Coordinating game events between a stationary wagering game machine and an associated portable game machine
View Patent ↗A portable game machine is associated with a stationary wagering game machine. With resources of both the portable game machine and the stationary wagering game machine, the portable game machine and the stationary wagering game machine provide a wagering game experience. The portable game machine detects occurrence of a game event at the associated stationary wagering game machine, and, in response, determines a cumulative or bonus game event triggered by the detected game event. The portable game machine then invokes the triggered game event at the portable game machine.
1. A method comprising:
detecting, by a portable game machine, occurrence of a first game event at a stationary wagering game machine that is associated with the portable game machine;
in response to said detecting the occurrence of the first game event at the stationary wagering game machine, determining, by the portable game machine, a second game event triggered by the first game event; and
invoking the second game event at the portable game machine with resources of the portable game machine.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising monitoring the stationary wagering game machine for indications of game events.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining the second game event corresponding to the first game event comprises:
accessing a data structure on the portable game machine; and
determining that the second game event is associated with the first game event based, at least in part, on said accessing the data structure on the portable game machine, wherein the data structure indicates a first plurality of game events and a second plurality of game events triggered by corresponding ones of the first plurality of game events.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising updating the data structure to reflect said invoking the second game event.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising initializing the data structure for the stationary wagering game machine responsive to the portable game machine being associated with stationary wagering game machine.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating the portable game machine with the stationary wagering game machine.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said associating the portable game machine with the stationary wagering game machine comprises docking the portable game machine with the stationary wagering game machine via an interface of the stationary wagering game machine.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining, by the portable game machine, the second game event triggered by the first game event comprises:
determining whether the first game event triggers a cumulative game event or a bonus game event,
wherein the second game event is the cumulative game event if the first game event triggers the cumulative game event,
wherein the second game event is the bonus game event if the first game event triggers the bonus game event.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said detecting, by the portable game machine, the occurrence of the first game event at the stationary wagering game machine comprises detecting, via a microphone of the portable game machine, an auditory indication of the first game event, the auditory indication being output by the stationary wagering game machine.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second game event comprises one of a bonus game event and a cumulative game event.
11. One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media having program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions comprising:
program instructions to detect occurrence of a first game event at a stationary wagering game machine that is associated with a portable game machine executing the program instructions;
program instructions to determine a second game event triggered by the first game event in response to detection of the occurrence of the first game event at the stationary wagering game machine; and
program instructions to invoke the second game event at the portable game machine with resources of the portable game machine.
12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage media of claim 11 further comprising program instructions to monitor the stationary wagering game machine for indications of game events.
13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage media of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions to detect the occurrence of the first game event at the stationary wagering game machine comprise program instructions to detect, via a microphone of the portable game machine, an auditory indication of the first game event, the auditory indication being output by the stationary wagering game machine.
14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage media of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions to determine the second game event corresponding to the first game event comprise program instructions to:
access a data structure on the portable game machine; and
determine that the second game event is associated with the first game event based, at least in part, on access of the data structure on the portable game machine, wherein the data structure indicates a first plurality of game events and a second plurality of game events triggered by corresponding ones of the first plurality of game events.
15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage media of claim 14 further comprising program instructions to initialize the data structure for the stationary wagering game machine responsive to the portable game machine being associated with stationary wagering game machine.
16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage media of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions to determine the second game event triggered by the first game event comprise program instructions to:
determine whether the first game event triggers a cumulative game event or a bonus game event,
wherein the second game event is the cumulative game event if the first game event triggers the cumulative game event,
wherein the second game event is the bonus game event if the first game event triggers the bonus game event.
17. A portable game machine comprising:
a display;
an interface operable to receive at least one of data and signals;
a processor unit coupled with the display and the network interface;
a machine-readable storage media coupled with the processor unit and having program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions including,
program instructions to detect occurrence of the first game event at a stationary wagering game machine that is associated with the portable game machine;
program instructions to determine a second game event triggered by the first game event in response to detection of the occurrence of the first game event at the stationary wagering game machine; and
program instructions to invoke the second game event at the portable game machine with resources of the portable game machine.
18. The portable game machine of claim 17 , wherein the program instructions to determine the second game event corresponding to the first game event comprise program instructions to:
access a data structure on the portable game machine; and
determine that the second game event is associated with the first game event based, at least in part, on access of the data structure on the portable game machine, wherein the data structure indicates a first plurality of game events and a second plurality of game events triggered by corresponding ones of the first plurality of game events.
19. The portable game machine of claim 18 further comprising program instructions to initialize the data structure for the stationary wagering game machine responsive to the portable game machine being associated with stationary wagering game machine.
20. The portable game machine of claim 17 further comprising a microphone, wherein the program instructions to detect the occurrence of the first game event at the stationary wagering game machine comprises program instructions to detect an auditory indication of the first game event, the auditory indication being output by the stationary wagering game machine and received via the microphone.