Electronic game method and apparatus with hierarchy of simulated wheels
US5788573A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 22, 1996 |
| Grant date | Aug 4, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 22, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG07F17/3258
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A computer implemented electronic game includes a wheel of fortune game with odds of a jackpot greatly in excess of the number of indicia on a simulated wheel. In one embodiment, a virtual mapping allows a bonus indicium of the wheel to be given a 1:M chance of being landed on, even though the bonus position is one of N positions on the simulated wheel. A random number L is chosen between 1 and M and this number is mapped to a number between 1 and N. The display of the wheel if controlled to simulate stopping of the wheel at the Ith indicium where L is mapped to I. In one embodiment, by using successive wheel spins, the odds of moving to the next round are multiplied to achieve an overall odds of winning a jackpot. In one embodiment there is a 1:50 chance of entering a bonus screen from a main slot machine/phrase completion screen, a 1:20 chance of landing on a bonus position in a first wheel spin, a 1:40 chance of landing on a bonus position for a second wheel spin and a 1:200 chance of landing on a bonus position for a last wheel spin to provide an overall odds of a jackpot of 1:8 million.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.