Horseshoe payline system and games using that system
A pay line system has a novel type of pay line that can be provided in a variety of different display systems, including at least 3×3 reel-type displays, 3×4, 4×3, 3×5, 5×3, 4×5 and 5×4 displays. The pay lines are preferably displayed on 3×5 or 5×3 window formats and comprise “horseshoe” arrays of frames or H-Configuration arrays of frames. The horseshoe arrays may be provided with the horseshoe opening at 180°, 270° with respect to vertical on the screen or with respect to the vertical orientation of a column, and the horseshoe may have three adjacent frames parallel to three of the four sides of the rectangular display created by the columns and rows.
1. A gaming device operable under control of a processor, said gaming device comprising:
a display device configured to display a plurality of frames arranged in columns and rows; and
an input device;
wherein the processor is programmed to operate with the display device and the input device to:
(a) enable a player to place a wager on one or more paylines, said paylines including a designated number of designated paylines, said designated number of designated paylines being at least one, each designated payline including a first, second and third set of frames, wherein for each of said designated paylines:
(i) the first, second and third sets each include at least three adjacent frames;
(ii) the first set is parallel to the second set;
(iii) the third set is perpendicular to the first set and the second set; and
(iv) the third set includes at least one of the frames of the first set and at least one of the frames of the second set;
(b) generate and display a plurality of symbols in a plurality of the frames;
(c) determine any winning combinations on the wagered on paylines; and
(d) provide the player an award for any determined winning symbol combinations.
2. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the display device includes a video display device.
3. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the display device includes a mechanical display device.
4. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the frames of the designated paylines are not included in each of the columns.
5. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated number of designated paylines is three and said designated paylines are overlapping.
6. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the display device includes a plurality of video display devices and a plurality of the frames are each individually displayed by a separate one of the video display devices.
7. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the display device includes a plurality of mechanical display devices, wherein a plurality of the frames are each individually displayed by a separate one of the mechanical display devices.
8. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine a plurality of winning symbol combinations on each of the designated paylines.
9. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated paylines are in the shape of at least one of the symbols.
10. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated number of designated paylines is twelve, and the processor is programmed to operate with the display device and the input device to enable the player to select one of a plurality of different numbers of the designated paylines to wager on and said different numbers are selected from the group consisting of 1 , 3 , 6 , 9 and 12 .
11. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is programmed to operate with the display device to generate and display the frames arranged in a 3×5 array.
12. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated paylines each include seven frames.
13. The gaming device of claim 12 , wherein the designated paylines include at least one H-shaped payline.
14. The gaming device of claim 12 , wherein the designated paylines include at least one U-shaped payline.
15. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated paylines include at least one H-shaped payline.
16. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated paylines include at least one U-shaped payline.
17. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated paylines include a plurality of H-shaped paylines.
18. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated paylines include a plurality of U-shaped paylines.
19. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated paylines include at least three U-shaped shaped overlapping paylines.
20. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein each of said paylines is associated with a number, and the processor is programmed to operate with the display device and the input device to: generate and display the plurality of symbols in the plurality of the frames determine if there are any winning combinations on the wagered on paylines, wherein any award provided for any determined winning symbol combinations is multiplied by the number associated with any wagered on payline that includes any of the winning symbol combinations.
21. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated number of designated paylines is one.
22. The gaming device of claim 1 , wherein the designated number of designated paylines is more than one.