Gaming Method, Gaming Apparatus for Performing the Gaming Method, and Computer Program Product Storing a Gaming Program of the Gaming Method

Abstract

A gaming method is implemented using an electronic gaming apparatus, and includes: upon initiating a game, displaying a betting cell group including a plurality of betting cells, each displaying a randomly selected indicium; after bets are placed on selected ones of the betting cells, displaying a game-result cell group including a plurality of game-result cells, each displaying a randomly selected indicium; determining if at least one of the indicia displayed in the game-result cells matches the indicia displayed in the selected ones of the betting cells, and if yes, granting an award to the player on the basis of the bets placed by the player and predetermined winning criteria. A gaming apparatus and a computer program product are also disclosed.

1 . A gaming method to be implemented using an electronic gaming apparatus, said gaming method comprising:
 a) in response to operation of the electronic gaming apparatus by a player for initiating a game, displaying a betting cell group including a plurality of betting cells, each of the betting cells displaying an indicium selected automatically and randomly by the electronic gaming apparatus from a predetermined set of indicia;   b) enabling the player to place bets on selected ones of the betting cells, and displaying the bets placed by the player for the selected ones of the betting cells;   c) displaying a game-result cell group including a plurality of game-result cells, each of the game-result cells displaying an indicium selected automatically and randomly by the electronic gaming apparatus from the predetermined set of indicia; and   d) if it is determined that at least one of the indicia displayed in the game-result cells matches the indicia displayed in the selected ones of the betting cells where the player placed the bets, granting an award to the player on the basis of the bets placed by the player and predetermined winning criteria to thereby complete a game round.   
   
   
       2 . The gaming method of  claim 1 , wherein, in step a), the player is able to operate the electronic gaming apparatus repeatedly until the indicia displayed in the betting cells are found by the player to be satisfactory. 
   
   
       3 . The gaming method of  claim 1 , further comprising, prior to step a), a step e) of:
 in response to authority procurement by the player, granting the player a right to operate the electronic gaming apparatus.   
   
   
       4 . The gaming method of  claim 3 , wherein, in step a), the player is able to operate the electronic gaming apparatus repeatedly through subsequent authority procurements until the indicia displayed in the betting cells are found by the player to be satisfactory. 
   
   
       5 . The gaming method of  claim 1 , wherein, in step d), the bets placed by the player on the betting cells displaying the indicia that do not match those displayed in the game-result cells are surrendered to the electronic gaming apparatus. 
   
   
       6 . The gaming method of  claim 1 , further comprising, after step d), a step f) of:
 determining whether the player wishes to stop playing.   
   
   
       7 . The gaming method of  claim 6 , further comprising, after step f), the steps of:
 g-1) upon determining that the player does not wish to stop playing, determining if the player wishes to change the indicia displayed in the betting cells; and   g-2) if it is determined that the player wishes to change the indicia in the betting cells, repeating step a) to change the indicia displayed in the betting cells.   
   
   
       8 . The gaming method of  claim 7 , further comprising the steps of:
 h-1) if it is determined in step g-1) that the player does not wish to change the indicia in the betting cells, determining if the player wishes to change the bets placed among the betting cells; and   h-2) proceeding to step b) if it is determined that the player wishes to change the bets previously placed thereby.   
   
   
       9 . The gaming method of  claim 1 , wherein, in step a), a betting reel unit corresponding to the betting cell group is displayed undergoing rotation such that the indicia are displayed in the betting cells when the betting reel unit stops rotating. 
   
   
       10 . The gaming method of  claim 1 , wherein, in step c), a game-result reel unit corresponding to the game-result cell group is displayed undergoing rotation such that the indicia are displayed in the game-result cells when the game-result reel unit stops rotating. 
   
   
       11 . A gaming apparatus comprising:
 a display unit;   a game processing unit coupled to said display unit and configured to perform steps of a gaming method; and   an input unit coupled to said game processing unit and allowing input by a user;   wherein the gaming method includes:   a) in response to operation of said input unit by a player for initiating a game, displaying on said display unit a betting cell group including a plurality of betting cells, each of the betting cells displaying an indicium selected automatically and randomly by said game processing unit from a predetermined set of indicia;   b) enabling the player to place bets on selected ones of the betting cells through said input unit, and displaying on said display unit the bets placed by the player for the selected ones of the betting cells;   c) displaying on said display unit a game-result cell group including a plurality of game-result cells, each of the game-result cells displaying an indicium selected automatically and randomly by said game processing unit from the predetermined set of indicia; and   d) if it is determined that at least one of the indicia displayed in the game-result cells matches the indicia displayed in the selected ones of the betting cells where the player placed the bets, granting an award to the player on the basis of the bets placed by the player and predetermined winning criteria to thereby complete a game round.   
   
   
       12 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein, in step a), the player is able to operate said input unit repeatedly until the indicia displayed in the betting cells are found by the player to be satisfactory. 
   
   
       13 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the gaming method further includes, prior to step a), a step e) of:
 in response to authority procurement by the player through said input unit, granting the player a right to operate said input unit.   
   
   
       14 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein, in step a), the player is able to operate said input unit repeatedly through subsequent authority procurements until the indicia displayed in the betting cells are found by the player to be satisfactory. 
   
   
       15 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein, in step d), the bets placed by the player on the betting cells displaying the indicia that do not match those displayed in the game-result cells are surrendered to the gaming apparatus. 
   
   
       16 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the gaming method further includes, after step d), a step f) of:
 determining whether the player wishes to stop playing.   
   
   
       17 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the gaming method further includes, after step f), the steps of:
 g-1) upon determining that the player does not wish to stop playing, determining if the player wishes to change the indicia displayed in the betting cells; and   g-2) if it is determined that the player wishes to change the indicia in the betting cells, repeating step a) to change the indicia displayed in the betting cells.   
   
   
       18 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the gaming method further includes the steps of:
 h-1) if it is determined in step g-1) that the player does not wish to change the indicia in the betting cells, determining if the player wishes to change the bets placed among the betting cells; and   h-2) proceeding to step b) if it is determined that the player wishes to change the bets previously placed thereby.   
   
   
       19 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein said display unit has a betting region for displaying said betting cell group, and a game-result region for displaying said game-result cell group, said betting region and said game-result region being vertically disposed side-by-side to each other. 
   
   
       20 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein said display unit has a betting region for displaying said betting cell group, and a game-result region for displaying said game-result cell group, said betting region and said game-result region being horizontally disposed side-by-side to each other. 
   
   
       21 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein said display unit has a betting region for displaying said betting cell group, and a game-result region for displaying said game-result cell group, one of said betting region and said game-result region being surrounded by the other one of said betting region and said game-result region. 
   
   
       22 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein said display unit includes a display screen for displaying said betting cell group and said game-result cell group. 
   
   
       23 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein said display unit and said input unit are integrated into a touch control screen. 
   
   
       24 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein said display unit includes a first display screen for displaying said betting cell group, and a second display screen for displaying said game-result cell group. 
   
   
       25 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein said display unit and said control unit are integrated into a pair of touch control screens. 
   
   
       26 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein said display unit includes a display screen module and a mechanical reel module that correspond to said betting cell group and said game-result cell group, respectively. 
   
   
       27 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein said display screen module of said display unit and said input unit are integrated into a touch control screen. 
   
   
       28 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein said display unit includes a pair of mechanical reel modules that correspond to said betting cell group and said game-result cell group, respectively. 
   
   
       29 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein, in step b), the bets placed by the player are displayed in indication regions adjacent to the betting cells, respectively. 
   
   
       30 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein, in step a), a betting reel unit corresponding to the betting cell group is displayed undergoing rotation such that the indicia are displayed in the betting cells when the betting reel unit stops rotating. 
   
   
       31 . The gaming apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein, in step c), a game-result reel unit corresponding to the game-result cell group is displayed undergoing rotation such that the indicia are displayed in the game-result cells when the game-result reel unit stops rotating. 
   
   
       32 . A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium that stores a gaming program for causing an electronic gaming apparatus to execute steps of a gaming method including:
 a) in response to operation of the electronic gaming apparatus by a player for initiating a game, displaying a betting cell group including a plurality of betting cells, each of the betting cells displaying an indicium selected automatically and randomly by the electronic gaming apparatus from a predetermined set of indicia;   b) enabling the player to place bets on selected ones of the betting cells, and displaying the bets placed by the player for the selected ones of the betting cells;   c) displaying a game-result cell group including a plurality of game-result cells, each of the game-result cells displaying an indicium selected automatically and randomly by the electronic gaming apparatus from the predetermined set of indicia; and   d) if it is determined that at least one of the indicia displayed in the game-result cells matches the indicia displayed in the selected ones of the betting cells where the player placed the bets, granting an award to the player on the basis of the bets placed by the player and predetermined winning criteria to thereby complete a game round.   
   
   
       33 . The computer program product of  claim 32 , wherein, in step a), the player is able to operate the electronic gaming apparatus repeatedly until the indicia displayed in the betting cells are found by the player to be satisfactory. 
   
   
       34 . The computer program product of  claim 32 , wherein the gaming method further includes, prior to step a), a step e) of:
 in response to authority procurement by the player, granting the player a right to operate the electronic gaming apparatus.   
   
   
       35 . The computer program product of  claim 34 , wherein, in step a), the player is able to operate the electronic gaming apparatus repeatedly through subsequent authority procurements until the indicia displayed in the betting cells are found by the player to be satisfactory. 
   
   
       36 . The computer program product of  claim 32 , wherein the gaming method further includes, after step d), a step f) of:
 determining whether the player wishes to stop playing.   
   
   
       37 . The computer program product of  claim 36 , wherein the gaming method further includes, after step f), the steps of:
 g-1) upon determining that the player does not wish to stop playing, determining if the player wishes to change the indicia displayed in the betting cells; and   g-2) if it is determined that the player wishes to change the indicia in the betting cells, repeating step a) to change the indicia displayed in the betting cells.   
   
   
       38 . The computer program product of  claim 37 , wherein the gaming method further includes the steps of:
 h-1) if it is determined in step g-1) that the player does not wish to change the indicia in the betting cells, determining if the player wishes to change the bets placed among the betting cells; and   h-2) proceeding to step b) if it is determined that the player wishes to change the bets previously placed thereby.   
   
   
       39 . The computer program product of  claim 32 , wherein, in step a), a betting reel unit corresponding to the betting cell group is displayed undergoing rotation such that the indicia are displayed in the betting cells when the betting reel unit stops rotating. 
   
   
       40 . The computer program product of  claim 32 , wherein, in step c), a game-result reel unit corresponding to the game-result cell group is displayed undergoing rotation such that the indicia are displayed in the game-result cells when the game-result reel unit stops rotating.