JP7587203B2 - Gaming Machines - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to gaming machines such as slot machines.

An example of a gaming machine that stops multiple reels after spinning is a slot machine. In a slot machine, multiple symbols are attached to the outer periphery of each reel, and some of the symbols attached to each reel can be seen through a display window. Then, when a player inserts a medal, a winning line is set, and then, when the player operates the start lever, a lottery is held inside the slot machine for roles such as a big bonus (hereinafter referred to as "BB") role, a small role, and a replay, and each reel starts spinning. After each reel starts spinning, the reels stop sequentially by operating the stop switch, and one game ends. Then, when all the reels have stopped spinning, if a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning role stops on the winning line, it is a win, and the player is given a prize such as a medal payout or a game state change (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In recent years, in addition to the BB state, which is entered when a BB win is achieved, some machines have an assist time (hereinafter referred to as "AT") state, which notifies the player of the operation sequence of the stop switch to achieve a specified win when a specified combination is won, as a game state that is advantageous to the player.

JP 2002-355364 A

In gaming machines like those mentioned above, there is a demand for further improvements in gaming enjoyment.

The above problem is not limited to the slot machines exemplified above, but also applies to other gaming machines that display multiple types of pictures in a cyclical manner and then end the cyclical display based on the operation of a stop operation means.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a gaming machine that can increase the interest of players in gaming.

The invention described in claim 1 relates to a gaming machine including a main control means for controlling a game and a slave control means for performing various controls in response to a signal from the main control means, the main control means including a first execution means for storing first information in a memory area when a first specific condition is satisfied, a second execution means for changing the information stored in the memory area to second information when a second specific condition is satisfied after the first specific condition is satisfied, a confirmation means for confirming the information stored in the memory area, a control execution means for executing different controls when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area and when the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the memory area, and a setting means for setting corresponding information using at least a part of the information stored in the memory area , the control execution means including: When the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area, a specific game is executed, and when the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the memory area, the specific game is not executed, and the device is provided with a specific information storage means for storing specific information in advance, and a command sending means for sending a command to the slave control means, and the setting means is provided with a specified command creation means for creating a specified command by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area, and the specified command creation means creates a specified command by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area in both cases when the first information is stored in the memory area and when the second information is stored in the memory area .

It will be possible to increase interest in gaming.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slot machine with the front door closed. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slot machine with a front door open. Rear view of the front door. Front view of the housing. A diagram showing the arrangement of symbols on each reel. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the patterns visible through the display window and the combination lines. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between winning modes and the benefits provided. Block diagram of a slot machine. 13 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt process. 11 is a flowchart showing a normal process. 13 is a flowchart showing a lottery process. FIG. 13 shows an example of a lottery table for three-coin play. FIG. 13 shows an example of a lottery table for two-coin play. 13 is a flowchart showing a reel control process. 11 is a flowchart showing a pseudo-game determination process. 13 is a flowchart showing a rotation start process. 11 is a flowchart showing a command transmission process 1. 13 is a flowchart showing an instruction monitor display process. 13 is a flowchart showing a command transmission process 2. 4 is a flowchart showing a stop control process. 13 is a flowchart showing a stop position determination process. 13 is a flowchart showing a migration preparation process. An explanatory diagram for explaining the transition of game areas. 13 is a flowchart showing a section lottery process in a normal section. 11 is a flowchart showing game area processing in a normal area. 13 is a flowchart showing a section lottery process in a chance mode. 11 is a flowchart showing game section processing in chance mode. 13 is a flowchart showing an end determination process. 13 is a flowchart showing a section lottery process in a notification mode. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing an example of a rotation mode and a display mode in a pseudo game. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing an example of a rotation mode and a display mode in a pseudo game. FIG. 2 shows a slide table used in simulated gaming. FIG. 2 shows a slide table used in simulated gaming. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing an example of a rotation mode and a display mode in a pseudo game. 11 is a flowchart showing game section processing in notification mode. 13 is a flowchart showing a reel control process in the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an instruction monitor display process. 4 is a flowchart showing a stop control process. 13 is a flowchart showing a stop position determination process. 11 is a flowchart showing a performance determination process in the display control device. 4 is a flowchart showing a performance execution process in a display control device. 11 is a flowchart showing an additional notification process in the display control device. 13A is a diagram showing the configuration of a pseudo game flag storage area in the third embodiment, and FIG. 13B is a diagram showing the configuration of a header. 11 is a flowchart showing a command transmission process 1. 13 is a flowchart showing a command transmission process 2. 11 is a flowchart showing a stop position determination process. 13 is a flowchart showing a command transmission process 3.

(First embodiment)

Below, an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a reel type gaming machine, which is one type of gaming machine, specifically a slot machine, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a front view of the slot machine 10, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the slot machine 10 with the front door 12 closed, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the slot machine 10 with the front door 12 open, Fig. 4 is a rear view of the front door 12, and Fig. 5 is a front view of the cabinet 11.

As shown in Figures 1 to 5, the slot machine 10 has a housing 11 that forms its outer shell. The housing 11 is generally formed in a box shape with an open front, and is attached to the so-called island equipment by nailing it when installing it in an amusement hall.

A front door 12 is attached to the front side of the housing 11 so as to be openable and closable. That is, the housing 11 is provided with a pair of upper and lower support shafts 13a, 13b on the left side when viewed from the front, and the front door 12 is provided with bearings 14a, 14b at positions corresponding to the support shafts 13a, 13b. When the support shafts 13a, 13b are inserted into the bearings 14a, 14b, the front door 12 is supported rotatably around an opening and closing axis extending in the vertical direction connecting the support shafts 13a, 13b with respect to the housing 11, and the front open side of the housing 11 can be opened or closed by rotating the front door 12. The front door 12 is locked and cannot be opened by a locking device 20 provided on its back side. A key cylinder 21 integrated with the locking device 20 is provided at the upper right end side of the front door 12, and the locked state is released by a predetermined key operation on the key cylinder 21.

A game panel 25 that notifies the player of the game status is provided at the upper center of the front door 12. The game panel 25 has three vertically long display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R arranged side by side, and the inside of the slot machine 10 can be seen through each of the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R. The display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R may be combined into one common display window.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the housing 11 is divided into two parts, an upper part and a lower part, by a partition plate 30, and a reel unit 31 constituting a variable display means is attached to the upper part of the partition plate 30. The reel unit 31 is provided with a left reel 32L, a center reel 32M, and a right reel 32R each formed in a cylindrical (annular) shape. Each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R is supported so that it can rotate with its central axis being the axis of rotation of the reel. The axes of rotation of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R are arranged on the same axis extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R corresponds one-to-one to each display window 26L, 26M, and 26R. Therefore, a part of the surface of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R is visible through the corresponding display window 26L, 26M, and 26R. Furthermore, when reels 32L, 32M, and 32R rotate forward, the surfaces of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are displayed through display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R as if they are moving from top to bottom.

Here, we will briefly explain the configuration of the reel unit 31.

Each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is connected to a stepping motor, and each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R can be rotated individually, i.e., independently, by driving each stepping motor. The stepping motor is set to rotate once by giving a drive signal (hereinafter also referred to as an excitation pulse) of, for example, 480 pulses, and the rotational position of the stepping motor, i.e., the rotational position of the reel, is controlled by this excitation pulse. In addition, reel index sensors for detecting that the reel has rotated once are installed on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R in the reel unit 31. When the reel index sensor detects that the reel has rotated once, it outputs a detection signal to the main control device 101, which will be described later, each time it detects that the reel has rotated once. Therefore, the main control device 101 can check and correct the angular position of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R for each rotation based on the detection signal of the reel index sensor and the number of excitation pulses output before the detection signal is input.

On the outer periphery of each reel 32L, 32M, 32R, multiple symbols are drawn in the long side direction (rotation direction) as identification information. More specifically, 20 symbols are drawn at equal intervals. Therefore, to switch from one symbol to the next symbol at a specified position, it is necessary to output 24 excitation pulses (= 480 pulses ÷ 20 symbols). Furthermore, the main control device 101 can determine which symbols are visible from the display windows 26L, 26M, 26R and stop a specified symbol at a position visible from the display windows 26L, 26M, 26R based on the number of excitation pulses output after the detection signal of the reel index sensor is input.

Next, we will explain the symbols depicted on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R.

Figure 6 shows the arrangement of symbols on the left reel 32L, center reel 32M, and right reel 32R. As shown in the figure, 20 symbols are arranged in a row on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Numbers from 0 to 19 are also assigned to each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, but these numbers are numbers used by the main control device 101 to identify the symbols that are visible through the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R, and are not actually assigned to the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. However, these numbers will be used in the following explanation.

There are eight types of symbols: "cherry" symbol (e.g., the 19th symbol on the left reel 32L), "watermelon" symbol (e.g., the 18th symbol on the left reel 32L), "bell" symbol (e.g., the 17th symbol on the left reel 32L), "red 7" symbol (e.g., the 16th symbol on the left reel 32L), "replay" symbol (e.g., the 15th symbol on the left reel 32L), "star" symbol (e.g., the 14th symbol on the left reel 32L), "BAR" symbol (e.g., the 11th symbol on the left reel 32L), and "white 7" symbol (e.g., the 6th symbol on the left reel 32L). As shown in FIG. 6, the number and arrangement order of the various symbols are completely different on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

Each display window 26L, 26M, 26R is formed so that of the 20 symbols on the corresponding reel, only three symbols are visible in their entirety. Therefore, when each reel 32L, 32M, 32R is stopped, 3 x 3 = 9 symbols are visible through the display window 26L, 26M, 26R.

In this slot machine 10, a total of five combination lines are set, three parallel lines horizontally and two cross-sectional lines diagonally, connecting the positions where these nine symbols are visible. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the horizontal combination lines are set as an upper line L1 connecting the upper symbols of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, a middle line L2 connecting the middle symbols of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, and a lower line L3 connecting the lower symbols of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. In addition, diagonal combination lines include a downward-right line L4 that connects the upper pattern on the left reel 32L, the middle pattern on the middle reel 32M, and the lower pattern on the right reel 32R, and a right-upward line L5 that connects the lower pattern on the left reel 32L, the middle pattern on the middle reel 32M, and the upper pattern on the right reel 32R. When the patterns stop in a predetermined combination on an activated combination line, i.e., an activated line, a prize is awarded, and a prize of a predetermined number of medals as game media or a game state change is awarded.

In this slot machine 10, as shown in FIG. 7(b), only the middle line L2 is set as an active line. The four combination lines of the upper line L1, the lower line L3, the downward right line L4, and the upward right line L5 are not set as active lines.

Figure 8 shows the correspondence between winning combinations of symbols and the benefits that will be awarded if a winning combination is achieved.

State transition winnings, which only result in a transition of the game state, include BB1 winning and BB2 winning.

When the "red 7" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on an active line, a BB1 win is made. When the "red 7" symbols on the left reel 32L and center reel 32M and the "white 7" symbol on the right reel 32R stop on an active line, a BB2 win is made. When one of these BB wins is made, the game state transitions to BB state.

The replay prize is one type of prize that gives you the privilege of playing the next game without inserting a medal.

If the "Replay" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on an active line, a replay win will be awarded.

The minor winning combinations that result in the payout of medals include the watermelon winning combination, the cherry winning combination, the bell winning combination, and the compensation winning combination.

When the "watermelon" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on an active line, three medals are paid out as a watermelon win. When the "cherry" symbol on the left reel 32L stops on an active line, three medals are paid out as a cherry win.

When the "bell" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on any of the combination lines, nine medals are paid out as a bell win. More specifically, in addition to when the "bell" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R stop on the middle line L2, nine medals are paid out as a bell win when a combination of symbols that causes the "bell" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R to stop on the upper line L1 stops on the middle line L2. Examples of symbol combinations that appear to be bell wins include a combination of a "red 7", a "star", and a "star", or a combination of a "BAR", a "cherry", and a "BAR". Details of the winning symbol combinations are omitted, but one medal is paid out when a compensation role win is achieved.

In the following, the combination of symbols corresponding to each winning prize is also referred to as the winning symbol combination. For example, a BB2 symbol combination is a symbol combination that results in a BB2 prize, that is, a combination of a "red 7" symbol, a "red 7" symbol, and a "white 7" symbol. In addition, the symbols on the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R that correspond to each winning prize are also referred to as the winning symbols. For example, the BB2 symbol is a "red 7" symbol on the left reel 32L and center reel 32M, and a "white 7" symbol on the right reel 32R.

A start lever 41 is provided on the lower left side of the game panel 25, which is operated to start the rotation of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. The start lever 41 constitutes a start operation means or a start operation means that is operated to start the rotation of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, i.e., to start the variable display of the patterns. When the start lever 41 is operated with a predetermined number of medals inserted, each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R starts to rotate.

On the right side of the start lever 41, there are provided button-shaped stop switches 42-44 that are operated to individually stop each of the rotating reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Each stop switch 42-44 is located directly below the display window 26L, 26M, and 26R that corresponds to the reel 32L, 32M, and 32R to be stopped. That is, when the left stop switch 42 is operated, the left reel 32L stops spinning, when the center stop switch 43 is operated, the center reel 32M stops spinning, and when the right stop switch 44 is operated, the right reel 32R stops spinning. The stop switches 42-44 constitute a stop operation means that is operated to stop the variable display of symbols based on the rotation of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

A medal insertion slot 45 for inserting medals is provided on the lower right side of the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R. The medal insertion slot 45 constitutes an input means for inputting game media. In addition, considering that the medal insertion slot 45 involves the action of the player directly inserting medals, it can also be said to constitute a direct input means for directly inputting game media.

The medals inserted through the medal insertion port 45 are guided to either the storage passage 47 or the discharge passage 48 by a selector 46 as a passage switching means provided on the back of the front door 12. More specifically, the selector 46 is provided with a medal passage switching solenoid 46a, and when the medal passage switching solenoid 46a is not energized, the medals are guided to the discharge passage 48 side, and when the medal passage switching solenoid 46a is energized, the medals are guided to the storage passage 47 side. The medals guided to the storage passage 47 are guided to a hopper device 51 stored inside the housing 11. On the other hand, the medals guided to the discharge passage 48 are guided to a medal tray 50 from a medal discharge port 49 provided on the lower front surface of the front door 12, and are returned to the player.

The hopper device 51 is composed of a storage tank 52 that stores medals, and a payout device 53 that pays out medals to players. The payout device 53 rotates a medal payout rotating plate (not shown) to discharge medals to an opening 48a provided in the discharge passage 48, and pays out the medals to a medal receiving tray 50 through the discharge passage 48. In addition, a reserve tank 54 is provided to the right of the hopper device 51 to prevent medals from being stored in the storage tank 52 by more than a predetermined amount. Inside the storage tank 52 of the hopper device 51, a guide plate 52a is provided to discharge medals from the storage tank 52 to the reserve tank 54. Therefore, if medals are stored above the height at which the guide plate 52a is provided, the medals will be stored in the reserve tank 54.

A button-shaped return switch 55 is provided below the medal insertion port 45. If the return switch 55 is operated when a medal inserted into the medal insertion port 45 becomes stuck in the selector 46, the selector 46 is mechanically linked and operated, and the medal stuck in the selector 46 is returned from the medal ejection port 49.

A first credit insertion switch 56 is provided on the lower left side of the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R for inserting three credited virtual medals as game media at a time. A second credit insertion switch 57 and a third credit insertion switch 58 are provided to the left of the first credit insertion switch 56. The second credit insertion switch 57 is for inserting two virtual medals at a time, and the third credit insertion switch 58 is for inserting one virtual medal. The credit insertion switches 56 to 58, together with the medal insertion slot 45, constitute an input means for inputting game media. In addition, while the medal insertion slot 45 involves the action of the player directly inserting medals, the credit insertion switches 56 to 58 only involve the action of inserting virtual medals based on the stored memory. Considering this, they can also be said to constitute an indirect input means for indirectly inputting game media.

A settlement switch 59 is provided to the left of the start lever 41. In other words, this slot machine 10 has a credit function that stores and stores as virtual medals any surplus inserted medals up to a predetermined maximum value (equivalent to 50 medals) or medals paid out when a prize is won, and when the settlement switch 59 is operated while virtual medals are stored and stored, the virtual medals are paid out as real medals from the medal discharge port 49. In this case, when focusing on the function of paying out credited virtual medals as real medals, the settlement switch 59 can also be said to constitute a settlement operation means for actually paying out the stored and stored game media.

Below the display windows 26L, 26M, and 26R of the game panel 25 are a credit display section 60 that displays the number of credited virtual medals, a remaining payout number display section 61, and a payout number display section 62 that displays the number of medals paid out when a win occurs. In addition, in the lower right corner of the payout number display section 62, there is a section indicator 66 that shows the game section. These displays 60 to 62 and the section indicator 66 are made up of seven-segment displays, but of course they can be replaced with liquid crystal displays or the like.

At the top of the front door 12, there are provided an upper lamp 63 that lights up or flashes as the game progresses, a pair of left and right speakers 64 that play various sound effects as the game progresses and notify the player of the game status, and an auxiliary display unit 65 that gives the player various information. The auxiliary display unit 65 is for executing various display effects as the game progresses, and since the game using each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R can be considered to be performed by the main display unit, it is referred to as the auxiliary display unit 65 in this embodiment. At the back of the auxiliary display unit 65, there is provided a display control device 81 for driving the upper lamp 63, the speaker 64, and the auxiliary display unit 65.

Inside the housing 11, a power supply box 70 is provided to the left of the hopper device 51. The power supply box 70 houses the power supply device 91 inside and is equipped with a power switch 71, a reset switch 72, a setting key insertion hole 73, and the like. The power switch 71 is an activation switch for supplying power to each part including the main control device 101. The reset switch 72 is a switch for resetting an error state of the slot machine 10. The setting key insertion hole 73 is for the hall manager or the like to adjust the medal output. In other words, the hall manager or the like can set the winning probability of the slot machine 10 by inserting the setting key into the setting key insertion hole 73 and turning it ON. The reset switch 72 is operated not only when resetting an error state but also when changing the winning probability of the slot machine 10.

Above the reel unit 31, a main control device 101 that controls the game is attached to the cabinet 11.

Next, the electrical configuration of the slot machine 10 will be explained based on the block diagram in FIG. 9.

The main control device 101 is equipped with a microcomputer centered around the CPU 102, which is an arithmetic processing means. In addition to the power supply device 91, the CPU 102 is connected to a clock circuit 103 that outputs a rectangular wave of a predetermined frequency, an input/output port 104, and the like via an internal bus. This main control device 101 functions as the main board built into the slot machine 10.

The input side of the main control device 101 is connected to various sensors, such as the reel unit 31 (more specifically, a reel index sensor that detects when each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R has made one rotation), a start detection sensor 41a that detects the operation of the start lever 41, stop detection sensors 42a to 44a that detect the operation of each of the stop switches 42 to 44, an inserted medal detection sensor 45a that detects medals inserted through the medal insertion slot 45, a payout detection sensor 51a that detects medals paid out from the hopper device 51, credit insertion detection sensors 56a to 58a that detect the operation of each of the credit insertion switches 56 to 58, a settlement detection sensor 59a that detects the operation of the settlement switch 59, a reset detection sensor 72a that detects the operation of the reset switch 72, and a setting key detection sensor 73a that detects when a setting key is inserted into the setting key insertion hole 73 and turned ON. The signals from these various sensors are output to the CPU 102 via the input/output port 104.

The power supply unit 91 is connected to the input side of the main control unit 101 via the input/output port 104. The power supply unit 91 is equipped with a power supply unit 91a that supplies driving power to the main control unit 101 and each electronic device of the slot machine 10, a power outage monitoring circuit 91b, and the like.

The power failure monitoring circuit 91b monitors the power supply cut-off state and generates a power failure signal not only during a power failure but also when the power supply is cut off by the power switch 71. For this reason, the power failure monitoring circuit 91b monitors the stabilized drive voltage of 12 volts DC in this example output from the power supply unit 91a, and is configured to determine that the power supply has been cut off and output a power failure signal when this drive voltage drops to less than 10 volts, for example. The power failure signal is supplied to both the CPU 102 and the input/output port 104, and the CPU 102 recognizes this power failure signal and executes the power failure processing described below. The power failure signal is also configured to be supplied to the display control device 81.

The power supply unit 91a is configured to output a stabilized voltage of 5 volts to be used as a drive voltage in control systems such as the main control unit 101, even if the output voltage drops below 10 volts. The time for which this stabilized voltage is output is sufficient to allow the main control unit 101 to execute power outage processing.

The output side of the main control device 101 is connected via an input/output port 104 to the reel unit 31 (more specifically, the stepping motor for rotating each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R), the medal passage switching solenoid 46a provided on the selector 46, the hopper device 51, the credit display unit 60, the remaining number of coins to be paid out display unit 61, the number of coins to be paid out display unit 62, the section display unit 66, the display control device 81, and an external centralized terminal board 121 that can transmit information to a hall management device (not shown), etc.

The display control device 81 is a control device for driving the upper lamps 63, speaker 64, and auxiliary display unit 65, and is equipped with a board on which a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. for driving these are integrated. After receiving a signal from the main control device 101, the display control device 81 independently drives and controls the upper lamps 63, speaker 64, and auxiliary display unit 65. Therefore, the display control device 81 is a sub-board that performs auxiliary control in relation to the main control device 101, which is the main board that manages the overall game. Note that the display control device 81 may also be configured to drive and control the various display units 60 to 62.

The above-mentioned CPU 102 includes a ROM 105 that stores various control programs and fixed value data executed by the CPU 102, a RAM 106 that secures a working area for temporarily storing various data when executing the control programs stored in the ROM 105, and various counters, such as an interrupt circuit, a timer circuit, a data transmission/reception circuit, and other processing circuits required for the slot machine 10, as well known in the art (not shown). The ROM 105 and RAM 106 form a main memory as a storage means, and the programs for executing the various processes shown in the flowcharts of Figures 10 to 36 are stored in the above-mentioned ROM 105 as part of the control program.

RAM 106 is configured to be able to retain (back up) data by receiving backup voltage from power supply device 91 even after power to slot machine 10 is cut off. RAM 106 is provided with a backup area in addition to memory for temporarily storing various data, a winning flag storage area 106a for storing the results of a winning combination lottery, a stop information storage area 106b for storing stop information used when controlling the stop of reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, a status information storage area 106c for storing the game status, and a section information storage area 106d for storing the game section.

The backup area is an area for storing the value of the stack pointer at the time of power interruption (including power interruption by operating the power switch 71; the same applies below) in the event that power is interrupted due to a power outage or the like, and when the power outage is resolved (including power on by operating the power switch 71; the same applies below), the state of the slot machine 10 can be restored to the state before power was interrupted based on the information in the backup area. Writing to the backup area is performed by the power outage processing (see Figure 10) when power is interrupted, and the restoration of each value written to the backup area is performed during main processing when power is turned on.

The NMI terminal (non-maskable interrupt terminal) of the CPU 102 is configured to receive a power outage signal from the power outage monitoring circuit 91b when the power is cut off due to a power outage or the like. When the power is cut off, an NMI interrupt process is immediately executed as a power outage flag generation process.

Next, the control processes executed by the CPU 102 of the main control device 101 will be described. The processes of the CPU 102 can be broadly divided into main processes that are started when the power is turned on, timer interrupt processes that are started periodically (every 1.49 msec in this embodiment), and NMI interrupt processes that are started when a power outage signal is input to the NMI terminal. Below, the processes related to the progress of the game among these processes, i.e., timer interrupt processes, and normal processes performed in the main processes will be described with reference to the flowcharts of Figures 10 to 36.

Figure 10 is a flowchart of the timer interrupt process that is periodically executed by the main control unit 101, and a timer interrupt is generated by the CPU 102 of the main control unit 101, for example, every 1.49 msec.

First, in the register save process shown in step S101, the values of all registers in the CPU 102 that are used in normal processing, which will be described later, are saved to a backup area in the RAM 106. In step S102, it is confirmed whether the power outage flag is set, and if the power outage flag is set, the process proceeds to step S103, where power outage processing is executed.

Here is an overview of how power outages are handled.

When the power supply is cut off due to a power outage or the like, a power outage signal is output from the power outage monitoring circuit 91b of the power supply device 91, and the power outage signal is input to the main control device 101 via the NMI terminal. When the power outage signal is input, the main control device 101 immediately executes an NMI interrupt process and sets a power outage flag in a power outage flag storage area provided in the RAM 106.

In the power failure processing, the value of the stack pointer of the CPU 102 is saved in the backup area of the RAM 106. After that, the output state of the output port in the input/output port 104 is cleared, and all actuators (not shown) are turned off. Then, a RAM judgment value for judging whether the data in the RAM 106 is normal or not when the power failure is resolved is calculated and saved in the backup area, thereby prohibiting subsequent access to the RAM. After the above processing is performed, an infinite loop is entered in preparation for the power being completely cut off and processing being unable to be executed. Note that, in consideration of the case where the power failure flag is erroneously set due to noise, for example, whether a power failure signal is being output is checked before entering the infinite loop. If the power failure signal is not being output, it means that the power failure state has been recovered, so writing to the RAM 106 is permitted and the power failure flag is reset, and the timer interrupt processing is resumed. If the power failure signal continues to be output, the infinite loop is entered as it is. Incidentally, even under the infinite loop, whether a power failure signal is being output is checked, and if the power failure signal is no longer being output, the processing transitions to the main processing.

Returning to the explanation of the timer interrupt process, if the power outage flag is not set in step S102, various processes from step S104 onwards are carried out.

That is, in step S104, a watchdog timer clear process is performed to initialize the value of the watchdog timer for monitoring the occurrence of a malfunction. In step S105, an interrupt end declaration process is performed to enable the CPU 102 itself to set the next timer interrupt. In step S106, a stepping motor control process is performed to drive the stepping motors that are the reel drive motors for each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R to rotate, and to brake the corresponding stepping motors to stop the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R during rotation. In step S107, the states of various sensors such as the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a, the inserted medal detection sensor 45a, and the payout detection sensor 51a connected to the input/output port 104 (see FIG. 9) are read, and a sensor monitoring process is performed to monitor whether the read results are normal. In step S108, a timer subtraction process is performed to subtract the values of each counter and timer. In step S109, a counter process is performed to count the number of medals bet and the number of medals paid out, and output the results to the external centralized terminal board 121.

In step S110, a segment data setting process is performed to set the segment data to be displayed in the credit display section 60, the remaining payout number display section 61, and the payout number display section 62. In step S111, a segment data display process is performed to supply the segment data set in the segment data setting process to each display section 60-62 and display the corresponding numbers, symbols, etc. In step S112, a port output process is performed to output data corresponding to the I/O device from the input/output port 104. In step S113, the values of each register that were saved to the backup area in the previous step S101 are restored to the corresponding register in the CPU 102. Then, in step S114, an interrupt permission process is performed to permit the next timer interrupt, and this series of timer interrupt processes is terminated.

Next, the normal processing that performs the main control related to the game will be explained based on the flowchart in Figure 11.

First, in step S201, an interrupt permission process is performed to permit the next timer interrupt. In step S202, a pre-start process is performed to enable play. In the pre-start process, the system waits until the display control device 81 and other devices have finished initializing. When the initialization of the display control device 81 and other devices has finished, the system performs the game management process shown in steps S203 to S215.

As part of the game management process, in step S203, various game information and other data (e.g., random number values used in the previous game) stored in the RAM 106 are cleared. Then, in step S204, a start wait process is performed.

In the start waiting process, it is determined whether or not a replay winning was established in the previous game. If a replay winning was established, an automatic insertion process is performed to automatically insert virtual medals in the same number as the previous bet number, and the start waiting process is terminated. In the automatic insertion process, virtual medals are inserted without reducing the number of virtual medals displayed in the credit display unit 60. In other words, if a replay winning was established in the previous game, the player can play the current game without reducing the number of medals he owns and without inserting medals. If a replay winning was not established, a sensor abnormality confirmation process is performed to check whether an abnormality has occurred in the sensor reading result performed in the sensor monitoring process step S107 of the timer interrupt process, and if an abnormality has occurred, an abnormality occurrence process is performed to put the slot machine 10 into an error state and notify the occurrence of the error. Such an error state is maintained until the reset switch 72 is operated. If the sensor reading is normal, it determines whether the settlement switch 59 has been operated, and if so, it performs a medal return process to pay out the same number of medals as the credited virtual medals. After the medal return process is completed or if the settlement switch 59 has not been operated, it determines whether medals have been inserted or the credit insertion switches 56-58 have been operated between the previous start waiting process and the current start waiting process, and if either has been done, it performs a medal insertion process to change the number of bets, etc., and ends the start waiting process. Also, if neither medals have been inserted nor the credit insertion switches 56-58 have been operated between the previous start waiting process and the current start waiting process, it ends the start waiting process as is.

After the start waiting process is completed, in step S205, it is determined whether the number of medals bet has reached a specified number. In this slot machine 10, the specified numbers are set to "2" and "3". If the number of medals bet has not reached the specified number, the process returns to the start waiting process of step S204, and the process from the sensor abnormality confirmation process onwards is carried out. If the number of medals bet has reached the specified number, in step S206, it is determined whether the start lever 41 has been operated. If the start lever 41 has not been operated, the process returns to the start waiting process of step S204, and the process from the sensor abnormality confirmation process onwards is carried out.

On the other hand, when the start lever 41 is operated, it means that a start command has been issued to start the game, since the game can be started when the start lever 41 is operated under the condition that the specified number of medals have been bet. In such a case, an effective line setting process is performed in step S207 to set the middle line L1 as the effective line, and the medal passage switching solenoid 46a is switched to a non-excited state in step S208 to prohibit bet acceptance. After that, the lottery process in step S209, the rotation initialization process in step S210, the 4.1 second waiting process in step S211, the reel control process in step S212, the medal payout process in step S213, the play section process in step S214, and the BB state process in step S215 are executed in this order, and then the process returns to step S203.

Next, the lottery process in step S209 will be explained based on the flowchart in FIG. 12.

In step S301, a random number is obtained to be used when determining whether a winning combination has been achieved. In this slot machine 10, when the start lever 41 is operated, the hardware circuitry latches the value of the free-run counter at that time. The free-run counter generates random numbers between 0 and 65535, and the CPU 102 stores the value latched by the hardware circuitry in the RAM 106 after confirming the operation of the start lever 41. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly obtain a random number when the start lever 41 is operated, and it is possible to avoid problems such as synchronization. The hardware circuitry of this slot machine 10 is configured to latch the value of the free-run counter each time the start lever 41 is operated.

After obtaining the random number, in step S302, a lottery table is selected to determine whether the winning combination has been achieved. In this slot machine 10, six winning probabilities are pre-prepared, from "Setting 1" to "Setting 6." By inserting the setting key into the setting key insertion hole and turning it ON while also performing a specified operation, it is possible to set which winning probability the internal processing will be based on. In step S302, when the setting state is "Setting 1," a lottery table with the lowest expected value for medal payout is selected, and when the setting state is "Setting 6," a lottery table with the highest expected value for medal payout is selected.

The lottery table will be briefly explained. Figure 13 is a lottery table selected in a three-coin game with "setting 3", and Figure 14 is a lottery table selected in a two-coin game with "setting 3". Index values IV are set in the lottery table, and each index value IV is uniquely associated with a winning combination and a point value PV is set.

After the lottery table is selected, in step S303, the index value IV is set to 1, and in the following step S304, a judgment value DV is set to be used when judging whether the hand is a win or a loss. In this judgment value setting process, the point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV is added to the current judgment value DV to set a new judgment value DV. Note that in the initial judgment value setting process, the random number value acquired in step S301 is set as the current judgment value DV, and the point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV (1) is added to this random number value to set the new judgment value DV.

After that, in step S305, a judgment is made as to whether the combination corresponding to the index value IV has been won. In judging whether the combination has been won, it is judged whether the judgment value DV has exceeded 65535. If it has exceeded 65535, the process proceeds to step S306, and the winning flag corresponding to the index value IV at that time is set in the winning flag storage area 106a of the RAM 106. For example, if the judgment value DV exceeds 65535 when IV=5, in step S306, the middle, right, left bell winning flags, which indicate that the bell, compensation combination 2, and compensation combination 4 have been won, are set in the winning flag storage area 106a.

Incidentally, if the winning flag that has been set is not the BB1 winning flag indicating that BB1 has been won or the BB2 winning flag indicating that BB2 has been won, the winning flag set in the winning flag storage area 106a is reset after the game in which the corresponding winning flag has been set ends (see S203 in normal processing). On the other hand, if the winning flag is the BB1 winning flag or the BB2 winning flag, these winning flags are reset on the condition that the corresponding winning is achieved. In other words, the BB1 winning flag and the BB2 winning flag may be valid over multiple games. In step S306 in a state in which the BB1 winning flag or the BB2 winning flag has been carried over, if a role other than BB1 or BB2 has been won, the corresponding winning flag is set, and if BB1 or BB2 has been won, the corresponding winning flag is not set. Therefore, for example, if BB2 is won in a two-coin game and a three-coin game is played while the BB2 winning flag has been carried over, BB1 is not won.

If the judgment value DV does not exceed 65535 in step S305, this means that the hand corresponding to the index value IV has not been won. In this case, the index value IV is incremented by 1 in step S307, and in the following step S308, it is determined whether or not there is a hand corresponding to the index value IV, i.e., whether or not there is a target for which a win/loss judgment should be made. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the index value IV incremented by 1 exceeds the maximum value of the index value IV set in the lottery table. If there is a target for which a win/loss judgment should be made, the process returns to step S304, and the judgment of the hand continues. At this time, in step S304, the point value PV corresponding to the current index value IV is added to the judgment value DV used to judge the win/loss of the previous hand (i.e., the current judgment value DV) to obtain a new judgment value DV, and in step S305, the hand is judged to be a win/loss based on the judgment value DV.

Incidentally, when using the lottery table shown in FIG. 13 to determine whether a winning combination is a success or failure in a 3-coin game, the probability of winning a replay is approximately 1 in 7.3, the probability of winning left-center-right bell, left-right-center bell, center-left-right bell, center-right-left bell, right-center-left bell, and right-left-center bell is approximately 1 in 9.0, the probability of winning watermelon and cherry is approximately 1 in 50, and the probability of winning BB1 is approximately 1 in 12. In a 3-coin game, there are no events in which a 1-coin combination is won or BB2 is won.

When using the lottery table shown in FIG. 14 to determine whether a winning combination will occur in a two-coin game, the probability of winning a replay is approximately 1 in 7.3, the probability of winning left-center-right bell, left-right-center bell, center-left-right bell, center-right-left bell, right-center-left bell, and right-left-center bell is approximately 1 in 16,000, the probability of winning a watermelon or cherry is approximately 1 in 50, the probability of winning a one-coin combination is approximately 1 in 1.9, and the probability of winning BB2 is approximately 1 in 4.0. In a two-coin game, there is no chance of winning BB1.

After the winning flag is set in step S306, or if it is determined in step S308 that there are no judgment targets to be judged, this means that the judgment of the winning or losing role has been completed. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S309, and a section lottery process related to the transition of the play section is performed. In step S310, a lottery result command is sent to the display control device 81. By receiving the lottery result command, the display control device 81 grasps the various results performed in this lottery process, specifically, the result of the winning or losing role judgment and the lottery result in the section lottery process. When the lottery result command has been sent, the lottery process ends.

When the lottery process is completed, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, a rotation initialization process is performed in step S210. The RAM 106 is provided with a motor control storage area that stores information used for driving control of the stepping motor, and the rotation initialization process initializes the motor control storage area. In step S211, a 4.1-second lapse waiting process is performed. In the 4.1-second lapse waiting process, it is confirmed whether a predetermined wait time (about 4.1 seconds in this embodiment) has elapsed since the reel started to rotate in the previous game, and if not, the process waits until the wait time has elapsed. If the wait time has elapsed, the wait time for the next game is reset, and the 4.1-second lapse waiting process is terminated. Because of the 4.1-second lapse waiting process, even if the player bets a specified number of medals and operates the start lever 41, each reel 32L, 32M, 32R may not immediately start rotating.

Next, the reel control process in step S212 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 15. In addition to a game in which a bonus such as a medal payout is awarded when a combination of symbols corresponding to a winning role is stopped during one play (hereinafter also referred to as the "main game"), the slot machine 10 may also play a pseudo game. For ease of understanding, the reel control process when no pseudo game is played, i.e., when only the main game is played, will be described below.

In the reel control process, in step S401, a pseudo game determination process is performed to determine whether or not a pseudo game is to be performed. In step S402, a rotation start process is performed to start the rotation of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

In the rotation start process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17, in step S601, the repetition counter provided in the RAM 106 is set to 3. In step S602, it is determined whether or not a post-pseudo game flag indicating that a pseudo game has been played is set. If the post-pseudo game flag is not set, that is, if a pseudo game has not been played, the process proceeds to step S607, and the acceleration of the reels is started according to the value of the repetition counter. More specifically, if the value of the repetition counter is 3, the rotation start setting table address for the left reel 32L is obtained, if the value of the repetition counter is 2, the rotation start setting table address for the center reel 32M is obtained, and if the value of the repetition counter is 1, the rotation start setting table address for the right reel 32R is obtained. That is, in the process in step S607, only the rotation start setting table address according to the value of the repetition counter is obtained, and no drive control of the stepping motor is performed. The stepping motor drive control is performed in the stepping motor control process S107 of the timer interrupt process described above, based on the acquired rotation start setting table.

If a rotation start setting table address corresponding to the value of the repetition counter is obtained in step S607, the process proceeds to step S608, where one is subtracted from the value of the repetition counter. In step S609, it is determined whether the value of the repetition counter has reached zero, and if the value of the repetition counter has not reached zero, the process returns to step S602. If the value of the repetition counter has reached zero, the process proceeds to step S610, where it is determined whether the post-pseudo-play flag has been set. If the post-pseudo-play flag has not been set, the process ends.

As described above, during the spin start process, acceleration begins in the order of left reel 32L → center reel 32M → right reel 32R.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, in step S403, it is determined whether or not stop information for reel stop control in this game is set. If the above stop information is not set, the process proceeds to step S404, and a stop information setting process is performed to set the above stop information. In the stop information setting process, stop information is created according to the result of the winning/losing judgment of the winning combination, and the created result is stored in the stop information storage area 106b. Note that in step S404, only the stop information for reel stop control in this game (hereinafter simply referred to as "stop information") is set, and even if a pseudo game is performed, the stop information for reel stop control in the pseudo game (hereinafter referred to as "pseudo game stop information") is not set. In step S405, the reel rotation counter provided in the RAM 106 is set to 3, and in step S406, command transmission process 1 is performed.

In the command transmission process 1, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 18, a pseudo game rotation start command is set in step S701. Here, the pseudo game rotation start command is a command transmitted to the display control device 81 to inform the user that the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have started to rotate in the pseudo game. In step S702, it is determined whether or not a pseudo game flag indicating that a pseudo game is to be performed is set. If the pseudo game flag is not set, that is, if a pseudo game is not to be performed, the pseudo game rotation start command is cleared in step S703, and a rotation start command is set in step S704. Here, the rotation start command is a command transmitted to the display control device 81 to inform the user that the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have started to rotate in the actual game. In step S705, the set rotation start command or pseudo game rotation start command is transmitted to the display control device 81. After that, this process is terminated.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, if command transmission process 1 is completed in step S406, the process proceeds to step S407 to determine whether or not there is any reel that is accelerating. If there is any reel that is accelerating, the process waits until the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is completed. If the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is completed and all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are rotating at a constant speed at a predetermined rotation speed, the process proceeds to step S408 to perform instruction monitor display process. In the following step S409, command transmission process 2 is performed.

In command transmission process 2, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 20, in step S901, it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S902, where a stop possible command is transmitted to the display control device 81. By receiving the stop possible command, the display control device 81 determines that all reels 32L, 32M, 32R have started rotating at a constant speed in this game. Also, in step S902, lamps (not shown) of each stop switch 42 to 44 are lit to notify the player, etc. that it is now possible to issue a stop command in this game. Thereafter, command transmission process 2 ends.

When command transmission process 2 is completed, proceed to step S410 and perform stop control processing.

In the stop control process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 21, in step S1001, it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S1008, where it is determined whether or not the stop switch corresponding to the spinning reel has been operated, i.e., whether or not a stop command has been issued. If a stop command has not been issued, the process returns to step S1001. If a stop command has been issued, the process proceeds to step 1009, where a stop position determination process is performed to stop the spinning reel.

In the stop position determination process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 22, in step S1101, the symbol number of the reaching symbol that has reached the base position (lower in this embodiment) at the timing when the stop switch is operated is obtained. Specifically, the symbol number of the reaching symbol that has reached the base position is obtained from the number of excitation pulses output from the time when the detection signal of the reel index sensor is input. In step S1102, 1 is subtracted from the value of the reel rotation counter. In step S1103, it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S1106, where a stop command is sent to the display control device 81. By receiving the stop command, the display control device 81 grasps which stop switch has been operated to generate the stop command and which reel will stop. In addition, in step S1106, the lamp (not shown) of the stop switch where the stop command has been generated is turned off to notify the player, etc. that it is no longer possible to generate a stop command in this game. In the next step S1107, the number of slips of the reel to be stopped this time is calculated based on the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b. In the slot machine 10, five stop modes are prepared as stop modes for stopping each reel 32L, 32M, 32R when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated: a stop mode in which the reaching symbol that has reached the base position is stopped as it is, a stop mode in which the corresponding reel is stopped after sliding for one symbol, a stop mode in which the reel is stopped after sliding for two symbols, a stop mode in which the reel is stopped after sliding for three symbols, and a stop mode in which the reel is stopped after sliding for four symbols. Therefore, in step S1107, any value of 0 to 4 is calculated as the number of slips based on the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b. After that, in step S1108, the calculated number of slips is added to the symbol number of the reaching symbol to determine the symbol number of the stop symbol that is actually stopped at the base position. In step S1109, it is determined whether the pseudo-game flag is set, and if the pseudo-game flag is not set, the stop information change process is performed in step S1110, and then the stop position determination process is terminated.

The stop information change process is a process for changing the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b of the RAM 106 after the reels have stopped. In the stop information change process, the stop information is changed based on the winning flag that has been set and the stop results of the stopped reels. In this slot machine 10, when any of the left-center-right bell, left-right-center bell, center-left-right bell, center-right-left bell, right-center-left bell, and right-left-center bell is won (see FIG. 13), the stop information change process is performed to change the winning mode established by the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 that generated the stop command.

For example, if the left-center-right bell is won, the stop information is changed so that if the left stop switch 42 → center stop switch 43 → right stop switch 44 are operated in the order of operation, a bell win is established, and if the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in another order of operation, a compensation role 1 win or a compensation role 4 win is established. The same applies to the left-right-center bell, center-left-right bell, center-right-left bell, right-center-left bell, and right-left-center bell. The stop information is changed so that if the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the order of operation corresponding to the name of the winning role, a bell win is established, and if the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the other order of operation, a compensation role win corresponding to the winning role is established. In the following, the left-center-right bell, left-right-center bell, center-left-right bell, center-right-left bell, center-right-left bell, right-center-left bell, and right-left-center bell are collectively referred to as "push order roles" or "push order bells".

Incidentally, in this slot machine 10, if a replay is won through the stop information setting process and the stop information changing process, a replay win is achieved regardless of the operation sequence and timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. If the push order bell is won, a bell win is achieved regardless of the operation timing if the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the correct operation sequence, and a compensation win is achieved regardless of the operation timing if the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the incorrect operation sequence. If a 1-coin role is won, a compensation win is achieved regardless of the operation sequence and timing of the stop switches 42 to 44. If a watermelon, cherry, BB1, or BB2 is won, the corresponding win is achieved by operating the stop switches 42 to 44 aiming for the winning symbol, i.e., at the specified timing.

Returning to the explanation of the stop control process, when the stop position determination process is completed, the process proceeds to step S1010, where it is determined whether the reel rotation counter value has become 0. If the reel rotation counter value is not 0, the process returns to step S1001. In other words, in this slot machine 10, when the stop pattern number of the reel for which a stop command has been issued is determined, it is determined whether the next stop command has been issued in step S1008, regardless of whether the reel for which a stop command has been issued has actually stopped. Therefore, the player can issue stop commands consecutively without waiting for the reel to stop. Note that the reel is not stopped in the stop control process (normal process), but in the stepping motor control process S107 of the timer interrupt process described above. In the stepping motor control process, it is determined whether the pattern number of the arrival pattern of the reel for which a stop command has been issued is equal to the stop pattern number, and if they are equal, the brake process is performed to stop the reel for which the stop command has been issued.

If it is determined in step S1010 that the value of the reel rotation counter is 0, this means that the stop pattern numbers have been determined for all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, so proceed to step S1011 to determine whether the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers. If the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have not become the stop pattern numbers, wait until the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R become the stop pattern numbers. If the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers, proceed to step S1012 and send an all reels stop completion command to the display control device 81. By receiving the all reels stop completion command, the display control device 81 knows that all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop positions. In the next step S1013, it is determined whether all the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state. More specifically, it is determined whether all the input signals from the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a are OFF. If the input signal from any of the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a is ON, this means that the player is operating the corresponding stop switch, so the process waits as it is. If all the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state, the process proceeds to step S1014, where it is determined whether the instruction monitor described below is being displayed. If the instruction monitor is being displayed, the instruction monitor is cleared in step S1015. If the instruction monitor is cleared or if the instruction monitor is not being displayed, the process waits for 100 msec in step S1016 and then ends. Incidentally, the reason for waiting for 100 msec in step S1016 is to wait for the brake process to be completed in the stepping motor control process and for the reel oscillation to converge.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, when the stop control process is completed, the process proceeds to step S411, where it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is not set, the process ends.

Next, we will provide an overview of the medal payout process in step S213.

In the medal payout process, first, a payout determination process is performed. The payout determination process is a process for setting the number of medals to be paid out, with one of the conditions being that the winning combination of symbols is lined up on a winning line. In the payout determination process, a combination of symbols formed on a winning line is derived from the symbol numbers of the symbols stopped on the lower row of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R, and it is determined whether or not a winning has been achieved on the winning line. If a winning has not been achieved, the payout determination process is terminated as it is, and if a winning has been achieved, it is further determined whether or not the winning condition device corresponds to the winning flag set in the winning flag storage area 106a. If the winning condition device corresponds to the winning flag, the winning condition device and the payout number corresponding to the winning condition device are set in the payout information storage area provided in the RAM 106, and the payout determination process is terminated. On the other hand, if the winning condition device does not correspond to the winning flag, an abnormality occurrence process is performed in which the slot machine 10 is put into an error state and the occurrence of the error is notified. This error state will be maintained until the reset switch 72 is operated. When the payout determination process is completed, a winning result command is sent to the display control device 81 to let it know which condition device won in the current game round.

When a winning result command is sent, it is determined whether the payout number set in the payout information storage area is 0. If the payout number is 0, it means that the previous payout determination process determined that a small win was not made. In such a case, it is determined whether a replay win was made based on the condition device set in the payout determination process. If a replay win was not made, the medal payout process is terminated as is, and if a replay win was made, the replay setting process is performed and the medal payout process is terminated. Note that in the start waiting process S204 described above, if it is determined that the replay setting process has been performed, the automatic insertion process is performed.

On the other hand, if the payout number set in the payout information storage area is not 0, medals equal to the payout number are paid out, and the medal payout process ends. Specifically, when the credit counter count has not reached the upper limit (50 medals stored), the payout number is added to the credit counter count, and the added value is displayed on the credit display unit 60. If the credit counter count has reached the upper limit, or if the count has reached the upper limit while adding the payout number, the medal payout rotating plate is driven, and medals are paid out from the hopper device 51 to the medal tray 50 via the medal discharge port 49. The medal payout process also changes the payout number displayed on the payout number display unit 62 in accordance with the medal payout.

Next, the game section processing in step S214 will be described later, and the BB state processing in step S215 will be explained.

In the BB state processing, it is determined whether the current game state is the BB state. If it is not the BB state, it is determined whether the BB1 winning flag or the BB2 winning flag is set. If neither of the BB winning flags is set, a status command is sent to the display control device 81, and the BB state processing ends. Here, the status command is a command sent to the display control device 81 to allow the display control device 81 to grasp the game state at the end of the game (i.e. the game state of the next game), and a status command corresponding to the setting flag set in the status information storage area 106c is sent.

If any of the BB winning flags are set, it is determined whether or not the corresponding BB winning has occurred based on the condition device set in the previous payout determination process. If the corresponding BB winning has not occurred, a status command is sent and the BB status process is terminated. If the corresponding BB winning has occurred, the BB winning flag set in the winning flag storage area 106a of the RAM 106 is cleared. At this time, if a BB1 winning has occurred, a BB1 setting flag is set in the status information storage area 106c, and the remaining BB game number counter provided in the status information storage area 106c is set to 30. If a BB2 winning has occurred, a BB2 setting flag is set in the status information storage area 106c, and the remaining BB game number counter provided in the status information storage area 106c is set to 30. After that, a status command is sent and the BB status process is terminated.

If the current game state is the BB state, 1 is subtracted from the value of the remaining BB game number counter, and it is determined whether the value of the remaining BB game number counter has reached 0. If the value of the remaining BB game number counter has not reached 0, a state command is sent and the BB state processing is terminated. If the value of the remaining BB game number counter has reached 0, this means that the conditions for terminating the BB state have been met, so the BB setting flag is cleared. After that, a state command is sent and the BB state processing is terminated.

As described above, when the BB1 setting flag or the BB2 setting flag is set in the state information storage area 106c, the game state is the BB state until 30 games have been played. In the BB state based on the BB1 setting flag, only 3-coin play is possible, and a 1-coin role is always won, resulting in a compensation win in which one medal is paid out. Therefore, when the BB state based on the BB1 setting flag is entered, the player will have 60 (=(3-1) x 30) medals owned by the time the BB state ends. In the BB state based on the BB2 setting flag, only 2-coin play is possible, and a 1-coin role is always won, resulting in a compensation win in which one medal is paid out. Therefore, when the BB state based on the BB2 setting flag is entered, the player will have 30 (=(2-1) x 30) medals owned by the time the BB state ends.

In this slot machine 10, the main control device 101 manages two game states, the normal state and the BB state, and also manages two game zones, the normal zone and the advantageous zone.

Figure 24 shows the transition of play areas.

The normal zone is a game zone in which a lottery can be held to determine whether or not to transition to the advantageous zone. In the normal zone, if the push order bell is won, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is not announced. For this reason, in the normal zone, if two coins are played, a reduction of approximately 0.95 medals is expected for each game, and if three coins are played, a reduction of approximately 0.91 medals is expected for each game. If the lottery for transition to the advantageous zone is won, the game zone transitions to the advantageous zone.

The advantageous zone is a game zone in which the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 can be notified if the push order bell is won. In other words, the advantageous zone is a game zone that is more advantageous to the player than the normal zone in that the operation order can be notified. The advantageous zone is composed of two game modes, a chance mode and a notification mode. If the player wins the lottery to move to the advantageous zone in the normal zone, the player moves to the chance mode of the advantageous zone. The advantageous zone ends when 1500 games are played in the advantageous zone, or when the difference in the number of coins in the advantageous zone reaches 2400, regardless of the game mode at that time. When the difference in the number of coins in the advantageous zone reaches 2400, more specifically, when the increase in the number of coins owned by the player in the advantageous zone reaches 2400 without becoming 0, in other words, when the difference in the number of coins from the base point when the number of coins owned by the player in the advantageous zone has decreased the most reaches 2400.

Chance mode is a game mode in which a transition lottery is held to determine whether or not to transition to notification mode. Chance mode ends when the transition lottery is won, or when a predetermined number of games have been played in chance mode. When chance mode ends, it transitions to notification mode. In chance mode, as in the normal section, the operation order of stop switches 42 to 44 is not announced when the push order bell is won. Therefore, in chance mode, if two coins are played, approximately 0.95 medals are expected to be lost per game, and if three coins are played, approximately 0.91 medals are expected to be lost per game.

The notification mode is a game mode in which, in the case of three-coin play, the operation sequence of the stop switches 42-44 that will result in a bell win if the push order bell is selected is notified. For this reason, in the notification mode, in the case of two-coin play, a decrease of approximately 0.95 medals is expected for each game, while in the case of three-coin play, an increase of approximately 3.5 medals is expected for each game. The notification mode ends when the net increase in medals reaches a predetermined number under the notification mode. When the notification mode ends, the advantageous zone also ends and the player transitions to the normal zone.

As described above, this slot machine 10 allows you to increase the number of medals you own by playing with three medals in notification mode.

Below, the various processes performed by the main control device 101 when managing game zones will be explained with reference to the flowcharts in Figures 25 and onwards. To make it easier to understand, the various processes performed by the main control device 101 in each game zone will be explained separately.

First, we will explain the processing in the normal section.

Figure 25 is a flowchart showing the section lottery process in the normal section. The section lottery process is a process that is performed after the winning/losing hand determination is completed in the lottery process (step S309, see Figure 12), and is performed at the start of the game.

In step S1301, it is determined whether the current game is a three-coin game. If it is a three-coin game, the process proceeds to step S1302, where it is determined whether a winning flag is set in the winning flag storage area 106a, that is, whether any role has been won. If the winning flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1303, where it is determined whether the winning flag is set in the current game. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, in a three-coin game, an event in which BB2 is won does not occur. Therefore, if the only winning flag that is set is the BB2 winning flag, it is determined that the winning flag is not set in the current game, and if a winning flag other than the BB2 winning flag is set, it is determined that the winning flag is set in the current game. If the winning flag is set in the current game, the transition flag is set in step S1304, and the section indicator 66 is turned ON in step S1305, and this process ends. If the current game involves two coins, if the winning flag is not set, or if the winning flag is set but not for the current game, the process ends.

Figure 26 is a flowchart showing the game section processing in the normal section. The game section processing is performed after the medal payout processing is completed (step S214, see Figure 11), and is performed at the end of the game.

In step S1401, it is determined whether the transition flag is set. If the transition flag is set, it means that the transition lottery has been won in the current game. In such a case, the advantageous zone transition process shown in steps S1402 to S1408 is performed.

In the advantageous zone transition process, the transition flag is cleared in step S1402. In step S1403, the game zone flag stored in the zone information storage area 106d is changed to an advantageous flag, and in step S1404, the zone game number counter provided in the zone information storage area 106d is set to 0. In the following step S1405, the game mode flag stored in the zone information storage area 106d is changed to a chance flag. In step S1406, the transition game number counter provided in the zone information storage area 106d is set to 700. In step S1407, the mode game number counter provided in the zone information storage area 106d is set to 0, and in step S1408, the difference number counter provided in the zone information storage area 106d is set to 0.

If it is determined in step S1401 that the transition flag is not set, or if the difference number counter is set to 0 in step S1408, a section command is sent in step S1409, and this process ends. Here, the section command is a command sent to the display control device 81 to allow the display control device 81 to grasp various information related to the play section at the end of the game (i.e., the play section and play mode of the next game, and if it is an advantageous section, the number of plays played in the advantageous section and the number of plays played in the play mode, etc.), and in step S1409, a section command corresponding to the play section flag, play mode flag, and various counter values set in the section information storage area 106d is sent.

As described above, if any winning combination is achieved during three-coin play in the normal zone, the game moves to the chance mode in the advantageous zone. As shown in FIG. 13, for example, in the case of "setting 3," if the BB1 winning flag and the BB2 winning flag are not carried over, there is only a 1 in 13 chance of a miss, and if the BB1 winning flag or the BB2 winning flag is carried over, there is only a 1 in 6.4 chance of a miss. Therefore, if three-coin play is performed in the normal zone, the game will end in a few games. Note that if two-coin play is performed, the game will not move to the advantageous zone regardless of the winning combination.

Next, we will explain the processing in the chance mode of the advantageous zone.

Figure 27 is a flowchart showing the section lottery process in chance mode. The section lottery process is a process that is performed after the winning/losing hand determination is completed in the lottery process (step S309, see Figure 12), and is performed at the start of the game.

In step S1501, it is determined whether the current game is a three-coin game. If it is a three-coin game, the process proceeds to step S1502, where it is determined whether a rare role has been won. In this slot machine 10, watermelon and cherry are set as rare roles, so in step S1502, it is determined whether a watermelon winning flag or a cherry winning flag is set. If a rare role has been won, the process proceeds to step S1503, where a transition lottery is performed to determine whether or not to transition to the notification mode. In the transition lottery in the chance mode, a win/loss determination is performed based on the win flag that has been set and the random number obtained when determining whether or not the role has been won. In step S1504, it is determined whether or not the transition lottery has been won. If the transition lottery has been won, the process ends after setting the transition flag in step S1505, and if the transition lottery has not been won, the process ends without setting the transition flag. If the current game involves two coins instead of three, or if a rare combination is not won, the process ends without conducting the transition lottery.

Figure 28 is a flowchart showing the game section processing in chance mode. The game section processing is a process that is carried out after the medal payout process is completed (step S214, see Figure 11), and is carried out at the end of the game.

In step S1601, the end determination process is performed.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 29, in the end determination process, in step S1701, 1 is added to the value of the interval game number counter, and in step S1702, it is determined whether the value of the interval game number counter has reached 1500. If the value of the interval game number counter has not reached 1500, the process proceeds to step S1706, where it is determined whether a replay win has been achieved. If a replay win has not been achieved, the process proceeds to step S1707, where a difference number adjustment process is performed to change the value of the difference number counter.

In the difference number adjustment process, the number of medal bets (3 or 2 in this embodiment) is subtracted from the number of medals paid out in the current game, and the result of this subtraction is added to the difference number counter. After that, it is determined whether the value of the difference number counter is 0 or greater. If the value of the difference number counter is less than 0, the value of the difference number counter is changed to 0 and the difference number adjustment process is terminated, and if the value of the difference number counter is 0 or greater, the difference number adjustment process is terminated as is. Note that the difference number adjustment process is not performed when a replay win is established because the result of subtracting the number of medal bets from the number of medals paid out in the current game is 0, and therefore there is no need to perform the difference number adjustment process.

If it is determined in step S1706 that a replay win has been achieved, or if the difference in number of coins adjustment process has been performed in step S1707, it is determined in step S1708 whether the value of the difference in number of coins counter is greater than 2400. If the value of the difference in number of coins counter is 2400 or less, this process is terminated.

If it is determined in step S1702 that the value of the interval game number counter is 1500, or if it is determined in step S1708 that the value of the difference number counter is greater than 2400, the favorable interval end process shown in steps S1703 to S1705 is performed, and this process is terminated. In the favorable interval end process, the game interval flag stored in the interval information storage area 106d is changed to a normal flag in step S1703, and the interval display 66 is turned OFF in step S1704. In step S1705, an initialization process is performed in response to the end of the favorable interval. In the initialization process, a process is performed to initialize information related to the instruction function stored in the interval information storage area 106d (e.g., the interval game number counter value, etc.).

Returning to the explanation of the game zone processing, in step S1602, it is determined whether or not the current game zone is a favorable zone. If it is determined that the current game zone is not a favorable zone but a normal zone, this means that the favorable zone end processing has been performed in the end determination processing in step S1601, so the processing is terminated after sending a zone command in step S1610.

If the current play area is an advantageous area, the process proceeds to step S1603, where it is determined whether or not the current play is a three-coin play. If it is a three-coin play, the mode game number counter is incremented by 1 in step S1604, and it is determined whether or not the transition flag is set in step S1605. If the transition flag is set, this means that the lottery for transitioning to the notification mode has been won, so the transition flag is cleared in step S1606, and the play mode flag stored in the area information storage area 106d is changed to a notification flag in step S1608. In step S1609, the net increase in number counter provided in the area information storage area 106d is set to 120. After that, an area command is sent in step S1610, and this process ends.

If it is determined in step S1605 that the transition flag is not set, this means that the lottery for transition to the notification mode has not been won. In this case, the process proceeds to step S1607, where it is determined whether the value of the mode game number counter matches the value of the transition game number counter. If the value of the mode game number counter does not match the value of the transition game number counter, a section command is sent in step S1610, and the process ends. On the other hand, if the value of the mode game number counter matches the value of the transition game number counter, the game mode flag stored in the section information storage area 106d is changed to a notification flag in step S1608, and the net increase number counter is set to 120 in step S1609. Thereafter, a section command is sent in step S1610, and the process ends.

If it is determined in step S1603 that the current game is a two-coin game rather than a three-coin game, a section command is sent in step S1610 without updating the mode game number counter, and this process ends.

As described above, even if the chance mode does not win the transition lottery, the game mode transitions to the notification mode if three coins are played, which corresponds to the value of the transition game counter. The value set in the transition game counter when transitioning from the normal zone to the advantageous zone is 700. Therefore, if three coins are played, the event in which the value of the zone game counter becomes 1500 in the end determination process of the game zone processing does not occur. In addition, since the expected value of the medal increase or decrease in the chance mode is -0.91 coins (three coins played) or -0.95 coins (two coins played), the event in which the value of the difference number counter exceeds 2400 in the end determination process of the game zone processing does not occur (step S1708, see FIG. 21). In other words, in this slot machine 10, if three coins are played, the event in which the advantageous zone ends in the chance mode and the game transitions to the normal zone does not occur.

Next, we will explain the processing in the advantageous zone notification mode.

Figure 30 is a flowchart showing the section lottery process in the notification mode. The section lottery process is a process that is performed after the winning/losing hand determination is completed in the lottery process (step S309, see Figure 12), and is performed at the start of the game.

In step S1801, it is determined whether the current game is a 3-coin game. If it is a 3-coin game, the process proceeds to step S1802 to determine whether a rare role has been won. If a rare role has been won, the process proceeds to step S1803 to perform an add-on lottery to determine whether to increase the value of the net increase number counter. In the add-on lottery, the win/loss determination is performed based on the win flag that has been set and the random number obtained when determining whether the role has been won or not. Incidentally, in the add-on lottery, for example, in the case of setting 3, if a watermelon is won, there is about a 1 in 5 probability that the add-on number will be 30, 50, 100, or 300, and if a cherry is won, there is about a 1 in 3 probability that the add-on number will be 10, 20, 30, or 50. In step S1804, it is determined whether the add-on lottery has been won. If the add-on lottery has been won, the add-on flag is set in step S1805, and an add-on command is sent in step S1806. Here, the add-on command is a command sent to the display control device 81 to inform the player that they have won the add-on lottery and the number of add-on coins to be added to the value of the net increase number counter. In step S1807, a value corresponding to the result of the add-on lottery is added to the value of the net increase number counter. Then, this process ends. If the player has not won the add-on lottery, this process ends without setting the add-on flag. If the current game is a two-coin game instead of a three-coin game, or if a rare role has not been won, this process ends without conducting the add-on lottery.

Here we explain the unique processing that is performed in the notification mode during reel control processing.

As shown in the flowchart in FIG. 15, in step S401, pseudo-game determination processing is performed.

In the pseudo game judgment process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 16, in step S501, it is judged whether the current game mode is the notification mode or not, and if it is not the notification mode, this process is terminated. If the current game mode is the notification mode, proceed to step S502 and judge whether the add-on flag is set or not. If the add-on flag is set, that is, if the add-on lottery is won, the add-on flag is cleared in step S503, and the pseudo game flag is set in step S504, and this process is terminated. If the add-on flag is not set, that is, if the add-on lottery is not won, a pseudo game lottery is performed in step S505 to determine whether or not to play a pseudo game. In the pseudo game lottery, a win/loss judgment is performed based on the win flag that is set and the random number obtained when the winning/loss judgment of the role is performed. In step S506, it is judged whether or not the pseudo game lottery is won, and if the pseudo game lottery is not won, this process is terminated. If the pseudo-game lottery is won, the pseudo-game flag is set in step S504 and this process ends.

As described above, in the notification mode, if the player wins the additional lottery or the pseudo play lottery, the pseudo play flag is set and a pseudo play is performed for that game round.

Figure 31 shows an example of the rotation pattern of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R and the display pattern of the auxiliary display section 65 when a pseudo game is being played.

In the notification mode, the auxiliary display unit 65 shows a young man character strolling along a road, and the upper right corner of the auxiliary display unit 65 shows the number of remaining payouts until the end of the notification mode. In FIG. 31(a), a bell was won in the previous game, and the upper right corner of the auxiliary display unit 65 shows that there are 84 coins remaining until the end of the notification mode. In a pseudo game, when each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R starts to rotate, as shown in FIG. 31(b), a notification urging the player to operate the stop switches 42-44 to aim for the "red 7" symbol and a notification that the current game is a pseudo game are displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65. At this time, the number of remaining payouts until the end of the notification mode is not displayed. Then, when the "red 7" symbols on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R come to a pseudo stop on the center line L2, as shown in FIG. 31(c), the auxiliary display unit 65 displays a notification that the current game is a pseudo game, and also displays that 100 coins will be added. When the pseudo game ends, as shown in FIG. 31(d), the left reel 32L starts spinning. At this time, the auxiliary display unit 65 stops notifying the player that the pseudo game is in progress, and displays an image of the young man character strolling along the road and a message indicating that the number of coins remaining to be paid out until the end of the notification mode has increased to 184 coins, notifying the player that the pseudo game has been switched to the main game.

Figure 32 shows another example of the rotation pattern of each reel 32L, 32M, 32R and the display pattern of the auxiliary display section 65 when a pseudo game is being played.

In FIG. 32(a), a bell win was achieved in the previous game, and the upper right corner of the auxiliary display unit 65 displays that there are 84 coins remaining until the end of the notification mode. In the case of a pseudo game, when each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R starts to rotate, a notification urging the player to operate the stop switches 42 to 44 to aim for the "red 7" symbol and a notification that the current game is a pseudo game are displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65 as shown in FIG. 32(b). At this time, the number of payouts remaining until the end of the notification mode is not displayed. Then, when the "red 7" symbol of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R does not stop pseudo on the center line L2, as shown in FIG. 32(c), in addition to the notification that the current game is a pseudo game, the auxiliary display unit 65 displays that no additional payouts will be added. When the pseudo game ends, as shown in FIG. 32(d), the left reel 32L starts to rotate. At this time, if the push order bell is won, the auxiliary display unit 65 ends the notification that the pseudo game is in progress, and displays the operation sequence that can achieve the bell win and that the remaining number of coins to be paid out until the end of the notification mode remains at 84, notifying the player that the pseudo game has been switched to the main game. If the center left and right bells are won, the operation sequence of "213" is displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65 as shown in FIG. 32(d).

As described above, in the slot machine 10, when a pseudo game is played, the game progresses in the order of pseudo game → main game in one play session. Therefore, the following will start with an explanation of the reel control process in the pseudo game.

As shown in the flowchart in FIG. 15, in step S402, a rotation start process is performed to start the rotation of each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

In the spin start process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17, in step S601, the repetition counter provided in RAM 106 is set to 3. In step S602, it is determined whether or not a post-pseudo game flag indicating that a pseudo game has been played is set. If the post-pseudo game flag is not set, i.e., a pseudo game has not been played, the process proceeds to step S607, where the acceleration of the reels according to the value of the repetition counter is started. In step S608, 1 is subtracted from the value of the repetition counter. In step S609, it is determined whether or not the value of the repetition counter has become 0, and if the value of the repetition counter has not become 0, the process returns to step S602. If the value of the repetition counter has become 0, the process proceeds to step S610, where it is determined whether or not a post-pseudo game flag has been set. If the post-pseudo game flag has not been set, the process ends as is.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, in step S403, it is determined whether or not stop information for reel stop control in this game has been set. Since the above stop information has not been set in the first step S403, the process proceeds to step S404, where a stop information setting process is performed to set the above stop information. In other words, in this slot machine 10, after the rotation start process for the pseudo game has been performed, i.e., while the pseudo game is being executed, the stop information for this game is set. Thereafter, in step S405, the reel rotation counter provided in the RAM 106 is set to 3, and in step S406, command transmission process 1 is performed.

In command transmission process 1, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 18, a pseudo game rotation start command is set in step S701. In step S702, it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is set, the process proceeds to step S705, where a pseudo game rotation start command is sent to the display control device 81. This process then ends. Upon receiving the pseudo game rotation start command, the display control device 81 starts the auxiliary presentation for pseudo games shown in FIG. 31(b) etc.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, if command transmission process 1 is completed in step S406, the process proceeds to step S407 to determine whether or not there is an accelerating reel. If there is an accelerating reel, the process waits until the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is completed. If the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is completed and all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are rotating at a constant speed at a predetermined rotation speed, the process proceeds to step S408 to perform instruction monitor display process.

Here, the instruction monitor is a display unit that notifies the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 that can achieve the bell win, and is managed by the main control unit 101. In this slot machine 10, the payout number display unit 62 has the function of an instruction monitor, and when the left, middle, and right bells are won, that is, when the bell win can be achieved by operating the left stop switch 42 → middle stop switch 43 → right stop switch 44 in that order, "1" is displayed on the payout number display unit 62. When the middle, right, and left bells are won, "2" is displayed on the payout number display unit 62, when the right, left, and middle bells are won, "3" is displayed on the payout number display unit 62, when the left, right, and middle bells are won, "4" is displayed on the payout number display unit 62, when the middle, left, and right bells are won, "5" is displayed on the payout number display unit 62, and when the right, middle, and left bells are won, "6" is displayed on the payout number display unit 62.

Now, in the instruction monitor display process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 19, in step S801, it is determined whether the current game mode is the notification mode. If the current game mode is the notification mode, the process proceeds to step S802, where it is determined whether the push order bell has been won. If the push order bell has been won, it is further determined in step S803 whether the pseudo game flag has been set. If the pseudo game flag has been set, this process ends without displaying the instruction monitor. In other words, in pseudo game, even if the push order bell has been won, the operation sequence that can achieve the bell win is not displayed on the instruction monitor. If the current game mode is not the notification mode, or if the push order bell has not been won, this process ends.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, in step S409, command transmission process 2 is performed.

In command transmission process 2, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 20, in step S901, it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is set, the process proceeds to step S903, where a pseudo stop possible command is transmitted to the display control device 81. By receiving the pseudo stop possible command, the display control device 81 determines that all reels 32L, 32M, 32R have started rotating at a constant speed in the pseudo game. In addition, in step S903, lamps (not shown) of each stop switch 42 to 44 are lit to notify the player, etc. that it is now possible to issue a pseudo stop command in the pseudo game. Thereafter, command transmission process 2 ends.

When command transmission process 2 is completed, proceed to step S410 and perform stop control processing.

In the stop control process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 21, in step S1001, it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1002, where it is determined whether or not a cancel operation to end the pseudo game has been performed. More specifically, in this slot machine 10, since the settlement switch 59 has a function as a cancel operation means, it is determined whether or not the settlement switch 59 has been operated. If a cancel operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S1008, where it is determined whether or not a stop switch corresponding to the reel being rotated in the pseudo game has been operated, that is, whether or not a pseudo stop command has been generated. If a pseudo stop command has not been generated, the process returns to step S1001. If a pseudo stop command has been generated, the process proceeds to step 1009, where a stop position determination process is performed to pseudo-stop the rotating reel.

In the stop position determination process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 22, in step S1101, the symbol number of the reached symbol is obtained. In step S1102, 1 is subtracted from the value of the reel rotation counter. In step S1103, it is determined whether the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1104, and the pseudo game stop information is referenced. In the ROM 105 of the main control device 101, a slip table (stop table) for pseudo stop control in a pseudo game based on a winning addition lottery and a slip table for pseudo stop control in a pseudo game based on a winning pseudo game lottery are pre-stored, and in step S1104, a slip table according to the execution trigger of the pseudo game is referenced. Here, the slip table is a table that determines how much the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are allowed to slide (spin) from the timing when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated before the pseudo stop is made. In other words, a slip table is a group of stop data that can derive the relationship between the reaching symbol that reaches the base position when the stop switch 42-44 is pressed and the pseudo-stop symbol that actually causes a pseudo-stop at the base position.

Figure 33 is a slip table that is referred to in a pseudo game based on winning the additional lottery. The symbols of the numbers with a slip number of 0 are symbols that actually stop pseudo-stop in the lower row. For example, if the left stop switch 42 is operated when the "replay" symbol number 15 on the left reel 32L has reached the lower row, the left reel 32L stops pseudo-stop without slipping, and the "red 7" symbol number 16 stops pseudo-stop in the middle row. Also, symbols of numbers with a slip number other than 0 mean that the reel will slide for the number of symbols listed. For example, if the left stop switch 42 is operated when the "BAR" symbol number 11 on the left reel 32L has reached the lower row, the left reel 32L will slide for 4 symbols, the "replay" symbol number 15 will stop pseudo-stop in the lower row, and the "red 7" symbol number 16 will stop pseudo-stop in the middle row. In this way, in the slip table, the number of slips when the stop switches 42-44 are operated at the timing when the symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R reach the bottom row is set for each symbol number. And in the slip table shown in FIG. 33, the number 16 "red 7" symbol on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R will stop pseudo-stop in the middle row, regardless of the operation timing of each stop switch 42-44.

Figure 34 is a slide table that is referenced in a pseudo game based on winning a pseudo game lottery. In this slide table, regardless of the operation timing of each stop switch 42 to 44, the number 16 "red 7" symbol on the left reel 32L and center reel 32M will stop pseudo in the middle row, while the number 16 "red 7" symbol on the right reel 32R will stop pseudo in the lower row instead of the middle row.

Returning to the explanation of the stop position determination process, in step S1105, a pseudo stop command is sent to the display control device 81. By receiving the pseudo stop command, the display control device 81 grasps which stop switch was operated to generate the pseudo stop command and which reel will be pseudo stopped. In addition, in step S1106, the lamp (not shown) of the stop switch where the pseudo stop command was generated is turned off to notify the player that it is no longer possible to generate a pseudo stop command in the pseudo game. In step S1107, the number of slips of the reel to be stopped this time is obtained based on the pseudo game stop information referenced. Then, in step S1108, the obtained number of slips is added to the pattern number of the arrival pattern to determine the pattern number of the stop pattern to be actually pseudo-stopped at the base point position. In step S1109, it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set, and if the pseudo game flag is set, the process ends as it is.

Returning to the explanation of the stop control process, when the stop position determination process is completed, proceed to step S1010 and determine whether the value of the reel spin counter has become 0. If the value of the reel spin counter has not become 0, return to step S1001.

If it is determined in step S1010 that the value of the reel rotation counter is 0, this means that the stop pattern numbers have been determined for all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, so proceed to step S1011 to determine whether the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers. If the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have not become the stop pattern numbers, wait until the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R become the stop pattern numbers. If the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers, proceed to step S1012 and send an all reels stop completion command to the display control device 81. By receiving the all reels stop completion command, the display control device 81 knows that all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop positions. In the next step S1013, it is determined whether all of the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state, and if any of the stop switches 42 to 44 are being operated, the process waits. If all of the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state, the process proceeds to step S1014, where it is determined whether the instruction monitor is being displayed. Since the instruction monitor is not displayed in a simulated game, the process waits for 100 msec in step S1016 and then ends.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, when the stop control process is completed, the process proceeds to step S411, where it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is set, the process proceeds to step S412, where a transition preparation process is performed to transition to the main game.

In the transition preparation process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 23, in step S1201, an operation waiting timer is set (about 3.0 seconds in this embodiment). In step S1202, it is determined whether the start lever 41 has been operated, and if the start lever 41 has not been operated, it is determined in step S1203 whether the value of the operation waiting timer has become 0. The value of the operation waiting timer is subtracted in the timer subtraction process of the timer interrupt process (step S108, see FIG. 10). If the value of the operation waiting timer has not become 0, the process returns to step S1202. If it is determined in step S1202 that the start lever 41 has been operated, or if it is determined in step S1203 that the value of the operation waiting timer has become 0, a pseudo-play post flag is set in step S1204, and this process ends.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, when the transition preparation process is complete, the process returns to step S402 and the spin start process is performed.

In the rotation start process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17, in step S601, the repeat counter provided in the RAM 106 is set to 3. In step S602, it is determined whether or not a post-pseudo game flag indicating that a pseudo game has been played is set. As described above, if a pseudo game has been played, the post-pseudo game flag is set in the transition preparation process, so the process proceeds to step S603, where it is determined whether or not the push order bell has been won. If the push order bell has been won, the process proceeds to step S604, where the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 that can achieve the bell win is displayed on the instruction monitor. In addition, in step S604, an operation sequence command indicating the operation sequence to be notified is sent to the display control device 81. By receiving the operation sequence command, the display control device 81 displays the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 that can achieve the bell win on the auxiliary display unit 65. Therefore, the operation sequence is displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65 a little later than the timing when the operation sequence is displayed on the instruction monitor.

If the instruction monitor is displayed in step S604 or if it is determined in step S603 that the push order bell has not been won, the process proceeds to step S605 to obtain the delay time. The RAM 106 of the main control device 101 is provided with a delay timer for determining the start timing of each of the pseudo-stopped reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, and in step S605, a random number is obtained and a value corresponding to the obtained result (i.e., a value obtained by a predetermined lottery) is set in the delay timer. The value of the delay timer is subtracted in the timer subtraction process of the timer interrupt process (step S108, see FIG. 10). In step S606, the process waits until the value of the delay timer becomes 0, and when the value of the delay timer becomes 0, the process proceeds to step S607 to start accelerating the reels according to the value of the repetition counter. In step S608, 1 is subtracted from the value of the repetition counter. In step S609, it is determined whether the value of the repetition counter has reached 0, and if the value of the repetition counter has not reached 0, the process returns to step S602. If the value of the repetition counter has reached 0, the process proceeds to step S610, where it is determined whether the post-pseudo-game flag has been set. If the post-pseudo-game flag has been set, the process clears the pseudo-game flag in step S611, and the process ends in step S612.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, in step S403, it is determined whether or not stop information has been set. In step S403 after the pseudo game has been played, a negative determination is made since the stop information has already been set, and the process proceeds to step S405 without performing the stop information setting process. In step S405, the reel rotation number counter provided in RAM 106 is set to 3, and in step S406, command transmission process 1 is performed. In command transmission process 1 after the pseudo game has been played, a rotation start command is sent to the display control device 81. Upon receiving the rotation start command, the display control device 81 starts the auxiliary performance for the actual game shown in FIG. 31(d) and the like.

In step S407, it is determined whether or not there is a reel that is accelerating. If there is a reel that is accelerating, the process waits until the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R has finished. When the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R has finished and all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are rotating at a constant speed at a predetermined rotation speed, the process proceeds to step S408, and an indication monitor display process is performed.

In the instruction monitor display process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 19, in step S801, it is determined whether the current game mode is the notification mode. If the current game mode is the notification mode, the process proceeds to step S802, where it is determined whether the push order bell has been won. If the push order bell has been won, it is further determined in step S803 whether the pseudo game flag has been set. If the pseudo game flag has not been set, in step S804, the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 that can achieve the bell win is displayed on the instruction monitor, and this process ends. In addition, in step S804, an operation sequence command indicating the operation sequence to be notified is transmitted to the display control device 81. However, after the pseudo game is performed, since the operation sequence has already been displayed on the instruction monitor in the rotation start process (step S604, see FIG. 17), the display content of the instruction monitor does not change by performing the process of step S804. In other words, the process of step S804 can be said to be a process for displaying the instruction monitor in a game round in which a pseudo game is not performed.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, the command transmission process 2 in step S409 and the stop control process in step S410 are as explained in the reel control process in this game, so explanations will be omitted. When the stop control process is completed, proceed to step S411, where it is determined whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is not set, this process is terminated.

The slot machine 10 is configured to allow the pseudo game to be cancelled and the game to be switched to the main game. This configuration will be explained in detail below with reference to the flowchart in Figure 21.

If it is determined in step S1001 that the pseudo game flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1002 to determine whether or not a cancel operation to end the pseudo game has been performed. More specifically, in this slot machine 10, since the settlement switch 59 has a function as a cancel operation means, it is determined whether or not the settlement switch 59 has been operated. If a cancel operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S1003 to determine whether or not the value of the reel rotation counter is 3, that is, whether or not all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are rotating. If all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are rotating, the pseudo game flag is cleared in step S1004, and the above-mentioned instruction monitor display process is performed in step S1005. In the following step S1006, a pseudo game end command is sent to the display control device 81. By receiving the pseudo game end command, the display control device 81 understands that the pseudo game has been canceled. After that, the process waits for 30 msec in step S1007 and returns to step S1001. Incidentally, the process waits for 30 msec in step S1007 in order to wait for the display control device 81 to switch from the auxiliary effects for the pseudo game to the auxiliary effects for the main game.

Figure 35 shows an example of the rotation pattern of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R and the display pattern of the auxiliary display section 65 when the pseudo game is canceled.

In the notification mode, the auxiliary display unit 65 displays the young man character walking along the road, and the upper right corner of the auxiliary display unit 65 displays the remaining number of payouts until the end of the notification mode. In FIG. 35(a), a bell was won in the previous game, and the upper right corner of the auxiliary display unit 65 displays that there are 84 coins remaining until the end of the notification mode. In the case of a pseudo game, when each reel 32L, 32M, 32R starts to rotate, as shown in FIG. 35(b), a notification urging the player to operate the stop switches 42 to 44 to aim for the "red 7" symbol and a notification that the current game is a pseudo game are displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65. At this time, the remaining number of payouts until the end of the notification mode is not displayed. If a cancel operation is performed while all reels 32L, 32M, 32R are rotating, as shown in FIG. 35(c), all reels 32L, 32M, 32R move directly to the main game without pseudo-stopping. At this time, the auxiliary display unit 65 ends the notification that it is a pseudo game without notifying the result of the pseudo game in more detail, or whether or not the bonus has been added, and displays an image of the young man character strolling along the road and the number of payouts remaining until the end of the notification mode, notifying the user that the pseudo game has been switched to the main game. However, if the bonus lottery was won, the number of payouts remaining until the end of the notification mode is updated from 84 to 184 and displayed, as shown in FIG. 35(c).

Returning to the explanation of the stop control process, if it is determined in step S1003 that the value of the reel rotation counter is not 3, that is, if a cancel operation is performed under a situation where at least one reel is pseudo-stopped, a cancel operation flag indicating that a cancel operation has been performed is set, and then the process proceeds to step S1009, where a stop position determination process is performed to pseudo-stop the rotating reel. Then, in step S1010, it is determined whether the value of the reel rotation counter has become 0. If the value of the reel rotation counter is not 0, this means that the remaining reel is spinning, so the process returns to step S1001, a positive determination is made in step S1001, and the process proceeds to step S1002. In step S1002, it is determined that a cancel operation has been performed based on the fact that the cancel operation flag is set. Then, in step S1003, a negative determination is made, and in step S1009, a stop position determination process is performed. In step S1010, it is determined whether the value of the reel rotation counter has become 0. If the reel spin counter value becomes 0, the cancel operation flag is cleared and processing from step S1011 onwards is carried out.

As described above, if a cancel operation is performed while all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, the game will proceed directly to the main game without pseudo-stopping all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, and if a cancel operation is performed while at least one reel is pseudo-stopped, the game will proceed to the main game after all spinning reels are pseudo-stopped.

Figure 36 is a flowchart showing the game section processing in the notification mode. The game section processing is performed after the medal payout processing is completed (step S214, see Figure 11), and is performed at the end of the game.

In step S1901, the above-mentioned end determination process is performed, and in step S1902, it is determined whether or not the current play zone is an advantageous zone. If it is determined that the current play zone is not an advantageous zone but a normal zone, this means that the advantageous zone end process has been performed in the end determination process of step S1901, and then the process is terminated after sending a zone command in step S1908.

If the current game zone is a favorable zone, a net increase update process is performed in step S1903 to update the value of the net increase counter. Specifically, the number of medals paid out in the current game is subtracted from the value of the net increase counter, and the number of medals bet (3 or 2 in this embodiment) is added to the subtraction result. In step S1904, it is determined whether the value of the net increase counter has become 0. If the value of the net increase counter is not 0, a zone command is sent in step S1908, and then this process ends. If the value of the net increase counter has become 0, the favorable zone end process shown in steps S1905 to S1907 is performed, and a zone command is sent in step S1908, and then this process ends. In the favorable zone end process, the game zone flag stored in the zone information storage area 106d is changed to a normal flag in step S1905, and the zone indicator 66 is turned off in step S1906. In step S1907, an initialization process is performed in response to the end of the favorable zone. The initialization process executes a process to initialize information related to the instruction function stored in the section information storage area 106d (e.g., the section game number counter value, etc.).

Here, we will explain the gameplay of this slot machine 10.

In this slot machine 10, two-coin play and three-coin play are possible. However, when two-coin play is performed in the normal zone, even if some role is won, the player does not move to the advantageous zone. Also, when two-coin play is performed in the advantageous zone, if the game mode at that time is the notification mode, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is not notified even if the push order bell is won, and if the game mode at that time is the chance mode, the transition lottery is not performed. In addition, in two-coin play, the mode game number counter, which is the trigger for transition to the notification mode, is not updated, while the interval game number counter, which is the trigger for transition to the normal zone, is updated (end determination process, see FIG. 29). Furthermore, in two-coin play, there is a probability of about 1 in 4.0 winning BB2, and if BB2 is won, it is necessary to play 30 games to reduce the number of medals owned by 30. Therefore, when comparing two-coin play and three-coin play, three-coin play is more advantageous for the player.

In a three-coin game, there is a probability of winning BB1 of approximately 1 in 12, and if BB1 is won, it will be necessary to play 30 games to reduce the number of medals owned by 60. However, if a three-coin game is played while the BB2 winning flag is carried over, the event of winning BB1 will not occur, and the event of winning BB2 will not occur either. Therefore, playing a three-coin game while carrying over the BB2 winning flag is the most advantageous game for the player. Therefore, the gameplay when playing a three-coin game while carrying over the BB2 winning flag will be explained below.

In the normal zone, if you win any role with three coins, you will win the lottery to move to the advantageous zone. For example, in the case of "setting 3," there is about a 1 in 1.2 chance of winning any role, and about a 1 in 6.4 chance of losing. Therefore, if you play three coins in the normal zone, it will end in about one game.

When the game transitions from the normal zone to the advantageous zone, the game starts in chance mode and the transition game count is set to 700 (see Figure 26).

In the chance mode, if a rare combination is won, a lottery is held to switch to the notification mode. If the transition lottery is won, the mode switches from the chance mode to the notification mode. Even if the transition lottery is not won, if 700 three-coin games are played in the chance mode, the mode switches to the notification mode (S1603, S1604, S1607, see FIG. 28). In other words, in this slot machine 10, when the normal zone switches to the chance mode, 700 times functions as a so-called ceiling number of times. The advantageous zone ends when 1500 games are played or when the difference number of coins reaches 2400 coins, regardless of the game mode at that time. When the mode switches to the notification mode based on reaching the ceiling of 700 times, the remaining number of games in the advantageous zone is 800 times. In the notification mode, the operation order is always announced when the push order bell is won, so it is expected that about 3.5 coins will increase each time a game is played. Assuming that 800 plays are played in the notification mode, an increase of approximately 2,700 medals can be expected. Therefore, even if the notification mode is entered based on reaching the ceiling, it is expected that the difference in medals will reach 2,400 medals and the advantageous period will end before 1,500 plays are played.

When switching from chance mode to notification mode, the net increase counter is set to 120 (see FIG. 28). Therefore, when switching to notification mode, an increase of at least 120 medals can be expected. Also, when a rare combination is won in notification mode, a draw is held to determine whether or not to increase the net increase (see FIG. 30). At this time, if the draw is won based on a watermelon win, 30, 50, 100, or 300 is added, and if the draw is won based on a cherry win, 10, 20, 30, or 50 is added. Then, when the value of the net increase counter becomes 0, the notification mode and advantageous zone end, and the zone transitions to the normal zone (see FIG. 36).

If the player wins the add-on lottery, a pseudo game flag is set and a pseudo game is played in the game. In a pseudo game based on a win in the add-on lottery, the "red 7" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R stop pseudo on the center line L2, and the number of coins added to the net increase number counter is notified. Even if the player does not win the add-on lottery, if the player wins the pseudo game lottery, a pseudo game flag is set and a pseudo game is played in the game. In a pseudo game based on a win in the pseudo game lottery, the "red 7" symbols on the left reel 32L and center reel 32M stop pseudo on the center line L2, while the "red 7" symbol on the right reel 32R does not stop pseudo on the center line L2, and it is notified that no addition will be made to the net increase number counter. These pseudo games can be canceled by operating the settlement switch 59. If the settlement switch 59 is operated while all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, the game will proceed directly to the main game without all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R coming to a pseudo stop, and if the settlement switch 59 is operated when at least one reel is in a pseudo stop state, the game will proceed to the main game after all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R come to a pseudo stop.

The present embodiment described above provides the following excellent advantages:

If the additional lottery is won, a pseudo game is executed. In the pseudo game, each reel 32L, 32M, 32R starts to rotate, and when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated, the corresponding reel is pseudo-stopped. Then, when all reels 32L, 32M, 32R have pseudo-stopped, the pseudo game ends. By configuring the game in such a way that such a pseudo game can be executed, it becomes possible to execute auxiliary effects using the reels, and it becomes possible to increase the interest in the game.

On the other hand, it is possible that some players may find it bothersome to operate the stop switches 42-44 during a pseudo game. Therefore, the slot machine 10 is configured so that the pseudo game can be ended if the settlement switch 59 is operated while the pseudo game is being played. This configuration makes it possible to prevent players who find it bothersome to operate the stop switches 42-44 during a pseudo game from losing their motivation to play when the pseudo game begins.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

If the settlement switch 59 is operated while all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, the pseudo game ends without pseudo-stopping any of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. This configuration makes it possible to configure the pseudo game so that the pseudo-stop result of the symbols cannot be known unless the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the pseudo game, and makes it possible to encourage the operation of the stop switches 42 to 44 in the pseudo game.

When a pseudo game is executed, the actual game is executed after the pseudo game ends. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an event in which the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are not stopped at the stage of starting the next game, when the pseudo game can end without the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R being pseudo-stopped. In addition, with this configuration, when the settlement switch 59 is operated while all the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, it is possible to move to a determination of whether or not a stop command has been issued, without pseudo-stopping or restarting the spinning of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Therefore, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the actual game.

If the settlement switch 59 is operated when at least one reel has come to a pseudo-stop, the pseudo game ends after all rotating reels have been pseudo-stopped. With this configuration, a player who wishes to end the pseudo game midway through the pseudo game without operating the stop switches 42-44 can do so by operating the settlement switch 59 without operating the stop switches 42-44.

When the settlement switch 59 is operated during the execution of the pseudo game, the subsequent processing is changed depending on the value of the reel rotation counter. With this configuration, it is possible to change the manner in which the pseudo game ends depending on the situation in which the settlement switch 59 is operated, and it is possible to improve the interest of the game. For example, it is possible to configure the system to always pseudo-stop all reels that are rotating when the settlement switch 59 is operated. However, with this configuration, there is a concern that the significance of operating the stop switches 42 to 44 in the pseudo game will be lost. This concern becomes more prominent in the case of a configuration in which the stopping result of the symbols in the pseudo game does not depend on the operation timing of the stop switches 42 to 44, as in the present slot machine 10. However, if the subsequent processing is changed depending on the value of the reel rotation counter, it is possible to suitably eliminate the above concern.

If the player wins the additional lottery, a pseudo game will be played. This configuration makes it possible to use the pseudo game as a game to notify the player that the net increase in the number of coins is increasing, which can increase the player's interest in the game.

In the pseudo game, if the combination of "red 7" symbols stops pseudo on the middle line L2, the net increase in number of coins is notified, and if the combination of "red 7" symbols does not stop pseudo on the middle line L2, the net increase in number of coins is not notified. With this configuration, it is possible to encourage players who want to be notified of the increase in the net increase in number to operate the stop switches 42-44, while allowing players who do not need to be notified of the increase in the net increase in number to operate the settlement switch 59.

Furthermore, the stopping result of the symbols in the pseudo game does not directly contribute to the increase in the net increase in the number of coins. In this game, if a winning combination is not achieved, the player cannot receive benefits such as medal payouts. However, in the pseudo game, the increase in the net increase in the number of coins has already been determined by the additional lottery, so the player will not suffer any disadvantage even if the combination of "red 7" symbols does not stop pseudo on the middle line L2. If the combination of "red 7" symbols does not stop pseudo on the middle line L2, the player will simply not be notified that the net increase in the number of coins will increase. In this way, by making the pseudo game unrelated to the direct profit of the player, it is possible to position the pseudo game as one of the effects in which the player can actively participate, and it is possible to prevent the player from suffering disadvantages by operating the settlement switch 59, which makes it possible to increase the interest in the game.

When the player wins the additional lottery, a pseudo game is played in that game. This configuration makes it possible to increase the interest in the game. It is certainly possible to play a pseudo game in a game other than the game in which the additional lottery was won. However, in this case, if the player forgets that he or she won a rare role in the game before the pseudo game is started, there is a concern that the player may recognize the pseudo game as a so-called fake and stop operating the stop switches 42 to 44 in order to aim for the "red 7" symbol. In addition, if the player wins a rare role in the final game of the notification mode and the notification mode ends without winning the additional lottery, there is a concern that the player may have doubts that the additional lottery was not played at all. On the other hand, if the pseudo game is played in the game in which the additional lottery was won, the game flow will be pseudo game → main game, so it is possible to suitably resolve each of the above concerns.

Even if the player does not win the additional lottery, the player can still play a pseudo game if he or she wins the pseudo game lottery. This configuration makes it possible to provide opportunities in the pseudo game where an increase in the net increase in the number of coins is notified and opportunities where an increase in the net increase in the number of coins is notified, thereby increasing the player's interest in the game.

When a pseudo game is played, the auxiliary display unit 65 is configured to notify the player that a pseudo game is being played. This configuration makes it possible to prevent the player from mistakenly thinking that one game has ended when the pseudo game ends. In addition, even if the pseudo game is switched to the main game without all of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stopping, it is possible to prevent the player from becoming confused as to whether the game is a pseudo game or a main game.

When playing a pseudo game in a game in which the push order bell has been won, the system is configured to notify the player of the operation sequence that can achieve the bell win after all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have been pseudo-stopped in the pseudo game. This configuration makes it possible to avoid operating the stop switches 42 to 44 in the pseudo game in the above operation sequence. In addition, the system is configured to notify the player of the above operation sequence after all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have been pseudo-stopped and before the pseudo-stopped reels start accelerating. This configuration makes it possible to avoid operating the stop switches 42 to 44 in a different operation sequence from the above operation sequence in the actual game, which would result in the player being unable to achieve the bell win.

In a game in which a pseudo game is not executed, the operation sequence that can achieve a bell win is notified after all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R reach a constant speed. This configuration makes it possible to differentiate the timing of notification of the above operation sequence in a game in which a pseudo game is executed from that in which a pseudo game is not executed. In this way, by configuring the timing of notification of the above operation sequence in a game in which a pseudo game is executed to differ depending on whether or not a pseudo game is executed, while ensuring that the above operation sequence is notified before the operation of stop switches 42 to 44 becomes effective, it is possible to alert the player to check the instruction monitor.

When the pseudo game ends, a delay time is set based on the random numbers obtained for each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R, and the reels start accelerating after waiting for the delay time. This configuration makes it possible to shift the start time of each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R when transitioning to the actual game, and even if the "red 7" symbols on each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R are pseudo-stopped in a line on the center line L2 in the pseudo game, it is possible to make the "red 7" symbols not lined up when each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R starts rotating at a constant speed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the stop results of the pseudo game from becoming an aid for pressing the buttons in the actual game thereafter.

When an operation sequence that can achieve a bell win is notified, in addition to being notified on the auxiliary display unit 65 controlled by the display control device 81, the notification is also made on the instruction monitor controlled by the main control device 101. Since the main control device 101 determines whether the stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated, this configuration makes it possible to reliably avoid the occurrence of an event in which it is necessary to determine whether the stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated before the above operation sequence is notified.

When the settlement switch 59 is operated, it is determined that the pseudo game has been cancelled. This configuration reduces the chances that the player will unintentionally cancel the game. For example, it is possible to configure the system to determine that a cancel operation has been performed when the start lever 41 is operated after the pseudo game has started. However, with this configuration, if the player repeatedly taps the start lever 41 when issuing a start command, the second and subsequent operations of the start lever 41 will be determined to be cancel operations, and an event may occur in which the pseudo game ends despite the player's intention to enjoy the game.

When a pseudo game is executed, the stop information for the actual game is set after each reel 32L, 32M, and 32R has been spun, i.e., while the pseudo game is being executed. This configuration allows for a quicker transition from the pseudo game to the actual game, compared to a configuration in which the stop information for the actual game is set after the pseudo game has ended.

The pseudo game stop information is configured to be set after a pseudo stop command is generated. With this configuration, even if the stop information is configured to be set while the pseudo game is being executed, it is possible to shorten the time required to determine whether or not a pseudo stop command has been generated in the pseudo game.

On the other hand, if the pseudo game stop information is set after the pseudo stop command is generated, it is possible that the time between the pseudo stop command being generated and the pseudo stop of the corresponding reel may be extended. Therefore, in the present slot machine 10, in the case of a pseudo game based on a winning addition lottery, the No. 16 "red 7" symbol on each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is pseudo-stopped in the middle row regardless of the operation timing of each of the stop switches 42 to 44, and in the case of a pseudo game based on a winning pseudo game lottery, the No. 16 "red 7" symbol on the left reel 32L and the center reel 32M is pseudo-stopped in the middle row, while the No. 16 "red 7" symbol on the right reel 32R is pseudo-stopped in the lower row instead of the middle row regardless of the operation timing of each of the stop switches 42 to 44. In this way, by making the stopping result of the symbols in the pseudo game independent of the operation timing of the stop switches 42-44, it is possible to prevent a long delay between the issuance of a pseudo stop command and the pseudo stop of the corresponding reel, even if the pseudo game stop information is set after the pseudo stop command is issued.

In the pseudo game, the reels are configured to slide a maximum of 19 symbols from the timing when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated before the reels are pseudo-stopped. This configuration makes it possible to secure the time to set the pseudo game stop information after the pseudo stop command is generated, and the time to determine the reel stop position based on the pseudo game stop information. Furthermore, in this game, the reels must be stopped within a predetermined time after the stop command is generated, so it is difficult to set the stop information after the stop command is generated, and it is necessary to set the stop information before determining whether the stop command is generated. On the other hand, in the pseudo game, the above restrictions are not imposed, so the configuration allows the reels to slide a maximum of 19 symbols before the reels are pseudo-stopped, making it possible to secure the above times.

(Second embodiment)

In the first embodiment, the number of added coins is notified in the pseudo game, but the number of added coins may be notified in the actual game. Such a configuration will be described in detail below. Note that the basic configuration is the same as in the first embodiment, so only the differences will be described below.

Figure 37 is a flowchart showing the reel control process.

In step S2001, a repetition counter provided in RAM 106 is set to 3. In step S2002, acceleration of the reels begins according to the value of the repetition counter. More specifically, if the value of the repetition counter is 3, the spin start setting table address for the left reel 32L is obtained, if the value of the repetition counter is 2, the spin start setting table address for the center reel 32M is obtained, and if the value of the repetition counter is 1, the spin start setting table address for the right reel 32R is obtained. The stepping motor is controlled by the stepping motor control process S107 of the timer interrupt process based on the obtained spin start setting table.

If the rotation start setting table address corresponding to the value of the repetition counter is acquired in step S2002, the process proceeds to step S2003, where 1 is subtracted from the value of the repetition counter. In step S2004, it is determined whether the value of the repetition counter has become 0, and if the value of the repetition counter has not become 0, the process returns to step S2002. If the value of the repetition counter has become 0, the process proceeds to step S2005, where a stop information setting process is performed to set stop information. In the stop information setting process, stop information corresponding to the result of the winning/losing judgment of the role is created, and the created result is stored in the stop information storage area 106b. In step S2006, the reel rotation counter provided in the RAM 106 is set to 3, and in step S2007, a rotation start command is sent to the display control device 81. In step S2008, it is determined whether there is a reel that is accelerating. If there is a reel that is accelerating, the process waits until the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R is completed. When the acceleration of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R has finished and all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are rotating at a constant speed at a predetermined rotation speed, the process proceeds to step S2009 and performs the indication monitor display process.

In the instruction monitor display process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 38, in step S2101, it is determined whether the current game mode is the notification mode. If the current game mode is the notification mode, the process proceeds to step S2102, where it is determined whether the push order bell has been won. If the push order bell has been won, in step S2103, the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 that can achieve the bell win is displayed on the instruction monitor, and this process ends. Also, in step S2103, an operation sequence command indicating the operation sequence to be notified is transmitted to the display control device 81. If the current game mode is not the notification mode, or if the push order bell has not been won, this process ends as is.

Returning to the explanation of the reel control process, in step S2010, a stop possible command is sent to the display control device 81. Then, in step S2011, stop control processing is performed, and this process ends.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 39, in the stop control process, in step S2201, it is determined whether or not the stop switch corresponding to the spinning reel has been operated, i.e., whether or not a stop command has been issued. If a stop command has not been issued, the process waits until a stop command is issued. If a stop command is issued, the process proceeds to step 2202, where a stop position determination process is performed to stop the spinning reel.

In the stop position determination process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 40, in step S2301, the pattern number of the reaching pattern that has reached the base position (lower in this embodiment) at the timing when the stop switch is operated is obtained. Specifically, the pattern number of the reaching pattern that has reached the base position is obtained from the number of excitation pulses output from the time when the detection signal of the reel index sensor is input. In step S2302, 1 is subtracted from the value of the reel rotation number counter. In step S2303, a stop command is sent to the display control device 81. In addition, in step S2303, a lamp (not shown) of the stop switch where the stop command has been generated is turned off to notify the player, etc. that it has become impossible to generate a stop command in this game. In the following step S2304, the number of slips of the reel to be stopped this time is calculated based on the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b. In the slot machine 10, five stop patterns are prepared as stop patterns for stopping each reel 32L, 32M, 32R when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated: a stop pattern for stopping the reaching symbol that has reached the base position as it is, a stop pattern for stopping the corresponding reel after sliding one symbol, a stop pattern for stopping the corresponding reel after sliding two symbols, a stop pattern for stopping the corresponding reel after sliding three symbols, and a stop pattern for stopping the corresponding reel after sliding four symbols. In step S2304, a slip number of any one of 0 to 4 is calculated based on the stop information stored in the stop information storage area 106b. Then, in step S2305, the calculated slip number is added to the symbol number of the reaching symbol to determine the symbol number of the stop symbol that is actually stopped at the base position. In step S2306, it is determined whether the value of the reel rotation counter is not 0. If the reel spin counter value is not 0, i.e., if a stop command has not been issued to at least one reel, the stop information change process is performed in step S2307, and then the stop position determination process is terminated. If the reel spin counter value is 0, i.e., if a stop command has been issued to all reels, the stop position determination process is terminated without performing the stop information change process.

Returning to the explanation of the stop control process, when the stop position determination process is completed, the process proceeds to step S2203, where it is determined whether the reel rotation counter value has become 0. If the reel rotation counter value is not 0, the process returns to step S2201. In other words, in this slot machine 10, when the stop pattern number of the reel for which a stop command has been issued is determined, it is determined whether the next stop command has been issued in step S2201, regardless of whether the reel for which a stop command has been issued has actually stopped. Therefore, the player can issue stop commands consecutively without waiting for the reel to stop. Note that the reel is not stopped in the stop control process (normal process), but in the stepping motor control process S107 of the timer interrupt process. In the stepping motor control process, it is determined whether the pattern number of the arrival pattern of the reel for which a stop command has been issued is equal to the stop pattern number, and if so, the brake process is performed to stop the reel for which the stop command has been issued.

If it is determined in step S2203 that the value of the reel rotation counter is 0, this means that the stop pattern numbers have been determined for all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R, so proceed to step S2204 to determine whether the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers. If the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have not become the stop pattern numbers, wait until the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R become the stop pattern numbers. If the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers, proceed to step S2205 and send an all reels stop completion command to the display control device 81. By receiving the all reels stop completion command, the display control device 81 knows that all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop positions. In the next step S2206, it is determined whether all the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state. More specifically, it is determined whether all the input signals from the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a are OFF. If the input signal from any of the stop detection sensors 42a to 44a is ON, it means that the player is operating the corresponding stop switch, so the process waits as it is. If all the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state, the process proceeds to step S2207, and an operation end command is sent to the display control device 81. By receiving the operation end command, the display control device 81 grasps that all the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state. In step S2208, it is determined whether the instruction monitor is being displayed, and if it is being displayed, the instruction monitor is cleared in step S2209. If the instruction monitor is cleared or if the instruction monitor is not being displayed, the process ends after waiting for 100 msec in step S2210. Incidentally, the reason for waiting 100 msec in step S2210 is to wait for the brake process to be completed in the stepping motor control process and for the reel oscillation to converge.

Next, we will explain the various processes that the display control device 81 performs when executing an add-on notification display that notifies the number of added coins.

Figure 41 is a flowchart showing the presentation decision process that is carried out at the start of a game round.

In step S2401, it is determined whether or not a lottery result command has been received, and if not, this process is terminated. If a lottery result command has been received, the process proceeds to step S2402, where it is determined whether or not the current game mode is the notification mode. If the current game mode is not the notification mode, the process is terminated, and if the current game mode is the notification mode, it is determined in step S2403 whether or not a rare role has been won. If a rare role has not been won, the process is terminated, and if a rare role has been won, the process proceeds to step S2404, where a performance execution lottery is performed. In the performance execution lottery, a win or loss is determined based on the type of rare role that has been won and the random number acquired by the display control device 81. Incidentally, in the performance execution lottery, if a watermelon is won, there is a probability of about 1 in 10 that the performance execution lottery will be won, and if a cherry is won, there is a probability of about 1 in 2 that the performance execution lottery will be won. In step S2405, it is determined whether or not the performance execution lottery has been won. If the performance execution lottery is won, the performance flag is set in step S2406 and this process ends. If the performance execution lottery is not won, the process proceeds to step S2407 to determine whether or not an add-on command has been received. The add-on command is a command sent from the main control device 101 when the add-on lottery is won, and is sent before the lottery result command when the add-on lottery is won (see Figures 12 and 30). Therefore, if the add-on command has been received, it means that the add-on lottery has been won in this game round. In this case, the performance flag is set in step S2406 and this process ends. If the add-on command has not been received, this process ends as it is. Note that when the display control device 81 receives an add-on command, the number of add-on coins indicated by the add-on command is stored in an add-on coin number counter provided in the RAM of the display control device 81.

Figure 42 is a flowchart showing the performance execution process that is carried out during the execution of this game.

In step S2501, it is determined whether the performance flag is set, and if the performance flag is not set, this process is terminated. If the performance flag is set, this means that an additional notification performance is to be executed, so the process proceeds to step S2502, where it is determined whether a stop command has been received. If a stop command has not been received, the process waits until a stop command is received, and if a stop command is received, in step S2503, 1 is added to the value of the stop operation number counter provided in the RAM of the display control device 81. In step S2504, it is determined whether the value of the stop operation number counter is 3, and if it is not 3, in step S2505, an alarm sound corresponding to the value of the stop operation number counter is output from the speaker 64, and the process returns to step S2502. If the value of the stop operation number counter is 3, in step S2506, an additional notification process is performed, and then this process is terminated.

In the add-on notification process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 43, in step S2601, it is determined whether an add-on command has been received, i.e., whether the add-on lottery has been won in the current game round. If the game round is one in which the add-on lottery has been won, in step S2602, the process waits until an all reels stop completion command is received. If an all reels stop completion command is received, the process proceeds to step S2603, where an alarm sound corresponding to the value of the stop operation number counter, 3, is output from the speaker 64. Then, in step S2604, the process waits until an operation end command is received. If an operation end command is received, the process proceeds to step S2605, where the number of add-on coins won in the add-on lottery is displayed on the auxiliary display unit 65. Then, in step S2606, the value of the stop operation number counter is set to 0, and in step S2607, the performance flag is cleared, and this process ends.

If it is determined in step S2601 that the top-up command has not been received, i.e., if the top-up lottery has not been won in this game round, the process proceeds to step S2608, where a notification sound execution lottery is held to determine whether or not to output a notification sound. In the notification sound execution lottery, the display control device 81 determines whether or not the lottery has been won based on the random number acquired. Incidentally, the probability of winning the notification sound execution lottery is about one in three. In step S2609, it is determined whether or not the notification sound execution lottery has been won. If the notification sound execution lottery has been won, the process waits until an all-reel stop completion command is received in step S2610. If the all-reel stop completion command is received, the process proceeds to step S2611, where a notification sound corresponding to the value 3 of the stop operation number counter is output from the speaker 64. Thereafter, the value of the stop operation number counter is set to 0 in step S2606, and the performance flag is cleared in step S2607, and this process ends. If the notification sound execution lottery is not won, the notification sound is not output from the speaker 64, the value of the stop operation number counter is set to 0 in step S2606, the performance flag is cleared in step S2607, and this process ends.

Here, we will explain the effect of the additional notification effect.

The top-up notification effect will be performed if you win the top-up lottery and if you win the effect execution lottery.

When the display control device 81 receives a stop command based on the first stop command, if the display control device 81 wins the add-on lottery, it outputs a first notification sound (e.g., the sound of "C") when it receives a stop command based on the second stop command, and outputs a second notification sound (e.g., the sound of "R") when it receives a stop command based on the second stop command. Then, when it receives a stop command based on the third stop command, it outputs a third notification sound (e.g., the sound of "E") after it receives an all reels stop completion command indicating that all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have reached their stop positions, and displays the number of added coins won in the add-on lottery on the auxiliary display unit 65 after it receives an operation end command indicating that all stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state.

If the display control device 81 does not win the additional lottery, when a stop command based on the first stop command is received, the display control device 81 outputs a first alarm sound (e.g., the sound of "C"), and when a stop command based on the second stop command is received, the display control device 81 outputs a second alarm sound (e.g., the sound of "R"). Then, when a stop command based on the third stop command is received, if the alarm sound execution lottery is won, the display control device 81 outputs a third alarm sound (e.g., the sound of "E") after receiving an all reels stop completion command indicating that all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have reached their stop positions, and if the alarm sound execution lottery is not won, the display control device 81 does not output the third alarm sound (e.g., the sound of "E") after receiving an all reels stop completion command.

As described above, in the top-up notification performance, if the top-up lottery is won, the sequence is as follows: first notification sound output → second notification sound output → third notification sound output → notification of the number of top-up coins; if the top-up lottery is not won, the sequence is as follows: first notification sound output → second notification sound output → third notification sound output, or first notification sound output → second notification sound output. Here, the probability of winning the top-up lottery is about 1 in 5 if the watermelon is won, and about 1 in 3 if the cherry is won, for example, in the case of setting 3. The probability of winning the performance execution lottery is about 1 in 10 if the watermelon is won, and about 1 in 2 if the cherry is won. Therefore, in the case of a watermelon win, the expectation of the number of top-up coins being notified exceeds 66% at the stage when the first notification sound is output, i.e., at the stage when the top-up notification performance is started. In the case of a cherry win, when the first notification sound is output, i.e., when the additional notification effect starts, the expected probability of the additional number being notified exceeds 40%. Since the probability of winning the notification sound execution lottery is approximately one in three, when the third notification sound is output, the expected probability of the additional number being notified becomes even higher than the rate mentioned above. Since the third notification sound is output after all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have reached their stop positions, the player can continue to operate the stop switch that generated the third stop command to their heart's content before ending it.

The present embodiment described above provides the following excellent advantages:

In the stop control process, when the stop symbol number of the reel for which a stop command has been issued has been determined, regardless of whether the reel for which the stop command has been issued has actually stopped, a determination is made in step S2201 as to whether a next stop command has been issued. With this configuration, the player can operate another stop switch without waiting for the reel corresponding to the operated stop switch to stop. As a result, it is possible to increase the enjoyment of the game by improving the operability of stop switches 42 to 44.

On the other hand, if the system is configured to determine whether the next stop command has occurred without waiting for the reels to stop, new problems may arise, such as the next game round being able to start before the reels have stopped. Therefore, the slot machine 10 is configured to perform a standby process that waits for 100 msec once the stop symbol numbers of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have been determined. This configuration makes it possible to stop the reel oscillation while the standby process is being performed, making it possible to suitably resolve the above concerns.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

The standby process, which waits for 100 msec, is performed after it is determined that the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stopped pattern numbers. This configuration makes it possible to shorten the standby time in the standby process, and even if a standby process is performed, it is possible to prevent the time until the next game round can be started from being too long.

It is certainly possible to configure the system to perform a standby process before determining whether the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stopped pattern numbers when the reel rotation counter value is determined to be 0, that is, between step S2203 and step S2204. However, in such a configuration, it becomes necessary to consider not only the time for the reel oscillation to converge, but also the time required for the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of the reels to become the stopped pattern numbers (i.e., the reel slip time) as the standby time in the standby process. In this slot machine 10, since it is possible to slide a maximum of four patterns, it becomes necessary to secure about 179 msec (= 1.49 x 24 x 5) as a standby time in addition to the time for the reel oscillation to converge. And if the reel stops with a slip number of three or less instead of four patterns, the standby time of about 36 msec (= 1.49 x 24 x 1) or more becomes a waste of time, which leads to a prolonged game. On the other hand, if the system is configured to perform standby processing after it is determined that the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stopping pattern numbers, it is possible to effectively resolve each of the above concerns.

The standby process for waiting 100 msec is performed after it is determined that all stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state. By using such a configuration, even if the standby process is performed, it is possible to equalize the time required until the next game round can be started, and it is possible to improve the operability when starting the next game round. For example, it is possible to perform the standby process after determining that the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stopped pattern numbers, without providing the process S2206 for determining whether all stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state. However, in such a configuration, the time required until the next game round can be started will change depending on whether the timing when the player finishes operating all stop switches 42 to 44 is after the standby process is finished or during the standby process. Furthermore, if the time required until the next round can be started changes, an event will occur in which the player's coin insertion operation to start the next round is not accepted, reducing operability when starting the next round.

The standby process for waiting for 100 msec is performed before the medal payout process. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an event in which a bonus such as a medal payout is given in a situation where the reel's oscillation has not converged. Furthermore, by performing the standby process before the payout determination process performed in the medal payout process, it is possible to increase the versatility of the processing program related to the standby process while suppressing the processing configuration from becoming complicated. For example, if it is determined in the payout determination process that a small prize has been won, the standby process is not performed or a standby process is performed for a time corresponding to the number of medals to be paid out, and if it is determined in the payout determination process that a small prize has not been won, a standby process is performed for a predetermined time. With this configuration, the standby time changes depending on the presence or absence of medal payout, etc., so it is possible to suppress the delay until the next game round can be started. However, with this configuration, the processing configuration becomes complicated, and when the above processing program is applied to other slot machines with different medal payout numbers when a small prize is won, it becomes necessary to change the processing time appropriately, which reduces versatility.

In a configuration in which a push order bell is provided as a lottery role and the player is given an advantage when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the notified operation order, the stop command can be generated consecutively without waiting for the reels to stop. This configuration can reduce the chances that the player will unintentionally operate the stop switches 42 to 44 in the wrong order. In other words, in a configuration in which the player is given an advantage when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated in the notified operation order, the player may unintentionally operate the stop switches 42 to 44 in the wrong order. This occurs because, even though the player operates the stop switches 42 to 44 in the notified operation order, for example, the player operates the stop switch that should be operated second when the reel corresponding to the first stop command has not yet stopped, and the operation is not recognized as valid, and the third stop switch operated is determined to be the operation of the second stop command.

The standby process, which waits for 100 msec, is configured to be performed after the operation sequence is hidden if it is currently being displayed on the instruction monitor. This configuration makes it possible to shorten the standby time during standby process while quickly ending the notification of the operation sequence on the instruction monitor. This is because the standby time during standby process can be shortened by the time required for the processes of steps S2208 and S2209.

If the configuration is such that it is determined whether the next stop command has occurred without waiting for the reels to stop, new problems may occur, such as, for example, the reel corresponding to the second stop command not stopping even though the operation of all the stop switches 42 to 44 has been completed, or the operation of at least one stop switch not being completed even though all the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped. If such problems occur, problems will arise in the control performed by the display control device 81. Therefore, in this slot machine 10, when the stop positions of all the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are determined on the main control device 101 side, it is determined whether the pattern numbers of the reaching patterns of all the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers, and it is determined whether all the stop switches 42 to 44 have become unoperated. When the symbol numbers of the reached symbols on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R become the stopped symbol numbers, an all reels stop completion command is sent to the display control device 81, and when all stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state, an operation end command is sent to the display control device 81. With this configuration, the display control device 81 can perform control in response to all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stopping by receiving the all reels stop completion command, and can perform control in response to the end of operation of all stop switches 42 to 44 by receiving the operation end command. As a result, the above concerns can be suitably resolved.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

The main control device 101 is configured to transmit an operation end command after transmitting an all reels stop completion command. With this configuration, the display control device 81 can perform control in response to the end of operation of all stop switches 42 to 44 after performing control in response to the stop of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. Furthermore, the maximum time required from determining the stop position of the reel where the stop command is issued until the reel actually reaches the stop position can be grasped by the main control device 101 as about 179 msec, since it slides up to four symbols. On the other hand, the time required until all stop switches 42 to 44 are not operated depends on the player's operation, and therefore cannot be grasped or predicted by the main control device 101. Therefore, by configuring the display control device 81 to transmit an operation end command after transmitting an all reels stop completion command, it is possible to reduce the difference between the timing when all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R stop and the timing when the display control device 81 performs control based on the reception of the all reels stop completion command.

When it is determined that the pattern numbers of the arrival patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop pattern numbers, an all reels stop completion command is sent before determining whether all stop switches 42 to 44 have become unoperated. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the lag between the timing when all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped and the timing when the display control device 81 performs control based on the receipt of the all reels stop completion command. In addition, when it is determined that all stop switches 42 to 44 have become unoperated, an operation end command is sent before determining whether the indication monitor is being displayed. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the lag between the timing when the operation of all stop switches 42 to 44 has ended and the timing when the display control device 81 performs control based on the receipt of the operation end command.

The additional notification performance is configured to proceed when all reels 32L, 32M, 32R have stopped and when all stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated, and the additional notification performance is controlled by the display control device 81. In this configuration, there is a concern that one of the performance contents that has been carefully prepared may not be able to be executed depending on which of all reels 32L, 32M, 32R have stopped and all stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated first. In order to eliminate such a concern, for example, it is possible to configure the system to output a third notification sound when one of all reels 32L, 32M, 32R have stopped and all stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated, and to execute the additional notification when the other occurs. However, with such a configuration, the command type received from the main control device 101 will no longer correspond to the processing content to be executed, which may result in a new problem of the processing configuration related to the additional notification performance becoming more complex and the memory capacity increasing.

On the other hand, by configuring the main control device 101 to transmit an all reels stop completion command indicating that all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have reached the stop position, and to transmit an operation end command indicating that the operation of all stop switches 42 to 44 has ended, the display control device 81 can grasp that all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have stopped by receiving the all reels stop completion command, and can grasp that the operation of all stop switches 42 to 44 has ended by receiving the operation end command. In addition, since the main control device 101 transmits the operation end command after transmitting the all reels stop completion command, the display control device 81 can control the output of the third notification sound based on the reception of the all reels stop completion command, and then control the execution of the additional notification based on the reception of the operation end command. Therefore, it is possible to suitably resolve each of the above concerns.

In the added notification effect, the third notification sound is output from the speaker 64 upon receipt of an all reels stop completion command, and the added notification is executed on the auxiliary display unit 65 upon receipt of an operation end command. In this way, by configuring the device that executes the effect upon receipt of the all reels stop completion command and the device that executes the effect upon receipt of the operation end command to be different, it is possible to reliably output the third notification sound even if the interval between receiving the all reels stop completion command and receiving the operation end command is short.

(Third embodiment)

In the first embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 20, for example, commands for pseudo games and commands for real games are prepared separately, and a command according to the presence or absence of a pseudo game flag is sent to the display control device 81. However, this configuration will be changed. Note that the basic configuration is the same as in the first embodiment described above, so only the differences will be explained below.

Figure 44 (a) is a diagram showing the configuration of the pseudo game flag storage area provided in RAM 106 of the main control unit 101. The pseudo game flag storage area is composed of one byte. The most significant bit 7 and bits 5 to 0 of the pseudo game flag storage area are blank, and the sixth bit functions as a pseudo game flag storage bit. When the main control unit 101 sets a pseudo game flag (step S504, see Figure 16), it sets the sixth bit of the pseudo game flag storage area to "1", and when the main control unit 101 clears the pseudo game flag (step S611, see Figure 17 or step S1004, see Figure 21), it sets the sixth bit of the pseudo game flag storage area to "0". Therefore, if each bit in the pseudo-game flag storage area is arranged from the most significant bit to form an 8-digit binary number, and the number is converted to hexadecimal, the value becomes 40H (01000000) if the pseudo-game flag is set, and becomes 00H (00000000) if the pseudo-game flag is not set.

Next, command transmission process 1 in this embodiment will be described. Command transmission process 1 is a process performed in the reel control process (step S406, see FIG. 15), and is a process of transmitting a spin start command or a pseudo game spin start command to the display control device 81.

In command transmission process 1, as shown in the flowchart in Figure 45, rotation start header information is obtained in step S2701.

Here, we will briefly explain the structure of a command. A command is composed of a header that indicates the command type, a body that indicates the specific content, and a footer that indicates that this is the last information of the command. The header is composed of one byte, as shown in FIG. 44(b). The function of each bit of the header is as follows. The most significant bit, the seventh bit, functions as a header identification bit, and always stores "1". The sixth bit functions as a pseudo-game identification bit that indicates whether or not it is a pseudo-game, the fifth bit is blank, and the fourth to zeroth bits function as command type storage bits that indicate the command type. For example, the rotation start header information is 86H, or 10000110, and is pre-stored in the ROM 105 of the main control device 101.

If the rotation start header information is acquired in step S2701, the process proceeds to step S2702, where the pseudo game judgment information is added to the rotation start header information. In this embodiment, the information stored in the pseudo game flag storage area also functions as pseudo game judgment information. Therefore, in step S2702, 40H or 00H is added to the rotation start header information, 86H. As a result, if the pseudo game flag is set, i.e., if a pseudo game is being played, the addition result in step S2702 becomes C6H (11000110), and if the pseudo game flag is not set, i.e., if a real game is being played, the addition result in step S2702 becomes 86H (10000110). In step S2703, the addition result is sent to the display control device 81 as a header. In step S2704, it is determined whether or not there is body information. If body information is present, the body information is sent to the display control device 81 in step S2705, and the footer is sent to the display control device 81 in step S2706, and this process ends. If body information is not present, the footer is sent to the display control device 81 in step S2706, and this process ends. Note that in command sending process 1, since body information is not set in the rotation start command (pseudo game rotation start command), a header indicating that it is a rotation start command (pseudo game rotation start command) and a footer are sent to the display control device 81.

Next, command transmission process 2 in this embodiment will be described. Command transmission process 2 is a process performed in the reel control process (step S409, see FIG. 15), and is a process for transmitting a stop possible command or a pseudo stop possible command to the display control device 81.

In the command transmission process 2, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 46, the stoppable header information is acquired in step S2801. The stoppable header information is 87H, i.e., 10000111, and is prestored in the ROM 105 of the main control device 101. In step S2802, the pseudo game determination information is added to the stoppable header information. That is, in step S2802, 40H or 00H is added to the stoppable header information 87H. As a result, if the pseudo game flag is set, i.e., if a pseudo game is being played, the addition result in step S2802 becomes C7H (11000111), and if the pseudo game flag is not set, i.e., if a real game is being played, the addition result in step S2802 becomes 87H (10000111). In step S2803, the addition result is transmitted to the display control device 81 as a header. In step S2804, it is determined whether or not there is body information. If body information is present, the body information is sent to the display control device 81 in step S2805, and the footer is sent to the display control device 81 in step S2806, and this process ends. If body information is not present, the footer is sent to the display control device 81 in step S2806, and this process ends. Note that in command transmission process 2, since body information is not set for the stoppable command (pseudo stoppable command), a header indicating that it is a stoppable command (pseudo stoppable command) and the footer are sent to the display control device 81.

Figure 47 is a flowchart showing the stop position determination process. In the stop position determination process in the first embodiment, it is determined in step S1103 whether or not the pseudo game flag is set, and a pseudo stop command or a stop command is sent to the display control device 81 depending on the determination result (see Figure 22). In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is determined in step S2903 whether or not the pseudo game flag is set, but regardless of the determination result, command transmission process 3 is performed in step S2905 to transmit a pseudo stop command or a stop command.

In the command transmission process 3, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 48, the stop header information is acquired in step S3001. The stop header information is 88H, i.e., 10001000, and is prestored in the ROM 105 of the main control device 101. In step S3002, the pseudo game judgment information is added to the stop header information. That is, in step S3002, 40H or 00H is added to the stop header information 88H. As a result, if the pseudo game flag is set, i.e., if a pseudo game is being played, the addition result in step S3002 becomes C8H (11001000), and if the pseudo game flag is not set, i.e., if a real game is being played, the addition result in step S3002 becomes 88H (10001000). In step S3003, the addition result is sent to the display control device 81 as a header. In step S3004, it is determined whether or not there is body information. If there is body information, the body information is sent to the display control device 81 in step S3005, and the footer is sent to the display control device 81 in step S3006, and this process is terminated. If there is no body information, the footer is sent to the display control device 81 in step S3006, and this process is terminated. In the command sending process 3, in step S3005, information indicating the reel on which the stop command or pseudo stop command has occurred is sent as body information. More specifically, if the reel is the left reel 32L, 01H is sent as body information, if the reel is the center reel 32M, 02H is sent as body information, and if the reel is the right reel 32R, 03H is sent as body information. These pieces of body information are pre-stored in the ROM 105 of the main control device 101. As a result of the above, in command transmission process 3, a stop command (pseudo stop command) is transmitted to the display control device 81, which includes a header indicating that it is a stop command (pseudo stop command), a body indicating a stopped reel (pseudo stopped reel), and a footer.

The present embodiment described above provides the following excellent advantages:

The system is configured to send different commands when playing a pseudo game and when playing a real game. This configuration allows the display control device 81 to determine whether the game is a pseudo game or a real game.

As a result of the above, it becomes possible for the display control device 81 to control the pseudo game and auxiliary effects according to the actual game, making it possible to increase the interest in the game.

On the other hand, if the commands to be sent in the case of pseudo play and the commands to be sent in the case of real play are stored in ROM 105 in advance, there is a concern that the amount of data to be stored in advance will increase. Also, since it becomes necessary to determine whether or not a game is pseudo when sending a command, there is a concern that in addition to the increase in the amount of data due to the addition of the determination process, the processing configuration will become more complicated.

In this embodiment, the command transmission process 1, etc., is configured to create a header to be sent to the display control device 81 by adding header information such as the rotation start header information to the information stored in the pseudo game flag storage area. With this configuration, it is no longer necessary to store in advance the header to be sent in the case of pseudo game, making it possible to reduce the amount of data. Also, with this configuration, the created header includes whether or not it is a pseudo game, making it unnecessary to perform a process to determine whether or not it is a pseudo game. Therefore, by simplifying the processing configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of data.

The header is configured to include information indicating whether or not a game is a pseudo game. This configuration makes it possible to prevent the commands sent from the main control device 101 to the display control device 81 from becoming redundant. In other words, instead of performing a calculation as in this embodiment, a configuration in which the display control device 81 knows whether or not a game is a pseudo game can be made by sending, for example, 00H or 40H in the body rather than the header. However, in this configuration, the command sent would increase by 1 byte, which would result in the command becoming redundant.

The header is provided with a header identification bit, a pseudo-game identification bit, and a command type storage bit, and is configured so that the header fits into one byte. This configuration makes it possible to prevent commands from becoming redundant while allowing the display control device 81 to grasp a large amount of information through the header.

In the header, the pseudo game identification bit is located lower than the header identification bit and higher than the command type storage bit. This configuration makes it possible to store information indicating whether or not a pseudo game is being played in a bit that would have been unused in the past, and makes it possible to effectively prevent the commands sent from the main control device 101 to the display control device 81 from becoming redundant. In addition, by configuring the header information to be created by adding pseudo game judgment information, it becomes possible to include information indicating whether or not a pseudo game is being played in the header without changing the conventional header configuration. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent an increase in the amount of development work required for the slot machine 10.

The pseudo game flag storage area is configured with one byte, which is the same byte as the header, and all bits except the sixth bit are left blank. This configuration makes it possible to avoid changing the values of other bits, such as the command type storage bit, when pseudo game judgment information is added to the header information.

The header is created using the information stored in the pseudo game flag storage area. This configuration allows the information stored in the pseudo game flag storage area to function as information used to determine whether or not to execute a pseudo game, and as information used when creating a header. As a result, there is no need to provide a storage area in RAM 106 for storing pseudo game determination information, making it possible to suppress increases in storage capacity.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented, for example, as follows.

(1) In the first embodiment described above, if the settlement switch 59 is operated while all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, the game proceeds directly to the main game. However, the rotation speed of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R may be slowed down for a predetermined time (e.g., 2 seconds) and then returned to the normal rotation speed, after which the game proceeds to the main game. With such a configuration, it is possible to inform the player that the pseudo game is ending through the change in the rotation speed of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R.

(2) In the first embodiment described above, if the settlement switch 59 is operated while all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, the game proceeds directly to the main game. However, the game may proceed to the main game after all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are pseudo-stopped, or after one or two reels are pseudo-stopped.

When one or two reels are pseudo-stopped and then the actual game starts, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the actual game, compared to a configuration in which all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are pseudo-stopped and then the actual game starts. In addition, in this configuration, the transition to the actual game can be notified by the pseudo-stopped reel starting to spin again, making it possible to prevent the player from becoming confused as to whether the game is a pseudo game or an actual game.

(3) In the first embodiment described above, when the settlement switch 59 is operated in a situation where at least one reel has been pseudo-stopped, the pseudo game is ended after all rotating reels have been pseudo-stopped. However, the pseudo game may be ended without pseudo-stopping all rotating reels. In such a configuration, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the actual game, since it is only necessary to perform a process to start spinning only the pseudo-stopped reel. Furthermore, in such a configuration, the transition to the actual game can be notified by the pseudo-stopped reel starting to spin again, making it possible to avoid the player becoming confused as to whether the game is a pseudo game or an actual game.

(4) In the first embodiment described above, when the rotating reels are pseudo-stopped based on the operation of the settlement switch 59, the same processing is performed as when a pseudo-stop command is generated. However, a different processing may be performed than when a pseudo-stop command is generated. In such a configuration, it is possible to change the stopping result of the symbols when the stop switches 42 to 44 are operated to pseudo-stop each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R and the settlement switch 59 are operated to pseudo-stop each of the reels 32L, 32M, and 32R. As a result, it is possible to clearly distinguish between the operation of the settlement switch 59 and the operation of the stop switches 42 to 44, and it is possible to allow the player to choose which one to operate.

For example, when the settlement switch 59 is operated, the reels that are spinning are pseudo-stopped immediately at the timing when the settlement switch 59 is operated, regardless of the stopping position of the symbols. With this configuration, it is possible to generate an event where the symbols stop at a position that is half a symbol away from the center line L2, for example.

For example, when the settlement switch 59 is operated, the reels are pseudo-stopped while spinning so that the combination of "red 7" symbols does not stop on the middle line L2, even if the player wins the additional lottery.

For example, when the settlement switch 59 is operated, the reels are pseudo-stopped at a position that is half a symbol away from the stop position when a pseudo-stop command is issued.

(5) In the first embodiment described above, when the settlement switch 59 is operated in a pseudo game, it is determined that a cancel operation has been performed. However, this is not limited to the operation of the settlement switch 59, and any operation that does not affect the progress of the game after the start of a game round may be performed. Therefore, it may be configured to determine that a cancel operation has been performed when the first credit insertion switch 56 is operated, or to determine that a cancel operation has been performed when the second credit insertion switch 57 is operated. It may also be configured to determine that a cancel operation has been performed when the third credit insertion switch 58 is operated.

In addition to or instead of a configuration that determines whether a cancel operation has been performed, a configuration may be used in which the simulated game ends if a predetermined time has elapsed without a pseudo stop command being issued.

(6) In the first embodiment described above, when the settlement switch 59 is operated in a situation where at least one reel has come to a pseudo-stop, all reels that are spinning are caused to come to a pseudo-stop. However, it may be possible to have a configuration where one of the reels that are spinning is caused to come to a pseudo-stop. In such a configuration, when one reel has come to a pseudo-stop, it becomes necessary to operate the settlement switch 59 twice to cause all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R to come to a pseudo-stop.

(7) In the first embodiment described above, if the settlement switch 59 is operated when all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, the simulated game is ended as is, and if the settlement switch 59 is operated when at least one reel has pseudo-stopped, all spinning reels are pseudo-stopped. However, it is acceptable as long as the process performed when ending the simulated game differs depending on the number of pseudo-stopped reels or the number of pseudo-stop commands issued.

For example, if the settlement switch 59 is operated when all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, one reel is pseudo-stopped, but the pseudo game ends without pseudo-stopping the other two reels. If the settlement switch 59 is operated when one reel is pseudo-stopped, the other two reels are pseudo-stopped, and then the pseudo game ends. If the settlement switch 59 is operated when two reels are pseudo-stopped, the pseudo game ends without pseudo-stopping the other reel.

(8) In the first embodiment described above, the reel rotation speed in the pseudo game and the reel rotation speed in the actual game are configured to be equal, but the reel rotation speed in the pseudo game and the reel rotation speed in the actual game may be configured to be different.

(9) In the first embodiment described above, the stop information setting process is performed after the spin start process, but if the stop information setting process is performed before determining whether or not a pseudo stop command has occurred, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the above embodiment. Therefore, the stop information setting process may be performed after all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have started spinning at a constant speed, or the stop information setting process may be performed after the instruction monitor display process.

(10) In the first embodiment described above, a slide table for pseudo stop control in a pseudo game based on winning an additional lottery and a slide table for pseudo stop control in a pseudo game based on winning a pseudo game lottery are stored in advance, and the slide tables are referenced when a pseudo stop command is generated. However, this configuration will be changed.

In the stop position determination process shown in FIG. 22, if it is determined in step S1103 that the pseudo game flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1104, where if the pseudo game is based on winning an additional lottery, the stop pattern number is set to "15", and if the pseudo game is based on winning a pseudo game lottery, the stop pattern number is set to "15" if the reel to be pseudo stopped is the left reel 32L or the middle reel 32M, and the stop pattern number is set to "16" if the reel to be pseudo stopped is the right reel 32R. As a result of setting the stop pattern number, the processes of steps S1107 and S1108 are not performed.

With this configuration, in addition to being able to achieve the same effects as the above embodiment, it is also possible to reduce the amount of data, since there is no need to prepare a slide table in advance.

(11) In the first embodiment described above, the pseudo game is configured to allow a maximum of 19 symbols to slide, but the pseudo game may be configured to stop within a predetermined time period after a pseudo stop command is issued, as in the actual game.

However, in such a configuration, if the pseudo game stop information is set after the pseudo stop command is generated, it is possible that it will not be possible to slide four symbols due to the time required to set the pseudo game stop information.

Therefore, when configuring to perform the same stop control as the main game, the stop information for the main game and the stop information for the pseudo game are set in the stop information setting process. At this time, the stop information for the main game is set in the first area of the stop information storage area 106b, and the stop information for the pseudo game is set in the second area of the stop information storage area 106b.

Although this configuration would require a longer time for the stop information setting process, it would eliminate the need to set stop information for the actual game when transitioning from the pseudo game to the actual game, making it possible to transition quickly from the pseudo game to the actual game.

In this case, when setting pseudo game stop information based on winning the additional lottery, the stop information set in a situation where only BB1 is won in the actual game is set as the pseudo game stop information, and when setting pseudo game stop information based on winning the pseudo game lottery, the stop information set in a situation where the actual game is lost is set as the pseudo game stop information. With this configuration, it becomes possible to share the pseudo game stop information and the stop information for the actual game, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data that needs to be prepared in advance.

(12) In the first embodiment described above, the stop information setting process was configured not to set pseudo-game stop information, but this configuration will be changed.

Specifically, in the reel control process shown in FIG. 15, step S403 is configured to determine whether or not the pseudo game flag is set. If the pseudo game flag is set, the stop information setting process sets the stop information for the pseudo game instead of the stop information for the actual game. If the pseudo game flag is not set, the stop information setting process sets the stop information for the actual game. At this time, if the stop information for the pseudo game is set, that is, if the pseudo game has ended, the stop information for the pseudo game is rewritten to the stop information for the actual game. In other words, the memory area in which the stop information for the pseudo game is set and the memory area in which the stop information for the actual game is set are the same area. Then, the process of step S1104 in the stop position determination process is not performed.

With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the stop information storage area 106b from becoming too large.

In this case, when setting pseudo game stop information based on winning the additional lottery, the stop information set in a situation where only BB1 is won in the actual game is set as the pseudo game stop information, and when setting pseudo game stop information based on winning the pseudo game lottery, the stop information set in a situation where the actual game is lost is set as the pseudo game stop information. With this configuration, it becomes possible to share the pseudo game stop information and the stop information for the actual game, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data that needs to be prepared in advance.

(13) In the first embodiment, a slide table for the pseudo game is prepared in advance, but the stop information may be set in the same way as in the actual game.

(14) In the first embodiment described above, when the "red 7" symbol on each reel 32L, 32M, 32R stops pseudo-on the center line L2 in the pseudo game, a bonus is awarded to inform the player that the net increase in number of coins will increase. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and any bonus different from the bonus awarded when a winning combination such as a medal payout is awarded may be used. Representative examples of bonuses different from the bonus awarded when a winning combination is achieved include, for example, a setting suggestion effect or a suggestion of a winning combination in the subsequent game.

(15) In the first embodiment described above, a pseudo game is played when the additional lottery is won and when the pseudo game lottery is won, but the conditions for playing the pseudo game are arbitrary.

For example, the final game of the notification mode can be configured to have a simulated game.

For example, if a rare combination is won, a pseudo game will be played regardless of whether the bonus lottery is won or not.

(16) In the first embodiment, if the additional lottery is won, a pseudo game is executed in that game round. However, the pseudo game may be executed in the next game round after the additional lottery is won. In such a configuration, it is possible to start the next game round after the player understands that a rare role has been won, i.e., that an additional lottery has been held. Therefore, it is possible to start the next game round while making the player look forward to the start of the pseudo game, which makes it possible to increase interest in the game. Note that the pseudo game may be executed not in the next game round, but in a predetermined number of game rounds, such as after five games.

(17) In the first embodiment described above, if a cancel operation is performed while all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, no notification is given as to whether or not an extra bonus has been added. However, the configuration may be such that a notification is given as to whether or not an extra bonus has been added.

(18) In the first embodiment described above, if a cancel operation is performed while all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R are spinning, no notification is given as to whether or not an addition has been made, and if the addition lottery is won, the remaining payout number displayed in the main game is updated. However, the remaining payout number displayed in the main game may not be updated even if the addition lottery is won. In such a configuration, the unreported number of additions may be reported in a subsequent pseudo game, or may be reported in the final game of the notification mode.

(19) In the first embodiment, the auxiliary display unit 65 is configured to notify the player that a pseudo game is being played, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and any configuration that includes a means for notifying the player that a pseudo game is being played may be used. In other words, the present invention may be configured to provide a pseudo game lamp that is lit only during a pseudo game, or to notify the player that a pseudo game is being played by swinging the stopped reels up and down during the pseudo game.

(20) In the second embodiment, the waiting process is configured to wait for 100 msec, but the length of time can be any length that is expected to allow the reel oscillation to converge.

(21) In the second embodiment, the standby process is performed for 100 msec after it is determined that the indication monitor is not being displayed or after the indication monitor is cleared. However, the standby process can be performed at any position after it is determined that the value of the reel spin counter is 0, that is, after the stop positions of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have been determined. However, the closer to the process of determining whether the value of the reel spin counter is 0, the more likely it is that the standby process will require a time longer than 100 msec, which may result in a longer wait time until the next game round can be started.

(22) In the second embodiment described above, after it is determined that the symbol numbers of the reached symbols on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop symbol numbers, it is determined whether all stop switches 42 to 44 have become in an unoperated state. However, it may be configured to determine whether the symbol numbers of the reached symbols on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop symbol numbers after it is determined that all stop switches 42 to 44 have become in an unoperated state. In addition, in such a configuration, it may be configured to determine whether the symbol numbers of the reached symbols on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stop symbol numbers after sending an operation end command. In other words, it may be configured to send an all reels stop completion command after sending an operation end command.

(23) In the second embodiment described above, after the all reels stop completion command is sent, it is determined whether all of the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state. However, it may be configured to send the all reels stop completion command after it is determined that all of the stop switches 42 to 44 are in an unoperated state. In this case, if the operation end command is sent after the all reels stop completion command is sent, it is expected that the same effect as the second embodiment described above can be achieved.

(24) In the second embodiment, the order of determining whether the symbol numbers of the reached symbols on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stopped symbol numbers and the order of determining whether all stop switches 42 to 44 have become unoperated are the same, and the order of sending the all reels stop completion command and the operation end command may be different. For example, after determining that the symbol numbers of the reached symbols on all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R have become the stopped symbol numbers, it is determined whether all stop switches 42 to 44 have become unoperated, while the command sending order is such that the operation end command is followed by the all reels stop completion command. However, if such a configuration is used, there is a concern that the processing configuration may become complicated and the memory capacity may increase.

(25) In the second embodiment, the all reels stop completion command is sent when the pattern numbers of the arrival patterns of all reels 32L, 32M, and 32R become the stop pattern numbers, but the stop completion commands for the left reel 32L, center reel 32M, and right reel 32R may be sent individually. More specifically, in step S2204, if it is determined that the left reel 32L and the right reel 32R have become the stop pattern numbers while the center reel 32M has not become the stop pattern number, the left reel stop completion command and the right reel stop completion command are sent, and the center reel 32M waits until the center reel 32M becomes the stop pattern number. Then, if the center reel 32M becomes the stop pattern number, the center reel stop completion command is sent and then step S2206 is started. In this configuration, if the display control device 81 is configured to output the third notification sound when it receives all of the left reel stop completion command, the center reel stop completion command, and the right reel stop completion command, it is expected to achieve the same effect as the second embodiment described above.

The same applies to operation end commands, and the left operation end command, center operation end command, and right operation end command may be sent separately.

(26) In the second embodiment described above, a command to stop all reels and a command to end operation are sent in the actual game. However, in a configuration in which a pseudo game is performed as in the first embodiment described above, a command to stop all reels and a command to end operation may be sent in the pseudo game.

(27) In the third embodiment, the pseudo game flag storage area and the header are both configured as one byte, but it goes without saying that they may be configured as two or more bytes.

(28) In the third embodiment, the pseudo game flag storage area and the header are configured to occupy the same byte, but they may be configured to occupy different bytes. For example, the pseudo game flag storage area may be configured to occupy one byte, and the header may be configured to occupy two bytes. Even in such a configuration, if the header is created by adding the information stored in the pseudo game flag storage area to a predetermined byte of the header information, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be achieved.

(29) In the third embodiment described above, the header information to be transmitted in the case of this game is stored in advance, but this configuration will be changed.

In the third embodiment, the pseudo game flag storage area and the fifth bit of the header are left blank, but the fifth bit is configured to function as a real game flag storage bit and a real game identification bit. When the pseudo game flag is cleared (step S611, see FIG. 17 or step S1004, see FIG. 21), the sixth bit of the pseudo game flag storage area is set to "0" and the fifth bit of the pseudo game flag storage area is set to "1". When the pseudo game flag is set (step S504, see FIG. 16), the sixth bit of the pseudo game flag storage area is set to "1" and the fifth bit of the pseudo game flag storage area is set to "0".

Even with such a configuration, it is clear that the same effects as those of the third embodiment described above are achieved.

(30) In the third embodiment described above, the information indicating whether or not it is a pseudo game is included in the header, but it may be included in the body or in the header. Even in these configurations, if the body to be transmitted is created by adding pseudo game determination information to the body information, or if the header to be transmitted is created by adding pseudo game determination information to the header information, it is clear that the same effect as in the third embodiment described above can be achieved.

(31) In the third embodiment, the header is created by adding pseudo game judgment information to the header information. However, even if the header is created by performing other predetermined calculations such as subtraction, the same effect as the third embodiment can be achieved.

(32) In the third embodiment described above, the commands sent in the case of a pseudo game were different from the commands sent in the case of a real game, but this configuration will be changed.

For example, the command sent in the BB state is different from the command sent in the non-BB state. In such a configuration, if a BB state storage area is provided to store information on whether or not the state is BB, and the header is created by adding the information stored in the BB state storage area to the header information, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be achieved.

For example, the command sent when it is a normal zone is different from the command sent when it is a favorable zone. In such a configuration, if a favorable zone storage area is provided to store information on whether it is a favorable zone or not, and the header is created by adding the information stored in the favorable zone storage area and the header information, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the third embodiment described above.

For example, the command sent in the notification mode (AT play) is different from the command sent in the non-notification mode (non-AT play). In such a configuration, if an notification mode storage area is provided to store information on whether or not the mode is notification mode, and a header is created by adding the information stored in the notification mode storage area to the header information, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the third embodiment.

For example, the command sent when three coins are being played is different from the command sent when two coins are being played. In such a configuration, if a bet number storage area is provided to store information on whether three coins are being played or not, and the header is created by adding the information stored in the bet number storage area and the header information, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the third embodiment.

For example, the command sent in the BB1 state (BB state with 3 coins in play) is different from the command sent in the BB2 state (BB state with 2 coins in play) and the command sent in the non-BB state. In such a configuration, if a game state storage area is provided that stores information on which game state the game is in, and the header is created by adding the information stored in the game state storage area and the header information, it is possible to achieve the same effect as in the third embodiment. Note that in order to include information indicating which of the three game states the game is in in the header, it is necessary to provide at least two bits in the game state storage area and the header as bits for storing the above information.

It is of course possible to combine the above configurations. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a header is created that includes whether or not it is a pseudo game and whether it is a three-coin game or a two-coin game by adding pseudo game determination information and information stored in the bet number storage area to the header information. Also, a configuration may be adopted in which a header is created that includes whether or not it is a pseudo game by adding pseudo game determination information to the header information, and a body is created that includes whether it is a three-coin game or a two-coin game by adding information stored in the bet number storage area to the body information.

(33) In the third embodiment described above, when a start spin command, a stop possible command, or a stop command is sent, the header is created by adding pseudo game judgment information to the header information. However, it goes without saying that when other commands, such as a lottery result command, are sent, the header may be created by adding pseudo game judgment information to the header information.

(34) Instead of or in addition to the third embodiment, the sixth bit of the pseudo game flag storage area may be electrically connected to the output port. In this configuration, when the pseudo game flag is set (when "1" is stored in the sixth bit), an ON signal is output to the outside of the slot machine 10, and when the pseudo game flag is cleared (when "0" is stored in the sixth bit), an OFF signal is output to the outside of the slot machine 10. Therefore, it is possible to give the information stored in the pseudo game flag storage area a function as information used when determining whether or not to execute a pseudo game, and a function as information used when outputting a signal indicating that a pseudo game is being executed to the outside of the slot machine 10. As a result, it is possible to effectively utilize the pseudo game flag storage area, and it is possible to suppress an increase in storage capacity.

(35) In each of the above embodiments, the transition lottery and the additional lottery are conducted only in the case of three-coin play, but the transition lottery and the additional lottery may also be conducted in the case of two-coin play.

(36) In each of the above embodiments, the notification mode is configured to end when the net increase in the number of coins reaches 120 coins. However, the notification mode may be configured to end when the number of coins paid out reaches 120 coins, or when the number of games played reaches 50.

(37) In each of the above embodiments, the continuation lottery may be performed in the game that ends the notification mode, or in the game that transitions to the notification mode. Also, the continuation lottery may be performed in a specified game in the notification mode. The results of these continuation lotteries may be notified in the pseudo game.

(38) In each of the above embodiments, the operation order of the stop switches 42 to 44 is not notified when the push order bell is won in the chance mode, but it may be configured so that it is notified with a lower probability than in the notification mode.

(39) In each of the above embodiments, the advantageous period ends when the notification mode ends, but the advantageous period may not end when the notification mode ends, and the game may transition to the chance mode.

(40) In each of the above embodiments, if a winning combination is achieved during three-coin play, the game transitions from the normal zone to the chance mode, and a loss occurs only with a probability of about 1 in 6.4. However, the probability of a loss is arbitrary. However, the more games a player plays in the normal zone, the more opportunities the player has to realize that the zone is normal, so it is desirable to have a configuration in which the probability of a winning combination is higher than the probability of a loss.

(41) In each of the above embodiments, the interval indicator 66 is configured to be located in the lower right corner of the payout number display unit 61, but the location of the interval indicator 66 is arbitrary. However, in order to reduce the opportunities for the player to notice that the game has reached the end of the advantageous period, it is preferable to place it in a location away from the auxiliary display unit 65, for example, by the settlement switch 59.

(42) In each of the above embodiments, the condition is that three coins are being played, and processing related to the game mode, such as a transition lottery, is performed. However, the condition may be that three coins are being played and the BB state is not being played, and processing related to the game mode, such as a transition lottery, is performed.

(43) In each of the above embodiments, the interval indicator 66 is configured to be turned OFF during the game interval processing, but it may also be configured to be turned OFF during the start waiting processing. Even in such a configuration, the interval indicator 66 is configured to be turned OFF after the advantageous interval end game ends, so it is expected to achieve the same effect as the above embodiments. Similarly, the interval indicator 66 is configured to be turned ON during the interval lottery processing, but it may also be configured to be turned ON after the rotation start processing and before it is determined whether the stop switches 42 to 44 have been operated.

(44) In each of the above embodiments, the operation sequence of the stop switches 42 to 44 can be notified when the game enters the advantageous zone, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the operation timing of a specific stop switch can be notified, or the operation timing and operation method can be notified. In other words, the advantageous zone can be a play zone in which the instruction function of the stop switch can be activated. The normal zone can be a play zone in which the instruction function of the stop switch for achieving a small winning combination does not operate.

(45) The symbol combinations that result in a winning combination in each of the above embodiments are merely examples, and are not limited to these symbol combinations. In addition, the number of symbol combinations that result in a winning combination is also arbitrary.

(46) In each of the above embodiments, a slot machine with a BB state has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and may be a slot machine without a BB state, or may be a slot machine with both a BB state and an RB state. In addition, the present invention may be a slot machine with other game states such as a CB state or an MB state.

(47) In each of the above embodiments, the configuration is such that it is determined whether or not a start command has occurred after three or two medals have been bet, but it goes without saying that it may also be configured to determine whether or not a start command has occurred after one medal has been bet. It also goes without saying that it may be configured to determine whether or not a start command has occurred only after three medals have been bet, i.e., it may be configured so that only three-coin play is possible.

(48) In each of the above embodiments, the bonuses granted include a bonus of changing the game state, a bonus of replay, and a bonus of paying out medals. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and any bonus may be granted to the player. For example, instead of a bonus of paying out medals, a prize other than medals may be paid out. In addition, in a slot machine that does not have a function for inserting actual medals or paying out medals, and that manages medals owned by the player by credit, an increase in the number of credited medals corresponds to the granting of a bonus.

(49) In each of the above embodiments, a slot machine having three reels arranged in parallel and one active line has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the present invention may be a slot machine having five reels arranged in parallel or a slot machine having five active lines.

(50) In each of the above embodiments, the reel stop position is determined in the normal process, and the reel is stopped in the timer interrupt process. However, the reel stop position may be determined in the normal process and the reel may be stopped. Specifically, when the stop pattern number is determined in step S1108 of the stop position determination process shown in FIG. 22, a process is performed to check whether the arrival pattern number and the stop pattern number match, and if they match, a process is performed to stop the reel. Then, the process shown in step S1109 and after is performed. In such a configuration, it is impossible to generate stop commands (pseudo stop commands) consecutively, because it is checked whether the next stop command (pseudo stop command) has occurred after stopping the reel for which a stop command (pseudo stop command) has occurred.

(51) In each of the above embodiments, the reel control process is configured to determine whether all reels 32L, 32M, 32R have reached a constant speed (step S407, see FIG. 15). However, if the time from when the reel acceleration starts until the constant speed is reached is uniform, a timer corresponding to the time may be set when the reel acceleration starts (step S607, see FIG. 17), and step S407 may wait until the time corresponding to the value of the timer has elapsed. Even with such a configuration, it is clear that the same effects as those of the above embodiments can be achieved.

(52) In the above embodiments, specific examples of the slot machine 10 are shown, but the present invention may be applied to a gaming machine that combines a slot machine and a pachinko machine. That is, instead of the medal insertion and medal payout functions of a slot machine, a gaming machine may have a ball insertion and ball payout function like a pachinko machine. If such a gaming machine is used in place of a slot machine, the gaming hall can handle only balls as gaming value, which can eliminate problems seen in current gaming halls where pachinko machines and slot machines are mixed, such as the burden on facilities due to the separate handling of medals and balls as gaming value, and restrictions on the location of gaming machines.

The gaming machine of the present invention will be described below, showing its effects as necessary. Note that in the following, for ease of understanding, the corresponding configuration in the above embodiment will be shown in parentheses as appropriate, but the present invention is not limited to the specific configuration shown in parentheses.

Gaming machine A1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
A bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line) and a predetermined combination (such as a combination of minor winning patterns);
In a gaming machine equipped with a pseudo game execution means (a pseudo game execution function of the main control device 101) that executes a pseudo game when a specific condition (a winning of a bonus lottery, a winning of a pseudo game lottery) is established,
When performing the pseudo game,
A start control means for controlling the plurality of cyclic display means to start the cyclic display of the patterns (acceleration start processing function S607 in the pseudo game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106);
A pseudo-stop control means (a function of determining a stop position in a pseudo game of the main control device 101, a processing function of controlling a stepping motor S106) for controlling a corresponding circulating display means to pseudo-stop the circulating display of the pictures when the stop operation means is operated after the start control means starts the circulating display of the pictures;
a pseudo game first ending means (a transition preparation processing function S412 after all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R of the main control unit 101 are stopped) for ending the pseudo game when the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all of the cyclical display of the pictures of the cyclical display means;
When a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated while all of the cyclic display means are cyclically displaying the pictures, a pseudo game second ending means (a pseudo game flag clear function S1004 during rotation of all reels 42L, 42M, 42R of the main control device 101) for ending the pseudo game is executable.
A gaming machine characterized in that, when control is performed by the second pseudo-game ending means, the pseudo-game ends without pseudo-stopping the cyclical display of the pictures on the cyclical display means.

According to this gaming machine, a pseudo game is executed when a specific condition is met. In the pseudo game, the cyclical display of images is started, and when the stop operation means is operated, the cyclical display of images of the corresponding cyclical display means is pseudo-stopped. Then, when all cyclical display means have pseudo-stopped the cyclical display of images, the pseudo game ends. By configuring the machine to be able to execute such a pseudo game, it becomes possible to execute auxiliary effects using the cyclical display means, thereby making it possible to increase the interest in the game.

On the other hand, it is possible that some players may find it bothersome to operate the stop operation means in a pseudo game. Therefore, in this gaming machine, if a specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclic display means are cyclically displaying images, the pseudo game ends. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent players who find it bothersome to operate the stop operation means in a pseudo game from losing their motivation to play when the pseudo game begins.

Furthermore, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying patterns, the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means does not stop quasi-stop, and the quasi-game ends with the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means continuing. With this configuration, it is possible to configure the quasi-stop result of the patterns in the quasi-game to be known only by operating the stop operation means in the quasi-game, and it is possible to encourage the player to operate the stop operation means in the quasi-game.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine A2. A gaming machine comprising: a second start control means (acceleration start processing function S607 in the main game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the start of cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means that pseudo-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns in the pseudo game in the above-mentioned gaming machine A1; and a second stop control means (stop position determination processing function S1009 in the main game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the corresponding cyclical display means to stop the cyclical display of the patterns when the stop operation means is operated after the second start control means has started the cyclical display of the patterns, and the bonus granting means grants the bonus based on the control result by the second stop control means.

According to this gaming machine, the cyclical display means that has quasi-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns in the pseudo game restarts the cyclical display of the patterns, and when the stop operation means is operated, the cyclical display of the patterns is stopped. A bonus is then awarded based on the result of the stopping of the patterns. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an event in which the cyclical display of the patterns has not stopped at the stage of starting the next game round. Also, with this configuration, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying patterns and the pseudo game ends, it is possible to perform control by the second stop control means without going through control by the second start control means. Therefore, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

Gaming machine A3. The gaming machine A2 described above, further comprising a pseudo game notification means (auxiliary display unit 65) that notifies the player that a pseudo game is being played when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, when a pseudo game is executed, it is notified that it is a pseudo game. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the player from becoming confused as to whether the game is a pseudo game or a game related to the awarding of a bonus, even if the pseudo game ends without the cyclical display of the images stopping pseudo.

Gaming machine A4. In the gaming machine A2 or A3, the pseudo-game execution means is characterized in that it includes a deceleration means for decelerating the cyclical display of the images for a predetermined time when the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying the images.

According to this gaming machine, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying images, the cyclical display of the images slows down for a predetermined period of time. With this configuration, it is possible to inform the player that the simulated game is ending by notifying them of the slowdown in the cyclical display speed of the images.

Gaming machine A5. In any of the gaming machines A2 to A4, the pseudo game execution means is characterized in that it includes a specific stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 and a stepping motor control processing function S106 performed via step S1003 of the main control device 101) that controls the circulating display means that are circulating the images to pseudo-stop all of the circulating display of the images when the specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one circulating display means has pseudo-stopped the circulating display of the images.

According to this gaming machine, when a specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one cyclical display means has pseudo-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns, the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns is controlled to pseudo-stop all cyclical display of the patterns. With this configuration, a player who wishes to end the cyclical game in the middle of the cyclical game without operating the stop operation means can end the cyclical game without operating the stop operation means by operating the specific operation means.

Gaming machine A6. In the gaming machine A5, the specific stop control means pseudo-stops the circulating display of the patterns in a different stopping mode from the pseudo-stop control means pseudo-stops the circulating display of the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, when a specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one cyclic display means has pseudo-stopped the cyclic display of the patterns, the cyclic display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns pseudo-stops the cyclic display of the patterns in a different stopping mode than when the stop operation means is operated. With this configuration, it is possible to change the ending mode of the pseudo game between when the specific operation means is operated to end the pseudo game and when the stop operation means is operated to end the pseudo game. As a result, it is possible to clearly distinguish between the operation of the specific operation means and the operation of the stop operation means, and it is possible to allow the player to choose which operation means to operate.

Gaming machine A7. In any of the gaming machines A2 to A4, the pseudo game execution means is characterized in that it is equipped with a pseudo game third ending means for ending the pseudo game without pseudo-stopping the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns when the specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one cyclical display means has quasi-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, when the specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one cyclical display means has quasi-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns, the quasi-game ends without quasi-stopping the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns. With this configuration, the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns can be controlled by the second stop control means without going through control by the second start control means. Therefore, it is possible to quickly transition from the quasi-game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

Gaming machine A8. In the gaming machine A7, the second start control means controls the cyclical display means that has quasi-stopped the cyclical display of the images to start cyclical display of the images when the quasi-game ends.

According to this gaming machine, if there is a cyclic display means that quasi-stops the cyclic display of images when the quasi-game ends, the cyclic display of images by the cyclic display means starts. With this configuration, it becomes possible to play games related to the awarding of bonuses using all cyclic display means.

Gaming machine A9. Any of the gaming machines A2 to A8, characterized in that the cyclical display speed of the image when controlled by the start control means is equal to the cyclical display speed of the image when controlled by the second start control means.

According to this gaming machine, the speed at which images are cyclically displayed in the pseudo game is equal to the speed at which images are cyclically displayed in the game related to the awarding of a bonus. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of a bonus in cases such as when a specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclic display means are cyclically displaying images.

Gaming machine A10. Any of the gaming machines A1 to A9 described above, characterized in that it is equipped with a judgment means (main control device 101's winning lottery confirmation function S1804) for judging whether or not to grant a specific bonus (addition to the net increase number counter) different from the bonus granted by the bonus granting means, and is configured so that the specific condition is met when the judgment means judges that the specific bonus will be granted.

According to this gaming machine, when it is determined that a specific benefit different from the benefit that the benefit granting means grants is to be granted, a specific condition is met and a pseudo game is executed. With this configuration, it is possible to make the pseudo game a game for notifying the player that a specific benefit will be granted, thereby making it possible to increase interest in the game.

Gaming machine A11. A gaming machine characterized in that the gaming machine A10 is provided with a grant notification means (auxiliary display unit 65) that notifies the user that the special bonus will be awarded if the pseudo stop result of the symbols becomes a specific stop result (the combination of "red 7" symbols stops on the middle line L2) when controlled by the pseudo stop control means, and does not notify the user that the special bonus will be awarded if the pseudo stop result of the symbols does not become the specific stop result.

According to this gaming machine, if the pseudo stop result of the patterns in the pseudo game becomes a specific stop result, the player is notified that a specific bonus will be awarded. On the other hand, if the pseudo stop result of the patterns in the pseudo game does not become a specific stop result, the player is not notified that a specific bonus will be awarded. With this configuration, it is possible to encourage a player who wants to be notified that a specific bonus will be awarded to operate the stop operation means, while allowing a player who does not need to be notified that a specific bonus will be awarded to operate the specific operation means.

Gaming machine A12. The gaming machine A11 described above, further comprising advantageous state transition means (notification mode transition function S1608 of main control device 101) for transitioning to an advantageous state (notification mode) advantageous to the player, and number of times information storage means (net increase number counter of main control device 101) for storing information relating to the number of times play can be performed under the advantageous state (remaining number of payouts), characterized in that the specific benefit is a benefit that increases the number of times play can be performed under the advantageous state.

According to this gaming machine, a special bonus is awarded in the form of an increase in the number of plays that can be played under advantageous conditions. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid any disadvantage to the player even if the player operates a special operation means in a pseudo game.

Note that a "benefit that increases the number of plays that can be played under an advantageous state" refers to a benefit that increases the number of plays if the advantageous state ends based on the number of plays, and a benefit that increases the number of gaming media awarded if the advantageous state ends based on the number of gaming media awarded.

Gaming machine A13. Any of the gaming machines A1 to A12, characterized in that the specific operation means is an operation means different from the start operation means and the stop operation means.

According to this gaming machine, the specific operation means is an operation means different from the start operation means and the stop operation means. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the chances that the player will unintentionally operate the specific operation means. For example, it is possible to make the start operation means the specific operation means, but if the player repeatedly taps the start operation means to start a game, an event may occur in which the pseudo game ends despite the player's intention to enjoy the pseudo game.

Gaming machine B1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
A bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line) and a predetermined combination (such as a combination of minor winning patterns);
In a gaming machine equipped with a pseudo game execution means (a pseudo game execution function of the main control device 101) that executes a pseudo game when a specific condition (a winning of a bonus lottery, a winning of a pseudo game lottery) is established,
When performing the pseudo game,
A start control means for controlling the plurality of cyclic display means to start the cyclic display of the patterns (acceleration start processing function S607 in the pseudo game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106);
A pseudo-stop control means (a function of determining a stop position in a pseudo game of the main control device 101, a processing function of controlling a stepping motor S106) for controlling a corresponding circulating display means to pseudo-stop the circulating display of the pictures when the stop operation means is operated after the start control means starts the circulating display of the pictures;
a pseudo game first ending means (a transition preparation processing function S412 after all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R of the main control unit 101 are stopped) for ending the pseudo game when the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all of the cyclical display of the pictures of the cyclical display means;
and a pseudo game second ending means (a pseudo game ending function based on a cancel operation of the main control device 101) for ending the pseudo game when a second specific condition (operation of the settlement switch 59) is established.
A second start control means (an acceleration start processing function S607 and a stepping motor control processing function S106 in the main game of the main control device 101) for controlling the start of the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means that has pseudo-stopped the circulating display of the patterns in the pseudo game;
and a second stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the corresponding cyclic display means to stop the cyclic display of the patterns when the stop operation means is operated after the second start control means has started the cyclic display of the patterns,
The second pseudo-game ending means executes different processes depending on the pseudo-stop state of the cyclical display means when the second specific condition is satisfied.

According to this gaming machine, a pseudo game is executed when a specific condition is met. In the pseudo game, the cyclical display of images is started, and when the stop operation means is operated, the cyclical display of images of the corresponding cyclical display means is pseudo-stopped. Then, when all cyclical display means have pseudo-stopped the cyclical display of images, the pseudo game ends. By configuring the machine to be able to execute such a pseudo game, it becomes possible to execute auxiliary effects using the cyclical display means, thereby making it possible to increase the interest in the game.

The pseudo game is also configured to end when a second specific condition is met, and when the second specific condition is met to end the pseudo game, different processing is executed depending on the pseudo stop state of the cyclic display means when the second specific condition is met. With this configuration, it becomes possible to change the manner in which the pseudo game ends depending on the pseudo stop state of the cyclic display means when the second specific condition is met.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine B2. A gaming machine configured such that the second specific condition is established when a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated in the gaming machine B1, the bonus granting means grants the bonus based on the control result by the second stop control means, and the pseudo game second ending means executes different processing depending on the number of stop operation means operated before the specific operation means is operated.

According to this gaming machine, the pseudo game is also terminated when a specific operation means is operated, and when the specific operation means is operated to terminate the pseudo game, different processing is executed depending on the number of stop operation means operated before the specific operation means was operated. With this configuration, it is possible to change the manner in which the pseudo game is terminated depending on the circumstances under which the specific operation means was operated.

Gaming machine B3. In the gaming machine B2, the second pseudo game ending means ends the pseudo game without pseudo-stopping the cyclical display of the images on the cyclical display means corresponding to the stop operation means that has not been operated.

According to this gaming machine, when a specific operation means is operated, the pseudo game ends without pseudo-stopping the cyclical display of the images on the cyclical display means that correspond to the unoperated stop operation means. This configuration makes it possible to configure the pseudo-stop result of the images in the pseudo game to be known only when the stop operation means is operated in the pseudo game, and makes it possible to encourage the operation of the stop operation means in the pseudo game.

In addition, in this configuration, the cyclic display means that cyclically displays the images can be controlled by the second stop control means without going through control by the second start control means. This makes it possible to quickly transition from pseudo play to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

Gaming machine B4. The gaming machine B3 described above, further comprising a pseudo game notification means (auxiliary display unit 65) that notifies the player that a pseudo game is being played when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, when a pseudo game is executed, it is notified that it is a pseudo game. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the player from becoming confused as to whether the game is a pseudo game or a game related to the awarding of a bonus, even if the pseudo game can end without the cyclical display of the images stopping pseudo.

Gaming machine B5. In the gaming machine B3 or B4, when there are multiple circulating display means that quasi-stop the circulating display of the patterns in the pseudo game, a gaming machine characterized in that it is provided with a timing information setting means (delay time acquisition function S605 of the main control device 101) that individually sets timing information (delay time) related to the timing at which the circulating display means that quasi-stopped the circulating display of the patterns starts circulating the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, when there are multiple circulating display means that quasi-stop the circulating display of the patterns in the quasi-game, timing information related to the timing at which the circulating display means that quasi-stopped the circulating display of the patterns starts circulating the patterns is set individually. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the chance that the result of the quasi-stop of the patterns in the quasi-game will assist in the operation of the stop operation means in the game related to the awarding of the bonus.

Gaming machine B6. In the gaming machine B5, the timing information setting means sets the timing information by conducting a predetermined lottery.

According to this gaming machine, timing information is set by conducting a predetermined lottery. With this configuration, it is possible to randomize the time from when the pseudo game ends to when the cyclical display of the images begins. As a result, it is possible to reduce the chance that the stopping results of the images in the pseudo game will aid in the operation of the stopping operation means in the game related to the awarding of the bonus.

Gaming machine B7. Any of the gaming machines B3 to B6 described above, characterized in that a deceleration means is provided for decelerating the cyclical display of the patterns for a predetermined time when the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying images, the cyclical display of the images slows down for a predetermined period of time. With this configuration, it is possible to inform the player that the simulated game is ending by notifying them of the slowdown in the cyclical display speed of the images.

Gaming machine B8. Any of the gaming machines B3 to B7, characterized in that the cyclical display speed of the image when controlled by the start control means is equal to the cyclical display speed of the image when controlled by the second start control means.

According to this gaming machine, the speed at which images are cyclically displayed in the pseudo game is equal to the speed at which images are cyclically displayed in the game related to the awarding of a bonus. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of a bonus in cases such as when a specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclic display means are cyclically displaying images.

Gaming machine B9. In the gaming machine B2, the pseudo game second ending means is characterized in that it includes a specific stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 and a stepping motor control processing function S106 performed via step S1003 of the main control device 101) that controls the circulating display means that is circulating the images to pseudo-stop all of the circulating display of the images when the specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one of the stop operation means has been operated.

According to this gaming machine, when a specific operation means is operated while at least one stop operation means is operated, the cyclic display means that cyclically displays the images is controlled to pseudo-stop all cyclical display of images. With this configuration, a player who wishes to end the cyclical game in the middle of the cyclical game without operating the stop operation means can end the cyclical game without operating the stop operation means by operating the specific operation means.

Gaming machine B10. In the gaming machine B9, the specific stop control means pseudo-stops the circulating display of the patterns in a stop mode different from the pseudo-stop control means pseudo-stops the circulating display of the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, when a specific operation means is operated while at least one stop operation means has been operated, the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the images stops the cyclical display of the images in a different stop mode than when the stop operation means is operated. With this configuration, it is possible to change the end mode of the pseudo game between when the specific operation means is operated to end the pseudo game and when the stop operation means is operated to end the pseudo game. As a result, it is possible to clearly distinguish between the operation of the specific operation means and the operation of the stop operation means, and it is possible to allow the player to choose which operation means to operate.

Gaming machine B11. A gaming machine characterized in that, in the gaming machine B9 or B10, a timing information setting means (delay time acquisition function S605 of the main control device 101) is provided for individually setting timing information (delay time) relating to the timing at which the circulating display means that has quasi-stopped the circulating display of the patterns starts circulating the patterns when all the circulating display means quasi-stop the circulating display of the patterns in the quasi-game.

According to this gaming machine, when all circulating display means in a pseudo game stop the circulating display of the patterns, timing information is individually set regarding the timing at which the circulating display means that has stopped the circulating display of the patterns will start circulating the patterns. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the chance that the pseudo stopping of the patterns in a pseudo game will assist in the operation of the stop operation means in a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

Gaming machine B12. In the gaming machine B11, the timing information setting means sets the timing information by conducting a predetermined lottery.

According to this gaming machine, timing information is set by conducting a predetermined lottery. With this configuration, it is possible to randomize the time from when the pseudo game ends to when the cyclical display of the images begins. As a result, it is possible to reduce the chance that the pseudo stopping result of the images in the pseudo game will assist in the operation of the stopping operation means in the game related to the awarding of the bonus.

Gaming machine B13. Any of the gaming machines B2 to B12, wherein the specific operation means is an operation means different from the start operation means and the stop operation means.

According to this gaming machine, the specific operation means is an operation means different from the start operation means and the stop operation means. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the chances that the player will unintentionally operate the specific operation means. For example, it is possible to make the start operation means the specific operation means, but if the player repeatedly taps the start operation means to start a game, an event may occur in which the pseudo game ends despite the player's intention to enjoy the pseudo game.

Gaming machine C1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
A bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line) and a predetermined combination (such as a combination of minor winning patterns);
In a gaming machine equipped with a pseudo game execution means (a pseudo game execution function of the main control device 101) that executes a pseudo game when a specific condition (a winning of a bonus lottery, a winning of a pseudo game lottery) is established,
When performing the pseudo game,
A start control means for controlling the plurality of cyclic display means to start the cyclic display of the patterns (acceleration start processing function S607 in the pseudo game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106);
A pseudo-stop control means (a function of determining a stop position in a pseudo game of the main control device 101, a processing function of controlling a stepping motor S106) for controlling a corresponding circulating display means to pseudo-stop the circulating display of the pictures when the stop operation means is operated after the start control means starts the circulating display of the pictures;
When the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all of the cyclical display of the pictures of the cyclical display means, a pseudo game ending means (a transition preparation processing function S412 after all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R of the main control unit 101 have stopped) for ending the pseudo game is executable;
A second start control means (an acceleration start processing function S607 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the circulating display means that has not started circulating the patterns to start circulating the patterns when the pseudo game is not executed and when the circulating display of the patterns is pseudo-stopped in the pseudo game;
A stop operation determination means (a stop command confirmation function S1008 of the main control device 101) that determines whether or not the stop operation means is operated after the second start control means starts the cyclic display of the patterns and the cyclic display of the patterns becomes constant speed;
and a second stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 in this game and a stepping motor control processing function S106 of the main control device 101) for controlling the corresponding cyclic display means to stop the cyclic display of the patterns when the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means has been operated.
The bonus awarding means is configured to award the bonus based on a control result by the second stop control means,
The second stop control means controls the plurality of cyclic display means so that, when the lottery result of the role is a prescribed result (a push order bell win), a prescribed win (a bell win) is achieved when the stop operation means is operated in a prescribed operation method (an operation sequence that can achieve a bell win), and the prescribed win is not achieved when the stop operation means is operated in an operation method other than the prescribed operation method;
When the lottery result of the role is the specified result, an operation method notifying means (instruction monitor, payout number display unit 62) capable of notifying the specified operation method is provided,
The gaming machine is characterized in that, when the prescribed operation method is to be notified in a game turn in which the pseudo game is not executed, the operation method notifying means notifies the prescribed operation method before the stop operation determination means determines whether or not the stop operation means has been operated, and, when the prescribed operation method is to be notified in a game turn in which the pseudo game is executed, the operation method notifying means notifies the prescribed operation method after the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all of the cyclical display of the pictures of the cyclical display means in the pseudo game and before the second start control means starts control to start the cyclical display of the pictures.

According to this gaming machine, when the prescribed operation method is notified in a game round in which a pseudo game is not executed, the prescribed operation method is notified before the stop operation determination means determines whether or not the stop operation means has been operated. With this configuration, it becomes possible to have the player understand the prescribed operation method before operating the stop operation means in a game round in which a pseudo game is not executed.

In addition, when the prescribed operation method is notified in a game round in which a pseudo game is executed, the prescribed operation method is notified after the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all the cyclical display of the images on the cyclical display means in the pseudo game and before the second start control means starts control to start the cyclical display of the images. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid operating the stop operation means with the prescribed operation method in the pseudo game, while also avoiding operating the stop operation means with a different operation method from the prescribed operation method in a game related to the award of a bonus after the pseudo game, which would result in the bonus being unavailable for the establishment of a prescribed winning prize.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine C2. In the gaming machine C1, when the operation method notification means notifies the user of the specified operation method in a game round in which the pseudo game is not executed, the operation method notification means notifies the user of the specified operation method after the cyclic display of all the pictures on the cyclic display means reaches a constant speed.

According to this gaming machine, when the prescribed operation method is notified in a game round in which a pseudo game is not executed, the prescribed operation method is notified after the cyclic display of all the pictures on the cyclic display means reaches a constant speed and before the stop operation determination means determines whether the stop operation means has been operated. With this configuration, it is possible to differentiate the timing of the notification of the prescribed operation method in a game related to the awarding of a bonus between a game round in which a pseudo game is executed and a game round in which a pseudo game is not executed. In this way, by ensuring that the prescribed operation method is notified before the operation of the stop operation means becomes effective, and by configuring the timing of the notification of the prescribed operation method in a game related to the awarding of a bonus to be different depending on whether a pseudo game is executed or not, it is possible to alert the player to check the operation method notification means.

Gaming machine C3. In the gaming machine C1 or C2, when the pseudo stop control means pseudo-stops the cyclic display of the pictures of all the cyclic display means, a prescribed judgment means (winning role confirmation function S603 of the main control unit 101) judges whether the lottery result of the role is the prescribed result, when the prescribed judgment means judges that the lottery result of the role is the prescribed result, a notification execution means (instruction monitor display function S604 of the main control unit 101) that causes the operation method notification means to notify the prescribed operation method when the notification execution means causes the operation method notification means to notify the prescribed operation method, and a time information setting means (delay time acquisition function S605 of the main control unit 101) that sets time information when the notification execution means causes the operation method notification means to notify the prescribed operation method, and the second start control means performs control to start the cyclic display of the pictures after the time corresponding to the time information set by the time information setting means has elapsed when the pseudo stop control means pseudo-stops the cyclic display of the pictures of all the cyclic display means.

According to this gaming machine, when the pseudo stop control means pseudo-stops the cyclical display of the pictures of all the cyclical display means, it judges whether the result of the lottery for the role is a prescribed result, and when it judges that the result of the lottery for the role is a prescribed result, it causes the operation method notification means to notify the prescribed operation method, and when it causes the operation method notification means to notify the prescribed operation method, it sets time information. Then, when the pseudo stop control means pseudo-stops the cyclical display of the pictures of all the cyclical display means, the second start control means controls to start the cyclical display of the pictures after a time corresponding to the time information has elapsed. With this configuration, when the prescribed operation method is to be notified after all the cyclical display means pseudo-stop the cyclical display of the pictures in a pseudo game, it becomes possible to execute the notification of the prescribed operation method before the cyclical display of the pictures is started.

Gaming machine C4. In any of the gaming machines C1 to C3, a gaming machine is characterized in that it is equipped with at least the pseudo game execution means, the second start control means, the stop operation determination means, and the second stop control means, and is equipped with a main control means (main control device 101) that manages the game overall, and a secondary control means (display control device 81) that performs various controls under the control of the main control means, and is configured such that the main control means controls the operation method notification means.

In this gaming machine, the operation method notification means is controlled by the main control means that manages the game. With this configuration, it is possible to reliably avoid the occurrence of an event in which it is determined whether the stop operation means has been operated before the operation method notification means notifies the specified operation method.

Gaming machine C5. In any of the gaming machines C1 to C4, the pseudo game execution means includes a pseudo game second ending means (a pseudo game flag clear function S1004 during the rotation of all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R of the main control device 101) that ends the pseudo game when a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated while all of the cyclic display means are cyclically displaying the patterns, and when control is performed by the pseudo game second ending means, the pseudo game ends without cyclically displaying the patterns of the cyclic display means, and the operation method notification means notifies the user of the specified operation method before the stop operation determination means determines whether the stop operation means has been operated.

According to this gaming machine, if a specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclic display means are cyclically displaying images, the pseudo game can be ended. This configuration makes it possible to prevent players who find it bothersome to operate the stop operation means in the pseudo game from losing their motivation to play when the pseudo game has started.

In addition, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying images, the cyclical display of images on the cyclical display means does not quasi-stop, and the cyclical game ends, and the operation method notification means notifies the prescribed operation method before the stop operation determination means determines whether the stop operation means has been operated. This configuration allows for a quick transition from the cyclical game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus, while reducing the chances of operating the stop operation means in a game related to the awarding of a bonus with an operation method different from the prescribed operation method.

Gaming machine D1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
A bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line) and a predetermined combination (such as a combination of minor winning patterns);
In a gaming machine equipped with a pseudo game execution means (a pseudo game execution function of the main control device 101) that executes a pseudo game when a specific condition (a winning of a bonus lottery, a winning of a pseudo game lottery) is established,
When performing the pseudo game,
A start control means for controlling the plurality of cyclic display means to start the cyclic display of the patterns (acceleration start processing function S607 in the pseudo game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106);
A pseudo-stop control means (a function of determining a stop position in a pseudo game of the main control device 101, a processing function of controlling a stepping motor S106) for controlling a corresponding circulating display means to pseudo-stop the circulating display of the pictures when the stop operation means is operated after the start control means starts the circulating display of the pictures;
When the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all of the cyclical display of the pictures of the cyclical display means, a pseudo game ending means (a transition preparation processing function S412 after all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R of the main control unit 101 have stopped) for ending the pseudo game is executable;
A second start control means (an acceleration start processing function S607 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the circulating display means that has not started circulating the patterns to start circulating the patterns when the pseudo game is not executed and when the circulating display of the patterns is pseudo-stopped in the pseudo game;
A second stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the corresponding cyclic display means to stop the cyclic display of the patterns when the stop operation means is operated after the second start control means starts the cyclic display of the patterns;
A stop information setting means (a pseudo game stop information acquisition function S1104 of the main control device 101) for setting stop information (pseudo game stop information) used when the pseudo stop control means controls;
A second stop information setting means (stop information setting processing function S404 of the main control unit 101) is provided for setting second stop information (stop information) used when the second stop control means controls based on the lottery result of the role,
A gaming machine characterized in that the bonus awarding means awards the bonus based on the control result by the second stop control means, and the second stop information setting means sets the second stop information during execution of the pseudo game when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, when a pseudo game is executed, a game related to the awarding of a bonus is executed after the pseudo game is executed. At this time, the second stop information used in the game related to the awarding of a bonus is set during the execution of the pseudo game. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of a bonus, compared to a configuration in which the second stop information is set after the pseudo game ends.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine D2. A gaming machine comprising a stop operation determination means (pseudo stop command confirmation function S1008 of main control device 101) for determining whether or not the stop operation means has been operated after the start control means has started the cyclical display of the images in the above gaming machine D1, and the stop information setting means sets the stop information when the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means has been operated.

According to this gaming machine, the stop information used in the pseudo game is set when the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means has been operated. With this configuration, even if the second stop information is set during the execution of the pseudo game, it is possible to shorten the time required for the stop operation determination means to determine the operation of the stop operation means in the pseudo game.

Gaming machine D3. In the gaming machine D2, the stop information setting means sets stop information such that a picture attached to a specific position determined in advance will pseudo-stop at a specified position, regardless of the operation timing of the stop operation means.

According to this gaming machine, the stop information setting means sets stop information that causes a picture attached to a predetermined specific position to pseudo-stop at a specified position, regardless of the operation timing of the stop operation means. In this way, by configuring the pseudo-stop result of the picture in the pseudo game to be independent of the operation timing of the stop operation means, it is possible to prevent a delay from occurring between the operation of the stop operation means and the pseudo-stop of the cyclical display of the picture on the corresponding cyclical display means, even if the configuration is such that the stop information is set after the stop operation means is operated.

Gaming machine D4. A gaming machine as described above in the gaming machine D2 or D3, characterized in that the second stop control means is configured to control the cyclical display of the patterns to stop within a predetermined time period after the stop operation means is operated, and the pseudo-stop control means is configured to control the cyclical display of the patterns to pseudo-stop after the specified time period has elapsed after the stop operation means is operated.

According to this gaming machine, in a game related to the awarding of a bonus, control is performed to stop the cyclical display of the patterns between the operation of the stop operation means and the passage of a predetermined specified time. On the other hand, in a pseudo game, control can be performed to pseudo-stop the cyclical display of the patterns after the specified time has passed since the stop operation means was operated. With this configuration, it is possible to secure time to set the stop information after the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means has been operated, and time to determine the stop position of the cyclical display means based on the stop information.

Gaming machine D5. In any of the gaming machines D1 to D4, the second stop information setting means sets the second stop information after the start control means starts the cyclical display of the patterns and before the cyclical display of the patterns is pseudo-stopped by the quasi-stop control means when the quasi-game execution means executes the quasi-game.

According to this gaming machine, the second stop information used in the game related to the awarding of the bonus is set after the start control means starts the cyclical display of the images and before the pseudo stop control means performs control to pseudo-stop the cyclical display of the images. This configuration makes it possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of the bonus, compared to a configuration in which the second stop information is set after the pseudo game ends.

Gaming machine D6. Any of the gaming machines D1 to D5 described above, further comprising a stop operation determination means (pseudo stop command confirmation function S1008 of the main control device 101) for determining whether or not the stop operation means has been operated after the start control means has started the cyclical display of the images, and the second stop information setting means sets the second stop information before the stop operation determination means determines whether or not the stop operation means has been operated when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, the second stop information used in the game related to the awarding of the bonus is set before the stop operation determination means determines whether or not the stop operation means has been operated. This configuration makes it possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of the bonus, compared to a configuration in which the second stop information is set after the pseudo game has ended.

Gaming machine D7. In any of the gaming machines D1 to D6, the pseudo game execution means includes a pseudo game second ending means (pseudo game flag clear function S1004 during rotation of all reels 42L, 42M, 42R of the main control device 101) that ends the pseudo game when a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated while all of the circulating display means are circulating the patterns, and when control is performed by the pseudo game second ending means, the pseudo game ends without pseudo-stopping the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means.

According to this gaming machine, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying images, the quasi-game ends without quasi-stopping the cyclical display of images on the cyclical display means. This configuration makes it possible to perform control by the second stop control means without going through control by the second start control means, and makes it possible to quickly transition from the quasi-game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

On the other hand, if the second stop information is set after the pseudo game ends, it may take time to set the second stop information, which may prevent a swift transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of the bonus. However, if the second stop information is set while the pseudo game is being played, it is possible to effectively alleviate the above concerns.

Gaming machine D9. In any of the gaming machines D1 to D8, the pseudo game execution means is characterized in that it is equipped with a pseudo game third ending means for ending the pseudo game without pseudo-stopping the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means which is circulating the patterns when a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated in a situation where at least one circulating display means has pseudo-stopped the circulating display of the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, when the specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one cyclical display means has quasi-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns, the quasi-game ends without quasi-stopping the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns. With this configuration, the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns can be controlled by the second stop control means without going through control by the second start control means. Therefore, it is possible to quickly transition from the quasi-game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

On the other hand, if the second stop information is set after the pseudo game ends, it may take time to set the second stop information, which may prevent a swift transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of the bonus. However, if the second stop information is set while the pseudo game is being played, it is possible to effectively alleviate the above concerns.

Gaming machine E1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
A bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line) and a predetermined combination (such as a combination of minor winning patterns);
In a gaming machine equipped with a pseudo game execution means (a pseudo game execution function of the main control device 101) that executes a pseudo game when a specific condition (a winning of a bonus lottery, a winning of a pseudo game lottery) is established,
The pseudo game execution means includes:
A start control means for controlling the plurality of cyclic display means to start the cyclic display of the patterns (acceleration start processing function S607 in the pseudo game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106);
A stop operation determination means (a pseudo stop command confirmation function S1008 of the main control device 101) for determining whether or not the stop operation means is operated after the start control means starts the cyclic display of the patterns;
When the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means has been operated, a pseudo stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 in the pseudo game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) controls the corresponding circulating display means to pseudo stop the circulating display of the pictures;
and a pseudo game ending means (a transition preparation processing function S412 after all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R of the main control device 101 are stopped) for ending the pseudo game when the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all of the cyclical display of the pictures of the cyclical display means.
A second start control means (an acceleration start processing function S607 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the circulating display means that has not started circulating the patterns to start circulating the patterns when the pseudo game is not executed and when the circulating display of the patterns is pseudo-stopped in the pseudo game;
A second stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the corresponding cyclic display means to stop the cyclic display of the patterns when the stop operation means is operated after the second start control means starts the cyclic display of the patterns;
A stop information setting means for setting stop information (pseudo game stop information) used when the pseudo stop control means controls;
A second stop information setting means (stop information setting processing function S404 of the main control unit 101) is provided for setting second stop information (stop information) used when the second stop control means controls based on the lottery result of the role,
A gaming machine characterized in that the bonus awarding means awards the bonus based on the control result by the second stop control means, the stop information setting means sets the stop information in a first memory area before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game, and the second stop information setting means sets the second stop information in a second memory area different from the first memory area before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, when a pseudo game is executed, a game related to the awarding of a bonus is executed after the execution of the pseudo game. At this time, the stop information used in the pseudo game is set in a first storage area before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated, and the second stop information used in the game related to the awarding of a bonus is set in a second storage area different from the first storage area before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of a bonus, compared to a configuration in which the second stop information is set after the pseudo game has ended.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine E2. In the gaming machine E1, the stop information setting means sets, as the stop information, specific second stop information set by the second stop information setting means when the lottery result for the role is a specific result.

According to this gaming machine, the stop information setting means sets, as the stop information, specific second stop information set by the second stop information setting means when the result of the lottery for the winning combination is a specific result. With this configuration, it is possible to share the stop information used in the pseudo game and the second stop information used in the game related to the awarding of the bonus, and it is possible to reduce the amount of data to be prepared in advance.

Gaming machine E3. In the gaming machine E1 or E2, the stop information setting means sets the stop information in the first memory area after the start control means starts control of the multiple cyclic display means when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, the second stop information used in the pseudo game is set in the first memory area after the cyclical display of the images in the pseudo game has started. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly start the cyclical display of the images when the pseudo game is executed.

Gaming machine E4. In any of the gaming machines E1 to E3, the pseudo game execution means includes a pseudo game second ending means (pseudo game flag clear function S1004 during rotation of all reels 42L, 42M, 42R of the main control device 101) that ends the pseudo game when a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated while all of the circulating display means are circulating the patterns, and when control is performed by the pseudo game second ending means, the pseudo game ends without pseudo-stopping the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means.

According to this gaming machine, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying images, the quasi-game ends without quasi-stopping the cyclical display of images on the cyclical display means. This configuration makes it possible to perform control by the second stop control means without going through control by the second start control means, and makes it possible to quickly transition from the quasi-game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

On the other hand, if the second stop information is set after the pseudo game ends, it may take time to set the second stop information, which may prevent a swift transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of the bonus. However, if the second stop information is set while the pseudo game is being played, it is possible to effectively alleviate the above concerns.

Gaming machine E5. In any one of the gaming machines E1 to E4, the pseudo game execution means is characterized in that it is provided with a pseudo game third ending means for ending the pseudo game without pseudo-stopping the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns when a specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one cyclical display means has quasi-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, when the specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one cyclical display means has quasi-stopped the cyclical display of the patterns, the quasi-game ends without quasi-stopping the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns. With this configuration, the cyclical display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns can be controlled by the second stop control means without going through control by the second start control means. Therefore, it is possible to quickly transition from the quasi-game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

On the other hand, if the second stop information is set after the pseudo game ends, it may take time to set the second stop information, which may prevent a swift transition from the pseudo game to the game related to the awarding of the bonus. However, if the second stop information is set while the pseudo game is being played, it is possible to effectively alleviate the above concerns.

Gaming machine F1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
A bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line) and a predetermined combination (such as a combination of minor winning patterns);
In a gaming machine equipped with a pseudo game execution means (a pseudo game execution function of the main control device 101) that executes a pseudo game when a specific condition (a winning of a bonus lottery, a winning of a pseudo game lottery) is established,
A start control means for controlling the plurality of cyclic display means to start the cyclic display of the patterns when the pseudo game is performed (acceleration start processing function S607 in the pseudo game of the main control device 101, stepping motor control processing function S106);
A pseudo-stop control means (a function of determining a stop position in a pseudo game of the main control device 101, a processing function of controlling a stepping motor S106) for controlling a corresponding circulating display means to pseudo-stop the circulating display of the pictures when the stop operation means is operated after the start control means starts the circulating display of the pictures;
A pseudo game ending means (a transition preparation processing function S412 after all reels 42L, 42M, and 42R of the main control unit 101 are stopped) for ending the pseudo game when the pseudo stop control means has pseudo-stopped all of the cyclical display of the patterns of the cyclical display means;
A second start control means (an acceleration start processing function S607 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the circulating display means that has not started circulating the patterns to start circulating the patterns when the pseudo game is not executed and when the circulating display of the patterns is pseudo-stopped in the pseudo game;
A second stop control means (a stop position determination processing function S1009 in this game of the main control device 101, a stepping motor control processing function S106) for controlling the corresponding cyclic display means to stop the cyclic display of the patterns when the stop operation means is operated after the second start control means starts the cyclic display of the patterns;
A stop information setting means for setting stop information (pseudo game stop information) used when the pseudo stop control means controls;
A second stop information setting means for setting second stop information (stop information) used when the second stop control means controls based on the lottery result of the role;
A stop operation determination means (a pseudo stop command confirmation function and a stop command confirmation function S1008 of the main control device 101) is provided for determining whether or not a stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means which is executing the cyclic display of the patterns is operated,
The bonus awarding means awards the bonus based on the control result by the second stop control means, the stop information setting means sets the stop information in a first memory area before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game, and the second stop information setting means sets the second stop information in the first memory area between the end of the pseudo game and before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, when a pseudo game is executed, a game related to the awarding of a bonus is executed after the pseudo game is executed. At this time, the stop information used in the pseudo game is set in the first storage area before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated, and the second stop information used in the game related to the awarding of a bonus is set in the first storage area after the pseudo game ends and before the stop operation determination means starts to determine whether or not the stop operation means has been operated. With this configuration, in the pseudo game, it is possible to pseudo-stop the cyclical display of the patterns using the stop information, and in the game related to the awarding of a bonus, it is possible to stop the cyclical display of the patterns using the second stop information.

In addition, by configuring the second stop information to be set in the first storage area in which the stop information is stored, it is possible to prevent the storage capacity that is prepared in advance from increasing.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine F2. In the gaming machine F1, the second stop information setting means rewrites the stop information set in the first memory area to the second stop information.

According to this gaming machine, when the pseudo game ends, the stop information set in the first memory area is rewritten to the second stop information. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the first memory area from becoming larger.

Gaming machine F3. In the gaming machine F1 or F2, the stop information setting means sets, as the stop information, specific second stop information set by the second stop information setting means when the lottery result of the role is a specific result.

According to this gaming machine, the stop information setting means sets, as the stop information, specific second stop information set by the second stop information setting means when the result of the lottery for the winning combination is a specific result. With this configuration, it is possible to share the stop information used in the pseudo game and the second stop information used in the game related to the awarding of the bonus, and it is possible to reduce the amount of data to be prepared in advance.

Gaming machine F4. In any one of the gaming machines F1 to F3, the stop information setting means sets the stop information in the first memory area after the start control means starts control of the multiple cyclic display means when the pseudo game execution means executes the pseudo game.

According to this gaming machine, the second stop information used in the pseudo game is set in the first memory area after the cyclical display of the images in the pseudo game has started. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly start the cyclical display of the images when the pseudo game is executed.

Gaming machine F5. In any of the gaming machines F1 to F4, the pseudo game execution means includes a pseudo game second ending means (pseudo game flag clear function S1004 during rotation of all reels 42L, 42M, 42R of the main control device 101) that ends the pseudo game when a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated while all of the circulating display means are circulating the patterns, and when control is performed by the pseudo game second ending means, the pseudo game ends without pseudo-stopping the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means.

According to this gaming machine, if the specific operation means is operated while all of the cyclical display means are cyclically displaying images, the cyclical display of images on the cyclical display means does not cyclically stop, and the cyclical display of images on the cyclical display means ends. This configuration makes it possible to perform control by the second stop control means without going through control by the cyclical stop control means or the second start control means. It is then possible to set the second stop information by utilizing the time required for control by the cyclical stop control means and the second start control means, which are no longer necessary. As a result, even if the configuration is such that the second stop information is set after the cyclical game ends, it is possible to quickly transition from the cyclical game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

Gaming machine F6. In any of the gaming machines F1 to F5, the pseudo game execution means is characterized in that it is equipped with a pseudo game third ending means for ending the pseudo game without pseudo-stopping the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means which is circulating the patterns when a specific operation means (settlement switch 59) is operated in a situation where at least one circulating display means has pseudo-stopped the circulating display of the patterns.

According to this gaming machine, when the specific operation means is operated in a situation where at least one circulating display means has quasi-stopped the circulating display of the images, the quasi-game ends without quasi-stopping the circulating display of the images of the circulating display means that is circulating the images. With this configuration, it becomes possible to control at least the circulating display means that is circulating the images by the second stop control means without going through control by the quasi-stop control means or the second start control means. Then, it becomes possible to set the second stop information by utilizing the time required for control by the quasi-stop control means or the second start control means that is no longer necessary. As a result, even if the configuration is such that the second stop information is set after the quasi-game ends, it becomes possible to quickly transition from the quasi-game to a game related to the awarding of a bonus.

The gaming machines A to C may be combined as appropriate, and the above-mentioned effects can be achieved even when combined. The gaming machines D to F may be combined as appropriate with the gaming machines A to C, and the above-mentioned effects can be achieved even when combined.

Gaming machine G1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
In a gaming machine equipped with a bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line)
A stop operation determination means (stop command confirmation function S2201 of the main control device 101) for determining whether or not a stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns has been operated;
When the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means performing the cyclic display of the pattern has been operated, a stop position determination means (stop pattern number determination function S2305 of the main control device 101) determines the stop position of the cyclic display means corresponding to the stop operation means determined by the stop operation determination means;
a stop means (stepping motor control process S106 of the main control device 101) for stopping the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means when the circulating display means for circulating the patterns reaches the stop position determined by the stop position determination means;
The stop operation determination means is configured to be capable of determining whether or not a stop operation means corresponding to another circulating display means which is circulating the patterns is operated during the period from when the stop position determination means determines the stop position until when the stop means stops the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means which is circulating the patterns,
A gaming machine characterized by being provided with a standby process execution means (100 msec standby function S2210 of main control unit 101) which performs standby process of waiting for a predetermined time (100 msec) based on the stop position determination means determining the stop positions of all of the plurality of circulating display means.

According to this gaming machine, it is determined whether or not the stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images has been operated, and if the stop operation means has been operated, the stop position of the corresponding cyclic display means is determined. Then, when the cyclic display means reaches the stop position determined by the stop position determination means, the cyclic display of the images is stopped. Here, the stop operation determination means is configured to be able to determine whether or not the stop operation means corresponding to the other cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images has been operated between the time when the stop position determination means determines the stop position and before the stop means stops the cyclic display of the images of the cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images. With this configuration, the player can operate the other stop operation means without waiting for the cyclic display of the images of the cyclic display means that corresponds to the operated stop operation means to stop. As a result, it is possible to increase the interest in the game by improving the operability of the stop operation means.

On the other hand, if the system is configured to perform an operation determination for other stop operation means without waiting for the cyclical display of the patterns to stop, new problems may arise, such as the next game round being able to start when the cyclical display of the patterns has not stopped. Therefore, in this gaming machine, a standby process is performed to wait for a predetermined period of time based on the stop position determination means determining the stop positions of all of the multiple cyclical display means. With this configuration, it is possible for all of the cyclical display of the patterns to stop while the standby process is being performed, making it possible to suitably resolve the above concerns.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine G2. The gaming machine G1 described above is characterized in that it is provided with a stop position determination means (stop confirmation function S2204 of the main control device 101) for determining whether or not all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means, and the standby process execution means performs the standby process after the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means.

According to this gaming machine, a stop position determination means is provided for determining whether or not all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means, and the standby process execution means performs standby processing after the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means. With this configuration, it is possible to shorten the standby time during standby processing, and even if a configuration is used in which standby processing is performed, it is possible to prevent a long delay before the next game round can be started.

Gaming machine G3. A gaming machine characterized in that the stop position determination means in the above gaming machine G2 is configured to be capable of determining, as the stop position, a position different from the cyclic display position of the cyclic display means when the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means has been operated.

According to this gaming machine, the cyclical display of the images may not stop immediately when the stop operation means is operated. In such a configuration, the time from when the stop operation means is operated until the cyclical display of the images on the corresponding cyclical display means stops varies, so if the standby process is configured to take this time into account, there is a concern that it may take a long time before the next game round can be started. However, when this configuration is applied to the gaming machine G2, it is possible to set the standby time in the standby process without taking into account the time required for the cyclical display means to reach the stop position, so the above concern can be suitably alleviated.

Gaming machine G4. A gaming machine comprising a stop operation second determination means (operation end confirmation function S2206 of the main control device 101) for determining whether or not all of the stop operation means have been operated when the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop position determined by the stop position determination means in the above-mentioned gaming machine G2 or G3, and the standby process execution means performs the standby process after the stop operation second determination means determines that all of the stop operation means have not been operated.

According to this gaming machine, when the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means, the gaming machine is provided with a stop operation second determination means for determining whether all of the stop operation means have been operated, and the standby process execution means performs standby processing after the stop operation second determination means determines that all of the stop operation means have not been operated. With this configuration, even if the standby process is performed, it is possible to equalize the time required until the next game round can be started, and it is possible to improve operability when starting the next game round. For example, it is also possible to perform a configuration in which the standby process is performed after the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means, without providing the stop operation second determination means. However, with this configuration, the time required until the next game round can be started will change depending on whether the timing at which the player has finished operating all of the stop operation means is after the standby process has ended or during the standby process. Furthermore, if the time required until the next play round can be started changes, an event will occur in which the player's operation to start the next play round is not accepted, reducing operability when starting the next play round.

Gaming machine G5. In any one of the gaming machines G1 to G4, the standby process execution means performs the standby process before the bonus awarding means awards the bonus.

According to this gaming machine, a standby process is performed before the bonus awarding means awards a bonus. This configuration makes it possible to avoid the occurrence of an event in which a bonus is awarded when the cyclical display of images has not stopped.

Gaming machine G6. Any of the gaming machines G1 to G5 described above is provided with a winning determination means (a payout determination processing function of the main control device 101) that determines whether or not a winning combination corresponding to a winning combination that has been selected in the lottery for the combination has been achieved, and the standby processing execution means performs the standby processing before the winning determination means performs the winning determination.

According to this gaming machine, a standby process is performed before the winning determination means performs a winning determination. This configuration makes it possible to prevent the processing configuration from becoming complicated, while making it possible to create a situation in which all circulating display of images stops during the standby process.

Gaming machine G7. A gaming machine comprising: a stop control means (stop control processing function S2011 of main control device 101) for controlling the plurality of cyclic display means so that when the lottery result for the role is a prescribed result (push order bell win) and the stop operation means is operated in a prescribed operation method (operation sequence that can achieve a bell win), a prescribed win (bell win) is achieved, and when the stop operation means is operated in an operation method other than the prescribed operation method, the prescribed win is not achieved; and an operation method notification means (instruction monitor, payout number display unit 62) capable of notifying the user of the prescribed operation method when the lottery result for the role is the prescribed result, in any of the gaming machines G1 to G6.

According to this gaming machine, if the result of the lottery for the winning combination is a prescribed result, the prescribed operation method may be notified by the operation method notification means. If the stop operation means is operated in the prescribed operation method at this time, a prescribed winning can be achieved. By applying the configuration of any of the gaming machines G1 to G6 described above in this configuration, it is possible to reduce the chances that the player will unintentionally operate the stop operation means in a manner other than the prescribed operation method.

Gaming machine G8. The gaming machine G7 described above further includes a notification control means (main control device 101) for controlling the operation method notification means, and when the notification control means causes the operation method notification means to notify the specified operation method, the stop position determination means determines the stop positions of all of the multiple cyclic display means and then ends the notification by the operation method notification means, and the standby process execution means performs the standby process after the notification control means ends the notification by the operation method notification means.

According to this gaming machine, when the operation method notification means notifies the user of the specified operation method, the stop position determination means determines the stop positions of all of the multiple cyclic display means, after which the notification by the operation method notification means ends, and then standby processing is performed. With this configuration, it is possible to shorten the waiting time in the standby processing while quickly ending the notification by the operation method notification means.

Gaming machine G9. A gaming machine comprising: a normal processing execution means (main control unit 101) that starts when the power is turned on and repeatedly performs a series of normal processing in any one of the gaming machines G1 to G8; and an interrupt processing execution means (main control unit 101) that periodically interrupts the normal processing to perform interrupt processing, the normal processing execution means having the stop operation determination means, the stop position determination means, and the standby processing execution means, the interrupt processing execution means having the stop means, and the normal processing execution means having a means for determining whether the predetermined circulating display means has reached the stop position determined by the stop position determination means when the stop position determination means has determined the stop position of a predetermined circulating display means in a situation in which the stop position determination means has not determined the stop positions of multiple circulating display means.

According to this gaming machine, in the normal processing that is started when the power is turned on and is repeatedly performed, a determination is made as to whether or not the stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images has been operated, and if the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images has been operated, a process is performed to determine the stop position of the cyclic display means corresponding to the stop operation means determined by the stop operation determination means. On the other hand, in the normal processing, if the stop position determination means determines the stop position of a predetermined cyclic display means in a situation in which the stop position determination means has not determined the stop positions of multiple cyclic display means, no determination is made as to whether or not the predetermined cyclic display means has reached the stop position determined by the stop position determination means. With this configuration, the player can operate other stop operation means without waiting for the cyclic display of the images of the cyclic display means corresponding to the operated stop operation means to stop.

Gaming machine G10. In any of the gaming machines G1 to G9, the cyclical display means is characterized in that it includes a rotating body (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) that rotates in a circumferential direction and has multiple types of pictures applied thereto, and a driving means (stepping motor) that drives the rotating body.

According to this gaming machine, the cyclical display means includes a rotating body that rotates in a circumferential direction and has multiple types of pictures applied in the circumferential direction, and a drive means for driving the rotating body. In this configuration, when the drive means is stopped, it is possible that the rotating body will continue to swing without immediately ending its rotation. However, when a standby process is performed to wait for a predetermined period of time, it is possible to end the swinging of the rotating body while the standby process is being performed.

Gaming machine H1. A plurality of cyclic display means (reels 32L, 32M, 32R) for cyclically displaying a plurality of types of pictures (designs);
A start operation means (a start lever 41, first to third credit insertion switches 56 to 58) that is operated to start the cyclic display of the pictures;
A lottery means for drawing lots for winning combinations (a lottery processing function of the main control device 101);
A plurality of stop operation means (stop switches 42 to 44) that are operated to individually stop the circulating display of the patterns;
In a gaming machine equipped with a bonus awarding means (such as the medal payout process S213 of the main control device 101) that awards a bonus to a player as a winning combination based on the winning combination and the winning pattern corresponding to the winning combination being formed and stopped in a valid position (valid line)
A main control means (main control device 101) for controlling the overall management of the game;
A slave control means (display control device 81) that performs various controls under the control of the master control means,
The main control means
A stop operation determination means (stop command confirmation function S2201 of the main control device 101) for determining whether or not a stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means which is cyclically displaying the patterns has been operated;
When the stop operation determination means determines that the stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means performing the cyclic display of the pattern has been operated, a stop position determination means (stop pattern number determination function S2305 of the main control device 101) determines the stop position of the cyclic display means corresponding to the stop operation means determined by the stop operation determination means;
a stop means (stepping motor control process S106 of the main control device 101) for stopping the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means when the circulating display means for circulating the patterns reaches the stop position determined by the stop position determination means;
The stop operation determination means is configured to be capable of determining whether or not a stop operation means corresponding to another circulating display means which is circulating the patterns is operated during the period from when the stop position determination means determines the stop position until when the stop means stops the circulating display of the patterns of the circulating display means which is circulating the patterns,
a stop position determination means (stop confirmation function S2204 of the main control device 101) that determines whether or not all of the plurality of circulating display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means after the stop position determination means has determined the stop positions of all of the plurality of circulating display means;
a first transmission means (an all reels stop completion command transmission function S2205 of the master control device 101) for transmitting first information (an all reels stop completion command) indicating a result of the determination by the stop position determination means to the slave control means when the stop position determination means determines that all of the plurality of cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means;
a second stop operation determination means (operation end confirmation function S2206 of the main control device 101) for determining whether or not the stop operation means has been operated after the stop position determination means has determined all stop positions of the plurality of cyclic display means;
A gaming machine characterized in that it is equipped with a second transmission means (operation end command transmission function S2207 of the main control device 101) that transmits second information (operation end command) indicating the judgment result of the second stop operation judgment means to the slave control means when the second stop operation judgment means determines that none of the stop operation means have been operated.

According to this gaming machine, it is determined whether or not the stop operation means corresponding to the cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images has been operated, and if the stop operation means has been operated, the stop position of the corresponding cyclic display means is determined. Then, when the cyclic display means reaches the stop position determined by the stop position determination means, the cyclic display of the images is stopped. Here, the stop operation determination means is configured to be able to determine whether or not the stop operation means corresponding to the other cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images has been operated between the time when the stop position determination means determines the stop position and before the stop means stops the cyclic display of the images of the cyclic display means that is cyclically displaying the images. With this configuration, the player can operate the other stop operation means without waiting for the cyclic display of the images of the cyclic display means that corresponds to the operated stop operation means to stop. As a result, it is possible to increase the interest in the game by improving the operability of the stop operation means.

On the other hand, if the operation judgment of the other stop operation means is performed without waiting for the cyclic display of the images to stop, new problems may occur, such as, for example, the cyclic display of the images of the cyclic display means that determined the second stop position not being completed even though the operation of all the stop operation means has ended, or the cyclic display of the images of all the cyclic display means has ended but the operation of at least one stop operation means has not been completed. If such a problem occurs, a problem will occur in the control performed by the slave control means. Therefore, in this gaming machine, after the stop position determination means determines the stop positions of all the multiple cyclic display means, the master control means determines whether all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means, and if it is determined that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means, the first information indicating the judgment result is transmitted to the slave control means. In addition, on the master control means side, after the stop position determination means has determined the stop positions of all of the multiple cyclic display means, it determines whether the stop operation means has been operated, and if it determines that none of the stop operation means has been operated, it transmits second information indicating the determination result to the slave control means. With this configuration, the slave control means can perform control according to the cyclic display status of the patterns by receiving the first information, and can perform control according to the operation status of the stop operation means by receiving the second information. As a result, it is possible to suitably resolve the above concerns.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

Gaming machine H2. In the gaming machine H1, the second transmission means transmits the second information after the first transmission means transmits the first information.

According to this gaming machine, the second information is transmitted after transmitting the first information. With this configuration, the slave control means can perform control in response to the completion of all operations of the stop operation means after performing control in response to all of the multiple cyclic display means reaching the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means. Furthermore, the maximum time required from when the stop position determination means determines the stop position until the cyclic display means actually reaches the stop position can be grasped or predicted by the master control means, since the master control means is provided with the stop position determination means. On the other hand, the time required until all of the stop operation means are not operated depends on the player's operation, and therefore cannot be grasped or predicted by the master control means. Therefore, by configuring the machine to transmit the second information after transmitting the first information, it is possible to reduce the difference between the timing when all of the multiple cyclic display means finish cyclically displaying the patterns and the timing when the slave control means performs control based on the reception of the first information.

Gaming machine H3. In the gaming machine H2, the second stop operation determination means determines whether the stop operation means has been operated after the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means.

According to this gaming machine, the second stop operation determination means determines whether or not the stop operation means has been operated after the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to simplify the processing configuration and prevent an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine H4. In the gaming machine H3, the second stop operation determination means determines whether or not the stop operation means has been operated after the first transmission means transmits the first information.

According to this gaming machine, the second stop operation determination means determines whether the stop operation means has been operated after the first transmission means transmits the first information. This configuration allows the slave control means to quickly grasp that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means, and makes it possible to reduce the lag between the timing when all of the multiple cyclic display means have finished cyclically displaying images and the timing when the slave control means performs control based on the reception of the first information.

Gaming machine H5. In any of the gaming machines H2 to H4, the secondary control means is characterized in that it includes a presentation control means (additional notification processing function of the display control device 81) that controls the auxiliary presentation means (speaker 64, auxiliary display unit 65) to execute different auxiliary presentations (additional notification presentations) when a specific condition (a winning additional lottery) is met, when all of the multiple cyclical display means have finished cyclically displaying the images, and when all of the stop operation means have finished operating.

According to this gaming machine, when a specific condition is satisfied, the slave control means controls the auxiliary performance means to execute different auxiliary performances when all of the multiple cyclic display means have finished cyclically displaying patterns and when all of the stop operation means have been operated. In such a configuration, depending on which of the multiple cyclic display means finishing cyclically displaying patterns and the stop operation means finishing all of its operations occurs first, problems such as, for example, one of the auxiliary performances that have been prepared with great care cannot be executed, or the processing configuration of the performance control means becomes complicated and the storage capacity increases. However, by configuring the master control means to transmit first information indicating that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop position determined by the stop position determination means and to transmit second information indicating that all of the stop operation means have not been operated, the slave control means can grasp that all of the multiple cyclic display means have finished cyclically displaying patterns through the reception of the first information, and can grasp that all of the stop operation means have been operated through the reception of the second information. In addition, since the master control means transmits the second information after transmitting the first information, the slave control means controls the execution of a predetermined auxiliary performance based on the reception of the first information, and then controls the execution of an auxiliary performance different from the predetermined auxiliary performance based on the reception of the second information thereafter. Therefore, it is possible to suitably resolve each of the above concerns.

Gaming machine H6. In the gaming machine H5, the performance control means controls the auxiliary performance means to execute a first auxiliary performance (third notification sound) when the first information is received, and controls the auxiliary performance means to execute a second auxiliary performance (notification of the number of added coins) when the second information is received, when the specific condition is met.

According to this gaming machine, when a specific condition is met, the first auxiliary performance is executed when the first information is received, and the second auxiliary performance is executed when the second information is received. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an event in which one of the first and second auxiliary performances that have been carefully prepared cannot be executed.

Gaming machine H7. The gaming machine H6 described above, characterized in that the first auxiliary performance and the second auxiliary performance are executed by different devices.

According to this gaming machine, the first auxiliary performance and the second auxiliary performance are executed by different devices. With this configuration, it is possible to reliably execute the first auxiliary performance even if the interval between receiving the first information and receiving the second information is short.

Gaming machine H8. In any of the gaming machines H1 to H7, the main control means is provided with a standby process execution means (100 msec standby function S2210 of the main control device 101) that performs standby process of waiting for a predetermined time (100 msec) based on the stop position determination means determining the stop positions of all of the multiple circulating display means, and the standby process execution means performs the standby process after the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple circulating display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means.

According to this gaming machine, a standby process is performed in which the machine waits for a predetermined time based on the fact that the stop position determination means has determined the stop positions of all of the multiple cyclic display means. This configuration makes it possible to create a situation in which all of the cyclical display of patterns has stopped while the standby process is being performed, and makes it possible to avoid new problems such as the next game being able to start when the cyclical display of patterns has not stopped.

The standby process execution means performs standby processing after the stop position determination means determines that all of the multiple cyclic display means have reached the stop positions determined by the stop position determination means. This configuration makes it possible to shorten the standby time during standby processing, and even in a configuration in which standby processing is performed, it is possible to prevent a long wait before the next game round can be started.

Gaming machine H9. In the gaming machine H8, the standby process execution means performs the standby process after the first transmission means transmits the first information to the slave control means and after the second transmission means transmits the second information to the slave control means.

According to this gaming machine, the standby process execution means performs the standby process after the first transmission means transmits the first information to the slave control means and after the second transmission means transmits the second information to the slave control means. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the lag between the timing when all of the multiple cyclic display means finish cyclically displaying pictures and the timing when the slave control means performs control based on the reception of the first information, and the lag between the timing when the player finishes operating the stop operation means and the timing when the slave control means performs control based on the reception of the second information. In addition, since the standby time in the standby process can be set taking into account the time required to transmit the first information, etc., it is possible to shorten the standby time in the standby process.

The gaming machines G group and H group may be combined as appropriate, and the above-mentioned effects can be achieved even when combined. The gaming machines G group and H group may be combined as appropriate with the gaming machines A group to F group, and the above-mentioned effects can be achieved even when combined.

Gaming machine I1. A main control means (main control device 101) for controlling the game,
In a gaming machine equipped with a slave control means (display control device 81) that performs various controls in response to signals from the master control means,
The main control means
A specific information storage means (ROM 105) for storing specific information (rotation start header information, etc.) in advance;
A storage area (pseudo game flag storage area) for storing different information for a specific game (pseudo game) and a non-specific game;
A command transmission means (such as command transmission process 3) for transmitting a command to the slave control means;
A command creation means for creating the command (a header creation function S3002, a body creation function S3005, a footer creation function S3006, etc.) is provided,
The gaming machine is characterized in that the command creation means is equipped with a specified command creation means (header creation function S3002, etc.) that creates a specified command (stop header, etc.) by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, a specified command is created by calculating the specific information stored in advance and the information stored in a memory area in which different information is stored depending on whether or not the game is a specific game. With this configuration, the slave control means can determine whether or not the game is a specific game through the specified command.

As a result of the above, it becomes possible to have the slave control means perform control depending on whether or not the game is a specific one, which makes it possible to increase interest in the game.

In addition, with this configuration, it is no longer necessary to store in advance the commands to be sent when a specific game is being played and the commands to be sent when a non-specific game is being played, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data.

Furthermore, in a configuration in which the commands to be sent when a specific game is selected and the commands to be sent when a non-specific game are stored in advance, it becomes necessary to perform a process of determining whether or not the game is a specific game when a command is sent, which complicates the processing configuration. On the other hand, in this gaming machine, once a prescribed command is created, the prescribed command includes whether or not the game is a specific game, making the above processing unnecessary. From this perspective as well, it is possible to reduce the amount of data by simplifying the processing configuration.

Gaming machine I2. In the gaming machine I1, the specified command creation means creates a specified command by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area, whether the specific game is being played or not.

According to this gaming machine, in both cases where the game is a specific game and where the game is not a specific game, a specified command is created by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is not necessary to determine whether the game is a specific game or not when sending a command, and by simplifying the processing configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of data.

Gaming machine I3. A gaming machine as described above in the gaming machine I1 or I2, characterized in that the specified command is a header.

According to this gaming machine, a header is created by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is possible to include information in the header indicating whether or not it is a specific game. As a result, it is possible to prevent the commands sent from the master control means to the slave control means from becoming redundant.

Gaming machine I4. The gaming machine I3 described above, characterized in that the header is contained in one byte.

According to this gaming machine, the header contains information indicating whether or not it is a specific game, and the header is contained in one byte, so that the slave control means can grasp more information when it receives the header.

Gaming machine I5. In the gaming machine I3 or I4, the header is configured to include a header identification bit that stores information indicating that it is a header, a type storage bit that stores information indicating the command type, and a specific game storage bit that stores information indicating whether or not it is the specific game, and the specific game storage bit is located lower than the header identification bit and higher than the type storage bit.

According to this gaming machine, the header has a header identification bit that stores information indicating that it is a header, a type storage bit that stores information indicating the command type, and a specific game storage bit that stores information indicating whether or not it is a specific game, and the specific game storage bit is located lower than the header identification bit and higher than the type storage bit. With this configuration, it is possible to store information indicating whether or not it is a specific game in a bit that was previously unused, and it is possible to effectively prevent commands sent from the master control means to the slave control means from becoming redundant.

Gaming machine I6. A gaming machine as described above in the gaming machine I5, characterized in that the memory area is configured with the same bytes as the header, and the area other than the position corresponding to the specific game storage bit is an unused area.

According to this gaming machine, the memory area is configured with the same bytes as the header, and the area other than the position corresponding to the specific game storage bit is unused. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid changes to information indicating the command type, etc., when creating a header by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area.

Gaming machine I7. Any of the gaming machines I3 to I6, characterized in that the specific information is header information including information indicating a command type.

According to this gaming machine, a header including information indicating whether or not it is a specific game is created by calculating header information including information indicating the command type and information stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is not necessary to store in advance the header of the command to be sent when it is a specific game and the header of the command to be sent when it is not a specific game, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data.

Gaming machine I8. A gaming machine comprising: a first execution means (pseudo game flag set function S504) for storing first information (40H) in the memory area when a first specific condition (winning an additional lottery, winning a pseudo game lottery) is met in any one of the gaming machines I1 to I7; a second execution means (pseudo game flag clear function S611) for changing the information stored in the memory area to second information (00H) when a second specific condition (end of pseudo game) is met after the first specific condition is met; a confirmation means (pseudo game flag confirmation function S2903, etc.) for confirming the information stored in the memory area; and a specific game execution means (pseudo game execution function) for executing the specific game when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, when a first specific condition is met, first information is stored in the memory area, and when a second specific condition is met after the first specific condition is met, the information stored in the memory area is changed to second information. Then, when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area, a specific game is executed. In this way, by configuring the information stored in the memory area to be used not only when creating a specified command, but also when determining whether or not to execute a specific game, it is possible to suppress an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine I9. Any of the above gaming machines I1 to I8, characterized in that when information indicating the specific game is stored in the memory area, a first signal is output to the outside of the gaming machine, and when information indicating that the game is not the specific game is stored in the memory area, the first signal is not output to the outside of the gaming machine.

According to this gaming machine, when information indicating a specific game is stored in the memory area, a first signal is output outside the gaming machine, and when information indicating a non-specific game is stored in the memory area, the first signal is not output outside the gaming machine. With this configuration, it is possible to give the information stored in the memory area a function as information used when creating a specified command, and a function as information used when outputting a first signal outside the gaming machine. As a result, it is possible to make effective use of the memory area, and it is possible to suppress an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine I10. Any of the above gaming machines I1 to I9, characterized in that the specific game is a pseudo game.

With this gaming machine, it is possible to have the slave control means determine whether or not a game is a pseudo game through a prescribed command.

Gaming machine I11. Any of the above gaming machines I1 to I9, characterized in that the specific game is a game in a specific game state.

With this gaming machine, it is possible to have the slave control means determine whether or not a game is being played in a specific gaming state through a prescribed command.

Gaming machine J1. A main control means (main control device 101) for controlling the overall game;
In a gaming machine equipped with a slave control means (display control device 81) that performs various controls in response to signals from the master control means,
The main control means
A first execution means (pseudo game flag set function S504) for storing first information (40H) in a memory area (pseudo game flag storage area) when a first specific condition (winning the additional lottery or winning the pseudo game lottery) is established;
A second execution means (pseudo game flag clear function S611) for changing the information stored in the memory area to second information (00H) when a second specific condition (pseudo game end) is established after the first specific condition is established;
A confirmation means (such as a pseudo game flag confirmation function S2903) for confirming the information stored in the memory area;
A control execution means (pseudo game execution function) that executes different controls when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area and when the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the memory area;
A gaming machine characterized by comprising a setting means for setting corresponding information (rotation start header) using at least a portion of the information stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, when a first specific condition is met, first information is stored in the memory area, and when a second specific condition is met after the first specific condition is met, the information stored in the memory area is changed to second information. Then, different controls are executed when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area and when the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the memory area. Also, corresponding information is set using at least a part of the information stored in the memory area. In this way, by configuring the information stored in the memory area to be used not only when determining when control is executed but also when setting the corresponding information, it is possible to suppress an increase in memory capacity.

As a result of the above, it becomes possible to store other data related to the game, which can increase interest in the game.

Gaming machine J2. In the gaming machine J1, the control execution means executes a specific game (pseudo game) when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area, and does not execute the specific game when the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, if it is confirmed that the first information is stored in the memory area, the specific game is executed, and if the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the memory area, the specific game is not executed. With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the specific game is executed based on the information stored in the memory area, and it is also possible to set corresponding information corresponding to whether or not the specific game is executed.

Gaming machine J3. A gaming machine that is the same as the gaming machine J1 or J2 described above, but is provided with specific information storage means (ROM 105) that stores specific information (such as spin start header information) in advance, and command transmission means (such as command transmission process 3) that transmits commands to the slave control means, and the setting means is provided with a specified command creation means (such as a header creation function S3002) that creates a specified command (such as a stop header) by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, a specified command is created by calculating pre-stored specific information and information stored in a memory area in which information that differs depending on whether a first specific condition and a second specific condition are satisfied is stored. With this configuration, the slave control means is able to grasp whether each specific condition is satisfied through the specified command.

As a result of the above, it becomes possible for the secondary control means to perform control depending on whether or not a specific condition is met, making it possible to increase interest in the game.

In addition, in this configuration, it is not necessary to previously store the command to be sent when the first information is stored and the command to be sent when the second information is stored, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data.

Furthermore, in a configuration in which the command to be sent when the first information is stored and the command to be sent when the second information is stored are stored in advance, a confirmation process must be performed by a confirmation means when a command is sent, complicating the processing configuration. On the other hand, in this gaming machine, once a prescribed command is created, the prescribed command includes whether the first information or the second information is stored, making the above confirmation process unnecessary. From this perspective as well, it is possible to reduce the amount of data by simplifying the processing configuration.

Gaming machine J4. In the gaming machine J3, the specified command creation means creates a specified command by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area, both when the first information is stored in the memory area and when the second information is stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, in both cases where the first information is stored in the memory area and where the second information is stored in the memory area, a specified command is created by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is not necessary to determine whether the first information or the second information is stored in the memory area when sending a command, and the processing configuration is simplified, making it possible to reduce the amount of data.

Gaming machine J5. A gaming machine as described above in the gaming machine J3 or J4, characterized in that the specified command is a header.

According to this gaming machine, a header is created by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is possible to include information in the header indicating whether the first specific condition and the second specific condition are met. As a result, it is possible to prevent the commands sent from the master control means to the slave control means from becoming redundant.

Gaming machine J6. The gaming machine J5 described above, characterized in that the header is contained in one byte.

According to this gaming machine, the header contains information indicating whether the first and second specific conditions are met, and the header is contained in one byte, so that the slave control means can grasp more information when it receives the header.

Gaming machine J7. In the gaming machine J5 or J6, the header is configured to include a header identification bit that stores information indicating that it is a header, a type storage bit that stores information indicating a command type, and a specific condition storage bit that stores information indicating whether the first specific condition and the second specific condition are satisfied, and the specific condition storage bit is located lower than the header identification bit and higher than the type storage bit.

According to this gaming machine, the header has a header identification bit that stores information indicating that it is a header, a type storage bit that stores information indicating the command type, and a specific condition storage bit that stores information indicating whether the first specific condition and the second specific condition are satisfied, and the specific condition storage bit is located lower than the header identification bit and higher than the type storage bit. With this configuration, it becomes possible to store information indicating whether each specific condition is satisfied in bits that were previously unused, and it becomes possible to effectively prevent commands sent from the master control means to the slave control means from becoming redundant.

Gaming machine J8. A gaming machine as described above in the gaming machine J7, characterized in that the memory area is configured with the same bytes as the header, and the area other than the position corresponding to the specific condition storage bit is an unused area.

According to this gaming machine, the memory area is configured with the same bytes as the header, and the area other than the position corresponding to the specific condition storage bit is unused. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid changes to information indicating the command type, etc., when creating a header by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area.

Gaming machine J9. Any of the gaming machines J5 to J8, characterized in that the specific information is header information including information indicating a command type.

According to this gaming machine, a header including information indicating whether each specific condition is satisfied is created by calculating header information including information indicating the command type and information stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is not necessary to previously store the header to be sent when the first information is stored and the header to be sent when the second information is stored, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data.

Gaming machine J10. Any of the gaming machines J1 to J9, wherein the setting means outputs a first signal to the outside of the gaming machine when the first information is stored in the memory area, and does not output the first signal to the outside of the gaming machine when the second information is stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, when the first information is stored in the memory area, a first signal is output outside the gaming machine, and when the second information is stored in the memory area, the first signal is not output outside the gaming machine. With this configuration, it is possible to give the information stored in the memory area both a function as information used when executing control and a function as information used when outputting the first signal outside the gaming machine. As a result, it is possible to make effective use of the memory area, and it is possible to suppress an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine K1. A main control means (main control device 101) for controlling the overall game;
In a gaming machine equipped with a slave control means (display control device 81) that performs various controls in response to signals from the master control means,
The main control means
A command transmission means (such as command transmission process 3) for transmitting a command to the slave control means;
An information storage means (ROM 105) for storing in advance first command information (stop header information, etc.) to be transmitted to the slave control means in the case of a first game (main game);
When a second game (pseudo game) different from the first game is executed, a memory area (pseudo game flag storage area) for storing second game information (40H);
A gaming machine characterized by having a command creation means (header creation function S3002, etc.) that creates second command information (such as a stop header) by calculating the first command information and the second game information in the case of the second game.

According to this gaming machine, first command information to be sent to the slave control means in the first game is pre-stored, and when a second game different from the first game is executed, second game information is stored in the memory area. Then, in the second game, second command information is created by calculating the first command information and the second game information. With this configuration, it becomes possible to send second command information to the slave control means in the second game, and it becomes possible to cause the slave control means to perform control according to whether it is the first game or the second game.

As a result of the above, it is possible to increase interest in gaming.

In addition, in this configuration, it is no longer necessary to store the second command information in the main control means in advance, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data and prevent an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine K2. The gaming machine K1 described above is characterized in that when the first game is executed, the first game information (00H) is stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, when the first game is executed, first game information is stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide a separate memory area for storing the first game information, so it is possible to suppress an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine K3. A gaming machine characterized in that the gaming machine K2 includes a first execution means (pseudo game flag set function S504) for storing the second game information in the memory area when a first specific condition (winning the additional lottery, winning the pseudo game lottery) is met, a second execution means (pseudo game flag clear function S611) for changing the information stored in the memory area to the first game information when a second specific condition (end of pseudo game) is met after the first specific condition is met, a confirmation means (pseudo game flag confirmation function S2903, etc.) for confirming the information stored in the memory area, a first game execution means (this game execution function) for executing the first game when the confirmation means confirms that the first game information is stored in the memory area, and a second game execution means (pseudo game execution function) for executing the second game when the confirmation means confirms that the second game information is stored in the memory area.

According to this gaming machine, when the first specific condition is met, the second game information is stored in the memory area, and when the second specific condition is met after the first specific condition is met, the information stored in the memory area is changed to the first game information. Then, when the confirmation means confirms that the first game information is stored in the memory area, the first game is executed, and when the confirmation means confirms that the second game information is stored in the memory area, the second game is executed. In this way, by configuring the information stored in the memory area to be used not only when creating the second command information but also when determining whether the first game or the second game is to be executed, it is possible to suppress an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine K4. In the gaming machine K2 or K3, the command creation means creates command information by calculating the first command information and the game information stored in the memory area in both the first game and the second game.

According to this gaming machine, in both the first game and the second game, command information is created by calculating the first command information and the game information stored in the memory area. With this configuration, it is not necessary to determine whether it is the first game or the second game when sending a command, and it is possible to reduce the amount of data by simplifying the processing configuration.

Gaming machine K5. The gaming machine K4 described above, characterized in that when the command creation means calculates the first command information and the first gaming information, the calculation result does not change from the first command information.

According to this gaming machine, when the first command information and the first game information are calculated, the calculation result remains the first command information. With this configuration, it is possible to simplify the processing configuration and reduce the amount of data.

Gaming machine K6. Any of the gaming machines K1 to K5, characterized in that the first command information is a header.

According to this gaming machine, by calculating the first command information and the second game information, it is possible to create the second command information as a header, and to include information in the header indicating whether it is the first game or the second game. As a result, it is possible to prevent the commands sent from the master control means to the slave control means from becoming redundant.

Gaming machine K7. The gaming machine K6 described above, characterized in that the header is contained in one byte.

In this gaming machine, the header contains information indicating whether it is the first game or the second game, and the header is contained in one byte, so that the slave control means can grasp more information when it receives the header.

Gaming machine K8. In the gaming machine K6 or K7, the header is configured to include a header identification bit that stores information indicating that it is a header, a type storage bit that stores information indicating a command type, and a game storage bit that stores information indicating whether the game is the first game or the second game, and the game storage bit is located lower than the header identification bit and higher than the type storage bit.

According to this gaming machine, the header has a header identification bit that stores information indicating that it is a header, a type storage bit that stores information indicating the command type, and a game storage bit that stores information indicating whether it is the first game or the second game, and the game storage bit is located lower than the header identification bit and higher than the type storage bit. With this configuration, it becomes possible to store information indicating whether it is the first game or the second game in a bit that was previously unused, and it becomes possible to preferably prevent the commands sent from the master control means to the slave control means from becoming redundant.

Gaming machine K9. A gaming machine as described above in the gaming machine K8, characterized in that the memory area is configured with the same bytes as the header, and the area other than the position corresponding to the game storage bit is an unused area.

According to this gaming machine, the memory area is configured with the same bytes as the header, and the area other than the position corresponding to the game storage bit is unused. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid changes to information indicating the command type, etc., when creating a header by calculating the first command information and the second game information.

Gaming machine K10. Any of the gaming machines K1 to K9 described above, characterized in that when the second gaming information is stored in the memory area, a first signal is output outside the gaming machine, and when the second gaming information is not stored in the memory area, the first signal is not output outside the gaming machine.

According to this gaming machine, when the second gaming information is stored in the memory area, a first signal is output outside the gaming machine, and when the second gaming information is not stored in the memory area, the first signal is not output outside the gaming machine. With this configuration, it is possible to give the second gaming information a function as information used when creating the second command information, and a function as information used when outputting the first signal outside the gaming machine. As a result, it is possible to effectively utilize the memory area, and it is possible to suppress an increase in memory capacity.

Gaming machine K11. Any of the gaming machines K1 to K10, characterized in that the second game is a pseudo game and the first game is a game that is not the pseudo game.

With this gaming machine, it is possible for the slave control means to determine whether or not a pseudo game is being played through the first command information and the second command information.

Gaming machine K12. Any of the gaming machines K1 to K10, characterized in that the second game is a game in a specific game state, and the first game is a game in a game state different from the specific game state.

With this gaming machine, it is possible for the slave control means to determine whether or not a game is being played in a specific gaming state through the first command information and the second command information.

The gaming machines I group to K group may be combined as appropriate, and the above-mentioned effects can be achieved even when combined. The gaming machines I group to K group may be combined as appropriate with the gaming machines A group to H group, and the above-mentioned effects can be achieved even when combined.

10... slot machine as a gaming machine, 32... reel as a rotating body constituting a circulation display means, 41... start lever as a start operation means or a starting operation means, 42-44... stop switch as a stop operation means, 56... first credit insertion switch as a start operation means or an input operation means, 57... second credit insertion switch as a start operation means or an input operation means, 58... third credit insertion switch as a start operation means or an input operation means, 63... upper lamp constituting an auxiliary performance section or a specific performance execution means, 64... speaker constituting an auxiliary performance section or a specific performance execution means, 65... auxiliary display section constituting an auxiliary performance section or a specific performance execution means, 81... display control device constituting a sub-control board or a specific performance execution means, 101... main control device as a main control board, 102... CPU constituting various control means such as a lottery means and a main control means.

Claims (1)

A main control means for controlling and managing games;
A slave control means for performing various controls in response to a signal from the master control means.
The main control means
a first execution means for storing first information in a storage area when a first specific condition is satisfied;
a second execution means for changing the information stored in the storage area to second information when a second specific condition is satisfied after the first specific condition is satisfied;
A verification means for verifying the information stored in the storage area;
a control execution means for executing different controls when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the storage area and when the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the storage area;
a setting unit that sets corresponding information using at least a part of the information stored in the storage area ,
the control execution means executes a specific game when the confirmation means confirms that the first information is stored in the memory area, and does not execute the specific game when the confirmation means confirms that the second information is stored in the memory area,
A specific information storage means for storing specific information in advance;
a command transmission means for transmitting a command to the slave control means;
Equipped with
the setting means includes a defined command creating means for creating a defined command by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the storage area,
The gaming machine is characterized in that the specified command creation means creates a specified command by calculating the specific information and the information stored in the memory area, both when the first information is stored in the memory area and when the second information is stored in the memory area .

Images