Granted Patent B2

US 8,827,787 · App. 13/762,701 · Granted Sep 9, 2014

Abstract

Claims (62)

1. A gaming system for conducting a wagering game with a base game, a skill-based game feature and a non-skill based game feature, the skill-based game feature including outcomes based solely or predominantly on player skill, the non-skill-based game feature including outcomes based solely or predominantly on randomized determinations, the gaming system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming system to:

receive an indication of a wager from a player to play the wagering game;

direct at least one display device to display a randomly determined outcome of the base game of the wagering game;

in response to a triggering event, initiate play of the non-skill-based game feature and, further in response to receiving an indication of a player selection of the skill-based game feature, initiate play of the skill-based game feature;

determine a first award value, if any, for the skill-based game feature;

determine a second award value, if any, for the non-skill-based game feature; and

award to the player only the higher of the first and second award values.

2. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the play of the non-skill-based game feature continues until the play of the skill-based game feature is completed.

3. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the play of the skill-based game feature continues until the play of the non-skill-based game feature is completed.

4. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more memory devices store additional instructions that cause the gaming system to, in response to the triggering event and receiving an indication of a player selection of the non-skill-based game feature, only initiate play of the non-skill-based game feature.

5. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein a first payout percentage of the non-skill-based game feature is dynamically varied to offset a second payout percentage of the skill-based game feature such that the wagering game is configured to payout a mathematically demonstrable minimum predetermined percentage of all amounts wagered during the expected lifetime of the wagering game.

6. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein a first payout percentage of the skill-based game feature is greater than a second payout percentage of the non-skill-based game feature.

7. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the play of the skill-based game feature is influenced by the play of the non-skill-based game feature, the play of the non-skill-based game feature is influenced by the play of the skill-based game feature, or both.

8. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the size of the first award value is influenced by the play of the non-skill-based game feature, the size of the second award value is influenced by the play of the skill-based game feature, or both.

9. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the opportunity to initiate play of the skill-based game feature is enabled by a secondary wager from the player in addition to the wager to play the wagering game.

10. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the plays of the skill-based game feature and the non-skill-based game feature are conducted and displayed substantially simultaneously.

11. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the player selection of the skill-based game feature is received prior to the occurrence of the triggering event.

12. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering event is a bonus-game-initiating symbol combination in the outcome of the base game.

13. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more memory devices store additional instructions that cause the gaming system to direct the at least one display device to substantially simultaneously display a randomly determined outcome for the non-skill-based game feature and a player-skill-based outcome for the skill-based game feature.

14. One or more physical non-transitory computer-readable storage media including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receive an indication of a wager to play a wagering game;

direct at least one display device to display a randomly determined outcome of a base game of the wagering game;

in response to a triggering event, initiate play of a non-skill-based game feature and, further in response to receiving an indication of a player selection of a skill-based game feature, initiate play of the skill-based game feature;

determine a first award value, if any, for the skill-based game feature;

determine a second award value, if any, for the non-skill-based game feature; and

award to a player only the higher of the first and second award values.

15. A gaming system for conducting a wagering game, the gaming system comprising:

one or more input devices;

one or more display devices;

one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming system to:

display, via at least one of the one or more display devices, a randomly determined outcome of a base game portion of the wagering game;

in response to a bonus-game-triggering symbol combination in the outcome of the base game, initiate play of a non-skill-based bonus game and play of a skill-based bonus game;

determine a first award value for a player-skill-based outcome resulting from play of the skill-based bonus game;

determine a second award value for a randomly determined outcome resulting from play of the non-skill-based bonus game; and

award to the player only the higher of the first and second award values.

16. A computer-implemented method of conducting a wagering game with a gaming system having one or more input devices, one or more display devices, and one or more processors, the method comprising:

receiving, via at least one of the one or more input devices, an indication of a wager from a player to play the wagering game;

displaying, via at least one of the one or more display devices, a randomly determined outcome of a base game of the wagering game;

in response to a triggering event, initiating play of a non-skill-based game feature and, further in response to receiving an indication of a player selection of a skill-based game feature, initiating play of the skill-based game feature via at least one of the one or more processors;

displaying, via at least one of the one or more display devices, a player-skill-based outcome of the skill-based game feature and a randomly determined outcome of the non-skill-based game feature;

determining a first award value, if any, for the skill-based game feature;

determining a second award value, if any, for the non-skill-based game feature; and

awarding to the player only the higher of the first and second award values.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the play of the non-skill-based game feature continues until the play of the skill-based game feature is completed.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the play of the skill-based game feature continues until the play of the non-skill-based game feature is completed.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising, in response to the triggering event and receiving an indication of a player selection of the non-skill-based game feature, only initiating play of the non-skill-based game feature.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein a first payout percentage of the non-skill-based game feature is dynamically varied to offset a second payout percentage of the skill-based game feature such that the wagering game is configured to payout a mathematically demonstrable minimum predetermined percentage of all amounts wagered during the expected lifetime of the wagering game.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein a first payout percentage of the skill-based game feature is greater than a second payout percentage of the non-skill-based game feature.

22. The method of claim 16 , wherein the play of the skill-based game feature is influenced by the play of the non-skill-based game feature, the play of the non-skill-based game feature is influenced by the play of the skill-based game feature, or both.

23. The method of claim 16 , wherein the size of the first award value is influenced by the play of the non-skill-based game feature, the size of the second award value is influenced by the play of the skill-based game feature, or both.

24. The method of claim 16 , wherein the plays of the skill-based game feature and the non-skill-based game feature are conducted and displayed substantially simultaneously.

25. A method of conducting a wagering game on a gaming system having one or more input devices, one or more display devices, and one or more processors, the method comprising:

receiving, via at least one of the one or more input devices, an indication of a wager from a player to play the wagering game;

displaying, via at least one of the one or more display devices, a randomly determined outcome of a base game of the wagering game;

in response to a triggering event, initiating play of a non-skill-based game feature and play of a skill-based game feature via at least one of the one or more processors;

displaying, via at least one of the one or more display devices, a player-skill-based outcome of the skill-based game feature and a randomly determined outcome of the non-skill-based game feature;

determining a first award value, if any, for the skill-based game feature;

determining a second award value, if any, for the non-skill-based game feature; and

awarding to the player only the higher of the first and second award values.

Assignments (12)