Apparatus, System and Method for Providing a Community Wagering Game at a Gaming Machine
A system, method and apparatus are set forth for providing a system-wide competitive game where players of gaming devices may wager upon the game. In an embodiment the game is a competitive racing game such as an auto race. Players wager upon a race competitor and those players wagering upon the winning contestant are issued an award. The system and method provides a mechanism for sharing the award among the winning players
1 . A system for providing a community game to a plurality of gaming devices connected on a network, each gaming device including a display and configured to play a base wager game, said system comprising:
a host server in communication with said gaming devices over said network, said host server configured to provide data to said gaming devices for the display of a community game for play by players;
apparatus to communicate to said host server an entry in said community game by a player at a gaming device by risking an amount w;
said server configured to control a display at said gaming device to display a winning or a losing outcome for said community game, said outcome shared by all entrant players;
said server configured to issue an award A to all entrant players for a winning outcome by one or more of (a) sharing the award among said players according to each entrant player wager w or (b) distributing the award A according to a random distribution among said entrant players or (c) distributing the award according to a community competitive game between said entrant players.
2 . The system of claim 1 comprising said host server configured to display said community game as a reel spinning game.
3 . The system of claim 2 comprising said reel spinning game is a Class III type game
4 . The system of claim 1 comprising said server is configured for distributing the award according to a competitive race game between a plurality of virtual competitors and said entrant players are assigned to a competitor.
5 . The system of claim 4 comprising said server is configured to randomly select a winner from said virtual competitor and to distribute said award to entrant players assigned to the winning competitor.
6 . The system of claim 4 comprising said server is configured to iteratively display outcomes of said community game the outcomes of which drive advancement of said competitors.
7 . The system of claim 1 comprising said server is configured to provide a plurality of awards, at least one is distributed according to (a) and at one is distributed according to (c).
8 . The system of claim 1 comprising said server is configured to allocate a portion of w to a progressive jackpot award A.
9 . The system of claim 1 comprising triggering the play of the community games automatically.
10 . The system of claim 1 comprising apparatus to communicate to said host server entries for a series of N community games by a player at a gaming device by risking an amount N×w.
11 . The system of claim 10 comprising said server configured to display at each gaming device the number of plays of the community game series remaining for the player.
12 . A method for providing a community game to a plurality of gaming devices connected on a network, each gaming device including a display and configured to play a base wager game, said method comprising:
configuring a host server to communication with said gaming devices over said network and to provide data to said gaming devices for the display of a community game for play by players;
enabling a player to enter in said community game at a gaming device by risking an amount w;
controlling a display at said gaming device to display a winning or a losing shared outcome for said community game;
issuing an award A to all entrant players for a winning outcome by one or more of (a) sharing the award among said players according to each entrant player wager w or (b) distributing the award A according to a random distribution among said entrant players or (c) distributing the award according to a community competitive game between said entrant players.
13 . The method of claim 12 comprising distributing the award according to a competitive race game between a plurality of virtual competitors and said entrant players are assigned to a competitor.
14 . The method of claim 13 comprising randomly selecting a winner from said virtual competitor and distributing said award to entrant players assigned to the winning competitor.
15 . The method of claim 13 comprising iteratively displaying outcomes of said community game which drives advancement of said competitors.
16 . The method of claim 12 comprising providing a plurality of awards, at least one is distributed according to (a) and at one is distributed according to (c).
17 . The method of claim 12 comprising allocating a portion of w to a progressive jackpot award A.
18 . The method of claim 12 comprising triggering the play of the community games automatically.
19 . The method of claim 12 comprising enabling said players to make an entry of a series of N community games by a player at a gaming device by risking an amount N×w.
20 . The method of claim 19 comprising displaying the number of plays of the community game series remaining for the player.