Gaming System Bonus Eligibility Point Allocation

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Solution Overview

Problem

There is a need for new and different gaming systems and methods to provide awards to players, including bonus awards, as existing gaming machines often rely on fixed wagering structures and lack innovative ways to engage players through bonus events.

Innovation Solution

A gaming system that tracks bonus event eligibility points accumulated by players, where a random number is generated for each point, determining which player participates in a bonus event based on the highest or randomly selected value, ensuring each player's probability of participation is proportional to their accumulated points, allowing for a fair and dynamic distribution of bonus awards.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a fixed wagering structure is used in gaming machines, then the operation is simple and easy to understand, but the player engagement and excitement are limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplayer engagementVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-accumulates eligibility points for players during base game play before the bonus event occurs. These points are stored and later used to determine bonus event participation and award allocation, allowing the system to prepare in advance rather than making complex real-time decisions during the bonus event

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The gaming system is divided into separate functional components: base game play, eligibility point accumulation, bonus event triggering, and award allocation. Each component operates independently with clear boundaries, managing complexity through modular design while enabling versatile player engagement mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If bonus events are triggered by fixed symbol combinations, then the triggering mechanism is simple, but the distribution of bonus awards lacks fairness and proportionality

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefairness of award distributionVSAvoidbonus event determination complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses eligibility point accumulation as feedback from base game play to inform bonus event participation. Players who accumulate more eligibility points through sustained play receive proportionally higher chances of bonus event participation and larger award allocations, creating a feedback loop that ensures fair distribution based on actual player contribution

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter used for bonus event determination from fixed symbol combinations to dynamic eligibility point totals. This parameter change allows the system to adjust bonus event participation and award allocation based on variable player activity levels, ensuring proportionality and fairness while managing complexity through standardized point calculation methods

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Adaptability or versatility

If all players have equal chance to participate in bonus events regardless of wagering amount, then the system is simple to operate, but it does not reward players who wager at higher levels

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereward differentiationVSAvoidoperation simplicity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different quality levels of bonus event participation based on local player characteristics. Players who wager higher amounts and play more frequently accumulate more eligibility points, giving them locally optimized chances of bonus event participation and larger award allocations, while maintaining the same basic system operation for all players

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Reliability

If bonus awards are allocated randomly without consideration of player contribution, then the allocation is simple, but it lacks proportionality to player wagering and engagement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproportionality of awardsVSAvoidaward allocation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The award allocation system uses eligibility point accumulation as feedback to determine bonus event participation and award size. Players who contribute more through higher wagering and extended play receive proportionally larger awards, creating a reliable feedback mechanism that ensures award proportionality while managing allocation complexity through standardized point-to-award conversion ratios

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS9613494B2Gaming system and method having player accumulated points and determining each player's chances of winning an award based on the accumulated points

Publication Date: 2017.04.04 INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INC

AI summary

The gaming system and method disclosed herein provides and tracks bonus event eligibility points accumulated by players playing the gaming devices in the gaming system. Upon a triggering of a bonus event, the gaming system generates, for each bonus event eligibility point accumulated for each player, a random number from a predefined range of numbers. The gaming system determines which one of the accumulated bonus event eligibility points is the designated bonus event eligibility point, such as by determining which bonus event eligibility point is associated with the highest valued random number generated. The gaming system then enables the player that accumulated the designated bonus event eligibility point to participate in the bonus event. In the bonus event, one or more awards are provided to the player that accumulated the designated bonus event eligibility point.