Gaming Machine Card Selection Game with Feature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing card games that allow players to guess a card characteristic, such as red or black, result in a 100% return to player percentage, making it impossible for the house to profit and limiting game variety, leading to player fatigue due to lack of jackpot opportunities and limited gameplay.
Innovation Solution
A gaming machine with a game controller that randomly selects symbols from a set including standard and special symbols, allowing players to nominate a symbol characteristic before or after selection, with special symbols triggering bonus plays and potentially a jackpot, and altering the symbol set between bonus plays to change game aspects and increase winning chances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a simple card guessing game is used, then the game is easy to understand and play, but the return to player becomes 100% and the house cannot profit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the basic card guessing game by introducing variable parameters including bonus features, progressive jackpots, and multipliers that change the expected return. The game controller adjusts symbol probabilities, bonus trigger frequencies, and award structures to achieve a target return-to-player percentage below 100%, allowing house profit while maintaining player engagement through dynamic parameter adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The gaming machine integrates multiple game modes and features into a single system: base card guessing gameplay, bonus rounds with enhanced features, progressive jackpot accumulation, and variable payout structures. This multi-functional approach allows the same basic game mechanism to serve multiple purposes including entertainment, house profit generation, and player retention through diverse winning opportunities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a jackpot prize is added to the game, then player engagement increases, but the return to player percentage increases making it impossible for the house to profit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic jackpot structures where the jackpot amount grows over time through progressive accumulation from a portion of each wager. The jackpot can be triggered by specific symbol combinations or bonus features, and the system dynamically adjusts the probability of jackpot triggers and the rate of jackpot growth to maintain the overall return-to-player percentage at profitable levels for the house.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the total game return into multiple components: base game payouts, bonus feature awards, and progressive jackpot prizes. Each segment has its own payout structure and probability, allowing the house to control the contribution of each segment to the overall return-to-player percentage. This segmentation enables jackpots to be offered while maintaining house profit through careful calibration of each segment's expected value.
3Ease of operation
If the same game is played repeatedly, then the game mechanics are simple and consistent, but players quickly tire of the game
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates periodic bonus features and variable game modes that are triggered at regular intervals or based on accumulated play. These periodic elements include free spin bonuses, multiplier rounds, and progressive jackpot opportunities that refresh player interest while maintaining the core consistent card guessing mechanics. The periodic introduction of enhanced features prevents player fatigue while preserving the simplicity of the base game.
Solution Approach 2:
The gaming system dynamically adjusts game parameters including symbol probabilities, bonus trigger frequencies, and award multipliers based on play history, wager amounts, and random factors. This dynamic adjustment creates variability in game outcomes and features across different playing sessions, maintaining player engagement through unpredictability and novelty while preserving the consistent core gameplay mechanics.
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming machine and method are disclosed. A selected symbol is displayed in a non-revealed manner, for example on a display, a player having nominated at least one characteristic of the symbol. If the selected symbol is revealed to have the nominated characteristic a prize is awarded to the player, and if the symbol is revealed to be a special symbol a game controller awards the player a feature outcome that comprises a plurality of bonus plays of a feature game that includes at least one special symbol. Progression to the next bonus play in the plurality of bonus plays is dependent on selection of the special symbol.