Granted Patent B2

US 12,646,373 · App. 18/322,546 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

Inventors: Bradley Hendricks (Las Vegas, NV); Gary Penacho (Henderson, NV); Allon Englman (Las Vegas, NV)

Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies, Inc.

G07F17/3213G06F7/588G07F17/3244G07F17/3267

Abstract

Claims (70)

1 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

(a) cause, responsive to one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions being met in association with a play of an electronic game having a reel area with a plurality of columns of symbol window positions;

(i) an add-substitution symbol feature to be triggered in association with that play of the electronic game, and

(ii) the reel area to randomly expand in size and have at least one substitution symbol added to the reels to produce an increased game volatility for the electronic game while maintaining a target return to player (RTP);

(b) randomly select, for each column of symbol window positions in the reel area having the expanded size and responsive to the add-substitution symbol feature being triggered, between zero and X symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have substitution symbols displayed therein, wherein X is the number of symbol window positions in that column of symbol window positions;

(c) randomly determine;

(i) at least one substitution volatility lookup table from a plurality of substitution volatility lookup tables, and

(ii) for the substitution symbol to be displayed in each of the selected symbol window positions, and using the at least one substitution volatility lookup table, whether that substitution symbol is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol;

(d) cause credit-substitution symbols to be displayed in any of the selected symbol window positions that are to display the credit-substitution symbols;

(e) cause non-credit-substitution symbols to be displayed in any of the selected symbol window positions that are to display the substitution symbols that are not credit-substitution symbols;

(f) cause a first payout to be performed for each winning pattern of symbols that occurs along a corresponding payline in that play of the electronic game and includes one or more of the credit-substitution symbols, wherein any displayed credit-substitution symbol substitutes as a different symbol type for determining whether that displayed credit-substitution symbol is part of a winning pattern of symbols; and

(g) cause a second payout to be performed for each displayed credit-substitution symbol in association with that play of the electronic game, wherein the second payout for each displayed credit-substitution symbol is based on a value associated with that displayed credit-substitution symbol;

wherein the at least one substitution volatility lookup table is configured to provide a return to player (RTP) in compliance with one or more regulatory requirements.

2 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , further storing additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to randomly determine whether each substitution symbol to be displayed is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol independently of the random selection of the symbol window positions.

3 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 2 , further storing additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at the least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to select, for each column of symbol window positions, between at least two different substitution volatility lookup tables in a set of substitution volatility lookup tables and then use the selected substitution volatility lookup tables when randomly determining whether each substitution symbol to be displayed in one of the symbol window positions of that column of symbol window positions is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol.

4 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , further storing additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to:

randomly determine an outcome for the electronic game, and

randomly determine, independently of randomly determining the outcome of the electronic game, whether or not the add-substitution symbol feature is to be triggered, wherein the one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions are at least met when the at least one processor randomly determines that the add-substitution symbol feature is to be triggered.

5 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , further storing additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at the least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to randomly determine an outcome for the electronic game, wherein the one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions are met based on the outcome for the electronic game.

6 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , further storing additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to randomly determine, for each credit-substitution symbol to be displayed in one of the selected symbol window positions and independently of (b) and (c), the value associated with that credit-substitution symbol.

7 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , further storing additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to randomly select, for each column of symbol window positions and responsive to the add-substitution symbol feature being triggered, the between zero and X symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein by:

randomly determining the number of symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein, and

randomly selecting the symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein from each column of symbol window positions until the number of symbol window positions for that column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein have been selected.

8 . A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

(a) cause, responsive to one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions being met in association with a play of an electronic game having a reel area with a plurality of columns of symbol window positions;

(i) an add-substitution symbol feature to be triggered in association with that play of the electronic game, and

(ii) the reel area to randomly expand in size and have at least one substitution symbol added to the reels to produce an increased game volatility for the electronic game while maintaining a target return to player (RTP);

(b) randomly select, for each column of symbol window positions in the reel area having the expanded size and responsive to the add-substitution symbol feature being triggered, between zero and X symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have substitution symbols displayed therein, wherein X is the number of symbol window positions in that column of symbol window positions;

(c) randomly determine:

(i) at least one substitution volatility lookup table from a plurality of substitution volatility lookup tables, and

(ii) for the substitution symbol to be displayed in each of the selected symbol window positions, and using the at least one substitution volatility lookup table, whether that substitution symbol is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol;

(d) cause credit-substitution symbols to be displayed in any of the selected symbol window positions that are to display the credit-substitution symbols;

(e) cause non-credit-substitution symbols to be displayed in any of the selected symbol window positions that are to display the substitution symbols that are not credit-substitution symbols;

(f) cause a first payout to be performed for each winning pattern of symbols that occurs along a corresponding payline in that play of the electronic game and includes one or more of the credit-substitution symbols, wherein any displayed credit-substitution symbol substitutes as a different symbol type for determining whether that displayed credit-substitution symbol is part of a winning pattern of symbols; and

(g) cause a second payout to be performed for each displayed credit-substitution symbol in association with that play of the electronic game, wherein the second payout for each displayed credit-substitution symbol is based on a value associated with that displayed credit-substitution symbol;

wherein the at least one substitution volatility lookup table is configured to provide a return to player (RTP) in compliance with one or more regulatory requirements.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to randomly determine whether each substitution symbol to be displayed is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol independently of the random selection of the symbol window positions.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to select, for each column of symbol window positions, between at least two different substitution volatility lookup tables in a set of substitution volatility lookup tables and then use the selected substitution volatility lookup tables when randomly determining whether each substitution symbol to be displayed in one of the symbol window positions of that column of symbol window positions is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol.

11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:

randomly determine an outcome for the electronic game, and

randomly determine, independently of randomly determining the outcome of the electronic game, whether or not the add-substitution symbol feature is to be triggered, wherein the one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions are at least met when the one or more processors randomly determine that the add-substitution symbol feature is to be triggered.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to randomly determine an outcome for the electronic game, wherein the one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions are met based on the outcome for the electronic game.

13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to randomly determine, for each credit-substitution symbol to be displayed in one of the selected symbol window positions and independently of (b) and (c), the value associated with that credit-substitution symbol.

14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media further store additional computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to randomly select, for each column of symbol window positions and responsive to the add-substitution symbol feature being triggered, the between zero and X symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein by:

randomly determining the number of symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein, and

randomly selecting the symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein from each column of symbol window positions until the number of symbol window positions for that column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein have been selected.

15 . A method comprising:

(a) causing, by one or more processors and responsive to one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions being met in association with a play of an electronic game having a reel area with a plurality of columns of symbol window positions:

(i) an add-substitution symbol feature to be triggered in association with that play of the electronic game, and

(ii) the reel area to randomly expand in size and have at least one substitution symbol added to the reels to produce an increased game volatility for the electronic game while maintaining a target return to player (RTP);

(b) randomly selecting, by the one or more processors, for each column of symbol window positions in the reel area having the expanded size and responsive to the add-substitution symbol feature being triggered, between zero and X symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have substitution symbols displayed therein, wherein X is the number of symbol window positions in that column of symbol window positions;

(c) randomly determining, by the one or more processors:

(i) at least one substitution volatility lookup table from a plurality of substitution volatility lookup tables, and

(ii) for the substitution symbol to be displayed in each of the selected symbol window positions, and using the at least one substitution volatility lookup table, whether that substitution symbol is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol;

(d) causing, by the one or more processors, credit-substitution symbols to be displayed in any of the selected symbol window positions that are to display the credit-substitution symbols;

(e) causing, by the one or more processors, non-credit-substitution symbols to be displayed in any of the selected symbol window positions that are to display the substitution symbols that are not credit-substitution symbols;

(f) causing, by the one or more processors, a first payout to be performed for each winning pattern of symbols that occurs along a corresponding payline in that play of the electronic game and includes one or more of the credit-substitution symbols, wherein any displayed credit-substitution symbol substitutes as a different symbol type for determining whether that displayed credit-substitution symbol is part of a winning pattern of symbols; and

(g) causing, by the one or more processors, a second payout to be performed for each displayed credit-substitution symbol in association with that play of the electronic game, wherein the second payout for each displayed credit-substitution symbol is based on a value associated with that displayed credit-substitution symbol;

wherein the at least one substitution volatility lookup table is configured to provide a return to player (RTP) in compliance with one or more regulatory requirements.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising randomly determining, by the one or more processors, whether each substitution symbol to be displayed is a credit-substitution symbol or a non-credit-substitution symbol independently of the random selection of the symbol window positions.

17 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

randomly determining, by the one or more processors, an outcome for the electronic game, and

randomly determining, by the one or more processors, independently of randomly determining the outcome of the electronic game, whether or not the add-substitution symbol feature is to be triggered, wherein the one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions are at least met when the one or more processors randomly determine that the add-substitution symbol feature is to be triggered.

18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising randomly determining, by the one or more processors, an outcome for the electronic game, wherein the one or more add-substitution symbol feature conditions are met based on the outcome for the electronic game.

19 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising randomly determining, by the one or more processors, for each credit-substitution symbol to be displayed in one of the selected symbol window positions and independently of (b) and (c), the value associated with that credit-substitution symbol.

20 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising randomly selecting, by the one or more processors, for each column of symbol window positions, and responsive to the add-substitution symbol feature being triggered, the between zero and X symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein by:

randomly determining the number of symbol window positions for each column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein, and

randomly selecting the symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein from each column of symbol window positions until the number of symbol window positions for that column of symbol window positions that are to have the substitution symbols displayed therein have been selected.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (124)