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US-20260127944-A1 - TOURNAMENT GAMING FOR ELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINES AND OTHER COMPUTING DEVICES

US20260127944A1US 20260127944 A1US20260127944 A1US 20260127944A1US-20260127944-A1

Abstract

Various gaming tournament-related techniques and systems for providing for game-of-chance gaming tournaments are disclosed, including techniques relating to criteria-based award of plays and/or perks for use in a particular tournament. Unlockable tournament games and geolocation-based award of tournament benefits are also discussed.

Inventors

  • Alfred Thomas
  • Joseph Masinter, II
  • Michele Rousseau
  • Allon Englman
  • Angelo Palmisano
  • Christopher Cleveland
  • Larry Pacey

Assignees

  • ARISTOCRAT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251229

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: cause a graphical user interface (GUI) to be displayed on a display of a device; process geolocation data indicating a location of the device; determine, according to a result of processing the geolocation data, satisfaction of one or more first conditions; cause, responsive to determining satisfaction of the one or more first conditions, a first locked game of one or more locked games to transition to being an unlocked game available for play; and cause the unlocked game to be presented for play via the display of the device.
  2. 2 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein the device is a mobile phone or a tablet computer.
  3. 3 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein determining satisfaction of the one or more first conditions includes determining that the location of the device is within a designated geographical area associated with the first locked game for a designated time.
  4. 4 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to further: cause a game purchase GUI to be displayed on the display, the game purchase GUI including a purchase condition associated with the first locked game, and process purchase data indicating satisfaction of the purchase condition.
  5. 5 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to further: determine satisfaction of one or more second conditions, and cause one or more of a plurality of awards to be generated responsive to determining satisfaction of the one or more second conditions, the plurality of awards including one or more of: one or more plays for a gaming tournament or one or more perks redeemable for a benefit in the gaming tournament.
  6. 6 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein determining satisfaction of the one or more first conditions includes determining that the location of the device is within a designated geographical area.
  7. 7 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6 , wherein the designated geographical area is associated with one or more of a particular casino or territory subject to tribal sovereignty.
  8. 8 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to further: determine receipt of player input via the GUI contemporaneous with determining that the location of the device is within the designated geographical area.
  9. 9 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to further: cause, responsive to determining that the location of the device is within the designated geographical area, a notification to be provided via the device.
  10. 10 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9 , wherein the notification indicates eligibility to earn one or more items if action is taken at a particular location.
  11. 11 . A method performed using one or more processors, the method comprising: causing a graphical user interface (GUI) to be displayed on a display of a device; processing geolocation data indicating a location of the device; determining, according to a result of processing the geolocation data, satisfaction of one or more first conditions; causing, responsive to determining satisfaction of the one or more first conditions, a first locked game of one or more locked games to transition to being an unlocked game available for play; and causing the unlocked game to be presented for play via the display of the device.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the device is a mobile phone or a tablet computer.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein determining satisfaction of the one or more first conditions includes determining that the location of the device is within a designated geographical area associated with the first locked game for a designated time.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: causing a game purchase GUI to be displayed on the display, the game purchase GUI including a purchase condition associated with the first locked game; and processing purchase data indicating satisfaction of the purchase condition.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: determining satisfaction of one or more second conditions; and causing one or more of a plurality of awards to be generated responsive to determining satisfaction of the one or more second conditions, the plurality of awards including one or more of: one or more plays for a gaming tournament or one or more perks redeemable for a benefit in the gaming tournament.
  16. 16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein determining satisfaction of the one or more first conditions includes determining that the location of the device is within a designated geographical area.
  17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the designated geographical area is associated with one or more of a particular casino or territory subject to tribal sovereignty.
  18. 18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: determining receipt of player input via the GUI contemporaneous with determining that the location of the device is within the designated geographical area.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: causing, responsive to determining that the location of the device is within the designated geographical area, a notification to be provided via the device.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the notification indicates eligibility to earn one or more items if action is taken at a particular location.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION(S) The present application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/449,336, filed Aug. 14, 2023, and titled “TOURNAMENT GAMING FOR ELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINES AND OTHER COMPUTING DEVICES,” which itself is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/948,961, filed Oct. 7, 2020, and titled “TOURNAMENT GAMING FOR ELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINES AND OTHER COMPUTING DEVICES,” which itself claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Patent Application No. 62/913,682, titled “SYSTEMS AND TECHNIQUES FOR PROVIDING ANIMATED LEADERBOARDS,” 62/913,684, titled “STICKY WILDS FEATURE FOR TOURNAMENT GAMING FOR ELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINES AND OTHER COMPUTING DEVICES,” 62/913,685, titled “TOURNAMENT GAMING SYSTEM WITH ALL WINS MULTIPLIER MODE,”62/913,680, titled “TOURNAMENT GAMING FOR ELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINES AND OTHER COMPUTING DEVICES,” all of which were filed on Oct. 10, 2019, and 62/955,881, filed Dec. 31, 2019, and titled “MULTIPLAYER GAME SERVER FOR WAGERING GAME TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION,” all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties and for all purposes. This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/946,117, titled “MULTIPLAYER GAME SERVER FOR WAGERING GAME TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION” and filed on Jun. 5, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND Electronic gaming machines (“EGMs”) or gaming devices provide a variety of wagering games such as slot games, video poker games, video blackjack games, roulette games, video bingo games, keno games and other types of games that are frequently offered at casinos and other locations. Play on EGMs typically involves a player establishing a credit balance by inputting money, or another form of monetary credit, and placing a monetary wager (from the credit balance) on one or more outcomes of an instance (or single play) of a primary or base game. In some cases, a player may qualify for a special mode of the base game, a secondary game, or a bonus round of the base game by attaining a certain winning combination or triggering event in, or related to, the base game, or after the player is randomly awarded the special mode, secondary game, or bonus round. In the special mode, secondary game, or bonus round, the player is given an opportunity to win extra game credits, game tokens or other forms of payout. In the case of “game credits” that are awarded during play, the game credits are typically added to a credit meter total on the EGM and can be provided to the player upon completion of a gaming session or when the player wants to “cash out.” “Slot” type games are often displayed to the player in the form of various symbols arrayed in a row-by-column grid or matrix. Specific matching combinations of symbols along predetermined paths (or paylines) through the matrix indicate the outcome of the game. The display typically highlights winning combinations/outcomes for ready identification by the player. Matching combinations and their corresponding awards are usually shown in a “pay-table” which is available to the player for reference. Often, the player may vary his/her wager to include differing numbers of paylines and/or the amount bet on each line. By varying the wager, the player may sometimes alter the frequency or number of winning combinations, frequency or number of secondary games, and/or the amount awarded. Typical games use a random number generator (RNG) to randomly determine the outcome of each game. The game is designed to return a certain percentage of the amount wagered back to the player over the course of many plays or instances of the game, which is generally referred to as return to player (RTP). The RTP and randomness of the RNG ensure the fairness of the games and are highly regulated. Upon initiation of play, the RNG randomly determines a game outcome and symbols are then selected which correspond to that outcome. Notably, some games may include an element of skill on the part of the player and are therefore not entirely random. SUMMARY While many implementations will be evident from the disclosure provided herein, at least the following specific implementations are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure; the implementations summarized below are not intended to exclude further implementations not listed below but otherwise disclosed via the Figures and the detailed description. In some implementations, a system may be provided that includes a plurality of processors, a plurality of memory devices, and one or more display devices. The processors, the memory devices, and the one or more display devices may be communicatively connected, and the plurality of memory devices may collectively store computer-executable instructions for controlling the processors to, collectively: receive information identifying