JP7565091B2 - Gaming Machines - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an amusement machine.

Conventionally, gaming machines (reel gaming machines, slot machines) equipped with multiple reels with symbols arranged on the outer periphery are known. This type of gaming machine provides a fixed gaming value for gaming media such as medals and pachinko balls, and players play to acquire such gaming media. This type of gaming machine also performs an internal lottery and starts the rotation of the multiple reels when the player operates to start the rotation, and controls the multiple reels to stop in a manner according to the result of the internal lottery when the player operates to stop the reels. The result of the game is determined by the combination of symbols displayed on the winning determination line when the multiple reels are stopped, and medals and the like are paid out according to the result of the game.

In the gaming machine described above, a configuration is known that allows a freeze to be set to slow down the progress of the game, and allows a pseudo-game to be executed to allow the game to progress in a simulated manner during the freeze (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2016-140685 A

In the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, when a player presses the stop button in a simulated game, a specific symbol can be displayed in a simulated stop regardless of the timing at which the player pressed the stop button. When multiple reels are simulated stopped, the reels are made to vibrate, or otherwise operate in a manner different from the actual game, thereby preventing the player from mistaking the simulated game for an actual game. In such a gaming machine, when multiple reels are simulated stopped, if the stopped state continues for a long period of time before one vibration is made, the player may mistake it for a stop in the actual game (main game), and may leave the gaming machine and quit playing even though the main game has not ended.

The present invention aims to provide a gaming machine that can prevent a player from abandoning the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the game has not yet ended during the reel-based presentation.

The present invention relates to a reel system comprising:
A reel performance control means for controlling the reel performance,
The reel performance includes a specific reel performance,
When the reel spinning in the specific reel performance stops, the reel is temporarily stopped and a specific operation is performed within a second time period after the reel stops.
The specific reel performance ends with the plurality of reels temporarily stopped,
When the specific reel performance ends, a random delay control is executed to randomly delay the timing of the start of rotation of each reel so that the start of rotation of the plurality of reels is not synchronized;
When the random delay control is executed, the reel whose operation has been stopped by the temporary stop starts to rotate within the second time and a third time that can elapse from the start of the random delay control until the reel whose operation has been stopped by the temporary stop starts to rotate ,
The second time period is characterized in that it is shorter than a predetermined fourth time period in order to prevent the player from mistaking the stopped state of the game for a stoppage of the game when combined with the third time period.

The present invention provides a gaming machine that can prevent a player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the game has not yet ended during the reel-based presentation.

1 is a front view showing the external configuration of a gaming machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a diagram illustrating the functional blocks of a gaming machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing winning areas that can be won by an internal lottery in the gaming machine of the first embodiment of the present invention, and winning roles included in each winning area. FIG. (A) is a state transition diagram of the game state in the gaming machine of the first embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a transition diagram relating to the normal area and advantageous area controlled by the AT control means, and the presentation state during the advantageous area. 1 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of symbols on a reel in a gaming machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating the control of micro-vibrations that is executed when the left reel comes to a temporary stop in the gaming machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a diagram showing a state in which the middle reel is temporarily stopped while the left reel is temporarily stopped and performing micro-vibrations in the gaming machine of the first embodiment of the present invention; (B) is a diagram showing a state in which the left reel has rotated one step in the forward direction after time has passed from the state shown in (A); (C) is a diagram showing a state in which the left reel has rotated one step in the reverse direction after time has passed from the state shown in (B); (D) is a diagram showing a state in which the middle reel has rotated one step in the forward direction after the time shown in (C); (E) is a diagram showing a state in which the left reel has rotated one step in the forward direction after the time shown in (D); and (F) is a diagram showing a state in which the left and middle reels have rotated one step in the reverse direction after the time shown in (E) has passed and the micro-vibrations have been synchronized. 13 is a diagram illustrating the control when the simulated game ends and random delay control is executed in the gaming machine of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. (A) is a diagram showing the stop time of each reel when the micro-vibrations of the temporarily stopped reels are synchronized in the gaming machine of the first embodiment of the present invention; (B) is a diagram showing the micro-vibrations of each reel when the performance wait control is being executed and the stop time of each reel when the micro-vibrations are executed; (C) is a diagram showing the stop time of each reel when the performance wait control ends and random delay control is started; (D) and (E) are diagrams showing the stop time of each reel when the middle reel and right reel vibrate micro-vibrations when random delay control is being executed; and (F) is a diagram showing the stop time of each reel when the left reel starts spinning in random delay control. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating the control of micro-vibrations that is executed when the left reel comes to a temporary stop in the gaming machine of the second embodiment of the present invention. A figure explaining the control when the pseudo game ends and random delay control is executed in the gaming machine of the second embodiment of the present invention. (A) and (B) are figures showing the stop time of each reel in a state in which the left and middle reels among the reels that are temporarily stopped in a gaming machine of the second embodiment of the present invention are vibrating slightly and the right reel is stopped; (C) is a figure showing the stop time of each reel when the simulated game ends and random delay control is started; (D) is a figure showing the stop time of each reel at the point when the left and middle reels vibrate slightly when random delay control is being executed; and (E) is a figure showing the stop time of each reel when the right reel starts to rotate under random delay control.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Note that the first embodiment described below does not unduly limit the contents of the present invention described in the claims. Also, not all of the configurations described in the first embodiment are necessarily essential components of the present invention.

1 is a front view showing the external configuration of a slot machine 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The slot machine 1 according to the first embodiment is a so-called reel type gaming machine, which is a type of gaming machine in which games are played using medals as gaming media.

The slot machine 1 of the first embodiment contains a reel unit 310 (see FIG. 2) consisting of multiple reels, a left reel R1 to a right reel R3, in a box-shaped housing made up of a housing BX, an upper front door UD, and a lower front door DD. In addition, a hopper unit 320 (see FIG. 2) serving as a medal payout device is contained below the reel unit 310 in the housing. The housing of the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment also contains a control board equipped with a CPU, ROM (an example of an information storage medium), RAM, etc., which controls the operation of the slot machine 1.

The outer periphery of each of the left reels R1 to right reels R3 shown in Figure 1 is divided into 20 regions (hereinafter, each region will be referred to as a "frame") at regular intervals, and one of several types of symbols is arranged on each frame.

The front upper door UD and the front lower door DD are provided so that they can be opened and closed separately. The front upper door UD is provided with a display device 330 as a display means for performing effects composed of various videos and images for assisting and livening up the game. In addition, the display device 330 is configured so that a specific area 330b facing the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the display area 330a for displaying images is composed of a transparent liquid crystal display, and the spinning state and stopped state of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 can be observed through the display device 330. When the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are stopped, three patterns (upper row pattern, middle row pattern, lower row pattern) that are consecutively arranged on the outer periphery of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 out of the multiple types of patterns arranged at regular intervals on the outer periphery of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 can be observed from the front of the slot machine 1 through the display device 330.

In addition, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, an upper, middle, and lower row are provided for each reel as display positions for observing the patterns through the display device 330, and an activated line L1 is set for an activated line based on a combination of the display positions of each reel. In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the number of medals required for one game, the so-called specified insertion number, is set to three in any game state, and when medals equivalent to the specified insertion number are inserted, an activated line L1 formed by the middle row of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is activated.

The game result is determined by the symbol combination that is stopped and displayed on the pay line L1 (on the pay line), and if the symbol combination on the pay line L1 corresponds to a predetermined winning combination, that winning combination is considered to have won, and medals are paid out from the hopper unit 320, etc.

The front upper door UD is provided with a game information display section DS. The game information display section DS is made up of LEDs, lamps, seven-segment displays, etc., and displays various game information such as the number of medal credits, the number of medals paid out or won in one game, the total number of medals paid out or won in bonus mode, information on the winning combination in this game, and information suggesting how to press stop buttons B1, B2, and B3 related to the payout of medals.

The game information display unit DS includes a main control display device 500 consisting of a seven-segment display, and when a specified number of medals are inserted and the start lever SL is operated, a notification display is displayed that corresponds to a winning role command, which is a control signal created based on winning information, which is information on the winning role in this game, and when the left reel R1 to right reel R3 stop after the notification display is displayed, the notification display ends and the number of medals paid out or won is displayed. In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, a notification display is executed in which each segment of the main control display device 500 lights up and goes out in a display mode corresponding to the winning role command.

The main control display device 500 is also provided with an interval notification section 500A, which is a dot on a seven-segment display and lights up when an advantageous interval is started by the AT control means 200 (see FIG. 2) described below, and the expected medal acquisition value is 1 or more due to the assistance of winning a minor prize. The slot machine 1 of the first embodiment is also provided with multiple sound devices 340 on the front lower door DD for producing effects using sound. The sound devices 340 output various sounds to assist and liven up the game.

The lower front door DD is provided with various operating means. The operating means include a max bet button MB for inserting a specified number of medals as an insert operation means for inserting credited (stored) medals, a start lever SL for starting the game as a game start operation means for allowing the player to perform a start operation that triggers the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 to start playing, stop buttons B1 to B3 for stopping the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 that are driven to rotate by a stepping motor as a stop operation means for allowing the player to perform a stop operation that triggers the stop of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, and a settlement button BS for settling the credited medals.

In addition, a medal payout outlet MO and a medal tray MP are provided at the bottom of the lower front door DD, and a number of medals according to the results of a game are paid out from the medal payout outlet MO to the medal tray MP. In addition, when the settlement button BS is pressed while credited medals are stored in the gaming machine, pressing the settlement button BS executes a settlement process in which a number of medals equivalent to the number of credits (the number of credited medals) is paid out from the hopper unit 320, and the medals are paid out from the medal payout outlet MO to the medal tray MP.

Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment. The slot machine 1 of the first embodiment is controlled by a game control means 10 serving as a control board. The game control means 10 receives input signals from input means such as a coin insertion switch 210, a bet switch 220, a start switch 230, a stop switch 240, a setting change switch 250, and a reset switch 260 serving as a plurality of operation detection means, performs various calculations to execute a game, and controls the operation of output means such as the performance device 300, the reel unit 310, the hopper unit 320, and the main control display device 500 based on the calculation results.

The game control means 10 also includes a setting change means 100, an input acceptance means 105, a random number generation means 110, an internal lottery means 120, a reel control means 130, a winning determination means 140, a payout control means 150, a replay processing means 160, a game state transition control means 170, a presentation control means 180, a storage means 190, an assist time control means (AT control means) 200, and a pseudo game control means 400. Each of the means constituting the game control means 10 reads out and executes each control program pre-stored in the storage means 190 when each control process is executed.

The setting change means 100 performs control (setting change control) to change the setting value stored in the setting value storage means 191 of the storage means 190. When the setting change switch 250 is in the ON state and the setting change is permitted, the setting change means 100 cyclically changes the setting value in the order of setting 1 → setting 2 → ... → setting 6 → setting 1 → ... each time it receives an input signal output from the reset switch 260 provided in the power supply device, and determines the setting value based on the start signal output from the start switch 230 when the start lever SL is operated. In the slot machine 1, the winning probability of some of the winning areas that can be won in the internal lottery by the internal lottery means 120 is changed according to the setting value determined in the setting value storage means 191. In other words, the setting change means 100 is configured to be able to change the setting value that is a value that can change the winning probability of a role in the internal lottery by the internal lottery means 120.

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the setting change control is executed by the setting change means 100, the control related to the game state executed by the game state transition control means 170 and the control related to the advantageous zone executed by the AT control means 200 are configured to be initialized, the game state is set to a non-replay time (hereinafter, replay time is also referred to as "RT") state described later, and the control related to the auxiliary game executed by the AT control means 200 before the setting change is also initialized and a normal zone is set. On the other hand, in the slot machine 1, when the power supply to the game control means 10 is cut off (power interruption) and then the power supply is resumed again, the control related to the game state executed by the game state transition control means 170 and the control related to the advantageous zone executed by the AT control means 200 are configured to be resumed from the state before the power interruption, and the control related to the auxiliary game executed by the AT control means 200 before the power interruption is also configured to be maintained in the state before the power interruption.

When a medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot MI (see FIG. 1) and the medal insertion switch 210 is actuated during the insertion acceptance period, the insertion acceptance means 105 sets the inserted medal to an inserted state, and when the bet switch 220 is actuated to execute a bet operation in which the max bet button MB is pressed while the medal is credited, the insertion acceptance means 105 sets the credited medals to an inserted state up to the specified insertion number (3 medals), thereby performing a process to enable a game start operation on the start lever SL based on the fact that the medals equivalent to the specified insertion number have been set to the inserted state.

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the first press of the start lever SL, which is activated based on the insertion of a specified number of medals, is accepted as the player's operation to start the game, and serves as a trigger for starting the rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, as well as a trigger for the internal lottery means 120, which will be described later, to execute an internal lottery.

The random number generating means 110 is a means for generating random numbers for lotteries. In the first embodiment, "random numbers" include not only values that are generated randomly in the mathematical sense, but also values that may be generated regularly but may function as random numbers because of irregular acquisition timing, etc.

The internal lottery means 120 is a means for conducting an internal lottery to determine whether a winning combination has been achieved based on a start signal output when the player performs a start operation on the start lever SL and the start switch 230 detects the start operation, and performs lottery table selection processing, random number determination processing, lottery flag setting processing, etc.

In the lottery table selection process, a selection is made based on the current game state as to which internal lottery table to use for the internal lottery from among the multiple internal lottery tables stored in the internal lottery table storage means 192 of the storage means 190. In each internal lottery table, multiple random numbers (for example, 65,536 random numbers from 0 to 65,535) are associated with various roles such as replays, small roles, and bonuses, as well as non-wins (misses).

In the following description, a bonus means a winning combination that activates a reel or a reel continuous operation device, a bonus being activated means that a bonus is won and activates a reel or a reel continuous operation device, and a bonus state means that the reel or reel continuous operation device is activated.

In the random number determination process, a random number (random number for lottery) generated by the random number generating means 110 is obtained for each game based on the start signal output from the start switch 230, and the obtained random number is compared with the internal lottery table selected in the lottery table selection process, and it is determined whether or not a winning combination has been achieved based on the comparison result.

In the lottery flag setting process, the lottery flag corresponding to the winning combination is set from a non-established state (first flag state, OFF state) to a established state (second flag state, ON state) based on the result of the random number determination process. In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when two or more types of combinations are won, the lottery flags corresponding to each of the two or more types of combinations are set to an established state. In addition, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, there are provided a lottery flag (carry-over flag) that can carry over the established state to the next or subsequent games until a prize is won, and a lottery flag (non-carry-over flag) that is reset to an unestablished state without carrying over the established state to the next or subsequent games regardless of whether a prize is won. In addition, the setting information of the lottery flag is stored in the lottery flag storage means 193 of the storage means 190.

The reel control means 130 executes reel rotation control, which starts the rotation drive of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and controls the rotation state of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, based on the start signal output from the start switch 230, which is activated when the player executes a start operation on the start lever SL. In addition, when the rotation state of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 becomes a steady rotation state at a predetermined speed (for example, about 80 rpm), the reel control means 130 executes control to validate the stop operation detected by the stop switch 240 by operating the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 corresponding to each reel. Then, when a reel stop signal is output from the stop switch 240 that detected the stop operation, the reel control means 130 executes control to stop each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 corresponding to the stop switch 240 that detected the stop operation (reel stop control).

In the following description, when the reel control means 130 starts the rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and the player operates each of the active stop buttons B1 to B3, the first operation will be referred to as the first stop operation, the second operation will be referred to as the second stop operation, and the third operation will be referred to as the third stop operation.

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the reel that is spinning corresponding to the pressed stop button is stopped for the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 within a predetermined period of 190 ms from the time when the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 is pressed (the time when the stop switch 240 detects the stop operation). In the following description, pressing the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 is also referred to as an operation. In addition, the slot machine 1 may be configured so that the stop signal is output from the stop switch 240 not only when the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 are pressed, but also when, for example, an operation is performed in which the stopped button B1 to the stop button B3 are pressed and the pressed stop button B1 to the stop button B3 are released.

Here, if the spinning reels are to be stopped within 190 ms from the time the stop button is pressed, the stopping position of each spinning reel is configured to be such that it can rotate a maximum of four frames from the time the stop button is pressed until the reel stops, depending on the diameter and rotation speed of each reel. Therefore, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, for the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, the range in which symbols can be pulled onto the pay line L1 (pull-in range) is a total of five frames, from the frame displayed on the pay line L1 at the time the stop button is pressed until the reel has rotated four frames.

When executing the reel stop control, the reel control means 130 performs a logic calculation process to determine the stop position of the spinning reel based on a preset priority order by logic calculation including a pull-in process to stop the spinning reel so that a combination with a lottery flag set to a hit state can win as much as possible, and a kick-off process to stop the spinning reel so that a combination with a lottery flag set to a non-hit state cannot win, and a table reference process to determine the stop position of the spinning reel by referring to the stop control table stored in the reel control data storage means 194 of the storage means 190, thereby stopping the spinning reel and displaying a pattern on the pay line L1 (hereinafter, stopping the spinning reel by the reel stop control and displaying a pattern on the pay line L1 is also referred to as "stop display").

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when multiple types of minor roles are won in an internal lottery, the priority of the candidate stop positions can be determined according to the number of symbol combinations that can be displayed on the pay line L1 (number priority control), or according to the number of medals paid out based on a predetermined payout for the minor role (number priority control). However, when number priority control is executed, if multiple minor roles with the same payout are won, the priority of the candidate stop positions that can win each minor role is treated as being the same.

The winning determination means 140 performs a winning determination process to determine whether or not a winning combination has been achieved based on the stopping state of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. Specifically, the winning determination means 140 refers to the winning determination table stored in the winning determination table storage means 195 of the storage means 190 to determine whether or not the symbol combination displayed on the pay line L1 at the time when all of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 have stopped is a winning form of a predetermined winning combination. The winning determination table is prepared so that the presence or absence of a bonus, replay, or small winning combination can be determined (hereinafter referred to as "winning determination") based on the symbol combination displayed on the pay line L1 when each reel is stopped. In the following description, the symbol combination that indicates the winning form of a winning combination will also be referred to as the "winning symbol combination".

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, each process is executed based on the result of the determination by the winning determination means 140 in the winning determination process. For example, the processes executed based on the result of the determination of the winning role include a process to determine the number of medals to be paid out by the payout control means 150 when a small role is won, a process to cause the replay processing means 160 to execute the next game without consuming medals when a replay is won, and a process to cause the game state transition control means 170 to transition the game state when a role that triggers a transition of the game state, such as a bonus, is won.

The payout control means 150 performs a payout process for the payout of medals according to the game results. Specifically, when a minor winning combination is achieved, the payout number of medals in the game is determined based on the payout amount determined in advance for each combination, and the payout control means 150 controls the hopper unit 320, which serves as a payout device, to pay out medals equivalent to the determined payout number.

The hopper unit 320 performs the operation of paying out the number of medals instructed by the payout control means 150. The hopper unit 320 is equipped with a payout medal detection switch 325 that is activated each time a medal is paid out. The payout control means 150 is configured to be able to manage the number of medals actually paid out from the hopper unit 320 based on an input signal from the payout medal detection switch 325. Note that when medal credit is permitted, instead of actually paying out medals using the hopper unit 320, a credit addition process is performed in which the payout number is added to the credit number (the number of credited medals) stored in the credit storage area (not shown) of the storage means 190, and medals are virtually paid out.

When the winning determination means 140 determines that a symbol combination indicating a winning replay among the multiple types of replay roles described below has been stopped and displayed on the pay line L1, and the replay wins, the replay processing means 160 performs a replay process (replay process) that sets the machine to a ready state for the next game without the need to insert medals. That is, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when a replay wins, an automatic insertion process is performed in which a specified number of medals are automatically inserted without using medals (including credit medals) held by the player, and the machine waits for the start operation of the start lever SL for the next game with the same winning line L1 as the previous game set.

The game state transition control means 170 performs processing for transitioning the game state between multiple game states, and processing related to the activation and termination of bonuses. Here, the transition condition for each game state may be one condition or multiple conditions. When multiple conditions are defined, the game state can be transitioned to another game state based on the fulfillment of any one of the multiple predefined conditions, or the fulfillment of all of the multiple predefined conditions.

The performance control means 180 controls the performance related to the game, such as image and video performance using the display device 330 and sound performance using the sound device 340, based on the performance data stored in the performance control data storage means 196 of the storage means 190. Specifically, when the player operates each component of the slot machine 1 by inserting a medal, operating the max bet button MB, the start lever SL, and the stop buttons B1 to B3, or when a game event such as a change in the game state occurs, the performance control means 180 controls the execution of performances that liven up the game or assist the game by executing performances using the lighting or blinking of lamps and LEDs, and sound output from the sound device 340. In addition, the performance control means 180 causes each component of the performance device 300 to execute a performance based on each performance state.

The AT control means 200 uses data stored in the AT control data storage means 197 to control the transition between the advantageous zone (advantageous period), which is a zone (period) during which control related to the instruction function, including the auxiliary game in which a notification to assist in the winning of a specific role is displayed on the main control display device 500, can be executed, and the normal zone (non-advantageous period, non-advantageous zone), which is a zone (period) during which control related to the auxiliary game (control related to the instruction function) based on the result of the internal lottery by the internal lottery means 120 cannot be executed, and constitutes an auxiliary game control means that performs control related to the normal zone, advantageous zone, and auxiliary game.

The AT control data storage means 197 stores data (various flags, counters, etc. that are set to ON or OFF by a specified control process) used in various controls related to multiple types of presentation states, including the normal state and the AT state, that are executed within the advantageous zone.

The AT control means 200 sets the presentation state to the AT state (assist time state) under predetermined conditions in the advantageous zone, and displays information (an example of operation instruction information) corresponding to the operation mode of the stop buttons B1 to B3 that makes it possible to win the specific role that has been won on the main control display device 500 consisting of a 7-segment display, thereby performing an operation notification to assist in the winning of the specific role. In addition, in the slot machine 1, when an operation notification is executed by the AT control means 200, a navigation effect is executed as an operation effect in which an image (indicator) corresponding to the correct hitting order is displayed on the display device 330 by the presentation control means 180 described later. In this way, in the slot machine 1, in the AT state, the operation mode of the stop buttons B1 to B3 is notified by the winning assistance of the operation notification and the navigation effect, and an auxiliary game (AT game, notification game) that is advantageous to the player is executed.

When a predetermined end condition for ending the advantageous zone, described later in more detail, is met, the AT control means 200 executes a predetermined end process for ending the advantageous zone and starting the normal zone from the next game, and a predetermined initialization process for initializing information related to the advantageous zone, such as various flags and numerical values set within the advantageous zone. In addition, the AT control means 200 turns on the zone notification unit 500A when the advantageous zone starts and the winning assistance is executed, so that the expected medal acquisition value is 1 or more. For this reason, the AT control means 200 is configured to be able to turn off the zone notification unit 500A when the advantageous zone has started and the winning assistance is executed, in a presentation state in which the winning assistance is not executed, even if the advantageous zone has started.

The AT control means 200 executes a game number update process in which, each time a game is played in a game that has started an advantageous zone, the value "1", which corresponds to one game, is added to the value (stored value) stored in the first advantageous zone counter 197a, and the stored value of the first advantageous zone counter 197a is cumulatively incremented and updated. The AT control means 200 also executes a difference number update process in which the AT control means 200 cumulatively records in the second advantageous zone counter 197b the difference value (number of medals difference) obtained by subtracting the number of medals paid out from the game that has started an advantageous zone by the number of medals inserted.

When the AT control means 200 of the first embodiment is controlling in the advantageous zone, regardless of the game state, it executes a game number update process that cumulatively adds (updates) the value stored in the first advantageous zone counter 197a by a value of "1", which is a value corresponding to one game, each time one game is played, and a number difference update process that cumulatively updates the value stored in the second advantageous zone counter 197b by a value corresponding to the difference in the number of medals.

Here, in the difference number update process for updating the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b, when the number of medals paid out in the game is less than the specified number of medals inserted and the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b is subtracted, the AT control means 200 sets the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b to the value "0" if the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b is less than the value "0". As a result, the AT control means 200 can fix the value of the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b at the lowest point to the value "0", so that in the control process using the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b, it is not necessary to vary the value that is the judgment threshold according to the specific numerical value at the lowest point, and the load of the control process using the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b can be reduced.

When 3000 games have been played, i.e., when the stored value of the first advantageous zone counter 197a reaches the value "3000", or when the player has acquired more than 2400 medals from the point at which the most medals were consumed in the advantageous zone, i.e., when the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b reaches the value "2401" from the point at which it was the lowest value (lowest point), the AT control means 200 determines that a specific end condition has been met as a predetermined end condition for terminating the advantageous zone, and executes a predetermined end process that ends the advantageous zone and starts the normal zone from the next game.

In a specified initialization process, the AT control means 200 initializes all information used in various control processes in the favorable zone, such as each flag set to ON in the favorable zone and values set in the favorable zone. The AT control means 200 can also end the favorable zone when a specified end condition (normal end condition) other than the specific end condition that has been set in advance is met, and also executes the specified initialization process and the specified end process when the normal end condition is met. Details of the normal end condition set by the AT control means 200 in the first embodiment will be described later.

The pseudo game control means 400 is configured to execute (generate) a pseudo game that allows the player to experience a simulated game by generating a freeze that temporarily delays the progress of normal play based on the operation of the start lever SL, spinning the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 by operating the start lever SL, and temporarily stopping the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 by operating the stop button B1 to the stop button B3.

Here, a temporary stop is a control that stops the rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 based on the operation of the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 in a pseudo game, and during a pseudo game, the temporarily stopped reels move slightly before a predetermined time (500 ms in the first embodiment) has elapsed in order to prevent the player from mistaking the reels for a stop in a real game, making it clear that the reels are different from the stop of the reels in a real game (real game). This prevents the player from mistaking the main game for the main game to end when the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 are operated in a pseudo game and the player from leaving the slot machine 1 and quitting the game even though the main game has not ended.

2. Components of the Gaming Machine of the First Embodiment Next, the components of the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

<Winning areas subject to internal lottery>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the winning areas that are the subject of an internal lottery in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, and the winning numbers and winning combinations that are associated with each winning area.

The slot machine 1 of the first embodiment has, as a bonus, a regular big bonus (hereinafter, the regular big bonus is also referred to as "RBB") as a consecutive operation device for a first type special feature. In addition, the slot machine 1 has, as game states controlled by the game state transition control means 170, a non-RT state in which the RBB is not set to an established state and the RBB is not operating, a bonus established state in which the RBB is set to an established state and the RBB is maintained in the established state until the RBB is activated, and a bonus state in which the RBB is activated and the RBB is activated, and a bonus state in which the RBB is activated and the RBB is activated.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the winning areas that are subject to the internal lottery include the winning area "all small roles", the winning area "all 1-coin roles", the winning area "normal replay 1", the winning area "normal replay 2", the winning area "rare replay", the winning area "batting order bell 1" to the winning area "batting order bell 12", the winning area "RBB & 1-coin roles", the winning area "RBB & rare roles", and the winning area "RBB", which are associated with the winning numbers 1 to 20, respectively. In addition, in the slot machine 1, the winning number 0 is associated with a non-win (miss) as a result of the internal lottery.

Here, "batting order" refers to the order in which the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated. In the following description, the timing at which the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated is also referred to as "operation timing."

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the batting order, which is the order in which the three stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated, is made up of six types of batting orders, batting order 1 to batting order 6. Batting order 1 is a batting order in which the stop operation is performed in the order of stop button B1 → stop button B2 → stop button B3, which is called a "scissors hit" batting order. Batting order 2 is a batting order in which the stop operation is performed in the order of stop button B1 → stop button B3 → stop button B2, which is called a "scissors hit". Batting order 3 is a batting order in which the stop operation is performed in the order of stop button B2 → stop button B1 → stop button B3. Batting order 4 is a batting order in which the stop operation is performed in the order of stop button B2 → stop button B3 → stop button B1. Batting order 5 is a batting order in which the stop operation is performed in the order of stop button B3 → stop button B1 → stop button B2. Batting order 6 is a batting order known as reverse pressing, in which the stop operation is performed in the order of stop button B3 → stop button B2 → stop button B1.

In the random number determination process, the internal lottery means 120 determines whether each winning area is a winner in the order from the winning area associated with winning number 20 to the non-winning area associated with winning number 0.

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the small roles that can be won if the internal lottery is won include Bell A to Bell F, 1-coin roles A to 1-coin roles C, and rare roles, and the replays that can be won in the internal lottery include Replay A, Replay B, and Rare Replay. Each small role and each replay is associated with each winning area in the combination shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the slot machine 1 has the winning areas "RBB & 1-coin role" and "RBB & rare role" set as winning areas including bonuses and small roles, and the winning area "RBB" set as a winning area including only bonuses.

In slot machine 1, the winning probability for the winning area "Rare Replay" is set to be lower than the winning areas for other replays. Also, in slot machine 1, the winning probability for the winning area "RBB & Rare Role" is set to be lower than the winning areas including the winning area "Batting Order Bell 1" to the winning area "Batting Order Bell 12" and the minor role of the winning area "RBB & 1 Coin Role".

Here, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the role associated with the carryover possible flag is RBB, and the small role and replay are associated with the non-carryover possible flag. That is, in the lottery flag setting process, when a winning area including RBB is won in the internal lottery, a process is performed to carry over the established state of the lottery flag of the winning RBB until the RBB is won. At this time, the internal lottery means 120 performs an internal lottery to determine whether or not the small role and replay will be won, even in a game in which the established state of the lottery flag of RBB is carried over. That is, in the lottery flag setting process, when a small role or replay is won in a game in which the established state of the lottery flag of RBB is carried over, the lottery flag corresponding to two or more roles consisting of the lottery flag of the already won RBB and the lottery flag of the small role or replay won in the internal lottery is set to an established state.

<Internal lottery table>
In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, as the internal lottery tables used in the internal lottery by the internal lottery means 120, an internal lottery table used in the non-RT state (normal) (hereinafter referred to as internal lottery table A), an internal lottery table used in the bonus establishment state (internal) (hereinafter referred to as internal lottery table B), and an internal lottery table used in the bonus state (operating) (hereinafter referred to as internal lottery table C) are stored in the internal lottery table storage means 192. In each of the internal lottery tables A to C, a lottery value number is associated with each winning area that is the subject of the lottery.

<Random number determination process>
In the random number determination process, the internal lottery means 120 of the first embodiment sequentially subtracts the random number obtained from the random number generation means 110 by the lottery value numbers corresponding to each winning area in the internal lottery table obtained from the internal lottery table storage means 192, and when the result of the subtraction is a negative value, it determines that the winning area corresponding to the subtracted lottery value number has been won. Also, when the result of the subtraction is a positive value at the time when the internal lottery means 120 has finished subtracting all the lottery value numbers stored in the internal lottery table, it determines that none of the roles have been won, that is, that the player has not won.

The random number generating means 110 of the first embodiment is configured to generate a total of 65,536 random numbers from 0 to 65,535 as random numbers to be used in the internal lottery. In the internal lottery table A, the total number of lottery values associated with the winning area "RBB" to the winning area "Normal Replay 1" is 65,536, and in the internal lottery table B, the total number of lottery values associated with the winning area "RBB & Rare Role" to the winning area "Normal Replay 1" is 65,536. Therefore, in the internal lottery in the non-RT state or the bonus establishment state, any role will be won, and there will be no non-winning roles.

<Bonus winning determination process>
As described above, in the internal lottery means 120 of the first embodiment, in the bonus establishment state, the lottery value number is set in the winning area "RBB & 1 piece role" and the winning area "RBB & rare role". Therefore, in the internal lottery when the gaming state is the bonus establishment state, since there is a possibility that RBB will be won again in the state where RBB has already been set to the establishment state, the internal lottery means 120 is configured to execute a bonus winning judgment process to judge whether or not the winning area in which the win/loss is determined by the random number judgment process is a winning area including a bonus, in order not to set the newly won RBB to the establishment state.

When the internal lottery means 120 determines in the bonus win determination process that the winning area including the bonus is the target for determining whether it has won or lost in the random number determination process, if the winning area including the bonus is won and the game state is a bonus established state, it executes a process to skip the process of setting the bonus to an established state. In this way, the slot machine 1 prevents a new RBB from being set to an established state when an RBB has already been set to an established state.

<Details of the batting order bell>
In the first embodiment, the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" to "Batting Order Bell 12" are each set with a batting order (correct batting order) that will enable Bells A to F to win if won.

In the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" and "Batting Order Bell 7", the correct batting order that will allow Bell A to win is set to batting order 1, in the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 2" and "Batting Order Bell 8", the correct batting order that will allow Bell B to win is set to batting order 2, in the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 3" and "Batting Order Bell 9", the correct batting order that will allow Bell C to win is set to batting order 3, in the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 4" and "Batting Order Bell 10", the correct batting order that will allow Bell D to win is set to batting order 4, in the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 5" and "Batting Order Bell 11", the correct batting order that will allow Bell E to win is set to batting order 5, and in the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 6" and "Batting Order Bell 12", the correct batting order that will allow Bell F to win is set to batting order 6. The winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" through "Batting Order Bell 12" are configured so that when stop buttons B1 through B3 are operated in a batting order that is different from the correct batting order set for each winning area, there is a 1/2 chance that a 1-coin role A or 1-coin role B will win, and there is a 1/2 chance that a different symbol combination from either winning combination will stop and be displayed on the pay line L1, resulting in a missed win (non-winning).

<Reel Control Means>
In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, in any game state, the priority order of the winning combinations to be stopped on the pay line L1 in the reel stop control is set in the order of "replay > small combination >bonus." In other words, when a bonus and a small combination or a bonus and a replay are overlappingly won, the reel control means 130 executes stop control to give priority to the bonus and win the small combination or the replay.

In addition, the reel control means 130 of the first embodiment continues to supply the full-phase excitation drive pulse to stop the rotating reel until 200 ms has elapsed in order to reliably stop the rotating reel.

The reel control means 130 obtains the rotation state of the reel at the time of receiving the reel stop signal from the stop switch 240 using the reel index, which is information indicating that the reel has made one rotation, output when the photosensor provided on the reel unit 310 detects the reel position detection section provided on each reel, and the rotation angle from the reference position of the reel at which the reel index is detected (calculated from the number of drive pulses supplied to the stepping motor). Details of the reel stop control in this game and the reel temporary stop control executed when a temporary stop is made in the simulated game will be described later.

<Small prize payout>
The payouts for Bell A to Bell F are set to a number (15) greater than the specified number (3). The payouts for 1-coin A to 1-coin C and rare are set to a number (1) less than the specified number (1).

<Game state transition control means>
FIG. 4(A) is a state transition diagram showing game states to which a transition can be made from each game state in the control relating to the transition of game states executed by the game state transition control means 170 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4(A), the non-RT state is a gaming state (initial gaming state, normal gaming state) that corresponds to the initial state among the multiple types of gaming states, and is a non-bonus state in which a bonus has not been activated or established. In the non-RT state, the gaming state transition control means 170 causes the internal lottery means 120 to execute an internal lottery using internal lottery table A, in which the probability of winning a replay is set to 8978/65536 (approximately 1/7.3).

The bonus establishment state is a game state to which the player enters when the winning area "RBB", the winning area "RBB & 1 coin role", or the winning area "RBB & rare role" is won in the internal lottery in the non-RT state, and RBB is set to the establishment state. In the bonus establishment state, the game state transition control means 170 causes the internal lottery means 120 to execute an internal lottery using the internal lottery table B, in which the winning probability of a replay is set to 8982/65536 (approximately 1/7.3).

The bonus state is a game state to which the player is transitioned when the RBB is activated after winning. In the bonus state, the game state transition control means 170 determines whether the termination condition of the activated RBB is met based on the total number of medals paid out, and when the number of medals paid out exceeds a predetermined payout number (e.g., 100 medals), it terminates the bonus state by terminating the operation of the RBB, and transitions the game state to a non-RT state, which is a non-bonus state. In the bonus state, the game state transition control means 170 causes the internal lottery means 120 to execute an internal lottery using the internal lottery table C.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the internal lottery table C, random numbers are associated with the winning area "All Small Wins" which wins all small wins of Bell A to Bell F, 1 Coin A to 1 Coin C, and Rare, and the winning area "All 1 Coin" which wins all small wins of 1 Coin A to 1 Coin C and Rare where the payout is set to 1.

The bonus state will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, the probability of winning the winning area "all small roles" or the winning area "all 1-coin roles" in the bonus state in which the internal lottery table C is selected is set to be higher than the probability of winning any of the winning areas including small roles in the internal lottery table A and the internal lottery table B, that is, the probability of winning a small role in the bonus state is set to be higher than the probability of winning any of the small roles in a game state other than the bonus state. Also, the probability of winning the winning area "all small roles" in the internal lottery table C is set to be the same as the sum of the probability of winning any one of the winning areas "batting order bell 1" to "batting order bell 6" and any one of the winning areas "batting order bell 7" to "batting order bell 12" in the internal lottery table A and the internal lottery table B.

Because of this configuration, the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment is configured so that in the bonus state, the probability of winning all minor prizes is higher than in the non-RT state when the bonus is not activated or in the bonus activation state, and the probability of winning any minor prize is the same or higher.

In addition, the slot machine 1 is configured so that in the bonus state, the probability of winning the "All Minor Features" winning area is lower than the probability of winning any of the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" to "Batting Order Bell 12" (the combined probability of winning each of the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" to "Batting Order Bell 12").

In this way, the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment has multiple types of first specific winning modes (winning area "Batting Order Bell 1" to winning area "Batting Order Bell 6", winning area "Batting Order Bell 7" to winning area "Batting Order Bell 12") in which multiple types of specific roles (Bell A to Bell F) set to a payout greater than the amount of game value inserted required to start play do not overlap with each other and are won in combination with other minor roles, and a second specific winning mode (winning area "All Minor Roles") in which multiple types of specific minor roles are won in combination, and the internal lottery means 120 is configured to conduct an internal lottery so that multiple types of first specific winning modes exist in the normal game state (non-RT state) and bonus establishment state, and to conduct an internal lottery so that the second specific winning mode exists in the bonus state. In addition, in the slot machine 1, the probability of winning the second winning mode in the internal lottery in the bonus state is lower than the probability of winning any of the multiple types of first winning modes in the internal lottery in the normal game state and the bonus establishment state, and the winning probability of each of the small roles in the internal lottery in the bonus state is configured to be equal to or higher than the winning probability of each of the small roles in the internal lottery in the normal game state and the bonus establishment state.

For this reason, in the first embodiment of the slot machine 1, the expected medal acquisition rate in the bonus state is less than 100%.

Here, in the bonus establishment state, as will be described in more detail later, when the winning area "batting order bell 1" to the winning area "batting order bell 12" are won, the configuration is such that Bell A to Bell F cannot win unless the stop button B1 to stop button B3 are operated in the correct batting order consisting of batting order 1 to batting order 6, so the probability of any of Bell A to Bell F winning is limited to when the stop button B1 to stop button B3 can be operated in the correct batting order from the six types of batting orders. On the other hand, when an AT game is executed in which the winning assistance is executed by the AT control means 200 described later, when the winning area "batting order bell 1" to the winning area "batting order bell 12" are won, the correct batting order is notified by the winning assistance by the AT control means 200 and the winning assistance effect by the effect control means 180, so the probability of any of Bell A to Bell F winning can be increased by up to six times compared to when the winning assistance is not executed.

In this way, in the first embodiment, six types of bells A to F are set as winning roles (specific roles) that pay out more medals than the specified number of medals that are won when the stop operation is performed in the correct hitting order and the operation timing of the first stop operation is appropriate. The probability of obtaining a winning mode including a specific role in the bonus state is compressed to about 1/6 of the probability of obtaining a winning mode including a specific role in a game state other than the bonus state. By configuring in this way, an internal lottery is performed by setting a mode in which N types of specific roles are won without overlapping each other in a game state other than the bonus state, and by setting a mode in which N types of specific roles are won in overlapping in the bonus state and performing an internal lottery, the probability of obtaining a winning mode including a specific role in the bonus state can be compressed to about 1/N of the probability of obtaining a winning mode including a specific role in a game state other than the bonus state. This makes it possible to design medal acquisition performance for AT play while lowering the lower limit of the expected value of the medal acquisition rate in the bonus state to less than 100%, and thus dramatically improve the design freedom of the slot machine 1 equipped with an AT function.

<AT Control Means>
FIG. 4(B) is a state transition diagram showing details of the normal interval and advantageous interval controlled by the AT control means 200 of the first embodiment, and the presentation state controlled during the advantageous interval.

As described above, the normal interval is a period during which control of auxiliary play based on the results of the internal lottery by the internal lottery means 120 is not executed. During play within the normal interval, the AT control means 200 executes a favorable interval lottery, which is a lottery that determines whether to end the normal interval and start a favorable interval, based on the winning area that is selected in the internal lottery by the internal lottery means 120.

In the advantageous zone lottery, the AT control means 200 first obtains from the AT control data storage means 197 an advantageous zone transition lottery table, which is a data table in which "start of advantageous zone" and "miss (no win)" are associated with each of a number of random numbers. The AT control means 200 then obtains a random number from the random number generation means 110, compares the obtained random number with the advantageous zone transition lottery table, and determines whether or not to start the advantageous zone based on the comparison result.

The AT control means 200 executes the advantageous zone lottery so that the probability obtained by multiplying the winning probability of the winning area selected in the internal lottery by the winning probability of the "start of advantageous zone" in the advantageous zone lottery is 1/17500 or more.

The AT control means 200 of the first embodiment is configured to execute a favorable zone lottery when the winning area "Batting Order Bell 1" to winning area "Batting Order Bell 12", winning area "RBB & Rare Role", winning area "RBB & 1 Coin Role", winning area "Normal Replay 1", or winning area "Rare Replay" is won in the internal lottery in the non-RT state and the bonus establishment state, and not to execute a favorable zone lottery when another winning area is won. In addition, the AT control means 200 executes a favorable zone lottery that wins the "start of the favorable zone" with a high probability of about 1/1.5.

In the advantageous zone, the AT control means 200 has a normal state, a CZ state, and an AT state as states (presentation states) related to the instruction function, and in the normal state, it is configured not to execute the winning assistance of Bells A to F when the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" to "Batting Order Bell 12" are won, and in the CZ state and AT state, it is configured to execute the winning assistance of Bells A to F when the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" to "Batting Order Bell 12" are won. Also, the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment is configured so that the proportion of time spent in the advantageous zone during the entire game can be 70% or more.

The normal state is a presentation state (normal presentation state) that corresponds to the normal state among multiple types of presentation states, and is set when there is no transition to another presentation state. When the presentation state transitions to the normal state, the AT control means 200 executes an incremental update to add a value "1" equivalent to one game to the non-AT game number counter (not shown), which counts the number of plays in the normal state, each time a play is executed. When the stored value of the non-AT game number counter becomes a value of "700", the AT control means 200 determines that the transition condition to the CZ state has been met, and transitions the presentation state from the normal state to the CZ state.

In addition, the AT control means 200 executes a CZ lottery to determine whether or not to transition to the CZ state when the winning area "RBB & Rare Role" is won in the internal lottery, and when the winning area "Rare Replay" is won.

The AT control means 200 performs a lottery in the CZ lottery to determine either "Transition to CZ state" or "No win", and if "Transition to CZ state" is won in the CZ lottery, it determines that the CZ transition condition has been met and transitions the presentation state from the normal state to the CZ state.

The CZ state is a more advantageous presentation state for players than the normal state, as it provides assistance for winning with Bells A through F when the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" through "Batting Order Bell 12" are won.

At the start of the CZ state, the AT control means 200 sets a value (e.g., 8 times) corresponding to the predetermined number of times that the winning assistance is executed to the CZ auxiliary play count counter (not shown) of the AT control data storage means 197. Each time a winning area "batting order bell 1" to "batting order bell 12" is won and a winning assistance is executed, the AT control means 200 executes a decrement update to subtract the stored value of the CZ auxiliary play count counter by the value "1", which corresponds to 1 time.

The AT control means 200 is configured to execute a CZ AT lottery to determine whether or not to transition to the AT state in a game in which the CZ state has been started. If the "transition to the AT state" is selected in the CZ AT lottery, the AT control means 200 transitions the presentation state from the CZ state to the AT state after eight winning assistances have been performed since the start of the CZ state. On the other hand, if the "transition to the AT state" is not selected in the CZ AT lottery, the AT control means 200 ends the CZ state after eight winning assistances have been performed since the start of the CZ state. If the CZ state is ended without the AT transition condition being satisfied, the AT control means 200 determines that the normal termination condition has been satisfied among the conditions for terminating the advantageous zone, and executes a predetermined initialization process, which is a process for initializing information about the advantageous zone, and a predetermined termination process for terminating the advantageous zone and starting the normal zone from the next game.

In the AT lottery during the CZ, the AT control means 200 executes a lottery that allows a player to win "Transition to AT state" regardless of the result of the internal lottery. Also, in the AT lottery during the CZ, the AT control means 200 is configured to obtain a lottery table by referring to the winning area that was won in the internal lottery, so that the probability of winning "Transition to AT state" changes depending on the winning area that was won in the internal lottery. The AT control means 200 obtains a lottery table that allows a player to win "Transition to AT state" with a higher probability when the winning area "RBB & rare role" is won in the internal lottery and when the winning area "rare replay" is won than when other winning areas are won.

The AT state is a more advantageous presentation state for players than the normal state, as it provides assistance for winning with Bells A through F when the winning areas "Batting Order Bell 1" through "Batting Order Bell 12" are won.

At the start of the AT state, the AT control means 200 sets an initial value (50 games) corresponding to a predetermined number of games in the AT game number counter (not shown) of the AT control data storage means 197, and executes a decrement update each time a game is played, subtracting the stored value of the AT game number counter by the value "1" corresponding to one game.

The AT control means 200 is also configured to execute an add-on lottery to determine whether or not to add (add) the duration of the AT state by determining whether or not to add a value determined by lottery to the stored value of the AT game number counter when the winning area "RBB & rare role" is won in the internal lottery by the internal lottery means 120 and when the winning area "rare replay" is won, and to execute an add-on process to add the determined value to the AT game number counter when the value determined by the add-on lottery is 1 or greater.

When the stored value of the AT game number counter becomes "0" due to the decrement update performed each time a game is played in the AT state, the AT control means 200 determines that the termination condition of the AT state (AT termination condition) has been met, terminates the AT state, and determines that the normal termination condition of the termination conditions of the advantageous zone has been met, and executes a predetermined initialization process which is a process for initializing information about the advantageous zone, and a predetermined termination process which ends the advantageous zone and starts the normal zone from the next game.

In addition, when the stored value of the first advantageous zone counter 197a reaches the value "1500" in the AT state, and when the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b exceeds the value "2400" in the AT state, the AT control means 200 determines that the AT end condition is met, ends the AT state, and determines that a specific end condition among the advantageous zone end conditions is met, and executes a predetermined initialization process which is a process of initializing information about the advantageous zone, and a predetermined end process which ends the advantageous zone and starts the normal zone from the next game.

<Simulated Game Control Means>
The pseudo game control means 400 of the first embodiment is configured to execute a pseudo game in a game in which an AT state is started by the AT control means 200. In the pseudo game, the pseudo game control means 400 causes the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 to rotate by operating the start lever SL, and causes the reel control means 130 to execute reel control to temporarily stop the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 by operating the stop buttons B1 to B3. When the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped, the pseudo game control means 400 is configured to cause the reel control means 130 to execute control to temporarily stop and display a white 7 pattern "white 7" in the middle of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, regardless of the operation timing of the stop buttons B1 to B3.

The middle rows of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 each constitute a temporary stop position in the first embodiment, and the white 7 symbol "white 7" (see Figure 5) arranged on the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 each constitutes a temporary stop symbol in the first embodiment.

When a pseudo game is being played, the slot machine 1 is configured so that even if the predetermined period of 190 ms has elapsed since the stop buttons B1 to B3 were operated, the reel continues to rotate until the white 7 symbol "white 7" reaches the middle of the reel, and when the white 7 symbol "white 7" reaches the middle of the reel, the reel is temporarily stopped. The reel is configured to be able to rotate more than the number of frames that can be rotated in this game (4 frames) from the time the stop button is pressed until the reel is temporarily stopped. Details of the control of the temporary stop of the reel in the pseudo game will be described later.

The reel control means 130 of the first embodiment also outputs a drive pulse to the stepping motor that rotates the reel, which rotates the reel one step (approximately 1.43°) in the forward or reverse direction, within a predetermined time (500 ms in the first embodiment) that has been determined in advance from the time when the rotation of the reel that is temporarily stopped in the pseudo game has stopped in order to prevent the player from mistaking it for a stop in the actual game. The reel control means 130 alternately outputs a drive pulse that rotates the reel one step in the forward direction and a drive pulse that rotates the reel one step in the reverse direction at intervals of 500 ms or less, thereby micro-vibrating the temporarily stopped reel. Details of the micro-vibration of the reel in the pseudo game will be described later.

When the pseudo game ends, in the slot machine 1, a predetermined symbol combination ("white 7-white 7-white 7" in the first embodiment) is displayed in the middle of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 by the pseudo game, so that the reel control means 130 executes random delay control to randomly delay the timing at which each reel starts to spin, in order to prevent the synchronization of the start of rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 from assisting in the winning of a winning combination and undermining the fairness of the game. In the first embodiment, the random delay control is executed when the player operates the start lever SL while the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are stopped in the pseudo game. By not synchronizing the start of rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 by the random delay control, the slot machine 1 ensures the fairness of the game even when the pseudo game is executed.

In addition, in the first embodiment, when a freeze including a pseudo game occurs, the pseudo game control means 400 transmits a game interruption signal indicating that the game is progressing due to the occurrence of the freeze to an external test device provided outside the slot machine 1 via a relay board (not shown).

As described above, the pseudo game is a reel presentation whose duration can be adjusted by the player's operation. Therefore, when the pseudo game control means 400 of the first embodiment outputs a game interruption signal to the external test device when the pseudo game is started, in order to shorten the time required for testing using the external test device, it outputs a presentation shortening request command, which is identification information (command) for ending the pseudo game in a short period of time, to the relay board connecting the game control means 10 and the external test device. The pseudo game control means 400 transmits the presentation shortening request command to the relay board every time about 50 ms has elapsed, which is a predetermined time longer than the time required for the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 to rotate one pattern (37.5 ms in the first embodiment).

The relay board outputs a stop button operation signal to the external test device to cause the external test device to output a stop signal indicating that the stop button corresponding to the performance shortening request command has been operated.

With this configuration, the slot machine 1 has a pseudo game, which is a reel presentation whose duration changes depending on the player's operation. When it is decided to execute the pseudo game in a test using an external test device, a signal is output to temporarily stop the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 one by one every time a specified period of time has passed. This allows the pseudo game to end in a short time while maintaining the characteristics of the pseudo game, and allows for proper and rapid execution of the test.

In addition, by executing the above-mentioned control, in the slot machine 1, the pseudo game control means 400 outputs a presentation shortening request command to the relay board, which makes it possible to request the external test device via the relay board to output a signal that is output when the operating means corresponding to the presentation shortening request command is operated. In addition, the requested signal is input from the external test device to the relay board, and the relay board outputs a signal that is output when the operating means corresponding to the presentation shortening request command is operated. Therefore, the signal output from the relay board can be substituted for an operation on the operating means.

3. Details of Reel Stop Control in Simulated Game Next, a description will be given of the details of the control relating to the provisional stop of the reels executed by the reel control means 130 when executing a simulated game in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, and the control for micro-vibrating the provisionally stopped reels.

<Arrangement of designs>
5 is a diagram showing the symbols arranged on the periphery of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, a white 7 symbol "white 7", a BAR symbol "BAR", a replay symbol "RP", a bell A symbol "BLA", a bell B symbol "BLB", a cherry symbol "CH", a watermelon symbol "WM", a blank A symbol "BKA", a blank B symbol "BKB" and a blank C symbol "BKC" are arranged on the periphery of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. In addition, 20 symbols are arranged on the periphery of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. As shown in FIG. 5, each of the 20 frames is associated with a stop number from stop number 0 to stop number 19.

In the first embodiment, the BAR symbol "BAR" and the white 7 symbol "white 7" have a width greater than the other symbols when viewed from the front, and are configured as symbols that are more visible than the other symbols while the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are spinning.

<Control flow executed by game control means>
In the game control means 10 of the first embodiment, after the internal lottery is executed by the internal lottery means 120, the control related to the auxiliary game is executed by the AT control means 200. The AT control means 200 is configured to also execute control related to whether or not a pseudo game is executed in the control related to the auxiliary game.

In the game control means 10, after the AT control means 200 ends control related to the auxiliary game, the pseudo game control means 400 executes pseudo game processing. The pseudo game control means 400 executes processing in the pseudo game processing from the start of the pseudo game to the temporary stop of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 until the pseudo game ends.

In the game control means 10, after the pseudo game control means 400 executes the pseudo game process, the reel control means 130 executes the reel rotation control and the reel stop control. As described above, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the pseudo game ends, the timing of the start of rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is randomly delayed by the random delay control. In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, after the pseudo game control means 400 executes the pseudo game process, the reel control means 130 executes the random delay control and the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 start to rotate one by one in random order. Details of the random delay control will be described later.

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, a common stop control program is used for the stop control program used when temporarily stopping the reels in the pseudo game processing by the pseudo game control means 400, and for the stop control program used in the reel stop control executed by the reel control means 130 in the actual game.

In reel stop control using the stop control program, the reel control means 130 obtains the stop number associated with the pattern appearing in the upper row from the reel index associated with the reel and the number of drive pulses supplied to the stepping motor, and sets the obtained stop number to the stop position. Here, the pattern appearing in the upper row means a state in which approximately the lower half or more of the pattern is visible in the upper row when the specific area 330b of the display device 330 is viewed from the front, and means a state in which the pattern has rotated 8 steps (approximately 11.44°) or more from the top end of the specific area 330b.

After setting the stop position, the reel control means 130 sets the number of frames (slip frame number) that the reel will rotate to reach the set stop position. In the case of a real game, the reel control means 130 is configured to be able to set the number of sliding frames within a range (4 frames) that can be stopped within 190 ms after the stop button is operated, and in the case of a simulated game, to be able to set the number of sliding frames within a range of up to 19 frames.

After setting the number of sliding frames, the reel control means 130 calculates the stop number of the symbol to be stopped on the top row of the reel from the set stop position and the set number of sliding frames. After calculating the stop number of the symbol, the reel control means 130 sets a reel stop request, which is data used to determine whether or not to change the reel rotation mode during a stopping operation in reel control during interrupt processing.

When the stop number of the appearing symbol is updated during reel control in interrupt processing, the reel control means 130 sets a symbol update flag, which is flag data indicating that the stop number of the appearing symbol has been updated, to ON, maintains the symbol update flag to ON until the reel control in the interrupt processing in which the symbol update flag was set to ON ends, and sets the symbol update flag from ON to OFF when the reel control in the next interrupt processing starts.

In the reel control in the interrupt process after the reel stop request is set, the reel control means 130 determines whether the stop number of the appearing symbol matches the stop number calculated as the stop number of the symbol to be stopped on the top row of the reel, and if it determines that they match, determines whether the pseudo game flag indicating that a pseudo game is being executed is ON, and starts supplying a full-phase excitation drive pulse to the stepping motor rotating the reel set as the target to be stopped in the stop request, and sets the control mode of the reel to during reel stop operation.

As described above, the reel control means 130 is configured to execute reel stop control to provisionally stop and display the white 7 symbol "white 7" in the middle of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in a simulated game regardless of the operation timing of the stop buttons B1 to B3. For this reason, when the stop button B1 is operated at a timing when the appearing symbol is the replay symbol "RP" of stop number 13 and the operation position of the stop button B1 is set to the bell A symbol "BLA" of stop number 12, for example, the reel control means 130 sets the replay symbol "RP" of stop number 13 as a stop number corresponding to the simulated game in order to provisionally stop and display the white 7 symbol "white 7" of stop number 14 in the middle of the left reel R1.

Because of this configuration, in the case where the slot machine 1 is configured such that, when a pseudo game is being executed, if it is determined that the stop number of the appearing symbol matches the calculated stop number and then the pattern update flag is set to ON, i.e., if the current interrupt process is not determined to be the timing for updating the stop number of the appearing symbol, the stop number of the appearing symbol at the time the stop button B1 is operated matches the stop number set according to the pseudo game, so it is determined that the appearing symbol is the symbol of the set stop number, and the supply of a full-phase excitation drive pulse is started, and the rotation is immediately stopped regardless of the position of each symbol on the left reel R1, so that the white 7 symbol "white 7" temporarily stops in a position lower than the middle of the left reel R1 when viewed from the front, and it is not possible to temporarily stop it in the middle position of the left reel R1 where it is originally intended to be temporarily stopped.

To prevent such malfunctions in the stop position during temporary stops, the reel control means 130 of the first embodiment is configured to determine whether the stop number of the appearing symbol matches the calculated stop number, and then, if it determines that the pseudo game flag is ON, to change the symbol update flag during the reel stop operation if it determines that the symbol update flag is ON.

In other words, the reel control means 130 of the first embodiment is configured to allow the white 7 symbol "white 7", part of which is included in the middle of the reel at the time the stop button is operated in a simulated game, to pass, and then temporarily stop the white 7 symbol "white 7" again at the time it passes the middle of the reel after it has passed the middle of the reel, since the stop number of the appearing symbol is updated and the supply of the full-phase excitation drive pulse does not begin until the white 7 symbol "white 7" is positioned in the middle of the reel, and the reel does not begin to temporarily stop.

In this way, in slot machine 1, when reel stop control is executed in a simulated game, if the stop position set from the symbol appearing in the upper row is the stop number 13 symbol one frame above the rotation direction of the white 7 symbol with stop number 14, "white 7", the number of slipping frames is set to a maximum of 19 frames and the stop number is calculated to be stop number 13. However, in the reel control in the interrupt process executed when the stop button is operated, the stop number of the symbol appearing and the calculated stop number match, and although it is determined that the pseudo game flag is ON, the symbol update flag is not determined to be ON, so there is no change during the reel stop operation, and the number of slipping frames is calculated to be 13 after the stop button is operated. Since the reel is changed during the stopping operation after the reel has rotated 19 frames and the currently appearing symbol is updated to stop number 13 (after sliding 19 frames), even if the stop number of the currently appearing symbol matches the stop number set for the simulated game when the stop button is operated, the reel is not temporarily stopped at that point, but is temporarily stopped by starting to supply a drive pulse for full phase excitation at the timing when the stop number is updated to the stop number set for the simulated game after rotating 19 frames, so that the symbol to be temporarily stopped in the simulated game can be temporarily stopped at an appropriate position and the symbols can be aligned in a row within the specific area 330b, preventing the player's interest in the simulated game from decreasing.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the reel control means 130 is configured to set the reel control mode to during reel stop operation when it determines that the pseudo game flag is OFF, since the stop number of the currently appearing symbol and the stop number corresponding to the result of the internal lottery do not match when the game is being played, without determining whether the symbol update flag is ON or not.

As a result, in the slot machine 1, when the present game is being played, if it is determined that the stop number of the appearing symbol matches the calculated stop number, the process related to the stop will wait until the stop number of the appearing symbol is updated before executing the process to start supplying the full-phase excitation drive pulse, thus preventing the execution of a series of processes that are unnecessary in the present game, and preventing an increase in program capacity and processing load.

In addition, with this configuration, the slot machine 1 is configured to execute reel stop control in common for both the main game and the simulated game, eliminating the need to prepare a separate program dedicated to the simulated game, and reducing the program capacity.

In particular, the slot machine 1 is capable of executing a common control program for both the actual game and the pseudo game by simply separating the processing based on whether the pseudo game flag is ON or not. Compared to a control program that determines each time whether the currently appearing symbol that triggers the start of the supply of a full-phase excitation drive pulse is currently passing, a simple control program can be used to standardize the control program between the actual game and the pseudo game, thereby reducing the program capacity and data capacity.

4. Details of Micro-Vibration of Reels Provisionally Stopped in Simulated Game Next, a description will be given of details of the micro-vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 that is executed when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are provisionally stopped in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment.

<Configuration related to micro vibration>
As shown in FIG. 2, the slot machine 1 has, in the reel control data storage means 194 of the storage means 190, a left reel timer 194a that manages the vibration of the left reel R1, a center reel timer 194b that manages the vibration of the center reel R2, a right reel timer 194c that manages the vibration of the right reel R3, and a pseudo-game common timer 194d that is used in common for each of the vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 to manage the synchronization of the vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3.

In the first embodiment, when any one of the stop buttons B1 to B3 is operated in a simulated game and a drive pulse for energizing all phases is started to be supplied to temporarily stop the reel corresponding to the operated stop button, the reel control means 130 sets a value of "160" as a first value to a timer that controls the vibration of the reel corresponding to the operated stop button (for example, the left reel timer 194a when the stop button B1 is operated), and subtracts one (decrement update) every four interrupt processes. In addition, when the value of the timer that controls the vibration of the reel changes from the value "1" to the value "0" and the simulated game is continuing, the reel control means 130 sets the value of the timer that controls the vibration of the reel to the value "78" as a second value. In this way, the reel control means 130 is configured not to update the value of the timer that controls the vibration of the reel until the stop button B1 to B3 is operated in a simulated game. Details of the various controls related to the update of the timer that controls the vibration of the reel will be described later.

On the other hand, the reel control means 130 of the first embodiment subtracts one from the value (stored value) stored in the pseudo-game common timer 194d every four interrupt processes (decrement update) regardless of whether the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated when the pseudo-game is being executed, and sets the value "78" as the third value (initial value) when the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is "0" when the decrement update is executed. The reel control means 130 initializes the pseudo-game common timer 194d and sets the value "78" when a predetermined initialization process is executed based on the end of the advantageous zone, and when the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated in this game to stop the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and end one game.

<Control related to synchronization of micro-vibrations>
Next, the details of the control related to the synchronization of the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 using the timer that manages the vibrations of the reels and the pseudo-game common timer 194d will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram that explains the behavior of the left reel R1 when the stop button B1 is operated in a pseudo game to start a temporary stop of the left reel R1, the transition of the stored value of the left reel timer 194a, the transition of the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d, and the time that has passed while the left reel R1 is stopped (stop time).

As shown in FIG. 6, the reel control means 130 sets the left reel timer 194a to a value of "160" when it starts to supply a full-phase excitation drive pulse to the stepping motor that rotates the left reel R1. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d at this point is a value of "7". As described above, the pseudo-game common timer 194d is configured to subtract a value of "1" from its stored value every time the reel control means 130 executes an interrupt process four times, regardless of the progress of the pseudo game. Depending on the timing when the reel temporarily stops, the pseudo-game common timer 194d is set to any value between "0" and "78", and is not necessarily set to the value "7".

In slot machine 1, the left reel timer 194a and the pseudo game common timer 194d are decremented and updated every four interrupt processes that are executed once approximately every 1.49 ms, so that approximately 5.96 ms elapses each time the stored values of the left reel timer 194a and the pseudo game common timer 194d are updated.

The reel control means 130 manages the time for supplying the full-phase excitation drive pulse by an operation management timer (not shown) that manages the number of reel operations and is updated each time an interrupt process is executed once, and when the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is updated from a value of "128" to a value of "127", the value stored in the operation management timer becomes a value of "0", and based on this, the supply of the full-phase excitation drive pulse is stopped and the excitation is released.

The reel control means 130 energizes and releases the stepping motor that rotates the left reel R1 until the stored value of the left reel timer 194a becomes "80", and when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to "79", it supplies a drive pulse that energizes one phase, and keeps the stepping motor stopped.

When the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "77" 494.68 ms after the left reel R1 stops rotating, the reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate the left reel R1 one step in the forward direction based on the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated to the value "77". After rotating the left reel R1 one step forward, the reel control means 130 resumes supplying a drive pulse to excite one phase, and maintains the stopped state of the stepping motor.

When the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is the value "73", the reel control means 130 is configured to determine whether or not the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated to the value "78" when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "72" by decrement update. If the reel control means 130 determines that the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is not updated to the value "78" when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "72" by decrement update, it maintains the stored value of the left reel timer 194a at the value "73" until the timing when the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78".

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is updated from "74" to "73" (at a stop time of approximately 23.84 ms) when the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is decremented from "74" to "73" (at a stop time of approximately 23.84 ms), the value stored in the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from "0" to "78", and when the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is decremented from "73" to "72" (at a stop time of approximately 29.8 ms), the value stored in the pseudo-game common timer 194d is decremented from "78" to "77", so the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is maintained at "73".

When the reel control means 130 of the first embodiment maintains the stored value of the left reel timer 194a at the value "73", it decrements the stored value of the left reel timer 194a once, then references the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d, and based on the determination that the referenced stored value is not the value "78", adds the value "1" to the stored value of the left reel timer 194a, thereby maintaining the value at "73". As a result, in the slot machine 1, the value can be maintained without changing the program that executes the decrement update in the control program related to updating the timer that manages the vibration of the reels, and the design cost of the control program can be reduced.

In addition, when the slot machine 1 maintains the stored value of the timer that manages the vibration of the reels at the value "73", it may be configured to refer to the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d after the decrement update before executing the decrement update of the timer, thereby making it possible to maintain the stored value of the timer at the value "73" without performing subtraction or addition.

The reel control means 130 continues to decrement the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d while maintaining the stored value of the left reel timer 194a at the value "73", and at the timing when the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78" (at the time of the stop time of approximately 494.68 ms), based on the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d being updated to the value "78", decrements the stored value of the left reel timer 194a from the value "73" to the value "72".

The reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate it one step in the reverse direction based on the fact that the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "72" by the decrement update. After rotating the left reel R1 in the reverse direction by one step, the reel control means 130 resumes the supply of a drive pulse to excite the first phase, and maintains the stepping motor in a stopped state.

The reel control means 130 decrements the stored value of the left reel timer 194a from the value "72" to the value "71", and decrements the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d from the value "78" to the value "77". After that, the reel control means 130 continues to decrement the stored value of the left reel timer 194a and the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d, and updates the stored value of the left reel timer 194a to the value "78" at the timing when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is decremented from the value "1" to the value "0".

Then, at the timing when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "77" at which the stop time is about 435.08 ms, the reel control means 130 supplies the stepping motor with a drive pulse to rotate the reel one step in the forward direction based on the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated to the value "77". Also, at the timing when the stop time is about 35.76 ms, the reel control means 130 supplies the stepping motor with a drive pulse to rotate the reel one step in the reverse direction based on the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated from the value "73" to the value "72" and the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated to the value "72" because the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is the value "73" and the stored value of the pseudo game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78". In addition, the reel control means 130 is configured to supply a drive pulse to the stepping motor to excite one phase and keep the left reel R1 stopped except for the timing when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "77" and the timing when it is updated to the value "72".

In this configuration, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated in a simulated game and a drive pulse for full-phase excitation is started to be supplied to the stepping motor, the timing of the rotation of one step in the reverse direction after one step in the forward direction is set to the timing at which the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78" regardless of the operation timing of the stop buttons B1 to B3, and after one step in the reverse direction, a micro-oscillation can be executed in which the motor rotates one step in the forward direction after approximately 435.08 ms and then rotates one step in the reverse direction after approximately 35.76 ms.

In addition, while FIG. 6 shows an example in which the stop button B1 is operated, when the stop button B2 or stop button B3 is operated, the decrement update of the center reel timer 194b and the decrement update of the right reel timer 194c are executed in a substantially similar manner, and the decrement updates of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c are executed in parallel.

In other words, in the slot machine 1, the timing of decrementing the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c, which are timers that manage the vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, from the value "73" to the value "72" is unified to the timing of updating the pseudo-game common timer 194d, which is a timer independent of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and is updated regardless of the progress of the pseudo-game, from the value "0" to the value "78", and is commonly referenced when any of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is temporarily stopped. This makes it possible to temporarily suspend the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 until the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78", and then synchronize the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3.

With this configuration, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in a simulated game, even if the timings at which the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 begin to temporarily stop are different, the operation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the micro-vibration executed when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped can be synchronized, thereby increasing the player's interest in the presentation content when multiple reels are temporarily stopped.

In addition, after the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped and then rotated one step in the forward direction, the slot machine 1 rotates the reel R1 to the right reel R3 one step in the reverse direction at the timing when the memory value of the pseudo game common timer 194d, which is provided separately from the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c that manages the vibration of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and is updated regardless of the progress of the pseudo game, is updated from the value "0" to the value "78", thereby synchronizing the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. Therefore, when synchronizing the micro vibrations of multiple reels, there is no need to execute complex control such as adjusting the vibration operation of one reel in response to the micro vibration of the other reel, and a simple control program can be used to increase the player's interest in the presentation content when multiple reels are temporarily stopped, while also reducing the program capacity.

In addition, when the slot machine 1 synchronizes the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, it temporarily stops the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and resumes the vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 when the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78". This makes it possible to increase the player's interest in the presentation when multiple reels are temporarily stopped by a simpler control program than when the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are synchronized by adjusting the vibration period and vibration speed of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, and also reduces the program capacity.

The micro-vibration executed when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped constitutes the first operation in the first embodiment, and two of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 constitute the first and second reels in the first embodiment, and the operation of rotating them one step in the forward direction and then pausing them, and resuming the vibration to rotate them one step in the reverse direction at a predetermined timing when the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78", constitutes the second operation for synchronizing the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the first embodiment.

<Details of micro-vibration synchronization>
Next, the details of the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 until the micro-vibrations of the reels are synchronized will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the process from when the left reel R1 is temporarily stopped and performing a micro-vibration and the center reel R2 starts a temporary stop until the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 and the center reel R2 are synchronized.

In the example shown in FIG. 7(A), the center reel timer 194b is set to a value of "160" based on the center reel R2 being temporarily stopped at a timing when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is a value of "40" and the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is a value of "46". After that, in the slot machine 1, the left reel timer 194a, the center reel timer 194b, and the pseudo-game common timer 194d are updated in parallel.

In the state shown in FIG. 7(B), approximately 244.36 ms after the state shown in FIG. 7(A), the reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate the left reel R1 one step in the forward direction based on the fact that the stored value of the left reel timer 194a has been updated to a value of "77". At this time, the reel control means 130 keeps the center reel R2 stopped without vibrating, because the stored value of the center reel timer 194b is a value of "119".

In the state shown in FIG. 7(C), approximately 35.76 ms after the state shown in FIG. 7(B), the reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate the left reel R1 in the reverse direction by one step, based on the fact that the stored value of the left reel timer 194a has been updated to a value of "72". At this time, the reel control means 130 keeps the center reel R2 stopped without vibrating, because the stored value of the center reel timer 194b is a value of "113".

In the state shown in FIG. 7(D), approximately 214.56 ms after the state shown in FIG. 7(C), the reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate the center reel R2 one step in the forward direction based on the fact that the stored value of the center reel timer 194b has been updated to a value of "77". At this time, the reel control means 130 keeps the left reel R1 stopped without vibrating, because the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is a value of "36".

In the state shown in FIG. 7(E), which is approximately 208.6 ms after the state shown in FIG. 7(D), the reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate the left reel R1 one step in the forward direction based on the fact that the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "77". At this time, the reel control means 130 maintains the center reel R2 in a stopped state without vibrating it because the stored value of the center reel timer 194b is the value "73". Note that the stored value of the center reel timer 194b was updated to the value "73" before the timing shown in FIG. 7(E), but since the value of the center reel timer 194b is maintained at the value "73" until the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78" as shown in FIG. 6, the value of the center reel timer 194b is maintained at the value "73" even at the timing shown in FIG. 7(E).

In the state shown in FIG. 7(F), which is approximately 35.76 ms after the state shown in FIG. 7(E), the reel control means 130 supplies each stepping motor with a drive pulse to rotate the left reel R1 one step in the reverse direction and a drive pulse to rotate the center reel R2 one pulse in the reverse direction, based on the fact that the stored value of the pseudo game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78", the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "72", and the stored value of the center reel timer 194b is updated to the value "72".

At the timing shown in FIG. 7(F), in the slot machine 1, the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 and the center reel R2 are synchronized, and thereafter, while the simulated game continues, the stored value of the left reel timer 194a and the stored value of the center reel timer 194b are maintained at the same value, thereby maintaining the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 and the center reel R2 in a synchronized state.

By executing such control, the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment is configured to synchronize the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 when a simulated game is executed and the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped. In the slot machine 1, even when the right reel R3 is temporarily stopped, the right reel timer 194c is updated and the right reel R3 is micro-vibrated in substantially the same manner as when the left reel R1 is temporarily stopped and the center reel R2 is temporarily stopped. If the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c reach a value of "73" by the time the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from a value of "0" to a value of "78", the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c are updated from a value of "73" to a value of "72" at the time the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from a value of "0" to a value of "78", and the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 all rotate one step in the reverse direction, synchronizing the subsequent micro-vibrations.

<Performance weight control>
As shown in FIG. 6, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, in the simulated game, the reel is temporarily stopped, moved one step in the forward rotation direction, and stopped until a maximum of approximately 494.68 ms has elapsed before being moved one step in the reverse rotation direction, and after moving one step in the reverse rotation direction, a micro-vibration is executed in which the reel is moved one step in the forward rotation direction at a timing when approximately 435.08 ms has elapsed, and then moved one step in the reverse rotation direction at a timing when approximately 35.76 ms has elapsed after moving one step in the forward rotation direction.

In addition, the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment executes a performance wait control that continues the simulated game and delays the progress of the reel performance before starting the random delay control when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped during the simulated game. The slot machine 1 is configured to continue to execute a control that causes the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 to vibrate slightly at a maximum period of about 435.08 ms when the performance wait control is being executed. The slot machine 1 is configured to promptly start the random delay control when the performance wait control is ended.

<Stop time when random delay control is executed>
Next, the details of the random delay control will be described. In the random delay control, the reel control means 130 of the first embodiment first executes a start-time wait in which the process of randomly delaying the start of rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is not started until a maximum of about 5.96 ms has elapsed from the start. As described above, the reel control means 130 updates the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and the pseudo-game common timer 194d once every about 5.96 ms. Therefore, when the waiting time as the start-time wait is set to about 2.98 ms, the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and the pseudo-game common timer 194d are not updated while the start-time wait is being executed, so that the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 do not vibrate minutely.

The reel control means 130 is configured to start random delay control, execute a start-time wait, and then randomly delay the start of rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. The reel control means 130 acquires one of the random numbers in the range of 0 to 251 generated by the random number generation means 110 for each reel as the time to be delayed after the start-time wait (random delay time), and sets the result of multiplying the acquired value by 2.98 as the random delay time for each reel. For example, when the reel control means 130 acquires random numbers of value "5" for the left reel R1, value "62" for the center reel R2, and value "251" for the right reel R3, it sets the random delay time for the left reel R1 to about 14.9 ms, the random delay time for the center reel R2 to about 184.76 ms, and the random delay time for the right reel R3 to about 747.98 ms.

The reel control means 130 is configured to continue updating the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and the pseudo game common timer 194d even when random delay is being applied in the random delay control, and to execute micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 according to the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and the stored value of the pseudo game common timer 194d. Therefore, in the slot machine 1, even if the start of rotation of the reels is delayed beyond a predetermined time (500 ms in the first embodiment) in order to prevent the player from mistaking the start of rotation for a stop in the actual game in the random delay control, the reels are micro-vibrated before the start of rotation so that the reels do not remain stopped for longer than the predetermined time.

The reel control means 130 starts processing related to the start of reel rotation for each reel for which the random delay time has elapsed in the random delay control. In the first embodiment, the reel control means 130 is configured to stop updating the timer corresponding to the reel that executes the processing related to the start of rotation, among the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c, when starting the processing related to the start of reel rotation. Therefore, in the slot machine 1, when the processing related to the start of reel rotation in the random delay control is started, the reel is configured not to vibrate micro-vibrations thereafter.

In the process of starting the reel rotation, the reel control means 130 starts the reel rotation after approximately 59.6 ms has elapsed if the random delay control is started when the excitation pointer is an odd number, and starts the reel rotation after approximately 0 ms has elapsed if the random delay control is started when the excitation pointer is an even number.

Because of this configuration, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the waiting time in the start wait is set to about 2.98 ms and the time to randomly delay the reel is set to 0 ms, the reel does not vibrate slightly while the random delay control is being executed. Therefore, in the slot machine 1, when the waiting time in the start wait is set to about 2.98 ms and the time to randomly delay the reel is set to 0 ms, the stopped state of the reel with the random delay time set to 0 ms is maintained until the total of about 62.58 ms has elapsed, which is the start wait time of about 2.98 ms and the time required for the reel to start rotating, about 59.6 ms.

Figure 8 shows the progress of the stop time of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and the progress of the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and the pseudo-game common timer 194d when the stop button B3 is operated while the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 and the center reel R2 are synchronized in the pseudo-game, the right reel R3 starts to temporarily stop, and the pseudo-game ends and random delay control is executed based on the temporary stop of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. The example shown in Figure 8 illustrates a case where the effect wait control ends when the stop time of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 has elapsed for about 429.12 ms. Also, Figure 9 is a diagram explaining the behavior of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the example shown in Figure 8.

The pseudo game control means 400 is configured to end the effect wait control not only when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 have stopped for approximately 429.12 ms as shown in FIG. 8, but also when the player operates the start lever SL to start after the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 have temporarily stopped. The example shown in FIG. 8 is the case in which the reel stop time is the longest from the end of the effect wait control to the start of the reel rotation due to the random delay control in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the waiting time at the start of the wait is set to approximately 2.98 ms, and the random delay times set for each of the left reel R1 to right reel R3 are 0 ms for the left reel R1, approximately 208.6 ms for the center reel R2, and approximately 378.46 ms for the right reel R3. In the example shown in FIG. 8, random delay control is started for the left reel R1 when the excitation pointer is an odd number, and the process related to the start of reel rotation is set to start the reel rotation after approximately 59.6 ms has elapsed.

As shown in Figure 8, in slot machine 1, the right reel R3 moves one step in the forward direction, moves one step in the reverse direction, and then moves one step in the forward direction again. At this point, the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to right reel R3 are synchronized as shown in Figure 9 (A). At this point, in slot machine 1, the stop time of the left reel R1 and center reel R2 is approximately 35.76 ms, and the stop time of the right reel R3 is approximately 494.68 ms.

In the slot machine 1, the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped and the simulated game can be ended, but the effect wait control is executed to maintain the temporarily stopped state of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. As described above, in the slot machine 1, even when the effect wait control is being executed, the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are subjected to minute vibrations, and as shown in Figures 8 and 9 (B), the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are caused to rotate one step in the forward direction when the stop time of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 reaches approximately 435.08 ms.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9(C), in slot machine 1, random delay control is started based on the fact that the effect wait control ends and the simulated game ends when the stop time of left reel R1 to right reel R3 reaches approximately 429.12 ms. In slot machine 1, the start of random delay control generates a start-up wait of approximately 2.98 ms, and after the start-up wait ends after approximately 2.98 ms, the random delay time set for each reel starts to elapse.

As described above, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the reel control means 130 starts the process related to the start of reel rotation for the left reel R1 because the random delay time for the left reel R1 is 0 ms, and stops updating the stored value of the left reel timer 194a. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the reel control means 130 starts the rotation of the left reel R1 approximately 59.6 ms after starting the process related to the start of reel rotation, that is, when the stop time of the left reel R1 reaches approximately 491.7 ms, because the excitation pointer for the left reel R1 is an odd number (see FIG. 9 (F)).

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the reel control means 130 operates the center reel R2 and the right reel R3 one step in the forward rotation direction when the stop time of the center reel R2 and the right reel R3 reaches about 435.08 ms because the random delay time is set to a time longer than 0 ms for the center reel R2 and the right reel R3 (see FIG. 9(D)). In addition, the reel control means 130 operates the center reel R2 and the right reel R3 one step in the reverse rotation direction based on the fact that the stored value of the pseudo game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "78" by the time the left reel R1 starts rotating, and the stored value of the center reel timer 194b and the right reel timer 194c is updated to the value "72" (see FIG. 9(E)).

As shown in Figures 8 and 9 (F), in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, even if the start of rotation of the reels is delayed until the time of about 59.6 ms has elapsed, which is the longest time that a stopped state can be maintained after the start wait has ended in random delay control, that is, even if the time of about 62.58 ms, which is the longest time that a stopped state can be maintained in random delay control, is the time that the reels are maintained in a stopped state, it is configured so that it does not exceed a predetermined time (500 ms in the first embodiment) to prevent the player from mistaking this for a stop in the game.

In this way, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when at least one of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is temporarily stopped in the pseudo game, the temporarily stopped reel is micro-vibrated by the time approximately 494.68 ms has elapsed as the first time, and the micro-vibration is performed to move the reel one step in the forward rotation direction and one step in the reverse rotation direction, and then the temporarily stopped reel is micro-vibrated by the time approximately 435.08 ms has elapsed as the second time. In addition, in the slot machine 1, when all of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in the pseudo game, the effect wait control is executed before the pseudo game ends, the end of the pseudo game is delayed, and the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3 are micro-vibrated while the effect wait control is being executed by the time approximately 435.08 ms has elapsed.

The slot machine 1 is configured to start random delay control when the performance wait control is terminated in the simulated game, and in the random delay control, the start of rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is randomly delayed, and even when the control related to the micro-vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is terminated, the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are configured to start rotating within approximately 62.58 ms.

In other words, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the spinning reels are temporarily stopped in a simulated game, they are micro-vibrated before approximately 494.68 ms have elapsed, and then the time that elapses until the micro-vibrations are initiated switches to approximately 435.08 ms, which is shorter than approximately 494.68 ms, and since the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 micro-vibrate when approximately 435.08 ms has elapsed, the maximum time that the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are maintained in a stopped state is approximately 429.12 ms. In addition, in the slot machine 1, when the pseudo game ends and random delay control starts after the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, which are temporarily stopped before approximately 435.08 ms have passed, are temporarily stopped and are subjected to micro-vibrations, the random delay control starts at the point when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are maintained in a stopped state until approximately 429.12 ms has passed, and even if the control related to the micro-vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the random delay control has ended, the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 start to rotate before approximately 491.7 ms has passed, which is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms to prevent the player from mistaking it for a stop in the actual game.

In other words, in slot machine 1, the maximum time that elapses before a reel that is rotating in a pseudo game is caused to vibrate slightly when it is temporarily stopped, which is about 494.68 ms, is shorter than the predetermined time of about 500 ms that is set in advance to prevent the player from mistaking it for a stop in a real game, and the sum of about 494.68 ms and the maximum time that elapses before the reel starts spinning under random delay control, which is about 62.58 ms, is about 557.26 ms, which is longer than about 500 ms. Also, when performance wait control is being executed, the temporarily stopped reel vibrates slightly before about 435.08 ms has elapsed. In addition, a reel that has stopped moving due to a temporary stop starts to rotate after about 491.7 ms has elapsed, which is shorter than the sum of about 497.66 ms (approximately 62.58 ms, which is the maximum time that a reel can remain stopped before it starts to spin due to random delay control, and about 435.08 ms, which is the maximum time that a reel can remain stopped when performance wait control is being executed). Therefore, even when random delay control is executed on a reel that has stopped moving due to a temporary stop, the time that it is maintained in a stopped state is configured to be shorter than about 500 ms (approximately 491.7 ms in the first embodiment).

With this configuration, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the reels rotating in the simulated game are temporarily stopped, the reels are slightly vibrated before approximately 494.68 ms have elapsed, thereby extending the stop time of the temporarily stopped reels and bringing the stopping mode of the reels during the simulated game closer to the stopping mode of the reels in the actual game, thereby increasing the player's interest in the presentation. In addition, by executing the presentation wait control before ending the simulated game and starting the random delay control, the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3 are slightly vibrated before approximately 435.08 ms have elapsed. Therefore, the maximum time that the reels will remain stopped before the random delay control begins is approximately 429.12 ms. Therefore, even if the reels remain stopped for approximately 62.58 ms before the random delay control causes the reels to start spinning, the time that the reels are stopped can be kept to approximately 491.7 ms, which is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms that is set in advance to prevent the player from mistaking the time for the reels being stopped in the actual game, and it is possible to prevent the player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the actual game has not ended in the reel-based presentation.

In addition, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the reel that is rotating in the simulated game is temporarily stopped, the reel is micro-vibrated until about 494.68 ms has elapsed, thereby extending the stop time of the temporarily stopped reel and bringing the stopping state of the reel during the simulated game closer to the stopping state of the reel in the actual game, thereby increasing the player's interest in the presentation, and since the time that has elapsed in the stopped state before the micro-vibration reaches a maximum of about 435.08 ms, the pseudo game ends and random delay control is executed, and the random delay control is started. Even if the maximum time that the reels can remain stopped before spinning has elapsed, which is approximately 429.12 ms, and the reels remain stopped for approximately 62.58 ms due to random delay control, the time that the reels are stopped can be kept to a time (approximately 491.7 ms) that is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms to prevent the player from mistaking the time for the reels to be stopped in the actual game, and it is possible to prevent the player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the actual game has not ended in the presentation using the reels.

This pseudo game constitutes the specific reel performance in the first embodiment, the pseudo game control means 400 that executes the control related to the pseudo game constitutes the reel performance control means in the first embodiment, the micro vibration executed when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped constitutes the specific operation in the first embodiment, when the random delay control is started, the time that elapses in the stopped state in addition to the approximately 435.08 ms that elapses when the random delay control is executed on the reels whose operation has stopped due to the temporary stop before the reels start spinning constitutes the third time in the first embodiment, and the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms that is determined in advance to prevent the player from mistaking it for a stop in the actual game constitutes the fourth time in the first embodiment.

5. Stop control after power interruption during simulated play Next, a case will be described in which the power supply to the game control means 10 is interrupted (power interrupted) while a simulated play is being executed and power is restored while a stop button corresponding to a reel that has not yet been temporarily stopped is pressed.

In the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when a stop button corresponding to a reel that has not yet been temporarily stopped at the time of power failure is pressed while the power is off, and the pressed state is maintained when power is restored, if the stop signal output from the stop switch can be enabled when the interrupt processing that was being executed before the power failure occurs is resumed when power is restored, the reel corresponding to the pressed stop button is temporarily stopped.

On the other hand, in slot machine 1, when the interrupt processing that was being executed before the power outage occurs is resumed when power is restored, if the power outage occurs at a timing when the stop signal output from the stop switch cannot be activated, the reel corresponding to the stop button that remains pressed is not temporarily stopped, and the reel continues to rotate.

In such a case, if the stop button that has been pressed since the power outage continues to be pressed, the slot machine 1 temporarily stops all reels, including the reel that corresponds to the stop button that remains pressed, when the time for which the pseudo game can be continued that is preset in the pseudo game (approximately one minute in the first embodiment) has elapsed. In addition, after the stop button that remains pressed is released, the slot machine 1 executes reel stop control, which activates the stop signal that is output when the stop button is pressed and temporarily stops the reel each time the stop button corresponding to the spinning reel is pressed.

With this configuration, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when a power outage occurs and a player who wants to resume the simulated game as soon as power is restored continues to press the stop button, if the stop signal output from the stop switch 240 can be activated by pressing the stop button, the reel corresponding to the stop button that is still being pressed can be temporarily stopped, allowing the simulated game to proceed smoothly, and if the stop signal output from the stop switch 240 cannot be activated, the reel continues to rotate, and if the time during which the simulated game can be continued has elapsed or if the reel is pressed after the pressed button has been released, the reel is temporarily stopped, allowing the game to proceed without generating an error that would prevent the game from proceeding.

In addition, the slot machine 1 is configured such that, when one stop button is pressed after power is cut off and the stop button is kept pressed, the stop signal output when the other stop button is pressed is invalidated. In the slot machine 1, if the reel corresponding to the other stop button is spinning after the stop button is released, the stop signal output when the other stop button is pressed is valid.

As described above, the slot machine 1 has a configuration in which the program related to the reel stop control is common between the actual game and the pseudo game, so that in the actual game, the reel stop control when power is restored is executed in substantially the same manner as in the pseudo game. In the slot machine 1, when the stop button corresponding to a reel that has not yet stopped at the time of the power failure is pressed while the power is off and the pressed state is maintained when power is restored, if the stop signal output from the stop switch can be enabled when the interrupt processing that was being executed before the power failure is resumed upon power restoration, the reel corresponding to the pressed stop button is stopped.

On the other hand, in the slot machine 1, when the interrupt processing that was being executed before the power outage is resumed upon power recovery, if the power outage occurs at a timing when the stop signal output from the stop switch cannot be enabled, the reel corresponding to the pressed stop button is not stopped and the reel continues to spin. In such a case, the slot machine 1 continues to spin the reels as long as the stop button that has been pressed since the power outage continues to be pressed, and after the stop button that has been pressed since the power outage is released, it executes reel stop control to enable the stop signal that is output when the stop button is pressed and stop the reel each time the stop button corresponding to the spinning reel is pressed.

In addition, the slot machine 1 is configured such that, when one stop button is pressed after power is cut off and the stop button remains pressed, the stop signal output when the other stop button is pressed is invalidated. In the slot machine 1, if the reel corresponding to the other stop button is spinning after the stop button is released, the stop signal output when the other stop button is pressed is valid.

6. Summary of the First Embodiment As described above, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the reels rotating in the pseudo game are temporarily stopped, the reels are slightly vibrated before about 494.68 ms have elapsed, thereby extending the stop time of the temporarily stopped reels and bringing the stop mode of the reels during the pseudo game closer to the stop mode of the reels in the actual game, thereby enhancing the interest of the player in the presentation. In addition, by executing the presentation wait control before the pseudo game ends and the random delay control is started, the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3 are slightly vibrated before about 435.08 ms have elapsed. Even if the random delay control causes the reels to remain stopped for approximately 62.58 ms before they begin to rotate, the time that the reels remain stopped before the random delay control is started is kept to approximately 429.12 ms, thereby keeping the time that the reels remain stopped at a time (approximately 491.7 ms) that is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms to prevent the player from mistaking the time for the reels to be stopped in the actual game, and preventing the player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting play even though the actual game has not ended in the reel-based presentation.

In addition, in the slot machine 1 of the first embodiment, when the reel that is rotating in the simulated game is temporarily stopped, the reel is micro-vibrated until about 494.68 ms has elapsed, thereby extending the stop time of the temporarily stopped reel and bringing the stopping mode of the reel during the simulated game closer to the stopping mode of the reel in the actual game, thereby increasing the player's interest in the presentation. In addition, the time that has elapsed in the stopped state before the micro-vibration reaches a maximum of about 435.08 ms, after which the simulated game ends and random delay control is executed, so that random delay control is started. Even if the maximum time that the reels can remain stopped before being rotated has elapsed, which is approximately 429.12 ms, and the stopped state is maintained for approximately 62.58 ms before the reels start to spin due to random delay control, the time that the reels are stopped can be kept to a time (approximately 491.7 ms) that is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms to prevent the player from mistaking the time for the reels to be stopped in the actual game, and it is possible to prevent the player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the actual game has not ended in the performance using the reels.

Second Embodiment
Next, a slot machine 1 of a second embodiment, which is a partial modification of the first embodiment, will be described. The slot machine 1 of the second embodiment is configured such that, when the reels rotating in the simulated game are temporarily stopped, they are subjected to minute vibrations until about 435.08 ms have elapsed, and the presentation wait control is not executed before the random delay control is executed. In these respects, the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment, and other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so that the components common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

1. Details of Micro-Vibration of Reels Provisionally Stopped in Simulated Game The following describes details of the micro-vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 that is executed when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are provisionally stopped in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment.

<Configuration related to micro vibration>
In the second embodiment, when any one of the stop buttons B1 to B3 is operated in a pseudo game and a drive pulse for all phase excitation for temporarily stopping the reel corresponding to the operated stop button is started to be supplied, the reel control means 130 sets a value of "140" as a first value to a timer that controls the vibration of the reel corresponding to the operated stop button (for example, the left reel timer 194a when the stop button B1 is operated), and subtracts one (decrement update) every four interrupt processes. In addition, when the value of the timer that controls the vibration of the reel changes from the value "1" to the value "0" and the pseudo game is continuing, the reel control means 130 sets the value of "68" as a second value to the timer. In this way, the reel control means 130 is configured not to update the value of the timer that controls the vibration of the reel until the stop button B1 to B3 is operated in a pseudo game. Details of various controls related to the update of the timer that controls the vibration of the reel will be described later.

On the other hand, the reel control means 130 of the second embodiment subtracts one from the value (stored value) stored in the pseudo-game common timer 194d every four interrupt processes (decrement update) regardless of whether the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated when the pseudo-game is being executed, and sets the value "68" as the third value (initial value) when the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is "0" when the decrement update is executed. The reel control means 130 initializes the pseudo-game common timer 194d and sets the value "68" when a predetermined initialization process is executed based on the end of the advantageous zone, and when the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated in this game to stop the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and end one game.

<Control related to synchronization of micro-vibrations>
Next, the details of the control related to the synchronization of the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 using the timer that manages the vibration of the reels and the pseudo-game common timer 194d will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a diagram that explains the behavior of the left reel R1 when the stop button B1 is operated in a pseudo game and a temporary stop of the left reel R1 is started, the transition of the stored value of the left reel timer 194a, the transition of the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d, and the time that has passed while the left reel R1 is stopped (stop time).

As shown in FIG. 10, the reel control means 130 sets the left reel timer 194a to a value of "140" when it starts to supply a full-phase excitation drive pulse to the stepping motor that rotates the left reel R1. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d at this point is a value of "7". As described above, the pseudo-game common timer 194d is configured to subtract a value of "1" from its stored value every time the reel control means 130 executes an interrupt process four times, regardless of the progress of the pseudo game, and is set to any value between "0" and "68" depending on the timing when the reel's temporary stop is started, and is not necessarily set to the value "7".

In slot machine 1, the left reel timer 194a and the pseudo game common timer 194d are decremented and updated every four times that the interrupt process, which is executed once approximately every 1.49 ms, is executed, so that approximately 5.96 ms elapses each time the stored values of the left reel timer 194a and the pseudo game common timer 194d are updated.

The reel control means 130 stops supplying drive pulses for exciting all phases until the value stored in the left reel timer 194a becomes "69", and then releases the excitation. When the value stored in the left reel timer 194a becomes "68", the reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse for exciting one phase, and maintains the stopped state of the stepping motor.

When the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "67" 435.08 ms after the left reel R1 stops rotating, the reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate the left reel R1 one step in the forward direction based on the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated to the value "67". After rotating the left reel R1 one step forward, the reel control means 130 resumes supplying a drive pulse to excite one phase, and maintains the stopped state of the stepping motor.

When the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is the value "63", the reel control means 130 is configured to determine whether or not the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated to the value "68" when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "62" by decrement update. If the reel control means 130 determines that the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is not updated to the value "68" when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "62" by decrement update, the reel control means 130 maintains the stored value of the left reel timer 194a at the value "63" until the timing when the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "68".

In the example shown in FIG. 10, the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is updated from "64" to "63" (at the time of approximately 23.84 ms of the stop time), and the value stored in the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from "0" to "68". When the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is updated from "63" to "62" (at approximately 29.8 ms of the stop time), the value stored in the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from "68" to "67", and the value stored in the left reel timer 194a is maintained at "63".

In the second embodiment, when the reel control means 130 maintains the stored value of the left reel timer 194a at the value "63", it updates the stored value of the left reel timer 194a by decrementing it once, and then references the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d, and based on the determination that the referenced stored value is not the value "68", adds the value "1" to the stored value of the left reel timer 194a, thereby maintaining the value at "63", in a manner substantially similar to that of the first embodiment.

The reel control means 130 continues to decrement the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d while maintaining the stored value of the left reel timer 194a at the value "63". At the timing when the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "68" (at the time of the stop time of approximately 435.08 ms), the reel control means 130 decrements the stored value of the left reel timer 194a from the value "63" to the value "62" based on the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d being updated to the value "68".

The reel control means 130 supplies a drive pulse to the stepping motor to rotate it one step in the reverse direction based on the fact that the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "62" by the decrement update. After rotating the left reel R1 in the reverse direction by one step, the reel control means 130 resumes the supply of a drive pulse to excite the first phase, and maintains the stepping motor in a stopped state.

The reel control means 130 decrements the stored value of the left reel timer 194a from the value "62" to the value "61", and decrements the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d from the value "68" to the value "67". After that, the reel control means 130 continues decrementing the stored value of the left reel timer 194a and the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d, and updates the stored value of the left reel timer 194a to the value "68" at the timing when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is decremented from the value "1" to the value "0".

Then, at the timing when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "67" at which the stop time is about 375.48 ms, the reel control means 130 supplies the stepping motor with a drive pulse to rotate the reel one step in the forward direction based on the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated to the value "67". Also, at the timing when the stop time is about 35.76 ms, the reel control means 130 supplies the stepping motor with a drive pulse to rotate the reel one step in the reverse direction based on the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated from the value "63" to the value "62" and the stored value of the left reel timer 194a being updated to the value "62" because the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is the value "63" and the stored value of the pseudo game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "68". In addition, the reel control means 130 is configured to supply a drive pulse to the stepping motor to excite one phase and keep the left reel R1 stopped except for the timing when the stored value of the left reel timer 194a is updated to the value "67" and the timing when it is updated to the value "62".

In this configuration, in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment, when the stop buttons B1 to B3 are operated in a simulated game and a drive pulse for all phase excitation is started to be supplied to the stepping motor, the timing of the rotation of one step in the reverse direction after one step in the forward direction is set to the timing at which the stored value of the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "68" regardless of the operation timing of the stop buttons B1 to B3, and after one step in the reverse direction, a micro-oscillation can be executed in which the motor rotates one step in the forward direction after approximately 375.48 ms and then rotates one step in the reverse direction after approximately 35.76 ms.

In addition, in FIG. 10, an example is shown in which the stop button B1 is operated, but in the case in which the stop button B2 or stop button B3 is operated, the decrement update of the center reel timer 194b and the decrement update of the right reel timer 194c are executed in a substantially similar manner, and the decrement updates of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c are executed in parallel.

In other words, in the slot machine 1, the timing of decrementing the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c, which are timers that manage the vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, from the value "63" to the value "62" is unified to the timing of updating the pseudo-game common timer 194d, which is a timer independent of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and is updated regardless of the progress of the pseudo-game, from the value "0" to the value "68", and is commonly referenced when any of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is temporarily stopped. This makes it possible to temporarily suspend the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 until the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "68", and then synchronize the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3.

With this configuration, in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment, when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in a simulated game, even if the timings at which the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 begin to temporarily stop are different, the operation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the micro-vibration executed when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped can be synchronized, thereby increasing the player's interest in the presentation content when multiple reels are temporarily stopped.

In addition, after the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped and then rotated one step in the forward direction, the slot machine 1 rotates the reel R1 to the right reel R3 one step in the reverse direction at the timing when the memory value of the pseudo game common timer 194d, which is provided separately from the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c that manages the vibration of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and is updated regardless of the progress of the pseudo game, is updated from the value "0" to the value "68", thereby synchronizing the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. Therefore, when synchronizing the micro vibrations of multiple reels, there is no need to execute complex control such as adjusting the vibration operation of one reel in response to the micro vibration of the other reel, and a simple control program can be used to increase the player's interest in the presentation content when multiple reels are temporarily stopped, while reducing the program capacity.

In addition, when the slot machine 1 synchronizes the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, it temporarily stops the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and resumes the vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 when the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "68". This makes it possible to increase the player's interest in the presentation when multiple reels are temporarily stopped by a simpler control program than when the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are synchronized by adjusting the vibration period and vibration speed of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3, and also reduces the program capacity.

<Stop time when random delay control is executed>
11 is a diagram showing the transition of the stop time of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and the transition of the stored values of the left reel timer 194a to the right reel timer 194c and the pseudo-game common timer 194d when the stop button B3 is operated in a state where the micro-vibration of the left reel R1 and the micro-vibration of the center reel R2 are synchronized in the pseudo-game, the right reel R3 starts to temporarily stop, and the pseudo-game ends and random delay control is executed based on the temporary stop of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the random delay control is started at the timing when the stop time of the right reel R3 has elapsed for about 429.12 ms. Also, FIG. 12 is a diagram explaining the behavior of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the example shown in FIG. 11.

The pseudo game control means 400 is configured to end the pseudo game not only when the right reel R3 has stopped for approximately 429.12 ms as shown in FIG. 11, but also when the player operates the start lever SL to start the pseudo game after the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 have temporarily stopped. The example shown in FIG. 11 is the case where the reel stop time is the longest from the end of the pseudo game to the start of the reel rotation due to random delay control in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, the waiting time at the start of the wait is set to approximately 2.98 ms, and the random delay times set for the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are approximately 414.22 ms for the left reel R1, approximately 104.3 ms for the center reel R2, and 0 ms for the right reel R3. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the random delay control for the right reel R3 is started when the excitation pointer is an odd number, and the reel is set to start rotating after approximately 59.6 ms has elapsed in the process related to the start of rotation of the reel.

As shown in FIG. 11, in slot machine 1, the right reel R3 moves one step in the forward direction approximately 11.92 ms after the left reel R1 and center reel R2 move one step in the forward direction, and then, when the left reel R1 and center reel R2 have been stopped for approximately 35.76 ms, the left reel R1 and center reel R2 move one step in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. 12(A). In slot machine 1, the right reel R3 is maintained in a stopped state because this is the timing when the stored value of the right reel timer 194c is updated from the value "64" to the value "63".

In slot machine 1, the left reel R1 and center reel R2 move one step in the forward direction as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12(B) approximately 375.48 ms after the left reel R1 and center reel R2 move one step in the reverse direction. In slot machine 1, since the stored value of pseudo game common timer 194d for right reel R3 is updated to value "5" and not to value "68", the stored value of right reel timer 194c is maintained at value "63" and right reel R3, which has been stopped for approximately 399.32 ms, is maintained in a stopped state.

As shown in Figures 11 and 12(C), in slot machine 1, random delay control is started based on the end of the simulated game when the left reel R1 and center reel R2 stop time is approximately 29.8 ms and the right reel R3 stop time is approximately 429.12 ms. In slot machine 1, when random delay control is started, a start-up wait of approximately 2.98 ms occurs, and after the start-up wait ends after approximately 2.98 ms, the random delay time set for each reel starts to elapse.

As described above, in the example shown in FIG. 11, the reel control means 130 starts the process related to the start of reel rotation for the right reel R3 because the random delay time for the right reel R3 is 0 ms, and stops updating the stored value of the right reel timer 194c. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the reel control means 130 starts the rotation of the right reel R3 about 59.6 ms after starting the process related to the start of reel rotation, that is, when the stop time of the right reel R3 becomes about 491.7 ms, because the excitation pointer of the right reel R3 is an odd number (see FIG. 12 (E)).

In the example shown in FIG. 11, the reel control means 130 sets the random delay time for the left reel R1 and the center reel R2 to a value longer than 0 ms. Therefore, when the stop time of the left reel R1 and the center reel R2 reaches approximately 35.76 ms, the stored value of the pseudo game common timer 194d is updated from the value "0" to the value "68" by the time the right reel R3 starts to rotate, and accordingly the stored values of the left reel timer 194a and the center reel timer 194b are updated to the value "62" (see FIG. 12 (D)).

As shown in Figures 11 and 12 (E), in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment, even if the start of rotation of the reels is delayed until the time of about 59.6 ms has elapsed, which is the longest time that a stopped state can be maintained after the start wait has ended in random delay control, that is, even if the time is about 62.58 ms, which is the longest time that a stopped state can be maintained in random delay control, the time that the reels are maintained in a stopped state is configured to be about 491.7 ms, and is configured not to exceed a predetermined time (500 ms in the second embodiment) to prevent the player from mistaking this for a stop in the game.

In this way, in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment, when at least one of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is temporarily stopped in a simulated game, the temporarily stopped reel is micro-vibrated before approximately 435.08 ms as the second time has elapsed, and the micro-vibration is performed to move the temporarily stopped reel one step in the forward rotation direction and one step in the reverse rotation direction, and after that, the temporarily stopped reel is micro-vibrated before approximately 375.48 ms has elapsed. In other words, in the slot machine 1, when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in a simulated game, the stop time of the temporarily stopped reel is configured to be within approximately 435.08 ms at most.

For this reason, in the slot machine 1, when the pseudo game is ended and the random delay control is started, the start of rotation of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is randomly delayed, and even when the control related to the micro-vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is ended, the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 start to rotate before approximately 62.58 ms has elapsed. Therefore, even if the reels are temporarily stopped in the pseudo game and the random delay control is started at a timing when approximately 429.12 ms has elapsed, which is just before the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are synchronized, the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 start to rotate before approximately 491.7 ms has elapsed, which is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms to prevent the player from mistaking it for a stop in the actual game.

In other words, in slot machine 1, a reel that has been stopped by a temporary stop starts to rotate after about 491.7 ms has elapsed, which is shorter than the sum of about 497.66 ms (approximately 62.58 ms, which is the maximum time that the reel can remain stopped before it starts to rotate under random delay control, and about 435.08 ms, which is the maximum time that can elapse before a rotating reel is caused to vibrate slightly when it is temporarily stopped in a simulated game). Therefore, even when random delay control is executed on a reel that has been stopped by a temporary stop, the time that it is maintained in a stopped state is configured to be shorter than about 500 ms (approximately 491.7 ms in the second embodiment).

In this configuration, when the reels that are rotating in the simulated game are temporarily stopped in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment, they are subjected to micro-vibrations before approximately 435.08 ms have elapsed, so the maximum time that the reels remain stopped before the random delay control is started is approximately 429.12 ms. Even if the reels remain stopped for approximately 62.58 ms before the random delay control starts to spin, the time that the reels are stopped can be kept to approximately 491.7 ms, which is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms that is set in advance to prevent the player from mistaking the reels for a stoppage in the actual game, and this can prevent the player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the actual game has not ended in the reel-based presentation.

In addition, even if random delay control is started before the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 that are temporarily stopped in the pseudo game are synchronized, the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment can keep the time that the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are stopped for a period shorter than the predetermined period of approximately 500 ms (within approximately 491.7 ms) to prevent the player from mistaking the time for the reels to be stopped in the actual game, and can prevent the player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the actual game has not ended in the reel-based presentation.

In addition, the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment does not execute effect wait control between the end of the pseudo game and the execution of random delay control, and can keep the time during which the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are stopped to a time (approximately 491.7 ms) that is shorter than the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms to prevent the player from mistaking this for a stoppage in a real game, and can realize a pseudo game without writing program code related to effect wait control in the control program executed in the pseudo game, thereby reducing the amount of program code required.

This pseudo game constitutes the specific reel performance in the second embodiment, the pseudo game control means 400 that executes the control related to the pseudo game constitutes the reel performance control means in the second embodiment, the micro vibration executed when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped constitutes the specific operation in the second embodiment, when the random delay control is started, the time that elapses in the stopped state in addition to the approximately 435.08 ms that elapses when the random delay control is executed on the reels whose operation has stopped due to the temporary stop before the reels start spinning constitutes the third time in the second embodiment, and the predetermined time of approximately 500 ms that is determined in advance to prevent the player from mistaking it for a stop in the actual game constitutes the fourth time in the second embodiment.

2. Summary of the Second Embodiment As described above, in the slot machine 1 of the second embodiment, when the reels rotating in the pseudo game are temporarily stopped, the reels are subjected to micro vibrations before the passage of about 435.08 ms. Therefore, the maximum time that elapses in the stopped state before the random delay control is started is about 429.12 ms. Therefore, even if the stopped state is maintained for about 62.58 ms before the reels start to rotate due to the random delay control, the stopped time of the reels can be kept to a time (about 491.7 ms) that is shorter than the predetermined time of about 500 ms that is determined in advance to prevent the player from mistaking the reels for the stoppage in the actual game. This can prevent the player from leaving the gaming machine and quitting the game even though the actual game has not ended in the presentation using the reels.

[Other embodiments]
In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to synchronize the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in the simulated game, but is not limited to this. The slot machine 1 may be configured to cause each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 to micro vibrate at a period corresponding to the timing of the temporary stop, so that the micro vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are not synchronized.

In the first embodiment, the slot machine 1 is configured to, when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in the simulated game, move them one step in the forward direction, and move them one step in the reverse direction until a first time of about 494.68 ms has elapsed, and after moving them one step in the reverse direction, to cause them to vibrate slightly until a second time of about 435.08 ms has elapsed, but is not limited to this. The slot machine 1 may be configured to vibrate the temporarily stopped reel slightly until a first time of about 494.68 ms has elapsed until the effect wait control is started, and to vibrate the temporarily stopped reel slightly until a second time of about 435.08 ms has elapsed after the effect wait control is started.

When configured in this manner, the slot machine 1 executes effect wait control in the simulated game, and ends effect wait control after the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 vibrate slightly at least once during effect wait control, so that the time the reels are stopped can be made shorter than approximately 500 ms, even if the reels start to rotate after approximately 62.58 ms has elapsed as the third time in the random delay control.

In the second embodiment, the slot machine 1 is configured to, when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in a simulated game, move the reels one step in the forward direction, and move them one step in the reverse direction until approximately 435.08 ms have elapsed, and after moving them one step in the reverse direction, to cause micro-vibrations until approximately 375.48 ms, which is shorter than approximately 435.08 ms, have elapsed, but is not limited to this. The slot machine 1 may be configured to, when the reels are temporarily stopped in a simulated game, cause micro-vibrations until approximately 435.08 ms have elapsed, and may be configured to always cause micro-vibrations at a constant cycle without changing the time that elapses until the micro-vibrations are started.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to, when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped in a pseudo game, slightly vibrate the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 until a time shorter than a predetermined time of about 500 ms has elapsed in order to prevent the player from mistaking the reels for a stop in a real game, but is not limited to this. The slot machine 1 may be configured to maintain the temporarily stopped reel in a stopped state until, for example, a time longer than about 500 ms (such as about 520 ms or about 600 ms) has elapsed as the predetermined time.

In addition, in the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to cause the reels that are temporarily stopped in the pseudo game to vibrate slightly before approximately 435.08 ms has elapsed, so as to cause the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 to start rotating before a time shorter than a predetermined specified time of approximately 500 ms has elapsed in order to prevent the player from mistaking the reels for a stop in the actual game when random delay control is executed, but this is not limited to this. The slot machine 1 may be configured, for example, to vibrate the reels that are temporarily stopped in the simulated game slightly until a time such as about 458.92 ms or about 488.72 ms has elapsed, which may or will almost certainly exceed about 500 ms if random delay control is executed, and to operate the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 until a time shorter than a predetermined time of about 500 ms has elapsed in order to prevent the player from mistaking the reels for a stop in the actual game when random delay control is not executed, but may be configured to exceed the predetermined time when random delay control is executed.

As described above, in the slot machine 1, when a pseudo game is executed, the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped, and then the pseudo game is terminated and random delay control is executed based on the start lever SL being operated by the player to start the game. Therefore, in the slot machine 1, even if the time during which the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3 exceeds approximately 500 ms due to the execution of random delay control, the player is performing the start operation, so it is unlikely that the player will leave the gaming machine and stop playing. Therefore, the stopping time of the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3 in the pseudo game can be extended to bring the stopping mode of the reels during the pseudo game closer to the stopping mode of the reels in the actual game, thereby increasing the player's interest in the presentation.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to move the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3 one step in the forward direction and then one step in the reverse direction when micro-vibrating the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3 in a simulated game, but is not limited to this. For example, when operating the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3, in addition to the micro-vibration of moving the reel R1 to R3 one step in the forward direction and then one step in the reverse direction, the slot machine 1 may have multiple types of operation patterns as operations for temporarily releasing the stop specified state of the left reel R1 to right reel R3, such as a vibration operation of moving the reel R1 to R3 multiple steps in the forward direction and then multiple steps in the reverse direction, and a reverse micro-vibration of moving the reel R1 to R3 one step in the reverse direction and then one step in the forward direction, and may be configured to execute the multiple types of operation patterns in a predetermined order or randomly.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 uses a common stop control program for the stop control program used when temporarily stopping the reels in the pseudo game processing by the pseudo game control means 400 and the stop control program used in the reel stop control executed by the reel control means 130 in the actual game, but this is not limited to this. When temporarily stopping the reels in the pseudo game, the slot machine 1 may be configured to use a stop control program for the pseudo game that is different from the stop control program used in the actual game.

When configured in this way, the slot machine 1 may be configured to temporarily stop the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in a simulated game after rotating the reels more than one revolution after the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 is operated and then temporarily stop the reels. The slot machine 1 may also be configured to accelerate or decelerate the rotation speed of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 from the speed in normal rotation after the stop button B1 to the stop button B3 is operated in a simulated game until the reel corresponding to the operated stop button is temporarily stopped.

When configured to accelerate or decelerate the rotation speed of the temporarily stopped left reel R1 to right reel R3, the slot machine 1 may be configured not to use one or both of the control programs (acceleration processing using an acceleration sequence, deceleration processing using a deceleration sequence) used to change the rotation speed of the reels in this game.

In other words, the slot machine 1 may be configured, for example, to temporarily stop the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in a simulated game, to rotate the reel corresponding to the operated stop button at a speed faster than the rotation speed during normal rotation when the stop button B1 to B3 is operated, and to rotate the reel once or multiple times (e.g., three times) before suddenly stopping the reel when a predetermined symbol is displayed and rotated in the middle row.

The slot machine 1 may be configured such that the acceleration and deceleration performed when the reels are temporarily stopped in the pseudo game are different from the acceleration and deceleration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in the actual game. Specifically, the acceleration of the rotation speed performed when the reels are temporarily stopped in the pseudo game is configured so that the rate of change of the speed per unit time (acceleration during pseudo game) is greater than the rate of change of the speed per unit time from the start of rotation to steady rotation in the actual game (acceleration during actual game), and the deceleration of the rotation speed performed when the reels are temporarily stopped in the pseudo game is configured so that the rate of change of the speed per unit time (deceleration during pseudo game) is greater than the rate of change of the speed per unit time from steady rotation to stop in the actual game (deceleration during actual game).

In addition, the slot machine 1 may be configured, for example, so that the acceleration during the pseudo game is smaller than the acceleration during the actual game and the deceleration during the pseudo game is smaller than the deceleration during the actual game. In addition, the slot machine 1 may be configured, for example, so that the acceleration during the pseudo game is larger than the acceleration during the actual game and the deceleration during the pseudo game is smaller than the deceleration during the actual game, or so that the acceleration during the pseudo game is smaller than the acceleration during the actual game and the deceleration during the pseudo game is larger than the deceleration during the actual game.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured so that the time during which the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped is shorter than the predetermined time of about 500 ms to prevent the player from mistaking it for a stoppage in the actual game, but is not limited to this. The slot machine 1 may be configured so that the time during which the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are temporarily stopped is shorter than the time during which the stepping motor that spins the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 is maintained in an excited state and stopped when the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 are stopped in the actual game.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 has a simulated game as a specific reel effect, but is not limited to this. The slot machine 1 may have a reel effect in which the spinning reels are temporarily stopped by the player operating an operating means (including the max bet button MB and start lever SL in addition to the stop buttons B1 to B3) as a specific reel effect. The slot machine 1 may also have a reel effect in which the reels are temporarily stopped automatically after a predetermined time has elapsed as a specific reel effect.

In addition, in the first and second embodiments, the reel control means 130 is configured to execute a start-up wait before executing the process of randomly delaying the rotation of the reels when executing random delay control, but is not limited to this, and may be configured to execute the process of randomly delaying the rotation of the reels without executing the start-up wait.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to execute a pseudo game when the presentation state controlled by the AT control means 200 transitions to the AT state, but is not limited to this. For example, the slot machine 1 may be configured to execute a lottery to determine whether or not to execute a pseudo game based on the detection of a start operation on the start lever SL, and to be able to execute the pseudo game when "execute pseudo game" is selected in the lottery.

In the first and second embodiments, the pseudo game control means 400 predetermines the white 7 symbol "white 7" as the temporary stop symbol that temporarily stops at the temporary stop position in the pseudo game when the pseudo game is started, but is not limited to this. The pseudo game control means 400 may be configured to determine the temporary stop symbol depending on the timing at which the stop button is operated, for example.

In other words, the slot machine 1 only needs to be configured so that the provisional stop symbol is determined in advance between the start of the supply of the full-phase excitation drive pulse and the provisional stop, and the timing of the determination can be any timing.

In the first and second embodiments, the reel control means 130 is configured to execute a control process related to a temporary stop when the stop button is pressed in a simulated game, but is not limited to this. For example, the reel control means 130 may be configured to execute a control process related to a temporary stop when the stop button is pressed in a simulated game as an operation on the stop button, and then released, thereby ending the output of the stop signal output from the stop switch 240.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to temporarily stop the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 and resume the vibration of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 when the pseudo-game common timer 194d is updated to a specific value (value "78" in the first embodiment, value "68" in the second embodiment) in order to synchronize the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 in a pseudo-game, but is not limited to this. For example, the slot machine 1 may be configured to synchronize the micro-vibrations of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 by executing a second operation to change the vibration period or vibration speed of each of the left reel R1 to the right reel R3 without temporarily stopping the left reel R1 to the right reel R3.

In the first and second embodiments, the reel control means 130 is configured to, when the stop button corresponding to a reel that has not yet been temporarily stopped at the time of power outage is pressed while the power is off and the pressed state is maintained when power is restored, determine whether or not the stop signal output from the stop switch 240 can be enabled when the interrupt processing that was being executed before the power outage is resumed upon restoration of power, and if the stop signal can be enabled, stop (temporarily stop) the reel corresponding to the stop button that is still pressed, and if the stop signal cannot be enabled, continue the rotation of the reel corresponding to the stop button that is still pressed, but is not limited to this.

The reel control means 130 may be configured to, for example, activate the stop signal output from the stop switch 240 in the interrupt process when power is restored after a power outage, thereby stopping (temporarily stopping) the reel corresponding to the stop button that remains pressed, regardless of the progress of the interrupt process at the time the power outage occurred.

The reel control means 130 may also be configured to treat the stop signal that is output when the stop button remains pressed as invalid when power is restored after a power outage, thereby allowing the reel corresponding to the stop button that remains pressed to continue spinning regardless of the progress of the interrupt process at the time the power outage occurred.

In the first and second embodiments, the reel control means 130 is configured to disable the stop signal output when one stop button is pressed after a power outage and the other stop buttons are pressed while the stop button is still pressed, but is not limited to this. The reel control means 130 may be configured to, for example, enable the stop signal output when one stop button is pressed after a power outage and the other stop button is still pressed while the stop button is still pressed, and stop (temporarily stop) the reel corresponding to the other stop button.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 has a max bet button MB for inserting a specified number of medals, but this is not limited thereto, and for example, the slot machine 1 may be configured to have a single bet button for inserting one medal in addition to the max bet button MB.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to be able to insert and pay out medals as game value, but is not limited to this. For example, the slot machine 1 may be configured to set the game value to an inserted state based on an insertion signal output from a game value management device (dedicated unit) that is provided outside the slot machine 1 and has a configuration capable of recording the total number of game values that a player can use for play by an electromagnetic method, and to output a payout signal to the game value management device when paying out the game value, and to electromagnetically record the game value corresponding to the payout signal on a specified recording medium in the game value management device. In other words, the slot machine 1 may be configured as a so-called medal-less gaming machine.

When configured in this way, the slot machine 1 is configured to have, for example, a credit number display means for displaying the number of credits corresponding to the amount of money inserted into the game value management device by the player. The slot machine 1 may also be configured to be capable of crediting a game value equivalent to a maximum of 16,368 medals, and when a game value exceeding 16,368 medals is credited, the game control means may be set to an error state, and the game value may be paid out by a method of electromagnetically recording the game value on a predetermined recording medium via the game value management device, making it impossible to play (a state in which the game value is not set to an inserted state and the start operation of the start lever SL is not enabled) until the number of credits becomes 16,368 medals or less.

When configured in this way, the slot machine 1 may be configured not to set an upper limit on the number of plays that can be performed in the advantageous zone, and may be configured to set only an upper limit on the difference in the number of coins for a specific ending condition of the advantageous zone. When configured in this way, the slot machine 1 may be configured not to have the zone notification unit 500A, and not to notify whether or not it is in an advantageous zone or whether or not the expected value of medal acquisition is 1 or more.

In the first and second embodiments, the AT control means 200 is configured to set the stored value of the second favorable zone counter 198b to the value "0" when the stored value of the second favorable zone counter 198b is less than the value "0" when the number of medals paid out in the game is less than the specified number of medals in the difference update process that updates the stored value of the second favorable zone counter 198b, but is not limited to this. The AT control means 200 may be configured to store a negative value in the second favorable zone counter 198b when the stored value of the second favorable zone counter 198b is less than the value "0" when the stored value of the second favorable zone counter 198b is subtracted in the difference update process.

When configured in this manner, the AT control means 200 is configured to be able to continue the advantageous zone until the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 198b becomes equal to or greater than the value "2401". For this reason, in the slot machine 1, for example, if the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 198b is a negative value of "-900" before the transition to a presentation state in which medals can be won, a total of 3301 medals can be won in the presentation state in which medals can be won: 900 medals until the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b becomes equal to the value "0", and 2401 medals until the stored value of the second advantageous zone counter 197b becomes equal to or greater than the value "2401".

In other words, the slot machine 1 can pay out to the player the medals inserted from the start of the advantageous zone until the transition to a presentation state in which medals can be won, and the medals won in the presentation state in which medals can be won until the difference in the number of medals exceeds 2,400, and is configured to allow the player to win more than 2,400 medals regardless of the number of medals inserted in the advantageous zone.

In the first and second embodiments, the slot machine 1 is configured to set the stored value of each counter or memory means as an initial value, and to perform a decrement update in which one is subtracted each time a game is played, or an increment update in which one is added each time a game is played, but this is not limited, and the method of updating each counter or memory means may be configured to perform multiplication, division, or the like, and is not particularly limited.

1. Slot machine (amusement machine)
400 Pseudo-game control means (reel performance control means)
R1 left reel R2 center reel R3 right reel

Claims (1)

Multiple reels and
A reel performance control means for controlling the reel performance,
The reel performance includes a specific reel performance,
When the reel spinning in the specific reel performance stops, the reel is temporarily stopped and a specific operation is performed within a second time period after the reel stops.
The specific reel performance ends with the plurality of reels temporarily stopped,
When the specific reel performance ends, a random delay control is executed to randomly delay the timing of the start of rotation of each reel so that the start of rotation of the plurality of reels is not synchronized;
When the random delay control is executed, the reel whose operation has been stopped by the temporary stop starts to rotate within the second time and a third time that can elapse from the start of the random delay control until the reel whose operation has been stopped by the temporary stop starts to rotate ,
The second time period is shorter than a fourth time period that is determined in advance to prevent a player from mistaking the stopped state of the game for a stoppage of the game when the second time period is combined with the third time period.
A gaming machine characterized by:

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