Concurrent, combinational, interactive games played on electronic gaming devices

Abstract

A distributed gaming system includes a host device and at least one peripheral device in communication with the host device. The peripheral device executes at least two games simultaneously. The outcome of at least one of the at least two games is dependent on aspects of another of the at least two games. A method of distributed gaming is also disclosed.

Having thus described the preferred embodiments, the invention is now claimed to be:  
     
         1 . A distributed gaming system comprising: 
 a host device;    at least one peripheral device in communication with the host device, the peripheral device executing at least two games simultaneously, the outcome of at least one of the at least two games being dependent upon aspects of another of the at least two games.    
     
     
         2 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the host device coordinates game play on the at least one peripheral device, portions of such game play being responsive to data from the host device and responsive to data input by a user of the at least one peripheral device.  
     
     
         3 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein one of the at least two games is bingo and another of the at least two games is E-tabs.  
     
     
         4 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein an outcome of the E-tab game is dependent on an outcome of the bingo game.  
     
     
         5 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein the E-tab game includes at least one pre-determined winning configuration, said winning configuration having variable results depending upon its spatial occurrence on a board of the bingo game.  
     
     
         6 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 5 , wherein the E-tab game has one result if at least one of the pre-determined winning configurations falls entirely within a bingo winning configuration, and another, different, result if the pre-determined winning configuration falls partially or entirely outside of the bingo winning configuration.  
     
     
         7 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein the bingo game includes numbers that when selected, are daubed with one of a palette of images, each daubing image having a like effect on the bingo game.  
     
     
         8 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 7 , wherein the palette includes a square, a non-square rectangle, a diamond, a triangle, and a circle.  
     
     
         9 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein one of the at least two games is Bingo and another of the at least two games is Blackjack.  
     
     
         10 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein an outcome of the Blackjack game is dependent on an outcome of the Bingo game.  
     
     
         11 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 10 , wherein at least one square on a bingo face is daubed with an icon representative of a single card from a standard deck of 52 playing cards.  
     
     
         12 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein a plurality of the icons are placed within a viewable area of the device concurrently as bingo numbers are revealed.  
     
     
         13 . The distributed gaming system as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the outcome of the Blackjack game is dependent on the position of the icons within the viewable area.  
     
     
         14 . A method of distributed gaming including: 
 providing a host device and at least one peripheral device;    initiating a combined game session with a host device, the session comprising at least two games played simultaneously, at least one game of the at least two games having aspects dependent on another of the at least two games;    receiving game data from the host device with the peripheral device, the peripheral device having a human viewable display and an input means;    displaying the at least two games concurrently on the display.    
     
     
         15 . The method as set forth in  claim 14 , further including: 
 receiving input from a user of the peripheral device;    transmitting that information to the host device, the input influencing an outcome of at least one of the at least two games.    
     
     
         16 . The method as set forth in  claim 14 , further including: 
 using indicator images that hold one meaning for one of the at least two games and another meaning for another of the at least two games.    
     
     
         17 . A gaming system comprising: 
 a computer having an output device and a storage means;    a first game held in said storage means;    a second game held in said storage means;    a random indicium generator communicating with said computer; and,    a game grid displayed on said output device, wherein said game grid pertains to both said first and second games, and wherein said game grid is revised each time said random indicium generator transmits another indicium to said computer.    
     
     
         18 . An interactive gaming system comprising: 
 an electronic gaming device, the electronic gaming device being one of a stand alone device and a network dependent device;    a display area in communication with the electronic gaming device that displays first and second image elements concurrently, the first image element relating to a first game, and the second image element relating to a second game, the second image element being overlaid on the first image element, wherein the first and second image elements combine to form a meaningful composite image; and,    wherein the second game has unique rules of play different from the first game, and has common random factors to the first game, the first and second games being played concurrently.