Hold-and-Spin Prize Award Symbols for Higher Bonus Variability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gaming devices lack mechanisms to provide additional prize awards during hold and spin feature games, limiting player engagement and excitement.
Innovation Solution
A gaming device with a hold and spin feature that includes a symbol selection process using a random number generator to display prize symbols and award symbols, allowing additional awards based on the prize values of collected symbols, with the option of multipliers applied to these awards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional slot game mechanics are used with standard bonus rounds, then the game structure remains simple and easy to understand, but player engagement and excitement are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The game is divided into distinct phases: base game, hold and spin feature game, and free games bonus round. The hold and spin feature is further segmented into multiple game instances with held symbols and newly selected symbols separated into different matrix areas, allowing complex mechanics to be managed in manageable segments that maintain player engagement without overwhelming complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension to traditional slot games by implementing a hold and spin feature that operates within the base game structure rather than as a separate bonus round. This creates an additional layer of gameplay where symbols can be held, respun, and potentially trigger free games, adding vertical depth to the game structure while maintaining the familiar slot format
2Adaptability or versatility
If a hold and spin feature game is implemented with multiple game instances, then additional prize awards and multipliers increase player excitement, but the game mechanics become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Symbols are selected and held in place before subsequent spin rounds occur. This preliminary action of holding symbols creates anticipation and allows players to see potential winning combinations developing across multiple game instances, increasing prize award variability while managing complexity through pre-determined symbol positions
Solution Approach 2:
The hold and spin feature game is nested within the base game structure, and free games bonus rounds can be nested within the hold and spin feature. This nesting allows multiple layers of gameplay and prize awards to coexist, with the hold and spin feature acting as a container that can itself trigger additional bonus rounds, creating rich variability without requiring entirely separate game systems
3Adaptability or versatility
If prize award symbols are displayed during feature games, then additional awards increase player engagement, but the frequency and management of awards become more difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The game operates in periodic cycles of spin rounds within the hold and spin feature, with prize awards granted at specific intervals based on symbol combinations achieved in each round. This periodic structure allows the system to manage award frequency systematically, granting awards at predictable points in the game flow while maintaining player engagement through regular feedback
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides immediate visual feedback through the electronic display showing held symbols, newly selected symbols, and any prize award symbols achieved in each game instance. This feedback mechanism allows the system to manage award frequency by clearly communicating wins to players in real-time, making the award system transparent and easier to control while maintaining high engagement
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming device comprises a display, a random number generator, a processor, and a memory storing instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, they cause the processor to: initiate a feature game in response to a trigger condition being met in respect of a base game conducted by the gaming device; conduct game instances of the feature game until an end condition is met, wherein conducting each feature game instance comprises: displaying a matrix of symbol positions on the at least one electronic display; conducting, in respect of each symbol position of the matrix of symbol positions not occupied by a held symbol, a symbol selection process; and modifying the display of the matrix of symbol positions responsive to the symbol selection process, in order to display any selected prize symbol(s) and any selected prize award symbol(s) in addition to each held symbol.