Method of gaming, a gaming system and a game controller

Abstract

A method of gaming comprising: conducting an initial play round comprising: selecting and displaying a first set of normal symbols at a plurality of display positions; displaying at least one special symbol at a display position; determining a game outcome based on each at least one special symbol and the first set of normal symbols, and conducting one or more further play rounds until an end condition is met, each further play round comprising: retaining the at least one special symbol from the previous play round; selecting a new display position at random for each retained special symbol; selecting and displaying a further set of normal symbols at a plurality of display positions; and determining a further game outcome based on the new display position of each special symbol and the further set of normal symbols.

1 . A method of gaming comprising:
 conducting an initial play round comprising:
 selecting and displaying a first set of normal symbols at a plurality of display positions; 
 displaying at least one special symbol at a display position; 
 determining a game outcome based on each at least one special symbol and the first set of normal symbols, and 
   conducting one or more further play rounds until an end condition is met, each further play round comprising:
 retaining the at least one special symbol from the previous play round; 
 selecting a new display position at random for each retained special symbol; 
 selecting and displaying a further set of normal symbols at a plurality of display positions; and 
 determining a further game outcome based on the new display position of each special symbol and the further set of normal symbols. 
   
   
   
       2 . A method as claimed in  claim 1  comprising displaying the special symbol in the initial play round in response to a start condition being met. 
   
   
       3 . A method as claimed in  claim 1  comprising selecting a new display position by selecting a displacement at random from a set of possible displacements relative to the previously displayed position of the special symbol. 
   
   
       4 . A method as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the set of possible displacements are one display position in each of the directions left, right, up and down. 
   
   
       5 . A method as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the set of possible displacements are comprised of first displacement of two display positions in one of the directions left, right, up or down and a second displacement of one display position in a direction transverse to the first displacement. The first and second displacements may be reversed in some embodiments. 
   
   
       6 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the display positions define a rectangular display area and the left side is treated as contiguous with the right side and the bottom is treated as contiguous with the top such that all displacements correspond to a display position within the display area. 
   
   
       7 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein there are two types of special symbols each of which is retained once they are displayed and each of which is moved independently. 
   
   
       8 . A method as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein a first type of special symbol is displayed during the initial play round and a second type of special symbol is displayed initially during one of the further play rounds, both types of special symbol being retained and moved until an end condition is met. 
   
   
       9 . A method as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the end condition is that both types of special symbol are displayed in the same display position. 
   
   
       10 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , the end condition is that a predetermined number of play rounds have occurred. 
   
   
       11 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein there is more than one end condition and the game ends if any of the end conditions is met. 
   
   
       12 . A method as claimed in  claim 2  wherein, the start condition is that the first set of normal symbols contains a predetermined symbol combination. 
   
   
       13 . A method as claimed in  claim 1  wherein at each display position associated with a special symbol only the special symbol is displayed 
   
   
       14 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at each display position associated with a special symbol the special symbol is displayed in conjunction with the normal symbol for that display position. 
   
   
       15 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the initial display position of the special symbol is predetermined, randomly selected from the display positions, randomly selected from a subset of the display positions, or selected by a player. 
   
   
       16 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the initial play round is a first round of a feature game. 
   
   
       17 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the normal symbols are symbols in a spinning reel game and the display positions correspond to display of a plurality of reels and display a plurality of symbols of each reel 
   
   
       18 . A game controller comprising:
 a symbol selector arranged to select a first set of normal symbols to be displayed by a display at a plurality of display positions and to display at least one special symbol at a display position in a first play round and to subsequently select a further set of normal symbols for each of one or more further play round, further play rounds being conducted until an end condition is met;   a special symbol controller arranged to:
 retain each at least one special symbol in one or more further play rounds until the second condition is met, and 
 select at random a new display position for each retained special symbol in each further play round; and 
   an outcome generator arranged to determine game outcomes for each of the play rounds based on the display position of each special symbol and the set of normal symbols displayed in that play round.   
   
   
       19 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the special symbol controller comprises a new position selector arranged to select the new position of each special symbol. 
   
   
       20 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 19 , wherein the new position selector is arranged to select a new position by selecting at random a displacement from a set of possible displacements relative to the previous display position of the special symbol. 
   
   
       21 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the set of possible displacements are one display position in each of the directions left, right, up and down. 
   
   
       22 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the set of possible displacements are comprised of first displacement of two display positions in one of the directions left, right, up or down and a second displacement of one display position in a direction transverse to the first displacement. The first and second displacements may be reversed in some embodiments. 
   
   
       23 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the display positions define a rectangular display area and the left side is treated as contiguous with the right side and the bottom is treated as contiguous with the top such that all displacements correspond to a display position within the display area. 
   
   
       24 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein there are two types of special symbols each of which is retained once they are displayed and each of which is moved independently. 
   
   
       25 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 24 , wherein a first type of special symbol is displayed during the initial play round and a second type of special symbol is displayed initially during one of the further play rounds, both types of special symbol being retained and moved until an end condition is met. 
   
   
       26 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 24 , wherein the end condition is that both types of special symbol are displayed in the same display position. 
   
   
       27 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , the end condition is that a predetermined number of play rounds have occurred. 
   
   
       28 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein there is more than one end condition and the game ends if any of the end conditions is met. 
   
   
       29 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein at each display position associated with a special symbol only the special symbol is displayed 
   
   
       30 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein at each display position associated with a special symbol the special symbol is displayed in conjunction with the normal symbol for that display position. 
   
   
       31 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the initial display position of the special symbol is predetermined, randomly selected from the display positions, randomly selected from a subset of the display positions, or selected by a player. 
   
   
       32 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the initial play round is a first round of a feature game. 
   
   
       33 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the normal symbols are symbols in a spinning reel game and the display positions correspond to display of a plurality of reels and display a plurality of symbols of each reel 
   
   
       34 . A gaming system comprising:
 a display;   a symbol selector arranged to select a first set of normal symbols to be displayed by the display at a plurality of display positions and to display at least one special symbol at a display position in a first play round and to subsequently select a further set of normal symbols for each of one or more further play round, further play rounds being conducted until an end condition is met;   a special symbol controller arranged to:
 retain each at least one special symbol in one or more further play rounds until the second condition is met, and 
 select at random a new display position for each retained special symbol in each further play round; and 
   an outcome generator arranged to determine game outcomes for each of the play rounds based on the display position each special symbol and the set of normal symbols displayed in that play round.   
   
   
       35 . Computer readable program code, which when executed by a computer causes the computer to implement a computer implemented method of gaming comprising:
 conducting an initial play round comprising:
 selecting and displaying a first set of normal symbols at a plurality of display positions; 
 displaying at least one special symbol at a display position; 
 determining a game outcome based on each at least one special symbol and the first set of normal symbols, and 
   conducting one or more further play rounds until an end condition is met comprising:
 retaining each at least one special symbol from the previous play round; 
 selecting a new display position at random for each special symbol; 
 selecting and displaying a further set of normal symbols at a plurality of display positions; and 
 determining a further game outcome based on the new display position of each special symbol and the further set of normal symbols. 
   
   
   
       36 . A computer readable medium comprising the computer program code of  claim 35 .