting order 1, 2).

[0165] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a common 3-coin payout is provided as a winning pattern in which two or more coins are dispensed when the first reel R1 is stopped first in the state of a Big Bonus (BB) (stopping order 1, 2), and the probability of winning this payout is at least 1 / 400.

[0166] In this embodiment, when a batting order bell belonging to any of the batting order bell groups a to h is won in the BB (Big Bonus) state, if the first reel R1 is stopped first in the order of batting order 1, 2, it is possible to win a single-coin prize. However, the lower limit of the payout rate range in so-called short-term tests is that the number of medals paid out exceeds 1 / 3 of the number of medals inserted, and a payout rate of 33.33333...% would result in failure in the short-term test. For this reason, in a game method in which the first reel R1 is stopped first in the order of batting order 1, 2, it is necessary to provide a winning pattern in which two or more medals are paid out at an appropriate frequency.

[0167] Therefore, in this embodiment, a winning pattern for the common three-coin combination is provided, and when the operation is performed in the order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first (turn order 1, 2), at least two coins will always be dispensed. In this embodiment, the probability of winning the common three-coin combination is approximately 1 / 8, and since the common three-coin combination is almost certainly obtained at least once during the 400G of short-term testing, a design that is expected to pass short-term testing is possible.

[0168] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a batting order bell is won, the sequence of stopping operations that has the potential to award an 8-coin small win is biased towards stopping the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 first (batting order 3 to batting order 6). Therefore, it is preferable that the information on winning a batting order bell is not notified to the sub-board, at least during non-AT gameplay. However, in situations where the player is provided with operation instruction information during the advantageous section, the information on winning a batting order bell may be notified to the sub-board, or the information on winning a batting order bell may not be notified to the sub-board at all, regardless of whether the game is played in non-AT or AT mode. Even if the system is designed so that the information on winning a batting order bell is not notified to the sub-board, when the main board notifies the correct batting order, the operation instruction information corresponding to the correct batting order is notified to the sub-board, and the prize-winning assistance performance can be executed on the sub-board. Therefore, it is possible to play the assist time game smoothly without notifying the information on winning a batting order bell itself. Thus, by not notifying the sub-board of the winning information for the batting order bell, at least during non-AT gameplay, it is possible to prevent fraudulent activities such as modifying the sub-board to illegally obtain information on winning the batting order bell during non-AT gameplay and thereby reduce the consumption of medals during non-AT gameplay.

[0169] In this embodiment, when the performance state transitions to the AT state during the advantageous period, a specific notification is initiated by lighting up the section indicator SEC. After the AT state ends, there are cases where the advantageous period continues and cases where the advantageous period ends. If the AT state ends and the advantageous period ends, the section indicator SEC is turned off and the specific notification ends. If the AT state ends and the advantageous period continues, the section indicator SEC is also turned off and the specific notification ends.

[0170] Figure 24 shows the relationship between the game section, the performance state, and the state of the section indicator SEC.

[0171] First, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 24(A), if the termination condition is not met even after the first AT state in the advantageous period ends, specifically if the value of the clear counter 1992 does not reach the threshold, the advantageous period continues. Also, as shown in Figure 24(A), if the termination condition is met in the second AT state in the advantageous period, specifically if the value of the clear counter 1922 reaches the threshold, the AT state ends and the advantageous period ends, returning to the normal period.

[0172] In this embodiment, the section indicator SEC remains off after both the end of the first and second AT states. Therefore, if a change of players occurs while the section indicator SEC is off, the player who takes over later cannot determine whether they are in a normal section or a favorable section by referring to the section indicator SEC.

[0173] On the other hand, conventionally, a section indicator SEC has been used to notify the player of the advantageous section. As shown in Figure 24(B), the section indicator SEC is off during the normal section, lights up when the advantageous section begins, and turns off when the advantageous section ends. With this conventional method, it is easy to determine whether the player is in the normal section or the advantageous section by referring to the section indicator SEC. Therefore, with this conventional method, if there is a bias in the expected value of medal acquisition depending on the order of stopping operations, it is not possible to suppress the strategy of reducing medal consumption by playing with an unconventional batting order that has a higher expected value of medal acquisition than the recommended batting order during the normal section.

[0174] Therefore, in this embodiment, after the AT state ends in the advantageous section, the specific notification by the section indicator SEC is terminated in both cases where the advantageous section continues and where the advantageous section ends. As a result, when the section indicator SEC is off, it is not possible to determine whether the player is in the normal section or the advantageous section. This deters exploitation procedures that utilize irregular batting orders with a high expected value of medal acquisition, thereby ensuring fairness in the game.

[0175] Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the setting value is changed, the information related to the game section is initialized and set to the normal section. However, in a conventional configuration where the advantageous section is indicated by the section indicator SEC, it can be determined that the player is in the normal section if the section indicator SEC is off. On the other hand, in this embodiment, when the section indicator SEC is off, it is not possible to determine whether the player is in the normal section or the advantageous section, thus eliminating the inconvenience of being able to determine whether or not the setting value has been changed.

[0176] Thus, according to this embodiment, by making it impossible to distinguish between a normal section and a favorable section by referring to the lighting state of the section indicator SEC, it is possible to ensure fairness in the game even if the favorable section transition process performed when transitioning from a normal section to a favorable section provides more favorable treatment than when the same internal lottery result is obtained in the favorable section.

[0177] Furthermore, the method of this embodiment notifies the player via the section indicator SEC that the player is in any performance state in which instruction information is provided by the instruction function during the advantageous section. For this reason, there may be multiple types of performance states in which instruction information is provided during the advantageous section.

[0178] In this embodiment, there was only one type of AT state, but multiple types of AT states may be provided. If there are multiple types of AT states (performance states for which instruction information is provided by the instruction function), specific notifications may be associated with some of the AT states, or they may be associated with all of the AT states. In other words, there may be AT states for which no specific notification is performed. For example, there may be a first AT state and a second AT state, and specific notifications may be performed in the first AT state, but not in the second AT state.

[0179] Furthermore, it is preferable that the output of specific external signals is permitted in AT states where specific notification is performed, and that the output of specific external signals is not performed in AT states where specific notification is not performed. In other words, control can be implemented that allows the output of specific external signals to external devices via an external centralized terminal board, provided that specific notification is being performed.

[0180] Furthermore, the output of specific external signals to external devices via the external centralized terminal board can be output in different ways depending on whether the transition is from the normal performance state to the AT state (the so-called first win) or whether the transition is from one AT state to another (when the second and subsequent AT states are played). For example, if BB signals and RB signals are provided as specific external signals, the system can be configured to output the BB signal followed by the RB signal when transitioning from the normal performance state to the AT state, and to output the RB signal without outputting the BB signal when transitioning from one AT state to another.

[0181] Furthermore, if multiple types of AT states exist, different specific external signals may be output depending on the type of AT state. For example, if BB and RB signals are provided as specific external signals, and there are two AT states, a first AT state and a second AT state, the BB signal can be output in accordance with the first AT state, and the RB signal can be output in accordance with the second AT state. In addition, if multiple types of AT states exist, a common specific external signal may be output in accordance with different AT states.

[0182] Furthermore, if there are multiple types of AT states, a section indicator SEC unique to each AT state may be provided, or one section indicator SEC may be shared among multiple types of AT states. In particular, when one section indicator SEC is shared among multiple types of AT states, the notification mode of the specific notification (the lighting mode of the section indicator SEC) may be made different depending on the type of AT state, or the notification mode of the specific notification may be common regardless of the type of AT state.

[0183] Furthermore, the specific notification may be executed only when transitioning to the AT state in the advantageous section, that is, the section indicator SEC may light up only when switching between the non-AT state (normal performance state in this embodiment) and the AT state. In this case, the section indicator SEC can be lit up during the process of transitioning from the performance state to the AT state, and the section indicator SEC can be turned off during the first game in the AT state. Any trigger can be set for turning off the section indicator SEC, such as inserting a medal, starting the game with the start lever SL, starting the reels to rotate, or the third stop operation.

[0184] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as previously described, there is a difference in the expected value of medal acquisition between the recommended betting order in which the first reel R1 is stopped first and the irregular betting order in which the second reel R2 or the third reel R3 is stopped first. Since the irregular betting order has a higher expected value of medal acquisition than the recommended betting order, if the difference between the normal section and the advantageous section is easily grasped by the player, it will be difficult to discourage the game method of reducing medal consumption by stopping the reels in an irregular betting order in the normal section, which does not affect the degree of advantage in the processing related to the instruction function. In this embodiment, it is not possible to distinguish between the normal section and the advantageous section depending on the lighting status of the section indicator SEC, but if the player is in the normal performance state in the advantageous section, playing with an irregular betting order will result in an unfavorable processing related to the instruction function. Therefore, it is desirable to notify the player that they should play with the recommended betting order to warn them.

[0185] Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 25, if the game is played in an irregular batting order, a specific notification is displayed on the liquid crystal display (LCD) that includes the message "Left-button press recommended" to prompt the player to stop the game in the recommended batting order.

[0186] However, in this embodiment, playing with an irregular batting order is disadvantageous only when in an advantageous section and in a normal performance state. Therefore, if specific notification performances are only possible in the advantageous section, the inconvenience arises that the presence or absence of a specific notification performance can be used to determine whether the player is in a normal section. For example, after the AT state ends in an advantageous section, a player could intentionally play with an irregular batting order and determine whether the advantageous section continues or if the player has returned to a normal section based on the presence or absence of a specific notification performance. Alternatively, when a player changes, the new player could initially play with an irregular batting order and determine whether the player is in a normal section or an advantageous section based on the presence or absence of a specific performance.

[0187] Therefore, in this embodiment, a specific notification effect can be executed in both the normal section and the advantageous section. In the normal section, the specific notification effect is executed based on the fact that a stop operation was performed with an irregular batting order. In the advantageous section, the specific notification effect is executed based on the fact that a stop operation was performed with an irregular batting order while remaining in the normal effect state. This makes it impossible to distinguish between the normal section and the advantageous section based on the occurrence of the specific notification effect for playing with an irregular batting order.

[0188] Thus, in this embodiment, the expected value of medal acquisition with the recommended batting order is lower than with the irregular batting order, and therefore, there is an inherent strategy element that allows players to reduce medal consumption by stopping with the irregular batting order during the normal section. However, since it is not possible to determine whether it is a normal section or an advantageous section depending on whether a specific notification effect occurs, it is possible to deter players from using this strategy element and ensure fairness in the game.

[0189] In this embodiment, we have described a case where a warning is displayed on the liquid crystal display (LCD) as a specific notification effect, but a warning sound may also be output during the specific effect. Furthermore, in the specific notification effect, no message or other display may be shown, and the effect image displayed on the LCD may simply fade to black, as long as the change in the effect due to the game being played in an irregular order can be conveyed to the player.

[0190] In this embodiment, we have described an example where the termination condition of the advantageous period is set based on the value of the clear counter 1922, which is updated according to the number of medals inserted and paid out. However, the termination condition of the advantageous period may be set as any predetermined number of games played within the advantageous period.

[0191] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a setting value is changed, information related to the game section and information related to the game state are reset, and immediately after a setting value change, the game will always remain in the normal section and normal state. For this reason, in a specification that provides advantageous treatment when transitioning from the normal section to the advantageous section, it is preferable that there is no advantage when a setting value is changed.

[0192] Therefore, in normal circumstances, unless a Big Bonus (BB) is won on its own, the player is entered into an advantageous period. In normal circumstances, if a Big Bonus (BB) and a minor role are won simultaneously, a special flag is set, and by referring to the game state and the special flag to adjust the degree of advantage, the advantage gained when the setting value is changed can be eliminated.

[0193] For example, regarding a specific period from the third stop of a game in which a winning pattern resulting in a transition to the advantageous period is obtained until the internal lottery for the next game (the first game in the advantageous period) is conducted, if a special flag is not set, a more favorable process can be performed than if a special flag were set.

[0194] To explain in more detail, in a game where a winning combination of a Big Bonus (BB) and a minor role is obtained during a normal section and under normal conditions, a process is performed to set a special flag at least before the third stop.

[0195] Furthermore, if a special flag is set during a specific period, the AT lottery mode in the normal performance state will be set to a low probability mode. Similarly, if the game state is the normal state during a specific period, the AT lottery mode in the normal performance state will also be set to a low probability mode. On the other hand, if no special flag is set during a specific period and the game state is in a BB (Big Bonus) state, the AT lottery mode in the normal performance state will be set to a high probability mode.

[0196] In this way, if a transition to an advantageous section occurs while the player is in a normal section and normal state, the AT lottery mode at the time of the transition to the advantageous section will be set to a low probability mode, thereby eliminating the advantage gained when the setting value is changed. The degree of advantage can also be adjusted by changing the destination of the transition to the performance state. For example, if a special flag is set during a specific period, and the game state is in a normal state during that period, the transition to the performance state will be set to a normal performance state. If a special flag is not set during a specific period, and the game state is in a BB (Big Bonus) state, the transition to the performance state will be set to a performance state that is more advantageous than the normal performance state (for example, an AT state).

[0197] Furthermore, in situations where the game is in a normal section and a Big Bonus (BB) has been established, it is preferable that the game does not enter the advantageous section if the winning combination is a simultaneous win of a Big Bonus (BB) and a minor role in the normal section. For example, in the above embodiment, if a common 3-coin role or a batting order 3-coin role is won while the game is in a normal section and a Big Bonus has been established, a special flag is not set, and processing related to the transition to the advantageous section is not performed.

[0198] Another embodiment to eliminate the advantage gained when the setting values ​​are changed is to ensure that, for all winning patterns in which a Big Bonus (BB) is won in the normal state, the advantageous period is not awarded in either the normal state or the BB-established state, and that in the BB-established state, a more advantageous process is performed than in the normal state.

[0199] For example, for a specific period from the third stop of a game in which a winning pattern resulting in a transition to the advantageous section is obtained until the internal lottery for the next game (the first game in the advantageous section) is conducted, if the game state is the normal state, the lottery mode for the AT lottery in the normal performance state can be set to the low probability mode, and if the game state is the BB established state, the lottery mode for the AT lottery in the normal performance state can be set to the high probability mode. In this way, if a transition to the advantageous section occurs in the normal section and normal state, the transition to the advantageous section will occur while maintaining the normal state, thus preventing an advantage from being created when the setting value is changed. The degree of advantage can also be adjusted by changing the destination of the performance state transition. For example, if the game state is the normal state during a specific period, the destination of the performance state transition can be set to the normal performance state, and if the game state is the BB established state during a specific period, the destination of the performance state transition can be set to a performance state that is more advantageous than the normal performance state (for example, the AT state).

[0200] Furthermore, in this embodiment, instruction information is provided in the AT state during the advantageous section, but not in the normal performance state. However, instruction information may also be provided in the normal performance state. Also, the performance states that can be set in the advantageous section are not limited to the normal performance state and the AT state. For example, various configurations can be adopted, such as a configuration in which a premonition state (an example of a first state) is provided in the normal performance state, where the player stays between the confirmation of the right to transition to the AT state and the transition to the AT state; a configuration in which the right to transition to the AT state is granted under different conditions than the normal performance state, and a chance zone state (an example of a first state) is provided, where the right to transition to the AT state is granted under conditions different from the normal performance state, making it easier to obtain the right to transition to the AT state than in the normal performance state; a configuration in which, when the termination conditions of the AT state are met, the player stays in a termination waiting state (an example of a first state), and if the conditions for returning to the AT state are met in the termination waiting state, the player returns to the AT state, and if the conditions for returning to the AT state are not met, the player transitions to the normal performance state; and a configuration in which, after the end of the AT state, the success or failure of any termination conditions of the advantageous section is determined in the termination waiting state, and there are cases where the player transitions from the termination waiting state to the normal performance state and the advantageous section continues, and cases where the advantageous section ends in the termination waiting state and the player transitions to the normal section.

[0201] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the game is not in AT state during the advantageous period, if the stop operation is performed in the recommended batting order when a batting order bell is won, the game is treated more favorably in various processes related to the instruction function than when the stop operation is performed in an irregular batting order for that game. However, the following configuration can also be adopted.

[0202] For example, when the game is in an advantageous section and in a normal performance state, if the stop operation is performed in the recommended order, a specific game is awarded once based on the first stop operation, and this is recorded in the specific game counter. Specifically, the initial value of the specific game counter is set to 0, and if the first stop operation is an operation on stop button B1, 1 is added to the value of the specific game counter. The value of the specific game counter is deducted when a game start operation is performed while the game is in an advantageous section and in a normal performance state, and 1 is deducted from the value of the specific game counter after processing related to instruction functions such as AT lottery is performed. In other words, the value of the specific game counter is referenced before the value of the specific game counter is deducted, and at least one processing related to instruction functions is executed. If the value of the specific game counter is 1, more advantageous processing is performed than when the value of the specific game counter is 0. For example, if the value of the specific game counter is 1, an AT lottery can be performed that yields an AT win result with a higher probability than when the value of the specific game counter is 0. Furthermore, for example, if the value of the specific game counter is 1, the execution of the AT lottery may be permitted, and if the value of the specific game counter is 0, the execution of the AT lottery may not be permitted. According to these examples, in a game played in the advantageous section and in the normal performance state, if a stop operation is performed in an irregular batting order, the degree of advantage can be adjusted in the next game. For this reason, by combining with the method of the above embodiment, it is possible to realize a specification in which, in a game in which a stop operation is performed in an irregular batting order, the game is treated unfavorably in the processing related to the instruction function as a penalty for the stop operation being performed in an irregular batting order, and in the next game, the game is treated unfavorably in the processing related to the instruction function as a penalty for the value of the specific counter being 0. In other words, by carrying over the information that the stop operation was performed in the recommended batting order to the next game and referring to that information in the next game to perform favorable processing, the influence of adjusting the degree of advantage can be generated in multiple games. Note that the game in which it is decided whether or not to add to the value of the specific game counter may be only the game in which a batting order bell is won, or it may be a game in which all winning patterns, including the batting order bell, are obtained.

[0203] Furthermore, if, while in the advantageous period, the game is in a normal performance state and a batting order bell is won, an irregular batting order stop operation is performed, the game may implement a control that makes it less likely for certain effects to appear, or prevents certain effects from appearing, until a predetermined release condition is met in subsequent games.

[0204] Specific effects include, for example, effects that hint at the results of an internal lottery. Specifically, when a high-rarity winning combination such as Cherry A or Cherry B is obtained, the LCD display may show an image indicating that a high-rarity winning combination has been obtained, or the lamp may light up in a color corresponding to the high-rarity winning combination. Furthermore, controls that make certain effects less likely to appear or prevent certain effects from appearing can be implemented by changing the table used to select the effects. In addition, the conditions for release can be arbitrarily set, such as the number of games played, obtaining the result of a predetermined internal lottery, or winning a release lottery.

[0205] Here, we assume that in a system where a high-rarity winning pattern is obtained through internal lottery during the advantageous period, and the system is treated favorably in the processing related to the instruction function, a specific animation that indicates the acquisition of a high-rarity winning pattern is executed between the detection of the game start operation and the detection of the first stop operation. In this case, if the specific animation does not occur, the possibility of a high-rarity winning pattern is low, so the player should stop the reels in an unconventional order that has a high expected value of medal acquisition. However, if the specific animation does occur, the possibility of a high-rarity winning pattern is high, so the player should stop the reels in the recommended order. This creates a strategic element where the player can gain an advantage.

[0206] In response to this, by employing a control mechanism that restricts the appearance of a specific animation (a control that reduces the frequency of appearance, or a control that prevents appearance) when a stop operation is performed in an irregular batting order with a high expected value of medal acquisition, until predetermined release conditions are met, highly exploitable game procedures can be suppressed. The decision of whether or not to implement the control to restrict the appearance of a specific animation may be made only when a batting order bell is won, or it may be made when a batting order bell or other type of win is achieved. In other words, the decision of whether or not to implement the control to restrict the execution of a specific animation may be made only when a winning pattern is obtained in which the degree of advantage regarding the processing related to the instruction function is adjusted when a stop operation is performed in an irregular batting order, or the decision of whether or not to implement the control to restrict the execution of a specific animation may be made even when a winning pattern is obtained in which the degree of advantage regarding the processing related to the instruction function is not affected even when a stop operation is performed in an irregular batting order.

[0207] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the game machine was designed so that when a game is played, a game medium such as a medal is inserted, and the game medium is dispensed when a winning combination is achieved. However, the game may also be played by consuming or assigning game value as electronic information without using game medium. For example, the game machine or an external unit connected to the game machine may be capable of storing information about the game value owned by the player, and the consumption of game value by subtracting the number of game value points may be replaced with the insertion of game mediums, and the assignment of game value by adding the number of game value points may be replaced with the dispensing of game mediums.

[0208] Furthermore, in a game in which a batting order winning combination (such as the batting order bell or batting order 3-coin combination in the above embodiment) is won, if the press detection position of the first stop operation is a specific press position, the reel stop position may be determined by payout priority control to allow the specific small win to occur. If the press detection position of the first stop operation is different from the specific press position, the reel stop position may be determined by quantity priority control to avoid the specific small win occurring. In this way, since the possibility of winning a specific small win in a game in which a batting order winning combination is won is influenced by the press detection position, the rate of winning a specific small win can be controlled simply by changing the setting of the specific press position, thereby improving the design freedom of the game machine.

[0209] For example, each of the 16 types of batting order roles is assigned a unique specific button press position, resulting in 16 different ways of setting these specific button press positions. When a batting order role is won during the advantageous period when the player is not in AT mode, the specific batting order (the sequence of operations required to win a specific small win) is announced, but the specific button press position is unknown to the player. Therefore, the expected value of the winning rate of a specific small win with a specific batting order when a batting order role is won can be set to 1 / 16. Furthermore, it is possible to have fewer than 16 ways of setting the specific button press positions. For example, if there are 10 types of batting order roles and two unique specific button press positions are assigned to each batting order role, there can be 10 different ways of setting the specific button press positions, and in this case, the expected value of the winning rate of a specific small win can be set to 1 / 10. Furthermore, it is possible to have more than 16 different configurations for setting specific button press positions. For example, by providing 20 different special winning combinations in each batting order and assigning one unique specific button press position to each combination, 20 different configurations for setting specific button press positions can be created. In this way, the expected value of the winning rate for specific winning combinations can be set to 1 / 20. This allows the expected value of the winning rate to be controlled by the configuration of the specific button press positions, thus increasing the design flexibility of the gaming machine. In addition, since the control law is switched using the button press detection position, it also leads to increased design flexibility for the outcome (stopping patterns).

[0210] The above method for determining the winning combination is optimal when the target combination whose winning rate is controlled has a combination of symbols that can be drawn in regardless of the pressing detection position on any reel. It is preferable that if the stopping operation is not performed at a specific pressing position, the winning combination will be one that can be drawn in with a lower payout than the target combination through quantity-priority control. Furthermore, when determining the configuration of the winning combination, the target combination whose winning rate is controlled and the combination that is drawn in when the pressing position is not specific can be fixed, so it is possible to implement this without unnecessarily increasing the number of combinations, and it also leads to saving memory usage.

[0211] In addition, the explanation has been given using the example of changing the stop control method by determining whether or not a specific button press position is reached on the first stop reel when a batting order win occurs. However, the stop control method may also be changed by determining whether or not a specific button press position is reached on the second stop reel (the second reel to stop) or the third stop reel (the third reel to stop).

[0212] Furthermore, while the system currently determines whether a specific button press position is reached on the first of the three reels to stop, it is also possible to change the stopping control method by determining whether a specific button press position is reached on two or more reels.

[0213] Furthermore, while we have described an example where payout priority control is applied when it is determined that a specific button press position has been reached, and quantity priority control is applied when it is determined that it is not a specific button press position, it is also possible to apply quantity priority control when it is determined that it is a specific button press position, and payout priority control is applied when it is determined that it is not a specific button press position.

[0214] Furthermore, the above example also includes a determination of whether the first stop operation is a specific batting order when a batting order win occurs. Specifically, if the first stop operation is not a specific batting order, payout priority control is performed. If the first stop operation is a specific batting order, payout priority control is performed if the button is pressed at a specific position, and quantity priority control is performed if it is not pressed at a specific position. However, when the first stop operation is performed with a specific batting order, a symbol common to both specific small wins and non-specific small wins (small wins that are not specific small wins: for example, a 1-coin small win) is displayed on the active line, so the stopping result for the reels that stop due to the first stop operation in a specific batting order will be the same regardless of which control rule is used. Therefore, if the first stop operation is not a specific batting order, quantity priority control may be performed for the reel corresponding to the first stop operation; if the first stop operation is a specific batting order, payout quantity priority control may be performed for the reel corresponding to the first stop operation; for reels that stop after the second stop operation, if the first stop operation is a specific batting order and a specific press position, payout quantity priority control may be continued; and if the first stop operation is not a specific batting order and a specific press position, it may be switched to quantity priority control.

[0215] Furthermore, while the specific batting order is announced when a batting order role is won, the specific button press position may not be announced, or a method may be adopted in which the specific button press position is announced. Also, the announcement of the specific batting order role for batting order roles during the advantageous period may be performed when not in AT state, or the announcement of the specific batting order role for batting order roles may be performed even when in AT state.

[0216] Furthermore, although the explanation described the case with three reels, a configuration with four reels is also possible. Also, in this embodiment, the explanation described the case where there are 20 frames per reel, but a configuration with 21 frames per reel or fewer than 20 frames per reel is also possible. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0217] BX storage box, UD front upper door, DD front lower door, DW display window, L1 Active line, DS game information display unit, LCD liquid crystal display, BS setting change button, KS setting change key cylinder, SEC section indicator, EU power supply unit, ES power switch, SP speaker, PS: Reel unit storage space, MAIN: Main board, SUB: Sub-board, HP hopper unit, MT medal storage tank, CB cash box, R1 is the first reel, R2 is the second reel, R3 is the third reel, B0 Bet button, SL Start lever, B1~B3 Stop buttons, MI: Medal slot, MO: Medal dispenser, MP: Medal tray, 100 Game control means, 103 Setting change means, 105 Input acceptance means, 110 Random number generation means, 120 Internal lottery means, 130 Reel control means, 140 Prize determination means, 150 Dispensing control means, 160 Replay processing means, 170 Game state control means, 175 AT control means, 177 Communication control means, 180 Performance control means, 190a Game information storage means, 1910 Main lottery table storage area, 1911 Stop control table storage area, 1912 Prize determination table storage area, 1913 Setting value storage area, 1914 Credit information storage area, 1915 Lottery flag memory area, 1916 Game state memory area, 1918 Performance state memory area, 1919 High probability transition counter, 1920 AT stock counter, 1921 AT game counter, 1922 Clear Counter, 1924 Ceiling counter, 190b Means for storing performance information, 1926 Performance data storage area, 1927 Sub-lottery table memory area, 1928 Image buffer, 1929 Sound buffer, 210 Coin insertion switch, 220 Bet switch, 230 Start switch, 240 Stop switch, 250 Setting change permission switch, 260 Setting change switch, 300 Main display unit, 310 reel units, 315 reel indexes, 325 Dispensing medal detection switch, 330 Display device, 340 Sound device, 410 data counters, 420 hall computers

Claims

[Claim 1] Multiple reels with multiple types of patterns arranged on their outer surface, An internal lottery means that performs an internal lottery to determine whether multiple types of winning combinations, including minor and special winning combinations, are achieved. A reel control means that rotates the aforementioned multiple reels for each game and controls the rotation of the reels in a manner corresponding to the result of an internal lottery when a stop operation is triggered, A game state control means that allows setting a normal state in which an internal lottery is conducted with the aforementioned special role as the target of the lottery, and a special state to which the player transitions upon winning the aforementioned special role, A gaming machine that is equipped with a mechanism such that when a combination of symbols indicating a predetermined winning pattern for each winning combination is displayed on an active line, a winning combination is awarded, and when a minor winning combination is awarded, a game value corresponding to the payout for that minor winning combination is paid out, In the normal state, there are two types of winning patterns for the minor role that can be won in conjunction with the special role: a first winning pattern and a second winning pattern, and there are multiple types of specific winning patterns for the minor role that includes a specific minor role for which a payout higher than the number of game value invested is set. The reel control means, In a game in which the first winning pattern is obtained through internal lottery, if the stopping operation is performed in a specific sequence in which a specific reel is stopped first among the multiple reels, it becomes possible to win a small prize with a payout set to be greater than or equal to the number of game values ​​invested. In a game in which the second winning pattern is obtained through internal lottery, if the stopping operation is performed in the specified sequence of operations, it becomes possible to win a small prize with a payout less than the number of game values ​​invested. In a game in which the specific winning pattern is obtained by internal lottery, if the stop operation is performed in the specific operation sequence, a prize will always be awarded in which the payout of game value is less than the number of game value inputs; if the stop operation is performed in a non-specific operation sequence in which the first reel to be stopped is different from the specific operation sequence, and the stop operation is the correct operation sequence, the specific small prize will be awarded; if the stop operation is performed in a non-specific operation sequence, and the stop operation is a failure operation sequence in which the first reel to be stopped is different from the correct operation sequence, there are cases in which a prize will be awarded in which the payout of game value is less than the number of game value inputs, and cases in which no prize will be awarded; if the stop operation performed in the non-specific operation sequence is a first failure operation sequence in which the first reel to be stopped is the same as the correct operation sequence, control will be performed to stop the spinning reels in such a way that the rate of prize awards will be higher than if the stop operation performed in the non-specific operation sequence is a second failure operation sequence in which the first reel to be stopped is different from the correct operation sequence. The probability that the first winning pattern is determined by internal lottery is at least greater than 1 / 400. A gaming machine in which the probability of determining the second winning pattern through internal lottery is higher than that of the first winning pattern.

Images