JP2025003897A - Gaming Machines - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a game machine capable of improving the efficiency of performance processing.SOLUTION: A game machine includes lottery means for executing a winning lottery and performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery. The performance control means can determine a performance to be executed by executing lottery processing using predetermined reference information multiple times for a performance content of the performance. The reference information includes first reference information determined before executing the current lottery processing and second reference information determined by the current lottery processing. In the lottery processing from the next time onwards, the performance content can be determined by referring to the second reference information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 71A

Description

The present invention relates to gaming machines.

Conventionally, gaming machines, such as pinball gaming machines, are configured to hold a lottery for winning when the ball enters the starting hole, and in the pattern changing display game, various game effects (preview effects, etc.) related to the lottery results are generated, making the game more enjoyable (for example, Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2021-108763 A

However, diversifying the presentation to make the game more enjoyable results in more complex presentation processing and increased control burdens.

The object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can improve the efficiency of presentation processing.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following means.
(1) a lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means is configured to execute a lottery process using predetermined reference information a plurality of times for the performance content of the performance, and to determine the performance to be executed;
the reference information includes first reference information determined before the current lottery process is executed and second reference information determined by the current lottery process;
The second reference information is referred to in the next or subsequent lottery process, and the content of the performance is determined.
A gaming machine characterized by:

The present invention makes it possible to improve the efficiency of production processing.

1 is an external view of a gaming machine according to one embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention; A diagram showing the game board and effect buttons. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a control device. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the types of winning. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining V hit types. This is an explanatory diagram explaining types of misses and types of special time-saving features. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a slight time-saving state. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a screen display of a liquid crystal display device. This is an explanatory diagram explaining the preview performance. A diagram showing a game flow (game state transition). FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the game state transition related to the micro-time-saving state. 13 is a flowchart showing the first half of the main processing on the main control side. 13 is a flowchart showing the second half of the main processing on the main control side. 13 is a flowchart showing timer interrupt processing on the main control side. 10 is a flowchart showing a special symbol management process in FIG. 9 . A flowchart showing the starting port check processing of Special Chart 1 in Figure 10. 11 is a flowchart showing the special pattern variation start processing in FIG. 10 . 11 is a flowchart showing the processing during the special pattern change in FIG. 10 . 11 is a flowchart showing the first half of the special symbol confirmation time process in FIG. 10 . 11 is a flowchart showing the latter half of the special symbol confirmation time process in FIG. 10 . 10 is a flowchart showing the special electric feature management process in FIG. 9 . This is a flowchart showing the small hit processing in Figure 15. 17 is a flowchart showing the process of confirming the number of winnings at the large winning slot in FIG. 16 . 18 is a flowchart showing processing according to the operation status of the special electric device in FIG. 17 . 10 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt area outside process (performance display monitor process) in FIG. 9 . 20 is a flowchart showing an outside RAM clear check process in FIG. 19 . 20 is a flowchart showing an operation check process in FIG. 19 . 20 is a flowchart showing a display data update process in FIG. 19 . 13 is a flowchart showing the main processing on the performance control side. 13 is a flowchart showing the performance control side timer interrupt processing. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a variation pattern allocation designation number table. A figure showing a miss fluctuation pattern allocation table (normal). A figure showing a miss fluctuation pattern allocation table (during slight time reduction). A figure showing a miss fluctuation pattern allocation table (during time reduction). 13A is a diagram showing an identification display unit LED data table, and FIG. 13B is a diagram showing a decimal value LED data table. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a storage area in a main control board. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining in-area error information and out-of-area error information. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device according to another embodiment (second embodiment) of the present invention. A flowchart showing the first half of the main processing on the main control side in the second embodiment. A flowchart showing the second half of the main processing on the main control side in the second embodiment. A flowchart showing the main processing (second half) on the main control side for the ball removal state monitoring configuration of the second embodiment. This figure shows the source code for part of the main processing on the main control side in Figure 34 (processing of S059, S065, and S037). 13 is a flowchart showing a 4 ms timer interrupt process according to the second embodiment. 37 is a flowchart showing the input management process in FIG. 36 . A flowchart showing the winning event storage process in Figure 37. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a prize-winning event storage process of another process. 38B is a flowchart showing the ring buffer storage process in FIG. 38A. 13 is a flowchart showing a 108 ms timer interrupt process according to the second embodiment. 41 is a flowchart showing the first half of the message transmission process in FIG. 40 . 41 is a flowchart showing the latter half of the message transmission process in FIG. 40 . 41C is a flowchart showing the serial output process in FIGS. 41A and 41B. 41C is a flowchart showing the first half of the ring buffer transmission process in FIG. 41B. 41C is a flowchart showing the latter half of the ring buffer transmission process in FIG. 41B. A flowchart showing the second half of the main processing on the main control side in another embodiment (third embodiment) of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart showing a 54 ms timer interrupt process according to the third embodiment. 46 is a flowchart showing the first half of the message transmission process in FIG. 45 . 46 is a flowchart showing the latter half of the message transmission process in FIG. 45. 46 is a flowchart showing the message receiving process in FIG. 45 . An explanatory diagram for explaining a gaming machine installation information notification message and a gaming machine installation information response message. An explanatory diagram for explaining the gaming machine information notification message. An explanatory diagram for explaining type information (upper byte side) related to game information (2 bytes) of a gaming machine information notification message. 13 is a diagram showing an explanation of the count information (lower byte side) related to the gaming information (2-byte structure) of the gaming machine information notification message, and an example of the gaming information (type information + count information). FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of game information (type information+count information). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of game information (type information+count information). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of game information (type information+count information). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of game information (type information+count information). 13 is a flowchart showing a frame-side performance information monitor process. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the use of count information related to a performance information status notification. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a gaming machine information response message. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a ring buffer and a shift buffer according to the present invention. A figure showing a switch count table used in the winning event storage process (Figures 38A and 38B) in Figure 37. A figure showing a game information (type information + count information) table used in the ring buffer transmission process in Figure 43B. 13 is a flowchart showing a sphere display process. A diagram showing a game ball number display conversion table. 11A and 11B are time charts for explaining another embodiment (fourth embodiment) of the present invention, in which FIG. 11A shows the case of a conventional determination method, and FIG. 11B shows the case of the determination method of the fourth embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram explaining the types of jackpots. A figure showing specific examples of jackpot types in another embodiment (fifth embodiment) of the present invention. A figure showing specific examples of jackpot types in another embodiment (fifth embodiment) of the present invention. A figure showing an example of a presentation mode (chance presentation) related to the morning state. A figure showing an example of a presentation mode (chance presentation) related to the morning state. A figure showing an example of a presentation mode (chance encouraging presentation) related to the morning state. This is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the left-hit instruction display. 24 is a flowchart showing a lottery command analysis process during the command analysis process in FIG. 23 . 13 is a flowchart showing a lottery process when a command is received during the command analysis process. A flowchart showing the lottery processing at the start of fluctuation in Figure 66. 68 is a flowchart showing the variable initialization process at the start of a lottery in FIG. 67. 68 is a flowchart showing the control part creation process (at the start of fluctuation) in FIG. 67 . 68 is a flowchart showing the lottery start process in FIG. 67. 71 is a flowchart showing the first half of the lottery execution process in FIG. 70. 71 is a flowchart showing the latter half of the lottery execution process in FIG. 70. 71 is a flowchart showing a modification of the latter half of the lottery execution process in FIG. 70. 71 is a flowchart showing another modified example of the latter half of the lottery execution process in FIG. 70. FIG. 71B is a flowchart showing the lottery flag part setting process during the lottery execution process. FIG. 71B is a flowchart showing a lottery reservation setting process during the lottery execution process. 71 is a flowchart showing a lottery table selection process in FIG. 70. 68 is a flowchart showing the lottery end variable initialization process in FIG. 67. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of an offset part storage area. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of an offset part storage area. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of an offset part storage area. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of an offset part storage area. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of a variation lottery reservation information storage area. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of a variation lottery reservation information storage area. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of a variation lottery reservation information storage area. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of a variation lottery reservation information storage area. A figure showing a portion of the processing result memory area (related to variation patterns). A figure showing a portion of the processing result memory area (related to variation patterns). A figure showing a portion of the processing result memory area (related to variation patterns). A figure showing a portion of the processing result memory area (related to variation patterns). A figure showing a portion of the processing result memory area (related to variation patterns). A figure showing a portion of the processing result memory area (related to variation patterns). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processing result memory area (related to the symbol lottery). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processing result storage area (related to reunion bonus). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processing result storage area (related to Ikinari Lucky Patrol). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a table for variation numbers. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a sheet number storage table. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the first half of a sheet number table. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the first half of a sheet number table. A figure showing an offset data table (sub-fluctuation pattern). A figure showing the offset data table (for pattern lotteries T1 to T5). A figure showing the offset data table (reunion bonus). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an offset data table (Ikinari Lucky Patrol). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an offset part number table. A figure showing the first half of allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-variation pattern T1). A figure showing the second half of allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-variation pattern T1). This is a diagram showing the first half of Allocation 001 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T1). This is a diagram showing the second half of Allocation 001 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T1). This is a diagram showing the first half of Allocation 002 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T2). This is a diagram showing the second half of Allocation 002 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T2). This is a diagram showing the first half of Allocation 003 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T3). This is a diagram showing the second half of Allocation 003 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T3). This is a diagram showing the first half of Allocation 004 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T4). This is a diagram showing the second half of Allocation 004 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T4). This is a diagram showing the first half of Allocation 005 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T5). This is a diagram showing the second half of Allocation 005 ([TH_004] Pattern Lottery T5). A diagram showing allocation 006 ([TH_272] Reunion Bonus). This is a diagram showing allocation 007 ([TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol). A figure showing the lottery flag parts information table (for [TH_001] sub-variation pattern). A figure showing a lottery flag parts information table (for [TH_004] pattern lottery). A figure showing the first half of the lottery call setting table (for the [TH_001] sub-variation pattern). A figure showing the second half of the lottery call setting table (for the [TH_001] sub-variation pattern). A figure showing a lottery call setting table (for [TH_004] pattern lottery). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a lottery table selection table (for [TH_004] symbol lottery). A diagram showing some of the main fluctuation types and sub-fluctuation types and their relationships. A diagram showing some of the main fluctuation types and sub-fluctuation types and their relationships. A diagram showing some of the main fluctuation types and sub-fluctuation types and their relationships. A diagram showing some of the main fluctuation types and sub-fluctuation types and their relationships. A diagram showing some of the main fluctuation types and sub-fluctuation types and their relationships. A diagram showing some of the main fluctuation types and sub-fluctuation types and their relationships. [TH_001] A figure showing a portion of an example of setting lottery flag information based on a sub-variation pattern. [TH_001] A figure showing a portion of an example of setting lottery flag information based on a sub-variation pattern. [TH_001] A figure showing a portion of an example of setting lottery flag information based on a sub-variation pattern. [TH_001] A figure showing a portion of an example of setting lottery flag information based on a sub-variation pattern. [TH_001] A figure showing a portion of an example of setting lottery flag information based on a sub-variation pattern. [TH_001] A figure showing a portion of an example of setting lottery flag information based on a sub-variation pattern. This is a portion of an explanatory diagram used to explain sub-variation types. This is a portion of an explanatory diagram used to explain sub-variation types. This is a portion of an explanatory diagram used to explain sub-variation types. This is a portion of an explanatory diagram used to explain sub-variation types. This is a portion of an explanatory diagram used to explain sub-variation types. This is a portion of an explanatory diagram used to explain sub-variation types. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a hit type according to another embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of customization settings. [TH_004] An explanatory diagram for explaining the types of lottery objects related to the symbol lotteries T1 to T5. [TH_001] A diagram showing an example of setting lottery flag information based on pattern lotteries T1 to T5. [TH_004] A figure showing an example of setting reservation information based on a design lottery. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a distribution table relating to title change notice. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an allocation table for the final winning/losing button lottery. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining count notification. A figure showing an example of a presentation related to counting notification. 1 is a front view of an amusement machine having a leaving seat retaining structure according to one embodiment of the present invention; 13 is a front view of a gaming machine having a leaving seat retaining structure according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the relationship between the sound output timing of the earphones and the speaker when the earphones are connected/disconnected. A figure showing an example of presentation related to game environment setting. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a sound volume setting screen. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a volume switch for hall management.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the gaming machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following embodiments, a pachinko gaming machine will be described as an example of the gaming machine according to the present invention.

<1. Overview of configuration: Figures 1 and 2>
An outline of the configuration of a pachinko gaming machine according to one embodiment of the present invention (first embodiment) will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front side showing the exterior of a pachinko gaming machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a view showing the front side of a gaming board.

The pachinko gaming machine 1 (hereafter abbreviated as "gaming machine 1") shown in Figure 1 has a picture-frame-shaped front frame 2 attached to the front of a wooden outer frame 4 so that it can be opened and closed, a gaming board 3 (see Figure 2) mounted in a gaming board storage frame (not shown) attached to the back of the front frame 2, and a gaming area 3a formed on the surface of this gaming board 3 facing the opening of the front frame 2. A glass door 6 supporting transparent glass is provided in front of this gaming area 3a. Various control boards (see Figure 3) for controlling gaming operations are also provided on the back side of the gaming board 3.

A key cylinder (not shown) for unlocking the door is provided on the front side of the glass door 6. By inserting a key into this key cylinder and operating it to one side, the glass door 6 can be unlocked from the front frame 2 and opened to the front, and by operating it to the other side, the front frame 2 can be unlocked from the outer frame 4 and opened to the front.

A front operation panel 7 that is integral with the front frame 2 is disposed below the glass door 6. An upper tray unit 8 is provided on the front operation panel 7, and an upper tray 9 that stores the discharged game balls is formed in the upper tray unit 8. Note that the glass door 6 and the front operation panel 7 do not have to have a door structure that can be opened to the front as a unit, and each may have a door structure that can be opened and closed independently.

The upper tray unit 8 is also provided with a ball removal button 14 for removing the game balls stored in the upper tray 9 below the gaming machine 1, a ball lending button 11 for requesting the payout of game balls from the game ball lending device (not shown) on the island equipment side, and a card return button 12 for requesting the return of any valuable medium inserted into the game ball lending device.

The upper tray unit 8 is also provided with a push button type effect button 13 (first operation means) that functions as an operation means that can be operated by the player, and a cross-shaped directional key 75 (second operation means) that is composed of an up button 75a, a right button 75b, a down button 75c, and a left button 75d and can be operated to input in the up, down, left and right directions. These operation means are also used when the player sets his/her preferred settings (game settings) in the "player participation type effect" and "game environment setting screen" described below, and when a predetermined operation (for example, a single press, a long press, repeated taps, etc.) is performed during a predetermined operation acceptance valid period (button valid period), an effect corresponding to that operation is executed. In addition, in the game environment setting, multiple game environment settings are possible, such as volume adjustment (adjustment of the volume of the sound effect (such as voice) output from the speaker 46 described below) and light intensity adjustment (light intensity of the decorative lamp 45 and the LED for effect described below).

The effect button 13 and the directional key 75 are also provided with built-in lamps (button LEDs 13b) that are configured to indicate the operation acceptance valid period (blinking, lit) and the operation acceptance invalid period (off) depending on the illumination state of the button LEDs 13b (for example, lit, flashing, off, etc.).

A firing operation handle 15 for operating the firing device 32 (see FIG. 3) is provided on the right end side of the front operation panel 7. This firing device 32 functions as a firing means capable of firing game balls toward the game area 3a, and in this embodiment has a firing capacity of about 100 shots per minute.

In addition, speakers 46 (sound production means (sound output means)) that use sound to produce sound effects (sound effects) are provided on both sides of the upper part of the front frame 2 and above the firing operation handle 15. In addition, multiple decorative lamps 45 (light production means (light emitting means)) that use light decoration to produce light effects are provided in appropriate locations on the periphery of the front frame of the glass door 6 and on the game board (Figure 2).

(Game board: Figure 2)
Next, the configuration of the game board 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in the figure, a ball guide rail 5 for guiding a launched game ball is attached in an annular shape as a board surface partition member to the game board 3, and the substantially circular area surrounded by this ball guide rail 5 is the game area 3a, and the four corners are non-game areas.

A liquid crystal display device (LCD) 36 is provided in the approximate center of this game area 3a. Under the control of the performance control unit 24 described below, this liquid crystal display device 36 displays various effects as images in a specified display area (pattern change display area), including the change display operation (changing display and stopping display) of multiple types of decorative patterns (for example, the "left pattern," "middle pattern," and "right pattern" shown in FIG. 5A) that are independently made up of numbers, characters, symbols, etc.

In addition, a center ornament body 48 is provided in the game area 3a so as to surround the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 36 at a distance. The center ornament body 48 is provided along the front side of the game board 3 and integrally comprises a front mounting plate 48a fixed to the game board 3 and an armor frame part 48b that forms the outer periphery of the center ornament body 48 and surrounds the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 36. It protects the display surface of the liquid crystal display device 36 from surrounding game balls and acts as a flow path distribution means that allows the flow path of the game ball to be distributed to the left and right depending on the strength or stroke length of the game ball's launch. In this embodiment, a free movement area through which the game ball can pass is formed between the upper surface of the center ornament body 48 and the ball guide rail 5, and the game ball shot into the upper side of the game area 3a by the launch device 32 is distributed to the left and right at the upper side of the armor frame part 48b and flows down either the left flow path 3b on the left side of the center ornament body 48 or the right flow path 3c on the right side.

The non-play area near the upper right edge (upper right corner) of the game board 3 is a display area for various functions, and the special pattern display device 38a (first special pattern display device: first special pattern display means) and the special pattern display device 38b (second special pattern display device: second special pattern display means) are arranged side by side with 7-segment displays (with dots) corresponding to the upper starting hole 34 (for the first special pattern) and the lower starting hole 35 (for the second special pattern). The special pattern display devices 38a and 38b are designed to execute a 'special pattern variable display game' by displaying the variable display operation (variable display and stop display) of the "special pattern" represented by the 7-segment. The liquid crystal display device 36 displays the decorative pattern by image in a variable manner in time with the variable display of the special pattern by the special pattern display devices 38a and 38b, and executes a 'decorative pattern variable display game' together with various preview effects (effect images). Details about the special symbol change display game and the decorative symbol change display game will be explained at a later date.

The various function display section also includes a composite display device (LED display for reserved composite display) 38c, which is made up of multiple LED displays including a 7-segment display (with dots), next to the special symbol displays 38a and 38b. It is called a "composite" because it is a reserved/time-saving/high-probability composite display device that has the function of displaying multiple status information, such as displaying the number of activated reserved balls for special symbol 1, displaying the number of activated reserved balls for special symbol 2, displaying the number of activated reserved balls for normal symbols, notifying the state that favors right-handed hits, and notifying the state when the variable time-saving function is in operation (time-saving) and when in a high-probability state (high probability).

The various function display section also includes a normal symbol display device 39a (normal symbol display means) consisting of multiple LEDs arranged next to the composite display device 38c. In this embodiment, the normal symbol display device 39a is configured to execute a 'normal symbol variable display game' by the variable display operation of the "normal symbol" represented by each LED. For example, as the variable display operation, the normal symbol is repeatedly turned on and off by the LED, and when the variable time has elapsed, the lottery result of the normal symbol variable display game is announced by the combination of the on/off states of the multiple LEDs. The normal symbol variable display game will be explained in more detail later.

A right-hand hit display device 39b is provided adjacent to the normal symbol display device 39a. This right-hand hit display device 39b indicates, by a combination of the on/off states of the LEDs, whether a "right hit", which aims to make the game ball pass (flow down) through the right flow path 3c, is advantageous, or whether a "left hit", which aims to make the game ball pass (flow down) through the left flow path 3b, is advantageous. For example, if the LED is lit, it indicates that a right hit is advantageous, and if it is off, it indicates that a left hit is advantageous.

In addition, adjacent to the right-hand hit display device 39b, there is a round number display device 39c that is made up of multiple LEDs (round display LEDs). This round number display device 39c notifies the specified number of rounds (maximum number of rounds) related to a jackpot or a V-hit, which will be described later, by combining the on/off states of the multiple LEDs.

Below the center decorative body 48, there are provided upper and lower standard variable winning devices 41 (standard electric devices) equipped with an upper starting hole 34 (first special symbol starting hole: first starting means) and a lower starting hole 35 (second special symbol starting hole: second starting means), and inside each of these are formed detection sensors 34a, 35a (upper starting hole sensor 34a, lower starting hole sensor 35a: see Figure 3) that detect the passage of the game ball.

The upper starting port 34, which is the first special symbol starting port, is a winning port related to the starting condition of the variable display operation of the first special symbol (hereinafter, the first special symbol is referred to as "special symbol 1" and sometimes abbreviated as "special symbol 1") in the special symbol display device 38a (first special symbol display device), and is configured as a "winning device with fixed winning rate" that does not have a "starting port opening and closing means" that makes it possible to open or enlarge the starting port. In this embodiment, due to the action of the game ball fall direction changing member (for example, game nail (not shown), windmill 44, center ornament 48, etc.) in the game area 3a, the upper starting port 34 is configured to be easily configured to enter (win) for game balls that have flowed down the left flow path 3b, but is configured to be difficult or impossible to enter for game balls that have flowed down the right flow path 3c.

The normal variable winning device 41 is configured as a "winning rate variable type winning device" that can vary the winning rate of the game balls in the starting hole by the starting hole opening and closing means. In this embodiment, a pair of left and right movable wing pieces (movable members) 47 are provided as the starting hole opening and closing means, and the lower starting hole 35, which is the second special pattern starting hole, can be opened or enlarged by opening and closing the movable wing pieces 47.

The lower starting opening 35 of the normal variable winning device 41 is a winning opening related to the starting condition of the variable display operation of the second special pattern (hereinafter, the second special pattern is referred to as "special pattern 2" and sometimes abbreviated as "special pattern 2") in the special pattern display device 38b (second special pattern display device), and the winning area of this lower starting opening 35 is configured to be changeable between an open state (easy winning state) that makes winning easier and a closed state (difficult winning state) that makes winning more difficult than the open state or makes winning impossible, depending on the operating state (operation or non-operation) of the movable wing piece 47. In this embodiment, when the movable wing piece 47 is not operated, it holds a closed state (unable to win) that makes it impossible to win at the lower starting opening 35.

In addition, on both sides of the normal variable prize-winning device 41, there are five general prize-winning ports 43, four on the left side (43a-43d) and one on the right side (43e), and inside each port is a general prize-winning port sensor 43h (see Figure 3) that detects the passage of the game ball.

Also, diagonally above the right of the normal variable winning device 41, that is, above the middle part of the right flow-down path 3c, there is provided a normal pattern start port 37 (third start means) consisting of a passing gate through which game balls can pass. This normal pattern start port 37 is a winning port related to the starting conditions of the variable display operation of the normal pattern (hereinafter, the normal pattern may be abbreviated to "normal pattern") in the normal pattern display device 39a, and inside it is formed a normal pattern start port sensor 37a (see FIG. 3) that detects the game balls passing through. Note that in this embodiment, the normal pattern start port 37 is formed only on the right flow-down path 3c side and not on the left flow-down path 3b side, but it may be formed on both flow-down paths.

Along the path from the normal symbol start opening 37 to the normal variable winning device 41 in the right flow path 3c, a special variable winning device 52 (special electric device) is provided that is configured to open or expand the large winning opening 50 by a retractable opening door 52b, and inside it is a large winning opening sensor 52a (see Figure 3) that detects game balls that enter the large winning opening 50.

In addition, within the large prize opening 50, a V prize opening (specific area (not shown)) into which the game ball can enter, and a specific area sensor 51a (see FIG. 3) that detects the game ball that has entered the V prize opening are formed. The game ball that has entered the large prize opening 50 can be guided to the V prize opening by a V guidance device (not shown). This V guidance device is configured to be controllable between an open state (easy V prize entry state) that makes it easier to enter the V prize opening (V prize entry) and a closed state (difficult V prize entry or V prize entry impossible state) that makes prize entry more difficult or impossible than the open state, depending on its operating state, and when the V guidance device is not operating, it holds a closed state (V prize entry impossible state) that makes prize entry into the V prize opening impossible. In this embodiment, when a predetermined condition is met, the V guidance device is controlled to an operating state, and V prize entry is enabled. If the game ball enters the V entry port during this valid V entry period (if the specific area sensor 51a detects the game ball), a "V hit" will occur, which will be described later.

The periphery of the large prize opening 50 is a bulge (decorative member) 55 that bulges out from the surface of the game board 3, and the upper edge 55a of this bulge 55 forms the downstream guide of the right flow path 3c. When the large prize opening 50 is closed by the opening door 52b (large prize opening closed state), a surface is formed that is continuous with the upper edge 55a of this bulge 55, thereby forming part of the downstream guide (upper edge 55a) of the right flow path 3c. In addition, in the downstream area of the right flow path 3c, in the area above the upper edge 55a of the bulge 55, or more precisely, in the game area above the large prize opening 50, a flow path correction plate 51d is protruded almost parallel to the flow direction of the game balls, and acts to move the flowing game balls toward the large prize opening 50.

(Process of the game ball entering the big prize opening 50)
The process of the game ball entering the big prize opening 50 is as follows. The game ball that has passed through the free movement area between the upper surface of the center decoration body 48 and the ball guide rail 5 flows down along the top surface (upper edge) 55a of the bulge portion 55 that protrudes from the game board 3 and functions as a guide for the game ball. Then, the game ball comes into contact with the right end of the flow path correction plate 51d protruding from the game board 3 surface, and the flow direction of the game ball is corrected to the direction (downward) of the big prize opening 50. At this time, if the big prize opening 50 is covered by the plunge-in type opening door 52b (big prize opening closed state), the game ball rolls on it and is further guided in the direction of the tulip-type normal variable prize opening device 41 (lower starting opening 35) by the gauge configuration (arrangement of game nails) not shown. At this time, if the lower starting opening 35 is in a state where a prize can be won (starting opening open state), the game ball can win into the lower starting opening 35, but if the opening door 52b is retracted into the game board surface and the large prize opening 50 is open (large prize opening open state), the game ball is guided into the large prize opening 50.

In this embodiment, when the player aims the launch position toward the special variable winning device 52 (when aiming so that the game ball passes through the right flow path 3c), the game ball is difficult to guide to the upper starting port 34, or is not guided at all. Therefore, if the "big winning port closed state" is in place, it is difficult or impossible for the ball to win at each starting port 34, 35 unless the movable wing piece 47 of the normal variable winning device 41 is activated.

If we classify the winning means as to which of the left and right flow paths the game balls flowing down can win, that is, whether the game balls flowing down the left flow path 3b or the right flow path 3c can win, the winning means that belong to the left flow path 3b include the upper start opening 34, the lower start opening 35, and the general winning openings 43a-43d on the left side, while the winning means that belong to the right flow path 3c include the upper start opening 34, the lower start opening 35, the normal pattern start opening 37, the big winning opening 50, and the general winning opening 43e on the right side. Note that the lower start opening 35 belongs to both the left flow path 3b and the right flow path 3c when the movable wing piece 47 is in an open state (start opening open state), and winning is possible from either the left or right flow path. However, the movable wing piece 47 of the lower starting opening 35 is activated when the game ball passes through (wins) the normal pattern starting opening 37 located on the right side of the play area 3a, so it can be said that it is essentially a winning means that belongs only to the right flow path 3c. Also, the big winning opening 50 belongs only to the right flow path 3c, and only game balls from the right flow path 3c can win.

(Configuration favoring right-handed players under certain conditions)
In the gaming machine 1 of this embodiment, when a "right hit" is performed aiming to make the gaming ball pass through the right flow path 3c, the gaming ball is likely to enter the normal pattern start hole 37, but is difficult or not guided to the upper start hole 34 side. Therefore, in the "large winning hole closed state", it is difficult or impossible to enter each start hole 34, 35 unless the movable wing piece 47 of the normal variable winning device 41 is operated. However, when the "electric support state (start hole winning easy state)" described later occurs, this movable wing piece 47 operates in an opening and closing pattern that is more advantageous than at least the normal gaming state (normal state). Therefore, in this electric support state (electric support state), it is advantageous to "right hit" that aims the gaming ball to pass through the right flow path 3c, rather than "left hit" that aims the gaming ball to pass through the left flow path 3b. On the other hand, in the "no electric support state (difficult to win at the starting hole state)" which is a non-electric support state, it is considered advantageous to "hit left" aiming the game ball to pass through the left flow path 3b, rather than "hit right" aiming to pass through the right flow path 3c. In other words, whether the player should hit left or right may be advantageous depending on the game state. The game state related to the electric support state includes "time-saving state" and "probable state", and the game state related to the no electric support state includes "normal state" and "potential state".

Each winning port, such as the upper start port 34, the lower start port 35, the normal pattern start port 37, the big winning port 50, or the general winning ports 43a to 43e, functions as a winning means arranged in the game area 3a. In addition, detection sensors or detection switches, such as the upper start port sensor 34a, the lower start port sensor 35a, the normal pattern start port sensor 37a, the big winning port sensor 52a, or the general winning port sensor 43h (corresponding to each of the general winning ports 43a to 43e), provided in correspondence with each winning port, function as a "winning detection means" that detects game balls that have entered the winning means. Note that the number, shape, and formation position of each of the above-mentioned winning means can be changed as appropriate depending on the gameplay. In addition, for each winning means, whether the game balls flowing down the left flow path 3b or the right flow path 3c are difficult to win, impossible to win, or can win can be changed as appropriate depending on the gameplay.

When a game ball wins at each winning hole, the number of prize balls per winning ball that is promised for each winning hole is paid out from the game ball payout device 19 (see FIG. 3). For example, 3 balls are paid out from the upper starting hole 34, 1 ball from the lower starting hole 35, 0 balls (no prize balls) from the normal pattern starting hole 37, 15 balls from the large winning hole 50, and 3 balls from the general winning holes 43a-e. Game balls that do not win at each of the above winning holes are discharged from the game area 3a through the outlet 49. Here, "winning" refers to the winning hole taking in the game ball, or, in the case of a winning hole that does not have a structure that takes in the game ball but is a passing-type gate (for example, the normal pattern starting hole 37), the game ball passing through the gate. In fact, when a game ball is detected by a detection sensor formed for each winning hole, it is treated as if a "winning" has occurred at that winning hole. In addition, the winning ball is also called the "winning ball."

<Movable parts>
Additionally, within the game area 3a, movable devices (movable presentation means) that produce dynamic presentation effects depending on their operating modes are disposed in positions that do not interfere with the flow of the game balls.

In this embodiment, the first movable body part 80 is disposed in the upper right side of the center ornament 48 as a movable body part, and the second movable body part 90 is disposed diagonally below to the right. The first movable body part 80 has a clock face part 81 consisting of a number display part divided into 12 number sectors with the numbers "I" to "XII" attached, and clock hands 82 consisting of an hour hand and a minute hand formed to be rotatable on the clock face part 81, and as a whole forms a "hanging clock part". In this sense, the first movable body part 80 is also called a "clock-type part 80". The clock face part 81 has a full-color LED on the back side or inside for each sector division location indicated by the hour hand, or the number sector itself is composed of a full-color LED, and each number sector can be independently illuminated in a different color. This clock-type gadget 80 functions as at least two presentation means: a movable presentation means (clock hands 82) and a light presentation means (number sectors).

The second movable body accessory 90 has a flower-shaped part 91 (first movable body 91) with a corolla consisting of multiple petals arranged around the center of the flower, and a calyx arranged around the outside of the corolla to make the perianth double, forming a flower shape. The flower-shaped part 91 is attached to the tip of an arm 92 (second movable body 92) that can swing, and is configured as a flower-shaped accessory 90 as a whole. The multiple petals of the flower-shaped part 91 can rotate around the center of the flower.

This flower-shaped role 90 is normally stationary in an original position (shown by a solid line in FIG. 2) set on the edge of the LCD screen or to the side outside the LCD screen, and when a certain operating condition is met, the arm 92 tilts and the flower-shaped part 91 moves together with the arm 92 to a position (shown by a dashed line in FIG. 2) where it covers the LCD screen. Then, when it moves to the performance position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2, the flower-shaped part 91 rotates at the tip of the arm, and the translucent flower center and petals are illuminated from behind by a lamp or full-color LED, giving them a beautiful light color. When the flower-shaped role 90 finishes its operation, it returns from the performance position shown by the dashed line to the original position shown by the solid line. The flower-shaped portion 91 can rotate the petals in a number of different patterns, including high-speed rotation, low-speed rotation, and reverse rotation, and the arm 92 can tilt to the full open position as shown by the dashed line, as well as in a number of different patterns, including a semi-tilting motion in which the arm tilts to a specified tilt angle, a vibration motion in which the arm vibrates, and an inching motion. The clock-shaped role 80 (clock hands 82) and the flower-shaped role 90 (first movable body 91, second movable body 92) can be used for various effects, such as preview effects, setting suggestion effects, and demo effects, which will be described later.

<2. Control device: Figure 3>
Next, a control device for controlling game operations of the gaming machine 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a control block diagram showing an overview of the control device.

The control device of the gaming machine 1 according to this embodiment is mainly composed of a main control board (main control means) 20 (hereinafter referred to as the "main control unit 20") which generally controls the control of the overall gaming operation (gaming operation control), a presentation control board (presentation control means) 24 (hereinafter referred to as the "presentation control unit 24") which receives presentation control commands from the main control unit 20 and generally controls the execution (appearance) control of the presentation by the presentation means, a payout control board (payout control means) 29 which controls the payout of prize balls by the game ball payout device 19, and a power supply board (power supply control means (not shown)) which generates and supplies the necessary power (including backup power) from an external power supply to each board of the gaming machine. A liquid crystal display device 36 is connected to the presentation control unit 24 as an image display device. Note that the power supply route is omitted in FIG. 3.

(2-1. Main Control Unit 20)
The main control unit 20 is equipped with a microprocessor incorporating a CPU 201 (main control CPU), as well as a ROM 202 (main control ROM) that stores a control program describing game operation control procedures as well as various data necessary for game operation control, and a RAM 203 (main control RAM) that functions as a work area and buffer memory, and as a whole constitutes a microcomputer (equivalent to a Z80 system).

Although not shown, the main control unit 20 also includes a CTC (Counter Timer Circuit) that provides the Z80 system with periodic interrupts, a constant periodic pulse output creation function (bit rate generator), and time measurement functions; an interrupt controller circuit that performs interrupt enable/disable functions such as a timer interrupt that provides an interrupt signal to the CPU; a reset circuit that detects power-on/off and power abnormalities and outputs a system reset signal to reset the CPU; a watchdog timer (WDT) circuit that monitors for abnormal operation of the control program; an IAT (Inhibit Outside Designated Area) circuit that monitors whether a program is being executed correctly within a preset address range; and a counter circuit for generating random numbers within a certain range (hard random numbers) in a hardware manner.

In addition, at least the main control unit (main control board) 20 and the payout control board 29 are capable of starting backup processing prior to a power cut by receiving a voltage drop signal (power supply abnormality signal) from a power supply board (not shown), and resuming gaming operations prior to the power cut after the power is restored (backup function). This gaming machine 1 is capable of retaining the contents of the RAM for at least several days.

The counter circuit includes a random number generation circuit that generates random numbers, and a sampling circuit that samples random numbers from the random number generation circuit at a predetermined timing, and functions as a 16-bit counter as a whole. The CPU 201 sends instructions to the sampling circuit according to the processing state, thereby obtaining the number indicated by the random number generation circuit as a random number value for internal lottery (random number for determining a jackpot (size of random number: 65536)), and uses this random number value for the jackpot lottery. Note that the random number for internal lottery is obtained by adding a soft random number value generated by appropriate software processing and a hard random number value to prevent cheating such as aiming for a jackpot.

Now, with reference to Figure 30, we will briefly explain the memory space (RAM 203, ROM 202) provided in the main control unit 20.

The "program/data area" of ROM 202 includes "in-area programs" that store control programs required to execute game operation processing related to game progress, such as the symbol change display game and the winning game, "out-area programs" that store control programs not directly related to the game progress, such as processing related to performance display and processing related to type test signals, as described below, and a data storage area that stores various fixed data related to the programs. RAM 203 also includes work areas (for example, an in-area RAM area from address 0000H to 00FFH and an out-area RAM area from address 0100H to 01FFH) that respectively correspond to the above-mentioned in-area programs and out-area programs. That is, the memory area accessible to the CPU 201 includes an internal ROM and an internal RAM that are set up to be within a predetermined upper limit capacity, and an external ROM and an external RAM that are separate from the internal ROM and the external ROM, each of which is made up of a control area in which programs are stored, and a data area in which data is stored.

An "internal area program" stored in the control area of an internal area ROM references the data area of the same internal area ROM, and can reference and update the internal area RAM, but can only reference the external area RAM and cannot directly update it. Similarly, an "outside area program" stored in the control area of an external area ROM references the data area of the same external area ROM, and can reference and update the external area RAM, but can only reference the other internal area RAM and cannot directly update it. Therefore, if you want to update the data in the external area RAM during internal area processing by an internal area program (while the internal area program is running), you need to call (invoke) the external area program from the internal area program, and update the data in the external area RAM through external processing by that external area program (execution of the external area program).

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the main control unit 20 is connected to an upper start opening sensor 34a that detects winning at the upper start opening 34, a lower start opening sensor 35a that detects winning at the lower start opening 35, a normal pattern start opening sensor 37a that detects the passage of the game ball into the normal pattern start opening 37, a large prize opening sensor 52a that detects winning at the large prize opening 50, a general prize opening sensor 43h that detects winning at the general prize opening 43, and a specific area sensor 51a that detects winning at the V prize opening (specific area), and the main control unit 20 receives detection signals from these sensors and determines which prize opening the game ball has won (entered).

The main control unit 20 is also connected to an OUT monitoring sensor 49a that detects game balls (out balls) discharged from the gaming machine through the outlet 49 and each winning port, and the main control unit 20 is capable of receiving the detection signal. The main control unit 20 has a function unit (out ball counting means) that can count the number of out balls based on the detection signal from the OUT monitoring sensor 49a. The number of out balls is one of the "game performance information" that is defined by a specific value. For example, if the "cumulative number of out balls today is 30,000 balls," the gaming performance information that the gaming machine 1 "operated for 300 minutes today" can be obtained by the relational formula "operation time = cumulative number of out balls (pieces) / firing performance (100 balls per minute)." In this embodiment, the number of out balls is used to calculate the "base value" (one of the game performance information) described later.

In addition, although not shown, a fraud detection sensor (e.g., a vibration sensor, a radio wave sensor, a magnetic sensor) for detecting fraudulent behavior against the gaming machine 1 is connected to the main control unit 20, and the main control unit 20 can monitor fraudulent behavior against the gaming machine based on the detection signal from the fraud detection sensor.

The main control unit 20 is also connected to a normal electric role solenoid 41c for controlling the opening and closing of the movable wing piece 47 of the lower starting opening 35, and a large prize opening solenoid 52c for controlling the opening and closing of the opening door 52b of the large prize opening 50, and the main control unit 20 is capable of transmitting control signals for driving and controlling these.

Special symbol display devices 38a and 38b are also connected to the main control unit 20, and the main control unit 20 is capable of transmitting control signals for controlling the display of special symbols 1 and 2. Normal symbol display device 39a is also connected to the main control unit 20, and is capable of transmitting control signals for controlling the display of normal symbols.

The main control unit 20 is also connected to a composite display unit 38c, a right-hand hit display unit 39b, and a round number display unit 39c, and is capable of transmitting control signals to control the display of various information displayed on these units.

The main control unit 20 is also connected to a frame external terminal board 21, and the main control unit 20 can output one or more outer end signals containing specific game information to an external device such as a hall computer HC or a data counter DT (not shown) installed outside the gaming machine via the frame external terminal board 21. The game information contained in the outer end signal includes, for example, winning game start/end information, winning information, special symbol fluctuation start/stop information, prize ball number information, and various security information (fraud detection information, RAM clear, door opening, setting change, and other occurrence information). The "data counter DT" is a game information notification device that can notify specific information about the gaming machine, such as the number of jackpots, the number of times a symbol fluctuation display game is executed (number of symbol fluctuations), and the number of games executed between jackpots, based on the game information contained in the outer end signal, and is usually installed on the top of the gaming machine. The "hall computer HC" is a management computer dedicated to the gaming parlor that monitors and collects the status of the gaming machines (various information such as the number of games played, number of balls dispensed, number of jackpots, errors, etc.) based on the gaming information contained in the outer end signal, and generally manages the operation (operation) status of the gaming machines installed in the pachinko parlor. The "data counter DT" is also equipped with a "call button" for calling a pachinko parlor attendant, and when the call button is operated, the data counter DT can notify the fact by using its own light-emitting means, etc. The detection signal of the call button can also be sent to the hall computer HC.

The above-mentioned "call button" may be mounted on the gaming machine 1, for example, and may be provided in an appropriate location on the upper tray unit 8. In this case, the detection signal from the call button is configured to be transmittable to an external device from the payout slot external terminal board 21 described below.

The main control unit 20 is also capable of outputting a type test signal that identifies the gaming operation in real time from the frame external terminal board 21 in response to the type test (a test related to the type inspection of gaming machines based on the regulations related to the certification and type inspection of gaming machines) conducted by the Security Electronics and Telecommunications Technology Association (STA). Note that when a gaming machine that meets the type test is installed in a pachinko parlor, no changes to the compatible control program are permitted. For this reason, processing related to the type test signal will be executed even after installation in the pachinko parlor (test firing test signal terminal management processing during timer interrupt outside area processing described below (see step S823 in FIG. 19).

The main control unit 20 is also connected to a RAM clear switch 98 for initializing a specified area (internal memory) of the RAM 203, a setting key switch 94 that can be switched between a "setting change permitted state (ON operation)" that allows the setting value to be changed and a "setting change prohibited state (OFF operation)" that prohibits setting change operations by inserting a setting key and turning it ON/OFF, and a setting change switch 95 for changing the "setting value" described below in the setting change permitted state, and the main control unit 20 is capable of receiving detection signals from these switches.

The RAM clear switch 98 and the setting change switch 95 can both be operated by the operator, but to prevent fraudulent activity, they are located in appropriate locations inside the gaming machine that cannot be seen from the outside, and cannot be turned on or off from outside the gaming machine unless the front frame 2 is opened.

The main control unit 20 is also connected to a setting display 97 (setting display means) that displays setting value information, and the main control unit 20 is capable of transmitting control signals for controlling the display of this. The setting display 97 in this embodiment is composed of one 7-segment display. The setting display 97 is mounted in an appropriate location inside the gaming machine, for example, on the control board or on the board case that protects it, so that the setting values cannot be seen from the outside.

(Regarding setting values)
The main control unit 20 has a "setting change function" that can change the expected value (profit) of the profit given to the player, such as the payout rate (so-called "machine payout rate" or "PAYOUT rate"), in stages, and is called a "type with setting function." The above-mentioned "setting value" is a value that indicates this stage. This setting value can be confirmed by the setting display 97, and is set appropriately by the hall staff mainly based on the business strategy of the pachinko hall (game facility).

A "setting value" is, for example, a value that specifies the probability of winning (the probability of winning) a jackpot (a type of winning that will activate a condition device described later) in stages. The higher the setting value, the higher the probability of winning (the probability of winning) a jackpot, which is set to be advantageous to the player. At least two stages of such setting values (at least a first setting value and a second setting value) can be set. For example, if six setting values are set, from setting 1 to 6, the probability of winning a jackpot at low probability can be 1/280 for setting 1, 1/275 for setting 2, 1/270 for setting 3, 1/265 for setting 4, 1/260 for setting 5, and 1/251 for setting 6. In other words, the higher the setting value, the easier it is to win a jackpot (the higher the payout), which is advantageous to the player. In addition, when the probability of winning a jackpot is high (when the special symbol probability function described below is activated), the probability can increase to a value not exceeding 10 times. However, the rate of increase may be the same for each setting value, or it may be different. In the case of this embodiment, the rate of increase is the same for each setting value. In the above example, if the probability of winning a jackpot at a low probability is settings 1 to 6 = 1/280 to 1/251, and the rate of increase is 5 times, the probability of winning a jackpot at a high probability is settings 1 to 6 ≒ 1/56 to 1/50.

In addition, when there are multiple types of jackpots, the probability of winning at least one of them can be changed according to the setting value. For example, if there are four types of jackpots, jackpots 1 to 4, the higher the setting value, the higher the probability of winning all of jackpots 1 to 4, or the higher the probability of winning only some of the jackpots, jackpots 1 to 3 (in this case, the winning probability of jackpot 4 is common to all setting values), or the higher the probability of winning only a specific jackpot (for example, only jackpot 1) (in this case, the winning probability of jackpots 2 to 4 is common to all setting values). In addition, the higher the setting value, the higher the combined probability of winning jackpots 1 to 4 can be. In addition, the winning probability of the small jackpot type that does not trigger the operation of the condition device can be changed according to the setting value, as in the case of the jackpot described above, or the same winning probability can be set for all settings.

In this way, the "set value" refers to a grade related to the probability (ease of occurrence) of a specific event, such as a jackpot, occurring (winning), and is a value that defines the events that affect the payout ratio in stages. The main control unit 20 can be equipped with a setting means that can set a set value related to the winning probability of a specific event as a functional unit related to the set value.

(How to change the settings)
In this embodiment, when the power is turned on, if at least the setting key switch 94 and the RAM clear switch 98 are in the ON state, the setting change is permitted, and if the power is turned on by any other switch operation, the setting change is prohibited. In this setting change permitted state, each time the setting change switch 95 is turned ON, the current display value of the setting display 97 is switched in a cyclic manner within the range of settings 1 to 6, such as "1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 1 → 2 → 3 → ...". When the desired setting value is displayed, if the setting key switch 94 is turned OFF (setting confirmation operation), the current display value is confirmed as the current setting value, and the setting value data is stored in a predetermined area (setting value storage area) of the RAM 203. If the setting key switch 94 is turned OFF from the current ON state, the setting change permitted state is terminated, and the game will start under the confirmed setting value thereafter.

(No setting type, 1-step setting type)
The present invention can also be applied to gaming machines of the "non-setting type" that do not have setting values. In the case of a non-setting gaming machine, since there are no setting values in the first place, there is no need to provide a setting value storage area.

The present invention can also be applied to gaming machines of a "one-step setting type" in which the setting value cannot be switched between multiple levels, but only one setting value is provided. This "one-step setting type" means that, like the above-mentioned "type with setting function," operations related to the setting value, such as setting change operations, are possible, but only one setting value can be selected. It is mainly used to facilitate the design of new models by providing compatibility and versatility between "type with setting function" and "type without setting." This "one-step setting type" is essentially the same as a "game machine without setting" in that there is only one setting value. Note that in the case of the "one-step setting type," even if the setting change switch 95 is operated, the display value of the setting indicator 97 shows only one setting value, for example, "1 → 1 → 1 → 1 → ...," and only one setting value can be selected.

The main control unit 20 can also send various performance control commands to the performance control unit 24 depending on the processing status. However, in order to prevent cheating from outside, the main control unit 20 is configured for one-way communication, where it can only send signals to the performance control unit 24 and cannot receive signals from the performance control unit 24.

(About Performance Indicator 99)
In addition, a performance indicator 99 (information display means) that reports information relating to game results for a specified period (specific game period) (hereinafter referred to as "performance information") is connected to the main control unit 20, and the main control unit 20 is capable of transmitting a control signal for controlling the display of this.

The performance indicator 99 of this embodiment is made up of multiple 7-segment LEDs. Specifically, four 7-segment LEDs (7-segment indicators 99a-99d) in which the display section and circuit section are unitized are arranged horizontally, and mounted on the main control board 20, for example, to form a display capable of displaying four-digit numbers. Each 7-segment LED also has a decimal point DP (dot) below the 7-segment number.

The above-mentioned "performance information" is information that is primarily used by pachinko parlors and relevant authorities for confirmation and investigation, such as information to investigate whether there are any abnormalities in the ball-dispensing performance due to improper adjustment of the game nails or cheating, and whether the original ball-dispensing performance of the gaming machine (the ball-dispensing performance as designed) is being properly demonstrated, in other words, "information about gaming results (gaming results information)." Therefore, this information is not directly related to the player's enjoyment of the game. For this reason, the performance indicator 99 is mounted in an appropriate location inside the gaming machine, such as on the control board or on the board case that protects it.

(Specific examples of performance information)
Here, the performance information is not particularly limited as long as it is useful gaming performance information, and for example, one or more of the various pieces of information shown in (Information 1) to (Information 4) below can be adopted.

(Information 1) Information (specific ratio information) based on the value (α/β) obtained by dividing the total number of balls paid out as a result of winning in a specified counting section (total number of specific winning balls: α balls) by the total number of balls out in the counting section (number of specific outs: β balls) can be used as performance information. Such specific ratio information is useful as an index for evaluating the ball-out performance of a gaming machine.

(Information 1-1) The above "total number of paid out balls" refers to the total number of game balls (prize balls) paid out when a ball enters the winning slots (upper starting slot 34, lower starting slot 35, general winning slot 43 (43a-43e), large winning slot 50). In this embodiment, the upper starting slot 34 has 3 balls, the lower starting slot 35 has 3 balls, the large winning slot 50 has 15 balls, and the general winning slot 43 has 6 balls. The total number of out balls refers to the number of game balls shot from the launching device 32 into the game area 3a (the number of game balls detected by the OUT monitoring switch 49a).

(Information 1-2) For example, a specific game state (a specific game state focusing on YJ and/or Tcode) can be adopted as the "counting target section". Specifically, when focusing on the "internal game state (YJ)" described later, it can be a normal state, a time-saving state, a potential state, a time-saving state, a minute time-saving state, a probability change state, a big win game (condition device ON), a V win game (condition device ON), a small win game (small win flag ON), etc., and when focusing on the "game mode (Tcode)" described later, it can be a heaven mode, a hell mode, a consecutive mode, etc. (Details of various game states and game modes will be described later). In addition, the type of game state to be adopted as the counting target section can be appropriately determined according to the performance information to be obtained. In addition, the counting target section may be not only one game state but also multiple game states. For example, "normal state and slight time-saving state," "all game states except during winning game," "all game states," etc.

(Information 1-3) Furthermore, as the counting target interval for performance information, rather than focusing on the game state such as during the normal state, the time-saving state, or during a jackpot, as described above, it is also possible to adopt counting target intervals such as those described below.
(Information 1-3A: A case focusing on the probability of winning the lottery)
The period of the "low probability state and/or the high probability state" can be counted. For example, the period of the "game state related to the low probability state" and the period of the "game state related to the high probability state" can be counted.
(Information 1-3B: Cases focusing on the presence or absence of electric support)
The period of "electric support state and/or no electric support state" can be counted. For example, "game state related to no electric support state" and "game state related to electric support state" can be counted.
(Information 1-3C: Cases focusing on the probability of winning the lottery and the presence or absence of electric support)
For example, there are "game states relating to a 'low probability state + state without electric support'", "game states relating to a 'high probability state + state without electric support'", "game states relating to a 'low probability state + state with electric support'", "game states relating to a 'high probability state + state with electric support'", etc.

(Information 1-3D) During a big win (including a V win) the game is controlled to a low probability state, and during a small win game, the game state at the time of winning continues. However, if you want to measure a "period of a purely low probability state", you can use the period excluding "win game" and "high probability state" as the counting target section. In this example, if the game state at the time of winning a small win is a low probability state, it may or may not be included in the measurement target. Details of the big win type, small win type, and these winning games will be described later. Also, if you want to measure a period of a low probability state or a high probability state excluding both big win and small win games, you can use the period excluding all win games as the counting target section.

(Information 1-4) The "total number of payouts" may also be the total number of payouts excluding one or more specific winning slots from the count (total number of payouts excluding specific winning slots). For example, the total number of payouts may be the total number of payouts excluding large winning slots 40 and 50 from the count among the winning slots (in this case, the total number of payouts is the number excluding the winning slots from the count).

(Information 2) In addition, as performance information, one or more of the total number of balls paid out, the total number of balls paid out excluding specific winning slots, the total number of balls taken out, the total number of balls fired, the total number of balls won, and the net increase in the number of balls (difference in number of balls) may be counted, and the count results may be used as performance information.

(Information 3) The ratio of features during a specified gaming period may be used as performance information. The specified gaming period may be a specified number of games (for example, the most recent 6,000 games, a cumulative number of games (a cumulative total of 17,500 games or more, a cumulative total of 175,000 games or more, etc.), a specified period (for example, from power-on to power-off), or a specified time (for example, 10 hours from power-on) (the same applies to (Information 4) to (Information 5) described later).
The "role ratio (%)" is the ratio of the game balls paid out by the operation of the electric role to the game balls paid out from the gaming machine. The role ratio is calculated by "(total number of paid outs during role operation/total number of paid outs) x 100" (in this example, decimal points are rounded down). The role is a normal electric role, a first-class special electric role, a first-class non-special electric role, a role continuous operation device related to a first-class special electric role, etc. As a display mode of the role ratio, for example, the identification segment side displays "7Y.", and the ratio segment side displays the current role ratio (for example, "69" if 69%). In addition, if the predetermined game period is less than (for example, if less than 6000 games), the identification segment is displayed in a flashing manner. In addition, if the predetermined value is equal to or greater than (for example, 70% or more), the ratio segment is displayed in a flashing manner, and if it becomes 100%, the ratio segment is displayed in a flashing manner with "99".

(Information 4) The ratio of consecutive reels during a specified gaming period may be used as performance information.
The "continuous feature ratio (%)" is the ratio of game medals paid out by the operation of the feature continuous operation device to the game medals paid out from the gaming machine. The continuous feature ratio is calculated by "(total number of medals paid out during the operation of the feature continuous operation device/total number of medals paid out) x 100" (rounded down to the nearest whole number). As a display mode of the continuous feature ratio, for example, the identification segment side displays "6Y.", and the ratio segment side displays the current continuous feature ratio (for example, "59" if it is 59%). Note that if the game period is less than a predetermined period (for example, if it is less than 6000 games), the identification segment is displayed in a blinking manner. Also, if the value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, equal to or greater than 70%), the ratio segment is displayed in a blinking manner, and if it becomes 100%, the ratio segment is displayed in a blinking manner with "99".

(Information 5) The ratio of reels to the total number of games (cumulative number of games) may be used as performance information.
As a display mode of the role ratio in the total number of games (cumulative number of games), for example, the identification segment displays "7A.", and the ratio segment displays the current role ratio (for example, "69" if it is 69%). However, if the total number of games is less than a predetermined number of games (for example, less than 17,500 games), the identification segment is displayed in a flashing manner. Also, if the role ratio is a predetermined value or more (for example, 70% or more), the ratio segment is displayed in a flashing manner.

Naturally, the counting interval for the counting values used to calculate the performance information differs depending on the performance information or information used. For example, if the counting values required to calculate the performance information are the total number of payouts in the normal state and the slight time-saving state, the cumulative number of out balls in the normal state and the slight time-saving state, and the total number of out balls in all game states, the counting intervals for the total number of payouts and the cumulative number of out balls are the normal state and the slight time-saving state, and the counting interval for the total number of out balls is the all game states.

(Regarding the counting section according to this embodiment)
As described above, various information can be adopted as the performance information, but in this embodiment, the "normal state" and the "slight time-saving state" are defined as the counting target intervals (game states to be counted). The total number of payouts during these game states (hereinafter referred to as the "normal payout number") and the cumulative number of out balls during the same game states (hereinafter referred to as the "normal out number") are measured in real time, and the value obtained by dividing the normal payout number by the normal out number is multiplied by 100 (the base value calculated by normal payout number ÷ normal out number × 100) is adopted as the above-mentioned "performance information", and this is displayed in a predetermined manner by the performance display 99. The above-mentioned "base value" is rounded off to one decimal place and displayed on the performance display 99 as the performance information.

Therefore, each data of the number of payouts in normal times, the number of outs in normal times, and the base value (base value in normal times) is stored (memorized) in the corresponding area of RAM 203 (the storage area for the number of payouts in normal times, the storage area for the number of outs in normal times, and the specific ratio information storage area). However, instead of simply measuring permanently and displaying the performance information, when the total number of out balls reaches a predetermined number (for example, 60,000 balls), the measurement is stopped once, and the base value at the time of the measurement end is stored as history information in a specified area of RAM 203 (the performance display storage area) (the current base value is stored). Note that the above-mentioned "total number of out balls (60,000 balls)" that triggers the measurement end of the current base value does not refer to the number of outs in normal times, but to the total number of out balls during all game states (including during a winning game) (hereinafter referred to as "number of outs in all states"). This number of outs in all states is also measured in real time and stored in the corresponding area of RAM 203 (the storage area for the number of outs in all states). Hereinafter, for ease of explanation, unless otherwise necessary, the above-mentioned "normal dispensed number storage area, normal out number storage area, specific ratio information storage area, and all-state out number storage area" (RAM areas that store data groups related to the calculation of performance information) may be collectively referred to as the "counting information storage area."

The processing program and its work area for display control and base values on the performance display device 99 are defined in an area (outside area memory (outside area ROM, outside area RAM)) different from the area (inside area memory (inside area ROM, inside area RAM)) that the CPU 201 accesses during processing related to normal game progress (symbol change display game, winning game, etc.).

In the case where there are multiple counting target sections including a first counting target section (normal state) and a second counting target section (slight time-saving state) as in this embodiment, the counting values (counting values used to calculate performance information) relating to each counting target section may be stored in a memory area (hereinafter also referred to as an "individual memory area") defined for each counting target section. For example, as the counting values (hereinafter also referred to as "individual counting values") relating to each counting section, the number of dispensed pieces in the first counting section (number of dispensed pieces in normal state), the number of out pieces in the first counting section (number of out pieces in normal state), the number of dispensed pieces in the second counting section (number of dispensed pieces in slight time-saving state), and the number of out pieces in the second counting section (number of out pieces in slight time-saving state) can be counted (first counting section dispensed number counting means, first counting section out number counting means, second counting section dispensed number counting means, second counting section out number counting means), and a memory area can be provided to store each of these values. Note that the number of dispensed pieces in normal state and the number of dispensed pieces in slight time-saving state are one aspect of the counting values belonging to the number of dispensed pieces in normal state, and the number of out pieces in normal state and the number of out pieces in slight time-saving state are one aspect of the counting values belonging to the number of out pieces in normal state.

In addition, a base value (hereinafter also referred to as "individual base value") for each of the first counting target section (normal state) and the second counting target section (slight time-saving state) may be calculated based on the count value in the individual memory area described above, and a memory area (first individual base value memory area, second individual base value memory area) may be provided to store each of these base values (normal state base value, slight time-saving state base value). In this case, the normal state base value and the slight time-saving state base value may be calculated, and their average value may be used as the base value to be displayed. In this way, when the count value and base value set for each counting target section are configured to be able to be stored, it becomes possible to manage the individual count value and individual base value. In this case, there is also the advantage that the individual count value and/or the individual base value can be displayed.

After the total number of balls out reaches a specified number and the current base value is stored as history information, the counting information storage area used in this measurement is cleared (initialized), and measurement and calculation of new normal payout numbers, normal out numbers, total state number of balls out, and base value begins. This causes the current base value to be stored as history information, and the next performance information is measured, calculated, and stored in real time.

Note that from the first time the power is turned on or all out-of-area RAM is cleared until the number of outs in all states reaches a specified number (for example, 299), a test period (pre-measurement period) is set up in which only the number of outs in all states is counted and base values and the like are not measured. This is in consideration of the fact that operational tests are conducted when gaming machines are first installed in pachinko parlors. For example, game balls may be placed in the starting hole to check operation or for test shots, and prize balls and out balls resulting from such operational tests must be excluded from the counting. Therefore, the initial (first) measurement begins after the end of the test period.

Furthermore, when the number of items out in all states reaches a predetermined number (60,000 in this case) after the start of the initial (first) measurement, the base value at this point (initial base value) is stored in the performance display storage area of RAM 203, and the current number of items dispensed in normal mode, number of items out in normal mode, and number of items out in all states are cleared in preparation for the second measurement (measurement data initialization process). In other words, each time the specified number of 60,000 items is counted, the current base value is stored, and the number of items dispensed in normal mode, number of items out in normal mode, and number of items out in all states being measured are cleared in preparation for measuring the next base value.

The past base value (historical base value) as the above-mentioned historical information and the base value currently being measured in real time (real-time base value) are displayed in an alternating manner at predetermined intervals (for example, 5 seconds). In this embodiment, of the four 7-segment LEDs 99a to 99d, the two 7-segment LEDs 99a and 99b on the left half of the front side function as an 'identification display section (identification segment)' that displays identification information that can distinguish whether the 'real-time base value' being measured in real time or the 'historical base value', which is historical information, and the two 7-segment LEDs 99c and 99d on the right half of the front side function as a 'base display section (ratio segment)' that displays the base value.

The identification display section (identification segment) displays, for example, the following:
(1) To display the real-time base value: "bL."
(2) To display the historical base value: "b6."
(3) During the test period: "--"

The base value is rounded off to the first decimal place before being displayed in the numeric display section, but if the rounded value is three digits or more, "99." is displayed in the base display section to indicate an overflow. For example, if the real-time base value is 31, it is displayed as "bL.31", if the historical base value is 29, it is displayed as "b6.29", and if it is an overflow, it is displayed as "bL.99" or "b6.99". Note that since the test period is the section before measurement begins, "---" is displayed in the identification display section and base display section. As described above, it is possible to distinguish whether the currently displayed content is the real-time base value or the historical base value.

The history base value is not limited to the previous base value, and may be configured to display a specific number of base values, such as the value before last or the value before that (3 times before), and the number of previous base values to be displayed can be determined as appropriate. For example, multiple measurement periods can be displayed by switching them at predetermined intervals, such as "third history base value (measurement result three times before)", "second history base value (measurement result before last)", "first history base value (previous measurement result)", and "real-time base value (current base value)". In this case, in order to distinguish the measurement results of each section, the display of the identification display part can be made to have different display modes. For example, the identification display part "b3." is displayed for the "third history base value", the identification display part "b2." is displayed for the "second history base value", the identification display part "b1." is displayed for the "first history base value", and the identification display part "bL." is displayed for the "real-time base value". In addition, when a test section is displayed, the identification display part "--" is displayed. In addition, when one or more performance information is displayed on the performance display device 99, as long as the performance information can be distinguished, the display mode can be freely determined. In addition, when multiple pieces of performance information are displayed, the timing for switching from one piece of performance information to another can also be freely determined.

In this specification, "measurement" can be replaced with the words "calculation" or "counting", "calculation" can be replaced with the words "measurement" or "counting", and "counting" can be replaced with the words "measurement" or "counting". For example, the meaning of "calculating a base value" can be treated as an equivalent concept to the meaning of "measuring a base value" or "counting a base value".

The main control unit 20 is also connected to a payout control board (payout control unit) 29, which is connected to a launch control board (launch control unit) 28 that controls the launch device 32, and a game ball payout device (game ball payout means) 19 that pays out game balls.

The main role of the payout control board 29 is to receive payout control commands from the main control unit 20, control the payout of prize balls by the game ball payout device 19 based on the payout control commands, and send information (status signal) related to the payout operation status to the main control unit 20. When it is necessary to pay out balls, the main control unit 20 can send a control command related to the payout (a "payout control command" that specifies the number of prize balls) to the payout control board 29, and the payout control board 29 can send the above-mentioned status signal to the main control unit 20.

A full detection sensor 60 that detects the storage state of the game balls stored in the upper tray 9 (whether the upper tray 9 is full or not) and a door opening sensor 61 that detects the open/closed state of the door structure (in this embodiment, the "front frame 2" and/or the "glass door 6") are connected to the payout control board 29, and the payout control board 29 is capable of receiving detection signals from these sensors. The door opening sensor 61 in this embodiment functions as a door opening detection means, and is configured to be in an ON state (ON when open) when the front frame 2 or the glass door 6 is opened forward relative to the outer frame 4, and to be in an OFF state (OFF when closed) when closed. The door opening sensor 61 may be a sensor that can detect the glass door 6 and the front frame 2 individually. For example, the first door opening sensor 61 may detect the open/closed state of the front frame 2, and the second door opening sensor 61 may detect the open/closed state of the glass door 6. In addition, if the glass door 6 and the front operation panel 7 are door structures that can be opened and closed independently, the front frame 2, the glass door 6, and the front operation panel 7 may be configured to be detectable in their open/closed state. In any case, for door structures that can be opened and closed forward relative to the gaming machine 1 (outer frame 4), particularly door structures that open the inside of the gaming machine, it is extremely important from the viewpoint of preventing fraud to provide a sensor that can detect the open/closed state. In this embodiment, the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is input to the payout control board 29, and the payout control board 29 notifies the main control unit 20 of the open/closed state of the door structure, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 may be directly input to the main control unit 20.

The payout control board 29 is also capable of receiving detection signals from the supply shortage detection sensor 19a, which detects a shortage of game balls, and the ball counting sensor 19b, which detects the game balls (prize balls) that are paid out. The payout control board 29 is also capable of transmitting control signals for controlling the payout motor 19c (the motor that drives the ball payout mechanism) of the game ball payout device 19.

The payout control board 29 is capable of transmitting various status signals based on the detection signals from the full detection sensor 60, the door open sensor 61, the supply shortage detection sensor 19a, and the ball counting sensor 19b as the above-mentioned status signals. These status signals include a "ball jam signal" indicating a full state, a "door open signal" indicating the open/closed state of the front frame 2 and the glass door 6, a "supply shortage signal" indicating a shortage of game balls from the game ball payout device 19, a "counting error signal" indicating a shortage of prize balls paid out or an abnormality in the ball counting sensor 19b, and a "payout completion signal" indicating the completion of the payout operation, and is configured to be able to transmit various status signals. Based on these status signals, the main control unit 20 monitors the open state of the door (door open error), whether the payout operation of the game ball payout device 19 is normal or not (supply shortage error), and the full state of the upper tray 9 (upper tray full error (ball jam error)). In the above, it was explained that the detection signal (door open signal) from the door open sensor 61 is input to the main control unit 20 via the dispensing control board 29, but it may also be configured to be input directly to the main control unit 20 without going through the dispensing control board 29.

The payout control board 29 is connected to the launch control board (launch control unit) 28, but in this embodiment, this means that the payout control board 29 is equipped with a launch control IC, and the main control unit 20 directly transmits a launch control signal to the launch control board 28. The main control unit 20 is configured to be able to transmit a launch control signal to the launch control IC (launch control board 28) on the payout control board 29, and the main control unit 20 directly controls the launch operation of the launch device 32 by controlling the "ON (output = launch operation permitted state) / OFF (output stop = launch operation prohibited state)" of the launch control signal. After power is turned on, the main control unit 20 continues to output the launch control signal when the game start conditions are met (see step S039 in Figure 8B described below), but when it is determined that a specific error (for example, a door open error) has occurred, it stops the launch control signal (launch control signal OFF).

Based on the output of a launch control signal from the main control unit 20 (launch control signal ON), the launch control board 28 controls the power supply to the launch solenoid (not shown) provided in the launch device 32, and realizes the launch operation of the game ball by operating the launch operation handle 15. Therefore, when the launch permission signal is not output (when the launch control signal is OFF), no launch operation is performed no matter how much the launch operation handle 15 is operated, and the game ball is not launched. In addition, the launch control board 28 is capable of receiving a detection signal (ON (touch state) / OFF (non-touch state)) from a touch sensor (not shown) provided in the launch operation handle 15 and a detection signal from a launch stop switch (not shown) provided in the launch operation handle 15. When the touch sensor does not detect that the player is touching the handle (non-touch state) or when the launch stop switch provided in the launch operation handle 15 is operated (launch stop switch ON state), the launch control board 28 does not perform the launch operation by the launch device 32 even if it receives a launch control signal from the main control unit 20. In addition, the strength with which the game ball is launched can be changed depending on the amount of operation of the launch operation handle 15.

(2-2. Production Control Unit 24)
The performance control unit 24 is mainly composed of a microcomputer equipped with a microprocessor with a built-in CPU 241 (performance control CPU), a ROM 242 (performance control ROM) storing performance data required for performance control processing, and a RAM 243 (performance control RAM) functioning as a work area or buffer memory, and also includes an audio control unit (sound source LSI), an RTC control unit (Real Time Clock) that manages calendar information related to the current time (time information on real time) and/or date (month, day, day of the week), a counter circuit (16-bit counter, 8-bit counter) for generating hard random numbers within a certain range, an interrupt controller circuit, a reset circuit, a WDT circuit, etc., and controls the overall performance operation. In addition, like the main control unit 20, the performance control unit 24 also has a backup function and a random number generation means related to performance lottery (random number generation means for performance lottery).

The main role of this performance control unit 24 is to receive performance control commands from the main control unit 20, select and decide the performance based on the performance control commands, control the image display of the liquid crystal display device 36, control the sound of the speaker 46, control the light emission of various performance LEDs (decorative lamp 45, button LED 13b, other performance LEDs), and control the operation of various movable parts (clock-shaped part 80, flower-shaped part 90).

The performance control unit 24 also includes a display control unit (not shown) that controls the display of the liquid crystal display device 36. This display control unit is mainly composed of a VDP that controls the overall video output processing such as image development processing and image drawing, an image ROM that stores image data (performance image data) used by the VDP for image development processing, a VRAM (Video RAM) that temporarily stores the image data developed by the VDP, a liquid crystal control CPU that outputs control data required for the VDP to perform display control, a liquid crystal control ROM that stores a program describing the display control operation procedures of the liquid crystal control CPU and various data required for that display control, and a liquid crystal control RAM that functions as a work area and buffer memory.

The performance control unit 24 also includes a light display control unit for the light display device 45a, which includes various performance LEDs such as decorative lamps 45 and button LEDs 13b, an audio control unit (sound source LSI) for the sound generating device 46a, which includes a speaker 46, and a drive control unit (motor drive circuit) for the movable body role motors 80c, 91c, and 92c that operate the movable body role motors (clock-shaped role 80, flower-shaped portion 91, and arm 92) to execute image display performances, light performances, sound performances, or movable body performances.

The performance control unit 24 is also connected to a position detection sensor 82a that monitors the operation of the movable role, and the performance control unit 24 controls the operation mode of the movable role while monitoring the current operating position (for example, the amount of movement from the origin position) based on the detection information from the position detection sensor 82a. The performance control unit 24 also monitors malfunctions in the operation of the movable role based on the detection information from the position detection sensor 82a, and performs a specified error notification process if a malfunction occurs.

The performance control unit 24 is also connected to a performance button switch 13a, which detects the operation of the performance button 13, and directional key switches 75a' to 75d', which detect the operation of the directional keys 75 (75a to 75d), and is capable of receiving operation detection signals from these performance buttons 13 and directional keys 75.

When the performance control unit 24 receives a performance control command sent from the main control unit 20, it randomly or uniquely selects one of multiple prepared performance patterns based on the information contained in the command, and controls various performance means at the required timing to produce the desired performance. This realizes the display of a performance image by the liquid crystal display device 36 (image display performance), the playback of sound from the speaker 46 (sound performance), and the lighting and blinking of the decorative lamps 45 and other performance LEDs (light performance), and the chronological development of various performance patterns (such as the variable display operation of decorative patterns and preview performances) realizes a "performance scenario" in the broad sense of the word. Furthermore, the performance control unit 24 is configured to be able to identify what operation has been performed on the performance button 13 and/or the directional key 75 (for example, pressing, long pressing, rapid tapping, pressing the directional key 75 up, down, left, right, etc.) based on the operation detection signals from the performance button switch 13a and the directional key switches 75a'-75d' during a specified operation acceptance valid period (operation identification means), and is configured to be able to execute and control a performance according to the type of operation.

The performance control command defines its function by a two-byte structure consisting of a one-byte mode (MODE) and a one-byte event (EVENT), and to distinguish between MODE and EVENT, bit 7 of MODE is ON and bit 7 of EVENT is OFF. When this information is transmitted as valid, a strobe signal is output corresponding to each of the mode (MODE) and event (EVENT). In other words, when there is a command to transmit, the CPU 201 (main control CPU) sets and outputs mode (MODE) information for transmitting the command to the performance control unit 24, and transmits the first strobe signal after a predetermined time has elapsed since this setting. Furthermore, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission of this strobe signal, it sets and outputs event (EVENT) information, and transmits the second strobe signal after a predetermined time has elapsed since this setting. The strobe signal is controlled to an active state by CPU 201 for a specified period of time to ensure that CPU 241 (performance control CPU) can receive commands.

The performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) also generates an interrupt based on the input of a strobe signal to execute a control program for command reception interrupt processing, and the performance control command is acquired during this interrupt processing. Unlike the CPU 201, when an interrupt occurs based on the input of a strobe signal, the CPU 241 interrupts interrupt processing based on another interrupt (timer interrupt processing executed periodically) even if that processing is in progress, and performs command reception interrupt processing as a priority even if another interrupt occurs at the same time.

<3. Overview of operation>
Next, a gaming operation of the gaming machine 1 using the above-mentioned control device (FIG. 3) will be described.

(3-1. Game with changing symbols)
(3-1-1. Special symbol change display game, decorative symbol change display game)
In the gaming machine 1 of this embodiment, a "jackpot lottery" is performed by random number lottery in the main control unit 20 based on a predetermined starting condition, specifically, based on the game ball entering (winning) the upper starting hole 34 or the lower starting hole 35. Based on the lottery result, the main control unit 20 variably displays special symbols 1 and 2 on the special symbol display devices 38a and 38b to start the special symbol variable display game, and after a predetermined time has passed, derives and displays the result on the special symbol display device, thereby ending the special symbol variable display game.

Here, in this embodiment, the jackpot lottery based on winning the upper starting hole 34 and the jackpot lottery based on winning the lower starting hole 35 are performed separately and independently. For this reason, the jackpot lottery result for the upper starting hole 34 is derived on the special pattern display device 38a side, and the jackpot lottery result for the lower starting hole 35 is derived on the special pattern display device 38b side. Specifically, on the special pattern display device 38a side, on the condition that a game ball has entered the upper starting hole 34, the first special pattern variable display game is started by displaying the special pattern 1 in a variable manner, while on the special pattern display device 38b side, on the condition that a game ball has entered the lower starting hole 35, the second special pattern variable display game is started by displaying the special pattern 2 in a variable manner. Then, when the special pattern variable display game is started on the special pattern display device 38a or the special pattern display device 38b, after a predetermined variable display time has elapsed, the special pattern is stopped and displayed in a pattern display mode based on the jackpot lottery result. For example, if the result of the jackpot lottery is a "jackpot", the special symbol displayed during the variable display is displayed in a predetermined "jackpot" mode, if the result is a "small jackpot", the special symbol is displayed in a predetermined "small jackpot" mode, if the result is a "special time-saving" mode, the special symbol is displayed in a predetermined "special time-saving" mode, and otherwise the special symbol is displayed in a predetermined "miss" mode, thereby deriving the game result (jackpot lottery result). Details of the types of winnings related to the jackpot lottery will be described later.

For the sake of convenience, the first special symbol change display game on the special symbol display device 38a may be referred to as "special symbol change display game 1" and the second special symbol change display game on the special symbol display device 38b may be referred to as "special symbol change display game 2". In addition, unless otherwise necessary, "special symbol 1" and "special symbol 2" may be referred to as "special symbol" (sometimes abbreviated to "special pattern"), and "special symbol change display game 1" and "special symbol change display game 2" may be referred to as "special symbol change display game" without distinction. In addition, the symbol change display game may be abbreviated to "in game" and may be used to distinguish from during a winning game. In addition, when referring to "in game", unless otherwise specified, it means the period of the symbol change display game and/or winning game, that is, at least the period other than the waiting period for customers (not during game). However, when referring to "non-playing", this can include the period when the safety device (complete function) described below is in operation, unless otherwise specified to the contrary.

When the special symbol change display game is started, the decorative symbol change display game is started by changing and displaying decorative symbols (game symbols for dramatic effect) on the liquid crystal display device 36, and various effects are developed in conjunction with this. When the special symbol change display game ends, the decorative symbol change display game also ends, and a predetermined special symbol indicating the result of the jackpot lottery is displayed on the special symbol display device, and a decorative symbol reflecting the result of the jackpot lottery is derived and displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36. In other words, the result of the special symbol change display game is reflected and displayed by the decorative symbol change display game for dramatic effect, which includes the change display operation of the decorative symbols.

Therefore, for example, if the result of the special symbol change display game (the result of the jackpot lottery) is a "jackpot," the decorative symbol change display game will develop an effect that reflects that result. Then, when the special symbol is displayed on the special symbol display device in a display mode that indicates a jackpot (for example, the 7-segment display shows "7"), the decorative symbols are displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36 in each of the "left," "middle," and "right" display areas in a display mode that reflects the "jackpot" (winning symbols: for example, three decorative symbols are displayed in a display mode of "7," "7," "7" in each of the "left," "middle," and "right" display areas).

When this "jackpot" occurs, specifically, the special pattern change display game ends, followed by the decorative pattern change display game, and as a result, the pattern form of the "jackpot" is derived and displayed, and then the large prize opening solenoid 52c (see Figure 3) of the special variable prize winning device 52 is activated and the opening door 52b opens and closes in a predetermined pattern, thereby opening and closing the large prize opening 50 and creating a special game state (winning state) which is more advantageous to the player than the normal game state (normal state). In this jackpot game, the winning area is opened or expanded until the opening time of the large prize opening by the opening door 52b has elapsed for a predetermined time (maximum opening time: for example, 29.8 seconds) or the number of winning balls entering the large prize opening 50 reaches the maximum number of winning balls (the upper limit of the number of winning balls allowed for the opening or expanded prize opening by one operation of the device: for example, 10 balls), and when either of these conditions is met, the large prize opening is closed (the round play end condition (closing condition) is met). This "round game" is repeated for a predetermined number of rounds (for example, up to 10 rounds).

When the jackpot game starts, an opening performance is first performed using the start interval time (start INT), and when the start INT ends, round play is performed multiple times up to a predetermined specified number of rounds (maximum number of rounds). When the current round play ends, the next round play starts after a specified interval time (inter-round INT). Then, when the maximum number of rounds ends, an ending performance is performed using the end interval time (end INT), and this ends the series of jackpot games. In other words, the jackpot game is broadly divided into an opening period (start INT period), a round play period up to the maximum number of rounds, and an ending period (end INT period). In addition, during the V hit game described below, it is basically the same as the big hit game, and is composed of each game period of the opening period (start INT period), the round game period with the maximum number of rounds as the upper limit, and the ending period (end INT period), and a predetermined effect related to each game period is displayed as the hit effect (V hit effect). In this specification, unless there is a particular need, the big hit effect and the V hit effect may be referred to as "win effect" without distinguishing between them.

Regarding the information necessary for executing the decorative symbol variation display game, the main control unit 20 first performs a jackpot lottery based on the game ball entering (winning) the upper start hole 34 or the lower start hole 35, specifically, on the condition that the game ball is detected by the upper start hole sensor 34a or the lower start hole sensor 35a and the start condition (start condition related to the special symbol) is met, which includes a jackpot lottery to select whether there will be a "jackpot", a "small win", a "special time-saving", or a "miss", and a "symbol lottery (winning type lottery)" to select the type of jackpot if the result of the lottery is a "jackpot", the type of small win if the result is a "small win", the type of special time-saving if the result is a "special time-saving", and the type of miss if the result is a "miss", and then determines the variation pattern of the special symbol and the special symbol (special stop symbol) to be finally stopped and displayed based on the lottery result information.

Then, as a presentation control command specifying the processing state, a "variation pattern designation command" including at least special symbol variation pattern information (for example, information related to the jackpot lottery result and the special symbol variation time) is sent to the presentation control unit 24. This sends basic information required for the decorative symbol variation display game to the presentation control unit 24. Note that in this embodiment, in order to increase the variety of presentations, a "decorative symbol designation command" including information related to the special stop symbol (symbol lottery result information (winning type information)) is also sent to the presentation control unit 24.

The special symbol variation pattern information may include information specifying the execution of a specific advance notice performance (such as the reach performance, pseudo consecutive performance, pre-reading advance notice, setting suggestion performance, etc., described below) in addition to the jackpot lottery result. It may also include information regarding the type of advance notice performance (such as the type of reach performance and the number of pseudo consecutive performances). In more detail, the variation pattern of the special symbol is roughly divided into a "hit variation pattern" in the case of a hit and a "miss variation pattern" in the case of a miss, depending on the jackpot lottery result, and these variation patterns may include various variation patterns such as the following, for example.
(1) "Reach fluctuation pattern" that specifies the execution of reach effects (including the specification of the type of reach),
(2) "Normal fluctuation pattern" that does not specify the execution of reach performance,
(3) A "pseudo consecutive reach variation pattern" that specifies the execution of a pseudo consecutive performance and the execution of a reach performance,
(4) A "pseudo consecutive normal variation pattern" that specifies the execution of a pseudo consecutive performance and does not specify the execution of a reach performance,
(5) A "reach fluctuation pattern for pre-reading notice" that specifies the execution of a pre-reading notice and the execution of a reach performance,
(6) A "normal fluctuation pattern for pre-reading notice" that specifies the execution of pre-reading notice but does not specify the execution of a reach performance.

The various fluctuation patterns described above are just examples, and various fluctuation patterns can be defined depending on the type of performance specified for execution. For example, "a fluctuation pattern that specifies the execution of at least an ○○ performance", "a fluctuation pattern that specifies the execution of a △△ performance, but does not specify the execution of a □□ performance", etc. (○○ performance, △△ performance, and □□ performance are examples of performance types, and one or more types of performance can be defined). Also, for fluctuation patterns that specify the execution of specific performances, such as reach fluctuation patterns and pseudo-consecutive fluctuation patterns, a fluctuation time longer than that of normal fluctuation patterns is basically set in order to ensure the performance time.

Based on the information contained in the presentation control commands (here, the variation pattern designation command and the decorative pattern designation command) sent from the main control unit 20, the presentation control unit 24 determines the presentation content (presentation scenario) to be developed in a chronological order during the decorative pattern variation display game, the decorative pattern (decorative stop pattern) to be finally displayed, etc., and controls the presentation during variation (preview presentation during the decorative pattern variation display game, decorative pattern variation display presentation (decorative pattern presentation), etc.) according to a time schedule based on the variation pattern of the special pattern. As a result, the decorative pattern is displayed by the liquid crystal display device 36 in synchronization with the variation display of the special pattern by the special pattern display devices 38a and 38b, and the period of the special pattern variation display game and the period during the decorative pattern variation display game are substantially the same time width. The presentation control unit 24 also controls the liquid crystal display device 36, the light display device 45a, or the sound generating device 46a, respectively, in accordance with the presentation scenario, and develops various presentations in the decorative pattern variation display game. This allows the reproduction of images on the liquid crystal display device 36 (image presentation), the reproduction of sound effects (sound presentation), and the lighting and blinking of presentation LEDs such as the decorative lamps 45 (light presentation).

In this way, the special symbol change display game and the decorative symbol change display game have an inseparable relationship, and the display results of the special symbol change display game are reflected in the decorative symbol change display game, so these two symbol change display games may be considered as equivalent symbol games. In this specification, unless otherwise necessary, the above two symbol change display games may be simply referred to as "symbol change display games". In addition, for the sake of convenience, the number of times a symbol change display game (particularly the special symbol change display game) is executed (number of games) may be referred to as "number of symbol changes" or "number of changes" or "xx number of rotations (for example, 1 rotation, 10 rotations, etc.)". In addition, the effects (decorative symbol effects, advance notice effects, etc.) related to the symbol change display game may be referred to as "effects during change".

(3-1-2. Normal pattern change display game)
In addition, in the gaming machine 1, a "support winning lottery" is performed by random number lottery in the main control unit 20 based on the passing (winning) of the game ball through the normal symbol starting hole 37. Based on the lottery result, the normal symbol represented by the LED is displayed variably on the normal symbol display device 39a to start the normal symbol variable display game, and after a predetermined variable time has elapsed, the result is displayed as a combination of the lit and unlit LEDs. For example, if the result of the normal symbol variable display game is a "support winning", the display unit of the normal symbol display device 39a is displayed in a specific lit state (for example, both of the two LEDs 39 are lit).

When this "auxiliary hit" occurs, the normal electric role solenoid 41c (see FIG. 3) is activated, which causes the movable wing 47 to open in an inverted "V" shape, opening or widening the lower starting hole 35, making it easier for game balls to flow in (starting hole open state), creating an auxiliary game state (hereinafter referred to as "normal electric open game") that is more advantageous to the player than the normal state. In this normal electric open game, the movable wing 47 of the normal variable winning device 41 is activated (opening operation), and the winning area is controlled to be in an open state in which it is opened or widened until the opening time (starting hole open state time) of the lower starting hole 35 has elapsed the maximum opening time (for example, a maximum of 6 seconds) or the number of winning balls in the lower starting hole 35 reaches a predetermined number (for example, a maximum of 10 balls). When either of these conditions is met, the opening operation of the movable wing 47 ends and the lower starting hole 35 is closed. Note that the lower starting hole 35 can be opened one or more times within the maximum opening time.

(3-1-3. Activated ball)
In this embodiment, when a winning entry occurs in each start port 34, 35 or normal pattern start port 37 during a pattern change display game (special pattern change display game, normal pattern change display game, big win game, small win game, or normal power open game), that is, when a detection signal is input from the upper start port sensor 34a or the lower start port sensor 35a or the normal pattern start port sensor 37a and the corresponding start condition is established, this is reserved and stored as data related to the right to start the pattern change display game, up to a predetermined upper limit, which is the maximum reserved memory number, except for data related to the variable display. This reserved data that is not used for the pattern change display operation or the game balls related to this reserved data are also called "operation reserved balls". In order to make the number of these operation reserved balls clear to the player, a dedicated reserved display (not shown) provided at an appropriate location on the gaming machine 1 is turned on or displayed in a predetermined display mode in a reserved display area provided as an icon image on the screen of the liquid crystal display device 36 (see FIG. 5A).

In this embodiment, up to four activation reserved balls for special symbol 1, special symbol 2, and normal symbol are reserved in the corresponding memory area of RAM 203, and reserved as the number of times the special symbol or normal symbol changes. The maximum number of activation reserved balls for special symbol 1, special symbol 2, and normal symbol (maximum reserved memory number) is not particularly limited (it can be set to "0 ≦ maximum reserved memory number"). In addition, all or part of the maximum reserved memory number for each symbol may be different, and the number can be appropriately determined according to the gameplay. For ease of explanation, the activation reserved balls for special symbol 1, special symbol 2, and normal symbol are also referred to as "special symbol 1 activation reserved ball", "special symbol 2 activation reserved ball", and "normal symbol activation reserved ball", respectively, in this specification.

(3-2. Game Status)
Next, the game states will be described. In the gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the special game state of the jackpot, a plurality of game states can be generated. To facilitate understanding of the present invention, first, the functions (means) related to the generation of the various game states will be described.

The gaming machine 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a "probability change function (probability change function)" whose functional part is the main control unit 20 (CPU 201). There are two types of probability change function: a probability change function related to special symbols (hereinafter referred to as the "special symbol probability change function") and a probability change function related to normal symbols (hereinafter referred to as the "normal symbol probability change function").

The special symbol probability change function changes the probability of winning a jackpot from a predetermined low probability (normal probability) to a high probability, generating a "high probability state (high jackpot probability state)" that is more favorable than the normal state. In a gaming state (high probability state) where this special symbol probability change function is active, the probability of winning a jackpot becomes high, making it easier for a jackpot to occur. As already explained, the probability of winning a jackpot during low and high probability times can be made different depending on the setting value.

The normal symbol probability change function changes the probability of winning the auxiliary hit from a predetermined low probability (normal probability) to a high probability (for example, from 1/256 to 255/256), creating a "auxiliary hit probability change state" that is more favorable than the normal state. In a game state where this normal symbol probability change function is in operation (auxiliary hit probability change state), the auxiliary hit lottery probability becomes a high probability state, making auxiliary hits more likely to occur, and normal power open play occurs frequently, resulting in an improved operation rate state in which the operation rate of the movable wing piece 47 per unit time is higher than in the normal state.

The gaming machine 1 of this embodiment also has a "variable time shortening function (time shortening function)" whose functional section is the main control section 20. There are two types of time shortening function: a time shortening function related to special symbols (hereinafter referred to as the "special symbol time shortening function") and a time shortening function related to normal symbols (hereinafter referred to as the "normal symbol time shortening function").

The special symbol time-saving function is a function that generates a "special symbol time-saving state" that shortens the average time required for one special symbol change display game (the average time (average change time) from when the special symbol starts changing to when it stops being displayed). In a game state (special symbol time-saving state) where this special symbol time-saving function is active, the average change time of the special symbol in one special symbol change display game is shortened (for example, the average time required for a no-reach miss change is shortened from 8 seconds to 2 seconds), resulting in an increased number of draws state in which the number of jackpot draws per unit time is increased compared to the normal state.

The normal pattern time-saving function is a function that generates a "normal pattern time-saving state" that shortens the average time required for one normal pattern change display game (the average time from when the normal pattern starts changing to when it stops being displayed (average change time)). In a game state (normal pattern time-saving state) where the normal pattern time-saving function is operating, the average change time of the normal pattern in one normal pattern change display game is shortened (for example, from 5 seconds to 0.6 seconds), resulting in an increased number of lottery draws state in which the number of lottery draws per auxiliary per unit time is improved compared to the normal state.

The gaming machine 1 of this embodiment also has an "open extension function" whose function is the main control unit 20. This open extension function is a function that generates an "open extension state" in which the open operation period (open time of the movable wing 47) of the normal variable winning device 41 is extended from the normal state. In the open extension state, the open operation period (starting port open state time) of the movable wing 47 is extended from, for example, 0.2 seconds to 1.6 seconds, and the number of opening and closing times is extended from, for example, one time (when the open extension function is not in operation) to two times (when the open extension function is in operation), resulting in an operation rate improvement state in which the operation rate of the movable wing 47 per unit time is improved compared to the normal state. Therefore, when the open extension function is activated, the frequency of winning at the lower starting port 35 increases, so that the frequency of the start condition of the special pattern variable display game that derives the lottery result of the jackpot is higher than in the normal state, and the game state is more advantageous for the player than in the state in which the open extension function is not activated (not activated). In this regard, the extended open state is also called the "electric chute support state (electric support state)."

By activating one or more of the above functions, it is possible to bring about changes in the internal gaming state of the gaming machine (internal gaming state). For ease of explanation, the internal gaming state will be referred to as follows depending on whether each function is activated or deactivated:

(1) "Crazy state"
A gaming state in which the special symbol probability change function, the special symbol time-saving function, the normal symbol probability change function, the normal symbol time-saving function, and the opening extension function are activated is referred to as a "probability change state."

(2) "Time-saving state"
A game state in which at least the time-saving function (special symbol time-saving function and/or normal symbol time-saving function) is activated and the special symbol probability variable function is not activated is referred to as a "time-saving state." In this embodiment, a game state in which the special symbol probability variable function related to the probability variable state is removed, that is, a game state in which the special symbol time-saving function, normal symbol probability variable function, normal symbol time-saving function, and opening extension function are activated is referred to as a "time-saving state."

(3) "Latent state"
A gaming state in which at least the special symbol probability function is activated and the opening extension function is not activated is called a "latent probability state." For example, a gaming state in which only the special symbol probability function is activated corresponds to this.

(4) "Normal state"
A gaming state in which all functions are not in operation (non-operation) is called the "normal state."

(5) "Slight time-saving state"
A gaming state in which at least the time-saving function (special symbol time-saving function and/or normal symbol time-saving function) is activated and the special symbol probability variable function is not activated, and the average change time (average execution time of one symbol change display game) of the symbol side (special symbol and/or normal symbol) in which the time-saving function is activated is at least shorter than that in the normal state, is called a "micro-time-saving state". The micro-time-saving state is a gaming state of the same kind as the above-mentioned "time-saving state" in that the time-saving function is activated. Therefore, when the "time-saving state" and the "micro-time-saving state" are controllable as gaming states, the former "time-saving state" can be called a first time-saving state, and the latter "micro-time-saving state" can be expressed as a second time-saving state (a time-saving state different from the first time-saving state).

In addition, the slight time-saving state is basically less advantageous than the time-saving state, and can be controlled to, for example, the game states such as (Slight 1) to (Slight 3) below.
(Minor 1) At least the electric support state is less favorable than the time-saving state (low-advantage electric support state). For example, the advantage of the electric support state is lower than the time-saving state due to "the occurrence rate of the electric support state is lower than the time-saving state" and/or "the opening period of the movable wing piece 47 is shorter than the time-saving state". For example, the opening extension function is activated, but the operating state is controlled significantly less favorably than the time-saving state, and the base value is approximately the same as the normal state.
(Minor 2) The average fluctuation time of the pattern on which the time-saving function is activated is longer than in the time-saving state.
(Minor 3) The average fluctuation time of the pattern on which the time-saving function is activated is the same or approximately the same as in the time-saving state, but the electric support state works more unfavorably than the time-saving state.

(3-3: About the "micro-time saving state")
Here, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the above-mentioned "slightly time-shortened state" will be described in detail.

In the "micro time-saving state," the normal pattern time-saving function and/or the special pattern time-saving function are activated, so as already explained, the average time (average change time) required for one pattern change display game (special pattern, normal pattern change display game) is shorter than when the time-saving function is not activated. Therefore, the micro time-saving state can be configured as follows: (Time α) and (Time β).

(3-3A: When at least the special time-saving function is activated)
(Time α) If the average change time (average time required for one special chart change display game) of the change pattern of the special chart (special chart 1 and/or special chart 2) during the micro-time-saving state is "X seconds" and the average change time of the change pattern of the special chart during the normal state is "Y seconds",
At least "X<Y" is satisfied. In other words, the average fluctuation time of the special chart during the micro-time saving state is shorter than that in the normal state.
In this case, it can be "X ≒ Y (almost the same)" (Formula A1). For example, this applies to cases where the difference in the average fluctuation time between the micro-time-saving state and the normal state is a small difference of the order of milliseconds. The relationship between the average fluctuation times of special figures 1 and 2 during the micro-time-saving state and/or the normal state can be appropriately determined according to the gameplay. In this embodiment, the relationship during both the micro-time-saving state and the normal state is "special figure 1 (long) > special figure 2 (short)" (see Figures 26 and 27), but depending on the gameplay, any relationship such as "special figure 1 < special figure 2", "special figure 1 ≒ special figure 2", or "special figure 1 = special figure 2" can be adopted.

(3-3B: When at least the normal time-saving function is activated)
(Time β) If the average change time of the normal map's change pattern during the micro-time-saving state (the average time required for one normal map change display game) is S seconds, and the average change time of the normal map's change pattern during the normal state is T seconds,
At least "S <T" is satisfied. In other words, the average fluctuation time of the normal map during the micro-time-saving state is shorter than that in the normal state.
In this case, "S ≒ T (almost the same)" (Formula A2) can be used. For example, this applies when the difference in the average fluctuation time between the micro-time-saving state and the normal state is on the order of milliseconds (for example, see Figure 4D (a) and (d) below).

In addition, when "the normal time-saving function is activated and the special time-saving function is not activated," the relationship between the average fluctuation time of the special chart during the slight time-saving state and the average fluctuation time of the special chart during the normal state may be any of "X≦Y," "X<Y," "X≒Y," "X≧Y," or "X>Y."

(Example of a slight time-saving state: FIG. 4D)
Next, a specific example of the short time-saving state will be described with reference to Fig. 4D. Fig. 4D shows an example of the short time-saving state, and here, a specific example of the short time-saving state will be described while focusing on the function of the normal side.

The micro-time-saving state according to this embodiment, which will be described in detail later, is used to make the performance or behavior of the device (for example, the operating status of the normal variable winning device 41) approximately the same as the normal state (difficult or impossible for the player to distinguish), making it difficult or practically impossible for the player to distinguish whether the current game state is the normal state or the micro-time-saving state (concealing the micro-time-saving state), and to realize gameplay such as "concealing the morning state" and "pseudo ceiling function" described below. To achieve such an effect, it is preferable to configure the micro-time-saving state as shown in, for example, the following specific examples 1 to 4 in Fig. 4D (a) to (d).

(Specific example 1: FIG. 4D (a))
FIG. 4D (A) is an example of a micro-time-saving state in which at least the "normal time-saving function" is activated. In the case of this specific example 1, the "normal time-saving function + open extension function" is activated, but the open extension state is generated according to the type of auxiliary hit (for example, auxiliary hit A, auxiliary hit B). In this example, when the auxiliary hit A (winning probability = "auxiliary hit probability 99/100 x pattern selection rate 1/256") with a relatively low winning probability is won, the open extension state is generated, and when the auxiliary hit B (winning probability = "auxiliary hit probability 99/100 x pattern selection rate 255/256") with a relatively high winning probability is won, the open extension state is not generated (see FIG. 4D (A) Note 3, "Pattern selection rate" column).

In addition, the average fluctuation time of the normal map (in the case of the normal map, there may be only one type of fluctuation time depending on the game state) is extremely short, 2000 ms when the normal map time-saving function is not activated, and 1996 ms when the normal map time-saving function is activated, but the fluctuation time is shortened (see Note 2 in Fig. 4D (a), the same applies to specific examples 2 to 4 described below). It is preferable that the degree of this shortening is set to a level (almost the same) that makes it difficult or impossible for the player to tell whether the normal state or the slight time-saving state is being used, even when looking at the fluctuation display operation of the normal map.

In addition, if the extended opening state does not occur, the opening time of the lower starting gate 35 is an extremely short time of 80 ms, making it virtually impossible to win at the lower starting gate 35. On the other hand, if the extended opening state occurs, the opening time of the lower starting gate 35 becomes 4000 ms, making it easier to win at the lower starting gate 35 (see Note 1 in Figure 4D (A), the same applies to specific examples 2 to 4 described below).

Therefore, even if the player intentionally "hits to the right", unless the player wins the auxiliary hit A, which has a very low probability of winning, the operating status of the normal variable winning device 41 will be almost the same as the normal state (the electric support state has a disadvantageous effect than the time-saving state), and by pretending to be in the normal state, such as the later-described presentation mode (presentation state) and the presentation during the pattern change display game (changing presentation), it becomes possible to make it difficult or impossible to determine whether the current game state (internal game state) is in the micro-time-saving state or the normal state. In other words, it becomes possible to conceal the micro-time-saving state and express a pseudo-normal state (pseudo-normal state). The same phenomenon applies to the later-described specific examples 2 to 4, and in all cases, during the micro-time-saving state, it is possible to practically create a "no electric support state" and realize an almost identical normal state (pseudo-normal state).

In this example, the normal time-saving function is activated, which creates a form of time-saving state. Therefore, the operation state of the special time-saving function is not important (the special time-saving function may be either activated or not activated. The same applies to specific example 4 described below). However, when the special time-saving function is activated, in order to conceal the slight time-saving state, it is preferable that the average fluctuation time of the special time-saving function be "X ≒ Y" (X = average fluctuation time of the special time-saving function related to the slight time-saving state, Y = average fluctuation time of the special time-saving function related to the normal state) as in the above (Formula 1) (X = average fluctuation time of the special time-saving function related to the slight time-saving state, Y = average fluctuation time of the special time-saving function related to the normal state) (the same applies to the cases when the special time-saving function is activated in specific examples 2 to 4 described below).

As described above, if the relationship between the average fluctuation times on the special chart side is "X ≒ Y", the normal state and the slight time-saving state can have the following common points.
(1) The base values for the normal state and the slight time-saving state can be made common (the same or approximately the same).
(2) The effects (e.g., during-variation effects, background effects, etc.) that are displayed in the normal state and the micro-time-saving state can be made common (identical or substantially identical). In other words, in terms of effects (appearance), it can be made difficult or impossible to distinguish whether the state is the micro-time-saving state or the normal state.

(Specific example 2: FIG. 4D (b))
Fig. 4D (b) is an example of a micro-time-saving state in which at least the "normal time-saving function" is not activated. In the case of this specific example 2, the "normal time-saving function" and the "open extension function" are not activated, and as shown in the figure, for the normal map, the micro-time-saving state and the normal state are the same. Therefore, even if the player intentionally "hits to the right", the operating status of the normal variable winning device 41 is the same as the normal state, and it is possible to conceal the micro-time-saving state by disguising the presentation as the normal state.

In this example, like Specific Example 1 above, multiple types of auxiliary hits are provided, but there may be only one type of auxiliary hit. For example, only auxiliary hit A may be provided, and the pattern selection rate for auxiliary hit A may be set to 100%. In this example, since the normal time-saving function is not activated, the special time-saving function is set to an activated state, which forms one form of time-saving state (the same applies to Specific Example 3 described below).

(Specific example 3: FIG. 4D(c))
FIG. 4D (c) is an example of a micro-time-saving state in which at least the normal time-saving function is not activated and the normal time-saving function is activated. In the case of this specific example 3, the "normal time-saving function + open extension function" is activated, but as in the above-mentioned specific example 1, the open extension state is generated according to the auxiliary hit type (for example, auxiliary hit A, auxiliary hit B). In this example, the "normal time-saving function" is activated during the micro-time-saving state, and the auxiliary hit probability changes to a high probability (low probability = 10/100, high probability = 99/100: see Note 1 in FIG. 4D (c)), but the relationship between the "auxiliary hit A" in which the open extension state occurs and the "auxiliary hit B" in which the open extension state does not occur is the same as in the above-mentioned specific example 1 (see Note 1 in FIG. 4D (c) and the "pattern selection rate" column). In this example, as in the above-mentioned specific example 2, the normal time-saving function is not activated, so the special time-saving function is set to an activated state, which forms one form of the time-saving state.

(Specific example 4: FIG. 4D (ii))
FIG. 4D (D) is an example of a micro-time-saving state in which at least the "normal time-saving function" and the "normal probability-changing function" are activated. In the case of this specific example 4, the "normal time-saving function + normal probability-changing function + opening extension function" are activated, but as in the above-mentioned specific examples 1 and 3, the opening extension state is generated according to the type of auxiliary hit (for example, auxiliary hit A, auxiliary hit B). In this example, the "normal probability-changing function" is activated during the micro-time-saving state, and the auxiliary hit probability changes to a high probability (low probability = 10/100, high probability = 99/100: see Note 1 in FIG. 4D (D)), but the relationship between the "auxiliary hit A" in which the opening extension state occurs and the "auxiliary hit B" in which the opening extension state does not occur is the same as in the above-mentioned specific example 1 or specific example 3. In this example, as in the above-mentioned specific example 1, the normal time-saving function is activated, so the special time-saving function may be activated or not activated.

In this embodiment, the general drawing will be in the form of "Specific Example 2 (Figure 4D (b))" above.

(About the probability of winning the lottery)
If we look at the probability of winning a jackpot in each of the above game states, when the game state is the "time-saving state", "slightly time-saving state" or "normal state", the probability of winning a jackpot is a "low probability state (normal probability)", and when the game state is the "latent probability state" or "probability variable state", the probability of winning a jackpot is a "high probability state". During a jackpot related to the operation of the condition device, a jackpot game occurs in which the jackpot entry port is continuously opened up to the maximum number of rounds, but all of the above functions are inactive, and the game is basically in the same game state as the above normal state.

(High base play state)
In the probability change state or time-saving state, the above-mentioned functions related to the normal symbols, that is, the normal symbol probability change function, the normal symbol time-saving function, and the open extension function, are activated by the same opportunity. However, when the normal symbol probability change function, the normal symbol time-saving function, and the open extension function are considered individually, when at least one of these functions is activated, the operation rate of the above-mentioned movable wing piece 47 is increased, and the frequency of winning at the lower starting hole 35 increases (it becomes easier to win), so that the game state becomes a "high base game state (starting hole ball entry favorable state)" in which the frequency of the start condition of the special symbol variation display game that derives the big win lottery result or the ball output rate (base) is higher than in the normal state. In addition, the "high base gaming state" referred to here refers to a gaming state when a function related to a normal pattern (at least one of the functions of the normal pattern probability change function, the normal pattern time-saving function, and the opening extension function) is activated, and is different from a gaming state when a function related to a special pattern, i.e., at least one of the special pattern probability change function and the special pattern time-saving function, is activated.

On the other hand, if you look at the functions related to the special symbols (special symbol probability change function and special symbol time-saving function) individually, when the special symbol probability change function is activated, it becomes a "high probability state" in which the probability of winning a jackpot is higher than in the normal state, and when the special symbol time-saving function is activated, it becomes a "special symbol time-saving state" in which the time required to play the special symbol change display game is shorter than in the normal state. In this respect, it is distinguished from the "high base game state" mentioned above, in which the conditions for starting the special symbol change display game are met more frequently than in the normal state.

In this embodiment, as an example of the above-mentioned "high base game state", the electric chute support state in which at least the opening extension function is given is treated as a "high base game state". In this electric chute support state, the operation rate (opening time and number of openings) of the movable wing piece 47 of the normal variable winning device 41 improves, the winning rate at the lower starting hole 35 increases, and the winning frequency per unit time increases, so it is a game state that is advantageous for the player compared to when the electric chute support state is not in place (low base game state). When focusing on the presence or absence of this electric chute support state, if the game state is a "normal state" or a "latent state", it is an "electric chute support state is not in place", and if the game state is a "time-saving state" or a "probable state", it is an "electric chute support state in place". In this specification, "no electric chute support state" is referred to as a "state without electric support", and "electric chute support state in place" is referred to as a "state with electric support" or "electric support state". In addition, when the game state is the "micro time-saving state", as already explained in FIG. 4D, either "with electric support" or "without electric support" can be used depending on the form adopted. However, even if the micro time-saving state of this embodiment is the "with electric support state", the winning rate (winning rate) of the lower starting hole 35 (normal electric role) is substantially the same as the "without electric support state", and it is placed in a state where winning at the lower starting hole 35 is difficult or impossible, as in the normal state. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the base value or the presence or absence of the electric support state, the normal state and the micro time-saving state are substantially the same (almost the same), and the degree of advantage to the player is almost the same. However, from the viewpoint of the lottery state, the normal state is treated as a valid special time-saving win described later, while the micro time-saving state is treated as an invalid special time-saving win, so the normal state is relatively more advantageous to the player.

(3-2-1. Internal Game Status (Game Status Judgment Number YJ): FIG. 25)
The operation status of each of the above functions (special symbol probability change function, special symbol time-saving function, normal symbol probability change function, normal symbol time-saving function, and release extension function) that determine the game state is managed by the main control unit 20 side according to the ON/OFF state of the flag corresponding to each function, that is, whether it is activated (5AH) or not (00H). The game state focusing on the operation status of each function is also called the "internal game state". The current internal game state is managed using an identifier called "game state determination number YJ". For example, when the game state determination number YJ is "00H", it specifies "normal state", when it is "01H", it specifies "slight time-saving state", when it is "02H", it specifies "time-saving state (time-saving)", when it is "03H", it specifies "latent state (latent)", and when it is "04H", it specifies "probable state". In this specification, the normal state will be abbreviated as "normal," the slight time-saving state will be abbreviated as "slight time-saving," the time-saving state will be abbreviated as "time-saving," the potential state will be abbreviated as "potential time-saving," and the probability variable state will be abbreviated as "probability variable," and the time-saving state and/or the slight time-saving state may be referred to as "time-saving game states."

(3-2-2. Fluctuation pattern allocation designation number Tcode: FIG. 25)
In this embodiment, in order to realize various effects related to the internal game state, one internal game state is divided into a plurality of parts and can be managed as a plurality of game states. For example, if it is desired to divide the time-saving state into a plurality of types of time-saving states such as "time-saving A", "time-saving B", and "time-saving C", these can be managed as different time-saving states using an identifier called a "variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode".

The substance of the above-mentioned "variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode" is an identifier (data specifying a variation pattern selection mode) used when selecting a "variation pattern allocation table" (see, for example, Figures 26 to 28 described below) corresponding to the current game state. Details will be described later, but in this "variation pattern allocation table", one or more types of variation patterns (variation patterns of special symbols) are defined in association with at least the current game state (variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode) and the jackpot lottery result (winning type), and are used when determining the variation pattern of special symbols related to the symbol variation display game. Therefore, for example, when the time-saving state (YJ=02H) is divided into "time-saving A", "time-saving B" and "time-saving C", by defining the fluctuation pattern allocation designation number Tcode for the time-saving state (YJ=02H) as three types, "Tcode="02H (time-saving A)", "03H (time-saving B)", and "04H (time-saving C)", it becomes possible to select a different fluctuation pattern allocation table for each of "02H (time-saving A)" to "04H (time-saving C)" and select a fluctuation pattern according to the game state (see the "Tcode" column in Figure 25 and the "Tcode" columns in Figures 26 to 28 described below). In this embodiment, "Hell Mode A" and "Hell Mode B" related to the minute time-saving state (YJ = 02H) have a common fluctuation pattern allocation designation number Tcode (Tcode = 01H) (see FIG. 25), but if "Hell Mode A" and "Hell Mode B" have different fluctuation pattern allocation designation numbers Tcode, different fluctuation pattern allocation tables can be selected for each.

Therefore, when focusing on the operating status of each function (special symbol probability change function, special symbol time-saving function, normal symbol probability change function, normal symbol time-saving function, and open extension function) related to determining the probability of winning the jackpot and the presence or absence of electric support, i.e., the "internal game state," it is possible to select a special symbol fluctuation pattern that corresponds to each game state, "time-saving A" to "time-saving C," (Tcode = "02H" to "04H"), even in the same "time-saving state."

In this way, by managing the "internal game state (YJ)" that focuses on the various functions related to determining the probability of winning a jackpot and the presence or absence of electric support, and the "variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode" that focuses on determining the variation pattern of special symbols (determination of presentation) as different data, it is possible to dynamically change the variation pattern even in the same internal game state. As a result, even in the same internal game state, it is possible to bring about major changes in the duration of the pattern variation display game (variation time of special symbols) and the presentation during that game (presentation during variation). This increases the playability and freedom of presentation, making the game more interesting.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 25, the types of the "internal game state (YJ)" include the normal state, the slight time-saving state, the time-saving state, etc. (see the "YJ" column). On the other hand, the game state related to the determination of the fluctuation pattern of the special symbol, that is, the type of game state (game mode) related to the fluctuation pattern allocation designation number Tcode (fluctuation pattern selection mode), may include a number of game modes that are greater than the types of internal game states (see Heaven mode to Consecutive mode in the "Tcode" column of FIG. 25).

As shown in the "Tcode" and "YJ" columns in FIG. 25, a specific internal game state may be divided into multiple game states using the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode, or no internal game state may be divided into multiple game states. In any case, the configuration remains the same, allowing the selection of a variation pattern (variation pattern allocation table) according to the game state.

In this specification, unless otherwise necessary, at least the game state related to the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode is referred to as a "game mode" (see the "game mode type" column in Figure 25). This game mode can also be treated as the game state related to the "variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode and game state determination number YJ (internal game state)" as shown in Figure 25, in other words, as the "game state viewed as the entire gaming machine." For ease of explanation, the internal game state and the game mode may not be distinguished and may simply be referred to as the "game state." Furthermore, the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode may be abbreviated to "Tcode."

＜4. Winning types＞
Next, the "winning type" according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 4A to 4C. Figures 4A to 4C are explanatory diagrams for explaining the winning type related to the big win lottery target, the winning game operation mode, and the transition destination game state (transition destination game mode) according to the winning type.

(4-1. About the winning types)
First, the winning types will be described with reference to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B.

In this embodiment, wins can be broadly divided into big wins (one type win), small wins, and "special wins (two types win: V win)" that occur when you win a small win and then get a V during the small win game.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the big win has multiple big wins, "Big Win A to Big Win D," and the small win has multiple small wins, "Small Win A, Small Win B." Of these wins, the "big win" is a win that belongs to the "big win type" that triggers the activation of the condition device, and the "small win" is a win that belongs to the "non-big win" type that does not trigger the activation of the condition device, and in this respect, the big win and the small win are different in nature. Here, the "condition device" refers to a device whose operation is a necessary condition for the operation of the device for continuously operating special electric devices for playing rounds, and which operates when a specific combination of special symbols is displayed or when the game ball passes through a specific area in the big prize opening (excluding those that win the big prize opening while the device for continuously operating special devices is operating). In addition, after the operation of the continuous reel operation device has finished, it is possible to activate a time-saving function, an extension function, or a special bonus function (transition from one internal game state (internal game state at the time of winning) to another internal game state).

Therefore, when a "small win" is won (excluding V winning during a small win), the condition device does not operate, and the consecutive operation device of the role does not operate either, so there is no transition of the internal game state (just winning a small win does not control the transition of the internal game state), but the transition control of the variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode can be performed. Also, in the winning game due to the small win (small win game), the consecutive operation device of the role does not operate, so a round game like a big win is not executed, but depending on how the opening and closing pattern of the big winning port is determined, it is possible to realize a "pseudo round game" that behaves as if a round game is being executed. The operation mode of the small win game is basically the same as that of the big win game, except that a round game is not executed. Specifically, after a predetermined start interval time (start INT) has elapsed, an "opening and closing action game (pseudo round game)" is played to open the large prize opening, and when the opening and closing action game ends, a series of small prize games ends after a predetermined end interval time (end INT). Such small prizes are different in nature from simple "misses" in that they are a type of winning that triggers a transition (execution trigger) to a winning game (special game state) that involves the opening and closing of the large prize opening, just like a large prize. Depending on the gameplay, one or more types of large prizes or small prizes can be provided on either the special chart 1 side or the special chart 2 side.

(4-2. About winning games)
Next, the winning games (big win game, small win game) based on each of the above winnings will be explained.

(Jackpot Game)
When "Big Win A", "Big Win B" or "Big Win C" is won, the maximum number of rounds is 3 rounds (3R), when "Big Win D" is won, the maximum number of rounds is 7 rounds (7R), and the maximum opening time of the big prize winning port in one round play is set to a long opening pattern (long opening time: for example, 29.8 seconds) that is likely to fully expect the number of winnings in the big prize winning port to reach the maximum number of winnings (for example, 10). The profit state (profit degree, advantage degree) during the big win game is basically higher the relatively larger the maximum number of rounds, and the longer the maximum opening time of the big prize winning port, the higher the profit state during the big win game. In the case of this embodiment, since the maximum opening time for each big win is the same, the more the maximum number of rounds for a big win, the higher the profit state during the big win game, which works to the player's advantage (the same applies to the V-win game described later). In addition, the special chart 2 side (lower start port 35 side) is more likely to win "jackpot D" than the special chart 1 side (upper start port 34 side), so it is more advantageous for the player to receive the special chart 2 side lottery than the special chart 1 side. The maximum number of rounds and the opening pattern of the big prize winning port related to the round game can be different depending on the type of jackpot. For example, in the case of jackpot A, the maximum number of rounds is 3R, but some rounds (for example, 1R and 2R) can be long opening patterns, and other rounds (3R) can be short opening patterns (short opening time: for example, 0.8 seconds). In this case, the advantage of the jackpot game is in the relationship of jackpot A < jackpot B or jackpot C < jackpot D.

(4-3. Small hit game, V hit game)
Next, we will explain about small hit game and V hit game.

(Small win game)
As described above, the winning game (small winning game) by the "small winning" does not execute a round game like the "big winning", but by opening and closing the large winning opening 50 in a predetermined pattern by the opening door 52b, a pseudo round game (opening and closing action game) is expressed, and it can be pretended that a round game is being executed in appearance. In the small winning game of this embodiment, an opening and closing action game is executed in which the large winning opening 50 is opened once and the maximum opening time is 1.8 seconds. When the small winning game starts, an opening performance is performed to notify the start of the small winning game by using the interval time (small winning start INT) before the opening and closing action game starts, and after the opening performance ends (after the small winning start INT has passed), an opening and closing action game is executed to open and close the large winning opening 50. Using this opening performance, a performance (V winning instruction performance) that encourages V winning appears.

(V hit game)
When a game ball enters the large winning opening 50 during the opening and closing action, the game ball (winning ball) is guided to the V winning opening (specific area) by the V guide device in the large winning opening 50, and when the game ball enters the V winning (when the specific area sensor 51a detects the game ball), a "V win (two types of win)" occurs. In this embodiment, as long as a small win is won, the player can easily win a V winning (almost certainly win) as long as the player does not intentionally delay or stop the shot or continue to hit the ball to the left during the small win game (during the opening and closing action), or does not perform irregular actions such as continuing to hit the ball to the left, and hits the ball correctly to the right.

When a V hit is won, the condition device is activated, and after a series of small hit games are completed, the role continuous operation device is activated, and the "V hit game" with round play begins. When the V hit game begins, the V hit start interval time (V hit INT (V hit performance time)) is set, during which the "V hit performance (opening performance)" appears to notify that a V hit has occurred. Then, when the V hit INT has elapsed, the round game begins with the maximum number of rounds as the upper limit, and when the maximum number of rounds is completed, the V hit end interval time (V hit end INT) is used to perform the ending performance, and then the V hit game ends. In other words, the V hit game, like the big hit game described above, is composed of each play period of the opening performance period, the round game execution period with the maximum number of rounds as the upper limit, and the ending performance period.

When a V is won, the current small win game is counted as the first round of the round game (deemed to be 1R) (the opening and closing action game of the current small win game is treated as the actual 1R of the round game), and the first round game in the V win game is counted as the 2nd R. V win game is essentially the same as big win game in that it can be played multiple times as a round game, but since it goes through a small win game, the small win game (opening and closing action game) related to the V win is treated as the game equivalent to the first round.

Therefore, the number of rounds played (the number of consecutive operations of the special electric device during the operation of the device consecutive operation device) is, to be precise, "the number of specified rounds - 1". For example, in the case of a V-win game with a maximum number of rounds of 7R, after the small win game ends, a round game of "2R to 7R" is played as a V-win game, and the total number of prize balls that the player can actually win (the number of balls dispensed during a V-win) is "the number of prize balls won by winning balls during the opening and closing action game (1R deemed to be from the opening and closing action game) + the number of prize balls won by winning balls during the round game for 6R". For example, if the number of prize balls in the large winning hole 50 is 15, the number of winning balls during the opening and closing action game is about 1 to 3 (15 to 45 prize balls), and the maximum number of prize balls of 10 (150 prize balls) can be won in one round, then about 915 to 945 prize balls can be won.

In this embodiment, the V hit game differs depending on the type of small hit that is won. Specifically, if small hit A is won, a V hit game with a maximum number of rounds of 7R (effectively 7RV hit) is played, and if small hit B is won, a V hit game with a maximum number of rounds of 3R (effectively 3RV hit) is played. The round game mode related to the V hit game may be the same as that of the big hit game, or it may be different. In this specification, unless otherwise necessary, the term "big hit" is treated as including "V hit", and the term "big hit game" is treated as including "V hit game".

(In case of non-V award)
In addition, if there is no V winning during the small win game (in the case of non-V winning), the V winning game is not executed and the series of small win games will end. In addition, when there is no V winning, only a simple small win game is executed and the internal game state does not transition (see Note 8 in FIG. 4A).

(4-4. Regarding the game state to which you transition after winning)
Next, the game state to which the game is transferred after each winning game ends will be described with reference to Fig. 4A and Fig. 4B. Fig. 4A and Fig. 4B show the relationship between the game state at the time of winning and the game state to which the game is transferred after the winning game according to the winning type (the game state to which the game is transferred after the winning game based on the "game state at the time of winning" and/or the "type of winning big win"). Fig. 4A shows the big win and the small win, and Fig. 4C shows the V win (at the time of winning). The "at the time of winning" column shown in the figure shows the game state type at the time of winning (the game mode type described later), and the "game state to which the game is transferred" shows the game state type (the game mode type) to which the game is transferred. In addition, the "micro time-saving A" and "micro time-saving B" shown in the figure belong to the "micro time-saving state" in the internal game state, and the "time-saving A" and "time-saving B" belong to the "time-saving state" in the internal game state (see the "YJ" column in Fig. 25).

First, let us refer to Figure 4 to explain the game state to which the game is transitioned after a jackpot game.

(In the case of jackpot A or jackpot B)
In the case of "Big Win A" or "Big Win B", as shown in FIG. 4A, the game state to which the player transitions differs depending on the game state at the time of the winning.

In the case of jackpot A, if the game state at the time of winning is the "normal state", it will be transitioned to the "normal state", and if the game state at the time of winning is the "micro-time-saving state" or the "time-saving state", it will be transitioned to "micro-time-saving A". Also, in the case of jackpot B, if the game state at the time of winning is the "normal state", it will be transitioned to the "normal state", and if the game state at the time of winning is the "micro-time-saving state" or the "time-saving state", it will be transitioned to "micro-time-saving B". In other words, jackpot A and jackpot B are defined as jackpots that can trigger a transition to the micro-time-saving state.

When the above-mentioned "micro time-saving state (micro time-saving A or micro time-saving B)" is entered, the special symbol change display game is continued until a specified number of times (maximum number of micro time-saving times) is completed, and when the special symbol change display game ends without a big win or V hit occurring within the specified number of times (end of the micro time-saving number of times), the micro time-saving state ends and the state transitions to the normal state (see Note 5 in FIG. 4A). Note that when a non-V is won, a simple small win game is played and there is no transition to the internal game state, so the micro time-saving state does not end. In addition, whether or not the specified number of times (maximum number of micro time-saving times) has been reached is determined by counting the number of times (number of changes) that the special symbol change display game 1 and/or the special symbol change display game 2 are executed (the same applies to the time-saving state described later). In other words, when the number of times that the special symbol change display game 1 and/or the special symbol change display game 2 are executed (number of changes of special symbols 1 and 2) is completed the specified number of times without a big win, the micro time-saving state ends.

The above-mentioned specified number of times (termination condition) of such a slight time-saving state or time-saving state can be determined as follows (Rule 1) or (Rule 2).
(Rule 1) When the total number of times that the special pattern change display game 1 (special pattern 1 side) and the special pattern change display game 2 (special pattern 2 side) have been executed has been a predetermined number of times.
(Rule 2) When either the special symbol variation display game 1 is executed N times (0<N) or the special symbol variation display game 2 is executed M times (0<M). The relationship between N times and M times can be "N=M", "N<M" or "N>M" depending on the specifications of the gaming machine (playability, payout rate, etc.).

In this embodiment, the above-mentioned (Rule 1) is adopted (the same applies to the time-saving state), and the maximum number of micro-time-saving times for micro-time-saving A is 150 times, and the maximum number of micro-time-saving times for micro-time-saving B is 250 times (see Notes 1 and 2 in Figure 4A).

(In case of big win C)
In the case of a jackpot C, regardless of the game state at the time of the winning, the game will transition to the "normal state" after the jackpot game.

(In case of big win D)
In the case of the jackpot D, the game state to which the player is transferred differs depending on the game state at the time of the winning, just like the "jackpot A" or "jackpot B". In the case of the jackpot D, if the game state at the time of the winning is the "normal state", the player is transferred to the "time-saving B", and if the game state at the time of the winning is the "slight time-saving state" or the "time-saving state", the player is transferred to the "time-saving A".

When the "time-saving state" is entered, the special symbol change display game continues to be played until a specified number of times (maximum number of time-saving times) is completed, and when the special symbol change display game ends without a big win or V hit occurring within the specified number of times (time-saving times end), the time-saving state ends and the state transitions to the normal state (see Note 5 in FIG. 4A). Note that when a non-V win occurs, only a small win game is played and there is no transition to the internal game state, so the time-saving state does not end. In this embodiment, the maximum number of time-saving times for time-saving A is 7 times, and the maximum number of time-saving times for time-saving B is 100 times (see Notes 3 and 4 in FIG. 4A).

In the following, the end of the micro-time-saving count and the transition from that micro-time-saving state to another game state is referred to as "exiting micro-time-saving". Examples of "exiting micro-time-saving" include the case of upgrading from the micro-time-saving state to the normal state (exiting micro-time-saving and normal transition). In addition, the end of the time-saving count and the transition from that time-saving state to another game state is referred to as "exiting time-saving". Examples of "exiting time-saving" include the case of falling from the time-saving state to the normal state or the micro-time-saving state (exiting time-saving and normal transition, time-saving and micro-time-saving transition). In addition, when there is no need to distinguish between micro-time-saving and time-saving, both may be referred to as "exiting time-saving". In addition, for ease of explanation, the number of micro-time-saving counts may be referred to as "number of time-saving counts".

(If you win the V prize)
Next, referring to FIG. 4B, the game state to which the game is transitioned after a V hit game will be described.

As already explained, a V hit game occurs when a V wins during a small hit game. After the V hit game ends, the game state to which the player transitions differs depending on the type of small hit that was won and the game state at the time of the win.

For either small win A or small win B, if the game state at the time of winning is "normal state", it will transition to "time-saving B" after playing the V hit, and if the game state at the time of winning is "slight time-saving state" or "time-saving state", it will transition to "time-saving A" after playing the V hit.

(Variations of the jackpot)
In addition, the jackpot (including V hit) according to this embodiment does not have a hit that triggers a transition to time-saving C (one time of time-saving), but the present invention is not limited to this, and one or more jackpots that can be transitioned to time-saving C can be provided. For example, in the case of jackpot A and jackpot B, if the game state at the time of winning is "normal state", it can be configured to transition to "time-saving C", and if it is "slight time-saving state" or "time-saving state", it can be configured to transition to "slight time-saving A". Also, for example, in the case of jackpot D, if the game state at the time of winning is "normal state", it can be configured to transition to "time-saving C", and if the game state at the time of winning is "slight time-saving state" or "time-saving state", it can be configured to transition to "time-saving A". Various modified examples regarding jackpots will be explained in the fifth embodiment (FIGS. 58 to 60) described later.

＜4-5. About losses＞
Next, referring to FIG. 4C, the types of misses according to this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, the special chart 1 side is provided with a plurality of types of misses A, B, and C, each of which has a different pattern selection rate. In this embodiment, the pattern selection probability satisfies the relationship of "miss A>miss B>miss C", and for example, miss A is selected at 95%, miss B at 4%, and miss C at 1%. In addition, only one miss D is provided on the special chart 2 side. In addition, in consideration of gameplay, one or more types of misses can be provided as the selection target on either the special chart 1 side or the special chart 2 side.

<4-6. Special working hours>
Next, with reference to Figure 4C, the special time-saving type related to this embodiment will be explained.

In this embodiment, a "special time-saving" is provided as a type of winning in the jackpot lottery that can transition to a time-saving game state ("time-saving state" or "micro-time-saving state") without being triggered by a win (jackpot, V-win, or small win). A major feature of this "special time-saving" is that a time-saving game state is granted without going through a jackpot win (activation of a condition device, activation of a continuous operation device for a role) (without going through a jackpot game). Note that the above-mentioned "without being triggered by a win" can include any of the following (this contract 1) to (this contract 3).

(This ticket 1) means "without taking advantage of the fact that a prize has been won."
(This Contract 2) Means "without going through a winning game (jackpot game, V winning game, or small winning game)."
(This Agreement 3) "At least without the condition of the operation of the condition device and the operation of the consecutive operation device of the reel" or "At least without the condition of the operation of the condition device and the end of the operation of the consecutive operation device of the reel". In other words, it means "at least without the condition of the execution of the big win game or the V win game".

In a broad sense, the special time-saving feature is a "winning type (lottery type) that can grant a time-saving game state (a time-saving state or a micro-time-saving state) without being controlled by a winning state (winning game) (without opening or closing the large prize slot)." In addition, the time-saving state or micro-time-saving state granted by the special time-saving feature is one aspect of a "specific state that can be entered without passing through a winning state."

(Conditions for occurrence of time-saving game states due to special time-saving)
In this embodiment, if neither the big win nor the small win is won, it is possible to win the special time-saving. If the special time-saving is won, the time-saving state or the micro-time-saving state is controlled after the winning game ends. If neither the big win, the small win, nor the special time-saving is won, the big win lottery result is a "miss" and one of the misses A to C is won.

However, the occurrence of a time-saving game state due to the special time-saving feature is permitted (the special time-saving feature winning is treated as valid) only in a specific game state (for example, a game state in which the probability of winning a jackpot is low; in this embodiment, the normal state). In other words, in a specific game state, the special time-saving feature winning is treated as valid, and in any other game state, the special time-saving feature winning is treated as invalid (the lottery is not held, or if a win occurs, it is treated as a loss: a state in which the special time-saving feature is prohibited (restricted)) (see Note 1 in FIG. 4C). Note that if a special time-saving feature winning is treated as a loss, the same game processing (such as the selection processing of the variation pattern and the presentation processing) as in the case of a loss winning (which may be any of Loss A to C) can be executed.

(Special time-saving features)
In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4C, multiple types of special time-saving A, B, and C are provided on the special chart 1 side, and when a special time-saving is won by the lottery, one of the special time-savings is determined by the pattern lottery based on a predetermined pattern lottery rate (see the pattern lottery rate column in Fig. 4C). In addition, the special time-savings A to C each have different time-saving performance (advantage of the special time-saving). Specifically, it is as follows.
(A) If you win the "Special Time-Saving A," you will be granted Micro Time-Saving A (150 Micro Time-Savings) (transition to Micro Time-Saving A).
(B) If you win the "Special Time-Saving B", you will be granted Micro Time-Saving B (250 Micro Time-Savings) (transition to Micro Time-Saving B).
(C) If you win the "Special Time-Saving C", you will be granted Time-Saving C (one time of time-saving) (transition to Time-Saving C).
The relationship in performance (degree of advantage) of the special time-saving features in this embodiment is "special time-saving feature B < special time-saving feature B < special time-saving feature C."

In addition, whether one or more types of special time-saving features are adopted on the Special Chart 1 side and/or the Special Chart 2 side can be determined appropriately depending on the gameplay.

(Variation 1 of Special Time Reduction)
In addition, the type of performance (time-saving performance, minute time-saving performance) of the special time-saving function can be appropriately determined. For example, the following performance can be set.

The time-saving state of special time-saving can be finite (the number of times it can be saved is finite), finite minute time-saving (the number of times it can be saved is finite), infinite time-saving (no limit on the number of times it can be saved), or infinite minute time-saving (no limit on the number of times it can be saved). Note that "infinite systems" such as infinite time-saving or infinite minute time-saving strictly mean "no limit on the number of times (infinite)", but even "finite systems" such as finite time-saving or finite minute time-saving can be treated as belonging to the "infinite system" if the number of times that the time-saving state or minute time-saving state is guaranteed until the next big hit is won (for example, 10,000 times or 65,535 times) or the number of times that cannot be consumed within the business hours of the pachinko hall (for example, 4 to 5,000 times or more) is granted.

As an example, a special time-saving feature having the following time-saving capabilities (Special Time 1) to (Special Time 3) can be established.
(Special Time 1) At least one special time-saving state can be provided that provides the same "time-saving number P times" as the time-saving state (time-saving state of a jackpot) provided (transitioned) by a jackpot. If there are multiple types of jackpots that provide a time-saving state, the "time-saving number P times" may be the same as the number of time-saving times of at least one of the multiple types of jackpots. For example, if there is a jackpot with a time-saving number of 50 times and a jackpot with a time-saving number of 100 times, the above-mentioned "time-saving number P times" may be 50 times or 100 times.
(Special Time 2) At least one special time-saving state that grants a "time-saving number Q times" different from the time-saving state granted by the jackpot can be provided. In addition, if there are multiple types of jackpots that grant a time-saving state, if the most number of time-saving times among the time-saving times related to all jackpots is "α times" and the least number of time-saving times is "β times", the relationship can be "time-saving number Q times > α times" or "time-saving number Q times < β times".
(Special Time 3) The above-mentioned "number of times Q of time reductions" may be "finite (a finite number of times of minute time reductions)" or "infinite (an infinite number of times of minute time reductions)."

(Variation 2 of Special Time Reduction)
In addition, special time-saving measures with slight time-saving capabilities such as the following (Special Time 4) to (Special Time 6) can be established.
(Special Time 4) At least one special time shortening can be provided that gives the same "micro time shortening number p times" as the micro time shortening state (jackpot micro time shortening state) given by a jackpot. If there are multiple types of jackpots that give the micro time shortening state, the "micro time shortening number p times" can be the same micro time shortening number as at least one of the multiple types of jackpots. For example, if there is a jackpot with a micro time shortening number of 50 times and a jackpot with a micro time shortening number of 100 times, the micro time shortening number p times may be 50 times or 100 times. In addition, if multiple special time shortenings are provided, at least one of the special time shortenings may be a different micro time shortening number.
(Special Time 5) At least one special time-saving state that is different from the micro-time-saving state granted by a jackpot and that is granted a "micro-time-saving number of times q times" can be provided. When there are multiple types of jackpots that grant a micro-time-saving state, if the most number of micro-time-saving times among the micro-time-saving times related to all jackpots is "γ times" and the least number of micro-time-saving times is "δ times", the relationship can be "micro-time-saving number of times q times > γ times" or "micro-time-saving number of times q times < δ times".
(Special Time 6) Note that the above-mentioned "number of times q of micro-time saving" may be "finite (a finite number of times of micro-time saving)" or "infinite (an infinite number of times of micro-time saving)."

(Variation 2 of Special Time Reduction)
In addition, in this embodiment, the probability of winning the special time-saving is set to about 1/10, which is higher than the probability of winning the jackpot, but there is no particular limit to the probability of winning the special time-saving. For example, it can be configured as follows.
(Lottery A) It is possible to set a lottery format in which if a winning (big winning and/or small winning) is not won, the special time-saving lottery is always won. In this case, the winning probability of a losing lottery may be set to 0%.
(Lottery B) It is possible to make the lottery form such that if you do not win (big win and/or small win), you will almost always win the special time-saving lottery. For example, the winning probability of a miss is set to an ultra-low probability of 1/65536, or at least a lower probability than the winning probability of a big win (about 1/251 in this embodiment). In this case, it is a lottery form similar to the above-mentioned (Lottery A), but it is different in that there is a possibility of winning a miss.

In the above-mentioned cases of (lottery A) or (lottery B), if the game state is normal, the special time-saving feature is almost always won (for example, in the case of (lottery A), there is almost a 100% chance of winning in the first game in normal state), and it is possible to create special gameplay in which a transition to a time-saving feature or a micro-time-saving feature is possible. In this way, a lottery form in which the special time-saving feature is almost 100% likely to be won under a specific game state is referred to as a "special time-saving ultra-high probability lottery form." Note that the special time-saving ultra-high probability lottery form is applicable not only to this embodiment (first embodiment) but also to any of the embodiments described in this specification.

<5. About the production>
(5-1. Presentation mode)
Next, the presentation mode (presentation state) will be described. In this embodiment, a plurality of types of presentation modes that perform presentations related to each game state are provided, and the transition between each presentation mode can be controlled in response to the transition (update) of the game state.

The presentation modes include a "normal presentation mode" associated with a "normal state", a "micro-time-saving presentation mode" associated with a micro-time-saving state, a "time-saving presentation mode" associated with a time-saving state, a "latent probability presentation mode" associated with a potential probability state, a "probability variable presentation mode" associated with a probability variable state, and a "during winning presentation mode" associated with a winning game. The presentation modes can be provided in a number of different types corresponding to the internal game state YJ or the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode. In this embodiment, even if the internal game state is the same, if the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode is different, it is possible to control the transition to a different presentation mode corresponding to each variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode. For example, as the time-saving performance mode for the time-saving state (YJ = 02H), it is possible to transition to different performance modes such as performance modes corresponding to each of time-saving A to time-saving C (Tcode = 02H to 04H), specifically, "time-saving A performance mode (consecutive A performance mode)", "time-saving B performance mode (consecutive B performance mode)", and "time-saving C performance mode (consecutive C performance mode)". In this embodiment, "Hell mode A" and "Hell mode B" related to the minute time-saving state (YJ = 02H) have a common fluctuation pattern allocation designation number Tcode (Tcode = 01H) (see Figure 25), but even if the fluctuation pattern allocation designation number Tcode is different between "Hell mode A" and "Hell mode B", they can each be a different performance mode (for example, Hell mode A performance mode, Hell mode B performance mode, etc.).

The same presentation mode may be adopted for multiple game states depending on the purpose and gameplay. For example, the normal state and the minute time-saving state (the same presentation mode is adopted for at least two different internal game states), and the same presentation mode may be adopted for the time-saving A and time-saving B (the same presentation mode is adopted for at least two different game modes). In short, when there are multiple variation pattern allocation designation numbers Tcode, the same presentation mode may be adopted for at least two or more Tcodes, and when there are multiple internal game states YJ, the same presentation mode may be adopted for at least two or more YJs. It is preferable to adopt the same presentation mode for at least two or more similar game states. For example, the same presentation mode may be adopted for the time-saving A and time-saving B that belong to the time-saving state, or the normal state and the minute time-saving state (where the base value is approximately the same (where the minute time-saving state is made to function as a pseudo normal state)).

In each presentation mode, the background display (background presentation) as the background of the decorative pattern variable display screen is changed to a presentation mode corresponding to the presentation mode. For example, in the "normal presentation mode", a background presentation reminiscent of the season "spring" (for example, a background image of cherry blossom trees is displayed), and in the "time-saving presentation mode", a background presentation reminiscent of the season "summer" (for example, a background image of the sea is displayed). This suggests the gaming state during the stay. In addition to changing the background display, the background music and decorative patterns (pictures) may also be changed according to each presentation mode. In addition, at least one of the background display, background music, and decorative patterns may be a common presentation between one presentation mode and another presentation mode. For example, a common background presentation (both displaying a background image of cherry blossom trees) may be used for the normal presentation mode and the slight time-saving presentation mode.

In addition, multiple presentation states belonging to the same variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode (same game mode) can be provided. For example, multiple presentation states that perform different presentations can be provided as presentation modes corresponding to the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode "00H". Such presentation states are also called "presentation stages" in order to distinguish the presentation modes, since Tcode is the same (common) presentation mode. Note that even in different presentation stages, the variation pattern of each presentation stage is the same because the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode itself is the same, so the variation pattern of the selection target is the same (the selected variation pattern allocation table is common to each presentation stage). However, even if the same variation pattern is selected, different presentations can be made to appear depending on the current presentation stage. This increases the freedom of presentation, and even in the same game state, the presentation can be made diverse. Note that different backgrounds can also be displayed depending on the presentation stage. For example, in the "normal presentation mode" mentioned above, the background presentation is reminiscent of the season "spring" (displaying a background image of cherry blossom trees), but depending on each presentation stage related to the normal presentation mode, it can be changed to a "cherry blossom stage" with a cherry blossom tree background, a "rape blossom stage" with a rape blossom background, a "dandelion stage" with a dandelion background, etc.

The presentation control unit 24 (CPU 241) is configured to be able to control the transition between each presentation mode in response to the transition (update) of the game state, and has a functional unit (presentation state transition control means (presentation mode transition control means)) that controls the transition between multiple types of presentation modes. The presentation control unit 24 has a functional unit (presentation control side game state management means) that can manage the game state (internal game state YJ and/or variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode) based on the information contained in the presentation control command containing information about the game state among the presentation control commands sent from the main control unit 20 (CPU 201), specifically, a specific presentation control command that specifies the current game state or specifies that the game state is to be transitioned, and controls the presentation mode in a manner that maintains consistency with the game state on the main control unit 20 side, and is configured to be able to control the transition from one presentation mode to another depending on the processing state (for example, a configuration that can control the transition between multiple types of presentation modes in response to the variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode). The above-mentioned "specific presentation control commands" include, for example, a variation pattern designation command, a game state designation command, and a specific command sent during a win (for example, a jackpot start command or a jackpot end command). Note that if the presentation control unit 24 can independently determine the game state, it can control the transition of presentation modes without relying on a specific presentation control command.

(5-2. Preview performance)
Next, the preview performance will be described. The performance control unit 24 is configured to be able to present various "preview performances" related to the big win lottery results (win/lose lottery results and/or pattern lottery results) based on the contents of the performance control command from the main control unit 20 (information included in the variable pattern designation command, decorative pattern designation command, and winning time command described later). Specifically, it is possible to present (execute) "preview performances" related to the performance mode (including the performance stage described later) and the big win lottery results.

Preview effects are basically effects that are executed as part of the during-variation effects (part of the scenario), and various preview effects appear during the during-variation effects. The main role of preview effects is to predict (suggest) the likelihood of winning whether or not a winning type and/or special time-saving type has been won, and to predict the likelihood of a specific preview effect occurring. Many of the preview effects act as "hyping effects" to increase the player's expectations of winning.

Typical preview effects include "reach effects," "pseudo consecutive effects," "player participation effects," "step-up effects," "stage change effects," and "preview preview effects." These effects will be explained below.

(5-2-1. Reach performance)
The above-mentioned "reach effect" refers to an effect mode accompanying a reach state (a variable display mode accompanying a reach state), and specifically refers to an effect mode in which the game result can be derived and displayed via the reach state.

A "reach state" is a display mode in which, before the result of a decorative pattern change display game is derived, some of the decorative patterns derived and displayed during the decorative pattern change display game form part of a display mode indicating the occurrence of a jackpot (a jackpot win), and decorative patterns that have not yet been derived and displayed are being displayed in a changing state; this refers to a changing display mode that uses the changing display mode of decorative patterns for dramatic effect to suggest (predict) that a display mode indicating a specific type of win (such as a jackpot, small win or special time-saving win) is likely to be derived (that there is a possibility of winning a specific type of win), thereby increasing the player's anticipation of winning. For example, if the combination of decorative symbols (jackpot symbols) indicating a jackpot win (occurrence of a jackpot) is a pattern combination such as "7 (left symbol)," "7 (middle symbol)," and "7 (right symbol)," then on a specified effective winning line, the left and right symbols that are part of the pattern combination will display "7" (a ready state), and the remaining middle symbols (the remaining symbols that are not part of the ready state) will be changing and displaying by rapidly fluctuating, frame-by-frame, oscillating, enlarging/reducing, deforming, etc.

Therefore, even if a reach state is formed, the result of the decorative symbol variation display game does not necessarily result in a "jackpot", and if the final result is not a stop display pattern (jackpot pattern) that indicates a jackpot, the game result will be a "miss". Note that in the above example, the left and right patterns that make up the ready state (reach pattern) are patterns that make up the reach state, and in this sense are also called "reach constituent patterns".

Reach effects (reach fluctuations) are broadly divided into a "before reach (before tenpai, tenpai teasing)" stage, a "reach (tenpai, hit/miss teasing)" stage, and a "post-reach" stage. The "post-reach" stage is the period in which the game result (reach effect result: hit/miss result) is finally announced, and includes a period in which promotion effects and revival effects may occur. The "promotion effect" is an effect mode in which, after announcing a win in a low profit state, an announcement is made that a win in a higher profit state has been made. For example, it is an effect mode in which a decorative pattern indicating a time-saving jackpot (a jackpot that triggers a time-saving state transition) is displayed, and then a decorative pattern indicating a probability-changing jackpot (a probability-changing jackpot) is displayed to announce that the game result (jackpot lottery result) was a probability-changing jackpot. The "revival effect" is an effect mode in which, after announcing a miss, an announcement is made that a win has definitely been made. For example, after displaying a decorative pattern (missing symbol) indicating a miss, a decorative pattern (a jackpot pattern: for example, a matching pattern) indicating a jackpot is displayed, or a presentation (a confirmed win presentation) is shown to definitively notify the player that they have won the jackpot.

The above-mentioned "reach performance" includes multiple reach performances that are associated with the probability of winning. For example, when a specific reach performance appears, the probability of winning is relatively higher than when a normal reach performance (normal reach = N reach) appears. Such a specific reach performance is called a 'super reach (SP reach)'. Many of these "SP reaches" have a relatively longer performance time (variation time) than N reaches, in order to increase the expectation of winning a jackpot. Also, SP reaches include not only normal SP reaches (normal SP reaches), but various other SP reaches. The content of each reach performance (reach variation mode) is explained below.

(r1) "N Reach"
"N reach" is a fluctuation mode in which, after normal fluctuation, it simply passes through the normal reach state and ends by announcing the game result (hit or miss (information related to the jackpot lottery result)) without the occurrence of an SP reach, and is the reach presentation with the lowest probability of winning. There are two types of N reach: N reach 1 and N reach 2, which have different probability of winning. Furthermore, among all reach types, N reach is the reach fluctuation type with the shortest fluctuation time (for example, N1 reach = 20 seconds, N reach 2 = 25 seconds).

(r2) "SP Reach (Normal SP Reach)"
"SP reach" is a reach variation mode in which a first reach presentation (SP reach) occurs via a normal reach, and then the game result is announced and the game ends.

(r3) "SP reach + SPSP reach" (advanced SPSP reach)
"SP reach + SPSP reach" is a reach variation mode in which, after a normal variation, a first reach performance (SP reach) occurs via a normal reach state, a miss is notified, and then a second reach performance (SPSP reach) with a higher winning expectation than the first reach performance occurs (develops into another SP reach type), and the game result is notified and the game ends. "SP reach + SPSP reach" is also called "developed SPSP reach" in that it develops into another SP reach via an SP reach. In addition, "SP reach + SPSP reach" is the reach variation type with the longest variation time among reach types because it passes through various reaches (for example, 200 seconds to 260 seconds with pseudo consecutive (1 to 3 times), 180 seconds without pseudo consecutive, etc.). In addition, the reach itself that develops into may also be called "SPSP reach".

(r4) "SPSP reach" (direct hit SPSP reach)
"SPSP reach" is a reach fluctuation mode in which, after a normal fluctuation, it passes through a normal reach state, but does not pass through the first reach performance (SP reach), i.e., is omitted, and the second reach performance (SPSP reach) occurs immediately (directly develops into an SPSP reach), and ends by announcing the game result. The SPSP reach is also called a "direct type SPSP reach" because it develops directly into an SPSP reach without passing through an SP reach. Note that both the direct type SPSP reach and the above-mentioned developed type SPSP reach are treated as belonging to the SPSP reach.

(r5) "Full rotation reach"
A "full rotation reach" is a premium reach fluctuation in which, with or without going through a reach state, a fluctuation display is made while maintaining the pattern display state indicating a win (for example, a line-up of patterns) for a specified fluctuation time, and this fluctuation display predicts a confirmed win (a sure win).

(r6) "Direct hit reach (sudden hit)"
The "direct hit reach" is a variation mode that takes the player by surprise, in that it looks like a non-reach performance (normal variation) that does not go through a reach state, and gives the player the impression of a losing variation, but the game result that is finally derived is a winning pattern. For example, it is a variation mode in which the "left pattern, middle pattern, right pattern" are stopped in sequence, that is, without going through a reach state, and when the final right pattern stops, the patterns are aligned (winning pattern), and it is also called a "sudden hit" because the winning pattern is stopped and displayed suddenly. In addition, a reach variation mode in which a winning pattern is stopped and displayed without developing into a SP-type reach while remaining in an N reach (low expectation reach performance) also belongs to this direct hit reach. This direct hit reach is also one of the premium reach variations, like the full rotation reach mentioned above, but it can be exceptionally treated as a non-reach type (normal variation type) in that it includes one in which the winning pattern is displayed stationary without going through the reach state.

The winning expectation in the reach performance mainly varies depending on the selection rate of the reach performance. For example, the selection rate is determined in relation to the jackpot lottery result so that the winning expectation relationship between the normal reaches is "N reach 1 < N reach 2 < SP reach < advanced SPSP reach < direct hit SPSP reach". Also, the selection rate is determined in relation to the jackpot lottery result so that the winning expectation relationship between the reaches during time reduction (see FIG. 28) is "time reduction reach 1 < time reduction reach 2". Note that the direct hit reach and full rotation reach are reaches that can directly notify the winning confirmation, and therefore are positioned as the reach performance with the highest expectation (at least the winning expectation rate of the direct hit SPSP reach or higher in this embodiment).

The actual probability of winning varies depending on whether or not one or more other preview effects are present. For example, even if an advanced SPSP reach appears, if a preview effect with a high probability of winning is involved, the probability of winning may be equal to or greater than that of a direct SPSP reach.

In this way, the occurrence of a reach gives the player a clue as to the possibility of winning a certain type of win (for example, a big win). Therefore, various advance notice effects are provided that suggest the possibility of a reach occurring, in other words, that can make the probability of winning clearer. In a game with a variable symbol display, one or more types of advance notice effects may occur in combination (occurring at different times or simultaneously), and the occurrence of advance notice effects in combination indicates a clearer probability of winning. For example, if one or more advance notice effects are present, the probability of winning is clearer and higher than when a reach effect occurs alone. Such advance notice effects can be broadly divided into "pre-advance notice effects" that can occur before a reach (before a winning combination is reached) and "post-advance notice effects" that can occur after a reach (during a reach). Some advance notice effects also announce the possibility or certainty of the occurrence of other advance notice effects other than a reach effect (for example, pseudo consecutive wins and stage change effects).

In this specification, reach types that belong to N reach may be referred to as "N reach type", reaches that belong to SP reach type (including SPSP reach type) may be referred to as "SP reach type", and reach types that belong to premium reach may be referred to as "sure win reach type". In addition, reaches that develop from one reach to another may be referred to as "developing reach type".

(5-2-2. Pseudo-connection performance (pseudo-connection))
In this embodiment, one of the preview effects is a "pseudo consecutive effect (hereinafter abbreviated as "pseudo consecutive"). "Pseudo consecutive" refers to a pseudo continuous variable display state of decorative symbols (a so-called "pseudo consecutive"). This "pseudo-change" refers to a performance mode that involves a temporary stop of some or all of the decorative symbols during one decorative symbol change display game (not a normal decorative symbol, but The display operation is repeated one or more times, such as executing a re-variable display operation of the decorative pattern from the provisionally stopped state, or using one or more pseudo-repeatable symbols. For example, The symbol is temporarily stopped at "775" (pseudo change), and the decorative symbol is changed again, and then the final decorative symbol is stopped. This can be performed over multiple symbol change display games. This is different from the "preview preview performance" described below.

The occurrence rate of "pseudo consecutive wins" is basically set so that the more pseudo fluctuations there are, the higher the chance of winning. For example, the more pseudo fluctuations there are, the higher the chance of a pre-announced performance (such as SP reach) with a high chance of winning will occur than if there are two pseudo fluctuations. Therefore, if the current fluctuation performance is composed of a performance scenario including a reach performance, "pseudo consecutive wins" often occur mainly in the stage before the reach state is formed (the stage before the reach performance), and after one or more pseudo fluctuations are performed, the reach performance is executed in the main fluctuation, and the final game result is derived and displayed. In this specification, "pseudo N" means the total number of pseudo fluctuations M times and the main fluctuation. For example, when "pseudo 2" is written, it means "one pseudo fluctuation + main fluctuation", and when "pseudo 3" is written, it means "two pseudo fluctuations + main fluctuation" (for example, "pseudo 2 + SP reach" or "pseudo 3 + SP reach" in FIG. 26). Also, if there is no pseudo 2 or 3, it means "no pseudo consecutive wins" and no pseudo consecutive wins will occur.

(5-2-3. Player Participation Effects)
In this embodiment, one type of preview performance is a preview performance that belongs to "player participation type performance." A "player participation type performance" is a preview performance mode in which, when a predetermined operation (for example, a single press, a long press, or repeated taps) is performed on the operation means (performance button 13 and/or directional key 75), the content of the performance can change based on the operation content (operation result). A player participation type performance is also called a "button preview performance" or a "button operation performance" because it uses the operation means.

In the player participation type performance, when a predetermined button valid period arrives, a predetermined performance (pre-operation performance) occurs, including an "operation instruction performance" that prompts the player to perform a predetermined operation on the operating means. During the button valid period, when the player operates the operating means or the button valid period has elapsed, the currently displayed performance changes to another performance (post-operation performance) based on the operation content. Depending on the performance state (performance content) before and after this operation, information on the expected winning probability, the jackpot lottery result (win/lose result, pattern lottery result), or setting suggestion can be notified. The performance control unit 24 includes an operation valid period setting means that sets an operation acceptance valid period during which the operation of the operating means is valid based on a predetermined condition (for example, a predetermined timing during the player participation type performance), a pre-operation performance control means that controls a predetermined pre-operation performance during the button valid period, and a post-operation performance control means that controls a predetermined post-operation performance based on the operation of the performance button during the operation valid period.

Basically, player participation effects are executed as part of a preview effect (part of the preview effect scenario). Representative examples include "reach effects," "pseudo consecutive wins," "step-up previews," and "preview previews," which incorporate player participation effects. In the case of a player participation reach effect, for example, a button preview effect is generated at a specified timing before or after a reach, and the expected probability of development to a specific reach or the expected probability of winning is announced depending on the result of the player participation effect.

(5-2-4. Step-up notice)
In this embodiment, one of the preview performances is a "step-up preview (SU preview)" in which the performance can develop stepwise. In the "step-up preview," a performance corresponding to the number of steps (stages) is executed, and the expectation of winning increases when the performance develops to a further step number. Therefore, the expectation of winning is lowest when the performance ends at the first stage, and the expectation of winning is highest when the performance develops to the final stage. For example, in the case of a step-up preview that can develop into three stages consisting of steps 1 to 3, the relationship of the expectation of winning is "step 1 < step 2 < step 3." In addition, when stepping up, there is not only a "normal step preview (N step preview)" that develops sequentially such as "step 1 → step 2 → step 3," but also a "super step-up preview (SP step-up preview)" that develops to multiple steps at once such as "step 1 → step 3." The relationship of the expectation of winning is "N step preview < SP step preview."

(5-2-5. Stage change effects)
In this embodiment, one of the preview effects is a "stage change effect." The "stage change effect" is a preview effect mode that can suggest the probability of winning by shifting the current performance stage to another performance stage (for example, by changing the background display) during the pattern change display game (triggered by the arrival of a predetermined timing during the pattern change display game). Note that the stage change effect is a performance mode in which the performance stage changes as a preview effect, and the occurrence of a stage change effect does not mean that a transition (change) of the game state (YJ, Tcode) occurs and the performance mode such as the background display changes. The "stage change effect" has the following preview forms.

(C1) A notice mode suggesting a winning expectation degree, etc. according to a transition destination production stage. For example, a transition to production stage A suggests a low expectation degree, and a transition to production stage B suggests a high expectation degree.
(C2) A notice mode in which the degree of expectation of winning is suggested by the difference in the cut-in effect that occurs when the performance stage transition is made. For example, when the performance stage transition occurs with the appearance of character A, a low expectation degree is suggested, and when the performance stage transition occurs with the appearance of character B, a high expectation degree is suggested.

The stage change effect may not indicate the probability of winning, but may simply change the stage. In this case, it is used primarily to prevent the effect from becoming monotonous.

(5-2-6. Interruption notice performance)

(5-2-6. Interruption notice performance)
In this embodiment, one of the preview effects is an "interrupt preview effect" (hereinafter, abbreviated as "interrupt preview"). This "interrupt preview" is a performance mode that occurs in the form of an interrupt during the execution of a specific preview effect, and after the interrupt preview, the performance mode transitions to a preview effect different from the specific preview effect. The interrupt preview is mainly executed as a part of a reach performance scenario.

This presentation scenario that includes an interrupt notice differs from other reach presentations in the following ways. Here, we will use as an example a reach presentation that unfolds in the sequence of "first reach presentation (N reach) -> second reach presentation (SP reach)" as in the above-mentioned "SP reach." For ease of explanation, we will refer to a reach presentation that includes an interrupt notice as an "interrupt reach presentation," and a reach presentation that does not include an interrupt notice as a "non-interrupt reach presentation" (here, SP reach).

In the "non-interrupt reach performance", a "first reach performance (N reach)" and a "second reach performance (SP reach)" are executed in sequence, and the current game result is announced in the second reach performance that is executed finally. Specifically, for example, if the current game result is a jackpot, the non-interrupt reach performance announces a miss as the performance result of the first reach (it initially announces a miss), and then progresses to the second reach performance, and announces the current game result, a jackpot, as the performance result of the second reach performance (it announces the current game result as the final performance result of the non-interrupt reach performance).

In contrast, the "interrupt reach performance" is a special performance mode in which "at a specific timing during the execution of the first reach performance, a specific notice (interrupt notice) occurs, and develops into the second reach performance." In other words, after the normal fluctuation, it develops into the first reach performance, but before the performance result of the first reach performance is seen, an interrupt notice occurs (the interrupt notice is executed in a way that interrupts the first reach performance), and the second reach performance is executed after the interrupt notice. Therefore, from the player's perspective, the reach performance unfolds in a surprising way, realizing a notice performance with a high performance effect.

When such an interrupt notice occurs, just like with an advanced notice performance, the game will basically transition to another performance (here, the second reach performance) that has a higher chance of winning than the reach performance where the interrupt notice occurred (here, the first reach performance).

Note that, although the above explanation uses "SP Reach + SPSP Reach" as a representative example, it is possible to configure it so that an interrupt announcement can be executed while various announcement performances are being executed.

The timing of the interrupt notice is determined for each reach performance. For example, it can occur at a specific timing during the "before reach (before tenpai, during tenpai teasing)" stage, the "during reach (during tenpai, during hit/miss teasing)" stage, and the "after reach" stage of the first reach performance. There may be multiple occurrences, and the timing at which it will occur is determined by a specific performance lottery. When an interrupt notice occurs, it can occur at the following times.

(Preliminary 1) While an audio performance such as dialogue (hereinafter referred to as "audio performance A") is being executed (while a specified audio part is being executed).
(Pre1α) The timing when more than half of the execution time of audio performance A has elapsed.
(Preliminary 1β) The timing when more than half of the lines in the audio production have passed (for example, if the lines have 30 characters, the timing when more than 15 characters have passed).

(Preliminary 2) When a specific light effect is executed during a preview performance (when a specific light effect part is being executed), if the light effect is capable of executing an effect involving multiple light colors, a specific timing after switching from one specific light color (e.g., white light) to another specific light color (e.g., blue light).

(Prediction 3) When a specific performance related to a certain preview performance is composed of multiple cuts (for example, when there are multiple video scene switches), the timing when more than half of the execution time of a specific cut at which an interrupt preview can be executed has elapsed.

(Pre-4) When a specific performance related to a certain preview performance is composed of multiple cuts (for example, when there are multiple changes in video scenes), the timing when more than half of the lines of the sound performance (audio performance) to be executed in a specific cut in which the preview can be executed have been executed.

(Prediction 5) When a specific performance related to a certain preview performance is composed of multiple cuts (for example, when there are multiple video scene switches), the timing when more than half of the execution time of the light performance of a specific cut in which an interrupt preview can be executed has elapsed.

(Pre-6) When a specific performance related to a certain preview performance is composed of multiple cuts (for example, when there are multiple changes in video scenes), the timing when switching from one cut in which an interrupt preview cannot be executed to another cut in which an interrupt preview can be executed has occurred before half of the execution time of the other cut has elapsed.

(Pre-7) When a specific performance related to a certain preview performance is composed of multiple cuts (for example, when there are multiple changes in video scenes), the timing is when switching from one cut in which the preview cannot be executed to another cut in which the preview can be executed, and before half of the execution time of the sound performance related to that other cut has elapsed.

(Pre-8) When a specific performance related to a certain preview performance is composed of multiple cuts (for example, when there are multiple changes in video scenes), the timing is when switching from one cut in which the preview cannot be executed to another cut in which the preview can be executed, and before half of the execution time of the light performance related to that other cut has elapsed.

In addition, as the presentation mode of the interrupt notice, for example, a blackout presentation (a darkening presentation), a lights-out presentation, a silent presentation, a loud sound presentation, a soft sound presentation, a flashing light presentation, etc. can be adopted. When an interrupt notice is generated, the execution of the predetermined presentation that has been executed up until that point is stopped (stopped midway) and a different presentation is started. By executing the presentation mode as described above, it is possible to attract the player's attention or take the player by surprise. In order to maximize the effect of the interrupt notice, it is preferable that the predetermined presentation executed at the timing when the interrupt notice occurs is a "flashy presentation" or a "subtle presentation". If the lights suddenly go out, there is no sound, or the screen goes dark during the execution of a "flashy presentation" (when the lights-out presentation, silent presentation, or blackout presentation is adopted as the interrupt notice), the impact on the player will be enormous. Similarly, when a "subtle presentation" is executed and a loud sound or a flashing light suddenly occurs (when the loud sound presentation or flashing light presentation is adopted as the interrupt notice), the impact on the player will be enormous. It is preferable that the specified performance that is executed when an interrupt notice occurs be the following performance type.

(Interrupt 1) When an interrupt notice occurs, there are multiple types of effects being executed. The types of effects are at least two of a light effect, a sound effect, an image display effect, and a movable object effect.
(Interval 2) The number of types of performances executed in one cut in which an interrupt notice can occur is greater than the number of types of performances executed in one cut in which an interrupt notice cannot occur.
(3) The brightness of the light effect (light effect using at least one light effect means) executed in one shot in which an interruption notice can occur is greater than the brightness of the light effect executed in one shot in which an interruption notice cannot occur.
(Cut 4) The volume of the sound effect (which may be a specific sound effect or the overall sound effect) executed in one cut in which an interruption notice can occur is louder than the volume of the sound effect executed in one cut in which an interruption notice cannot occur (a form in which an interruption notice is generated while a relatively flashy sound effect is being executed).
(Interruption 5) The volume of the sound effect executed in one cut in which an interruption notice can occur is smaller than the volume of the sound effect executed in one cut in which an interruption notice cannot occur (a form in which an interruption notice is generated during the execution of a relatively quiet effect).

In the above, it was explained that when an interrupt notice occurs, the notice performance that was being executed before the interrupt notice is transitioned to another notice performance, but this does not necessarily mean that it will be transitioned to another notice performance, and it may also include cases where the notice performance that was being executed before the interrupt notice continues to be executed even when an interrupt notice occurs. For example, the performance may be such that an interrupt notice is generated (a reach performance in progress is interrupted and an interrupt notice is generated) at a specified timing of a specific reach performance (which may be a specific normal variation), and the interrupted reach performance is resumed after the interrupt notice. In this case, it may be configured so that a performance with an interrupt notice has a higher chance of winning than one without an interrupt notice.

(5-2-7. Pre-reading preview performance: Fig. 5A, Fig. 5B)
The "pre-reading notice performance (pre-reading notice)" is a performance mode that can notify in advance the expected winning probability for an activated reserved ball (an unconsumed activated reserved ball) that has not yet been used in the execution of a pattern change display game (special pattern change display operation) by utilizing the reserved display mode or a performance during a pattern change display game that is executed first chronologically.

Using FIG. 5A, an overview of the screen display of the liquid crystal display device according to this embodiment, including the above-mentioned pre-reading notice, will be described. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram used to explain the screen display of the liquid crystal display device 36 according to this embodiment.

In a portion of the screen of the liquid crystal display device 36 (below the display area of the decorative pattern in the figure), there is provided a reserved display area 76 which displays the number of activated reserved balls for special pattern 1, and a reserved display area 77 which displays the number of activated reserved balls for special pattern 2. Information regarding the current number of activated reserved balls is notified by indicating whether or not there are activated reserved balls by either a lit state (activated reserved balls present: "○ (white circle)" as shown) or an unlit state (no activated reserved balls present: dashed circle as shown).

The display of the presence or absence of these activated reserved balls (hereinafter referred to as "reserved display") is displayed in the order of occurrence (winning order), and in each reserved display area 76, 77, the activated reserved ball on the left side is displayed as the activated reserved ball that occurred first on the time axis (i.e., the oldest) among all the activated reserved balls in the reserved display. In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, reserved display sections a1 to d1 (corresponding to the special pattern 1 side) and a2 to d2 (corresponding to the special pattern 2 side) consisting of reserved icons (icon images) provided in the same number (4) as the maximum reserved memory number are provided in a part of the screen of the liquid crystal display device 36. The display mode of these reserved display sections a1 to d1 and a2 to d2 is usually switched to the activated state (lit state) for only the number of the activated reserved balls present when the pre-reading judgment is made, for example, 3. Therefore, this reserved display section functions as a reserved display means for displaying the number of activated reserved balls. However, when executing the look-ahead notice described below, the hold display mode of the corresponding hold display section among hold display sections a1-d1 and a2-d2 is changed to a specified look-ahead notice display mode (special hold display mode), thereby functioning as a means for generating the look-ahead notice.

Also, to the left of the reserved display areas 76, 77, there is provided a changing display area 78 for showing the active reserved ball currently being used in the special pattern change display game. In this embodiment, the changing display area 78 is configured so that an image appears in which the icon of the game-in-progress reserved ball K currently being used in the game is placed on the icon of the receiving seat J. In other words, when the display of the change of special pattern 1 or special pattern 2 begins, the icon (icon image) of the oldest reserved ball a1 or a2 displayed in the reserved display areas 76, 77 moves onto the icon of the receiving seat J in the changing display area 78 as the icon of the game-in-progress reserved ball K, and this state is maintained for a specified display time.

In addition, in the lower right corner of the liquid crystal screen shown in FIG. 5A, a sub-display area 79 is provided as a display area for sub-effects (sub-effects) other than the main effects such as decorative patterns and preview effects, which can display the operation reserved balls of special patterns 1 and 2, the number of operation reserved balls of normal patterns, information on the variable display operation of special patterns 1 and 2 (mini decorative patterns), and information on the variable display operation of normal patterns (mini normal patterns). The information in this sub-display area 79 continues to be displayed even when the display of the decorative patterns and/or the reserved display section is hidden when displaying the preview effect. Therefore, it is possible to identify whether or not a pattern variable display game is currently being played and how many operation reserved balls there are by the information in the sub-display area 79. For example, even if a performance in which the entire screen is blacked out occurs and the decorative patterns (left, center, right patterns) are temporarily hidden from the screen, the mini decorative patterns continue to be displayed in the sub-display area 79. The sub-display area 79 is provided in an area that does not interfere with the main effect because of its role of displaying sub-effects.

Depending on the game state (game mode or internal game state), the display area of the reserved display area 76 can be displayed more emphasized than the reserved display area 77 (for example, preferentially displayed or displayed larger), and conversely, the display area of the reserved display area 77 can be displayed more emphasized than the reserved display area 76. For example, during a first game state (for example, a game state favoring left-handed hitters: normal state or slight time-saving state), the reserved display area 76 can be highlighted, and during a second game state (for example, a game state favoring right-handed hitters: time-saving state), the reserved display area 76 can be highlighted. Also, during the first game state, both the reserved display areas 76 and 77 can be displayed, and during the second game state, the reserved display area 77 can be displayed preferentially (for example, only the reserved display area 77 can be displayed).

(About advance notices)
Next, the pre-reading notice will be explained. Regarding the appearance control regarding this pre-reading notice, first, in the main control unit 20, when an activation reserved ball occurs (when the start condition is satisfied), before the activation reserved ball is used for the execution of the pattern variation display game (variable display operation of special patterns), a "pre-reading hit judgment (pre-reading hit judgment, pre-reading pattern judgment)" is performed to determine in advance the big win lottery result (win/lose lottery result, pattern lottery result) related to the activation reserved ball (see steps S318 to S319 (random number judgment process to special stop pattern data creation process) in FIG. 11 and steps S410 to S411 (random number judgment process for special electric role activation judgment to special stop pattern creation process) in FIG. 12).

Furthermore, using the result of the above-mentioned "pre-reading hit determination", a "pre-reading fluctuation pattern determination" is performed to determine in advance the fluctuation pattern of the special symbol (fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation) when the activated reserved ball is used in the execution of the symbol fluctuation display game in the future (see step S320 (random number determination process when winning in the starting hole) in FIG. 11). This fluctuation pattern of the special symbol determined in advance is called the "pre-reading fluctuation pattern". In this pre-reading fluctuation pattern determination, the fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation is determined in advance, for example, what kind of reach fluctuation pattern will be passed through, or whether it will be a normal fluctuation pattern that does not pass through a reach state.

The above-mentioned pre-reading fluctuation pattern is determined using at least the winning/losing lottery results (in this embodiment, the results of the advance determination of the winning/losing lottery and the pattern lottery), so the pre-reading fluctuation pattern information can include not only information on whether it is a "winning fluctuation pattern" when a winning lottery is won or a "losing fluctuation pattern" when a losing lottery is won (information on the winning/losing lottery results), but also information on the execution of a specific preview performance, such as the presence or absence of a reach (if there is a reach, its type) and the presence or absence of a pseudo-consecutive (if there is a pseudo-consecutive, the number of times). In this way, the series of processes that determine the pre-reading fluctuation pattern through the pre-reading winning determination is called "pre-reading determination".

When the information on this look-ahead fluctuation pattern is sent from the main control unit 20 to the performance control unit 24, the performance control unit 24 performs a performance control process related to the look-ahead notice. In detail, when the look-ahead judgment is executed, a "reserved addition command" that can specify the number of active reserved balls at the time of the look-ahead judgment (the number of currently active reserved balls including the currently activated reserved balls) and a "winning time command" that can specify the above-mentioned look-ahead fluctuation pattern information (at least the information on the look-ahead judgment of the winning/losing lottery result at the start of the fluctuation) are sent from the main control unit 20 to the performance control unit 24, and when the performance control unit 24 receives these commands, a performance control process related to the reserved display and the look-ahead notice is performed based on the information contained in the command. Specifically, when the performance control unit 24 receives the reserved addition command and the winning time command, a "look-ahead notice lottery (winning time lottery process)" regarding whether or not to execute (appear) the look-ahead notice is performed based on the look-ahead fluctuation pattern information, and if the look-ahead notice is executed, a performance scenario related to the look-ahead notice is determined, and the look-ahead notice is made to appear according to the performance scenario (see Figures 5A and 5B described below). The probability of the above-mentioned pre-reading notice being executed is higher for a "jackpot" than a "miss", and also for pre-reading variation pattern types with a relatively high probability of winning. Therefore, the probability of winning is indicated by whether or not a pre-reading notice occurs. Note that the pre-reading notice may appear at the timing when the activated reserved ball appears, or at the same time as the start of a pattern variation display game that is played chronologically first, or at a specified timing during that game, with the pre-reading notice targeting the current activated reserved ball appearing.

The reserved addition command is composed of two bytes: the upper byte data that identifies the special chart type information (special chart 1 or 2), and the lower byte data that identifies the number of active reserved balls at the time of the look-ahead judgment (when a prize is won). The winning command is composed of two bytes: the upper byte data that specifies the winning or losing result, and the lower byte data that identifies the contents of the look-ahead fluctuation pattern as look-ahead judgment information (see, for example, Figures 26 and 27).

The probability of the above-mentioned pre-reading prediction lottery being executed is higher for a "jackpot" than a "miss", and also for the pre-reading variation pattern type with a relatively high probability of winning. Therefore, the probability of winning is indicated by whether or not a pre-reading prediction occurs. Note that a pre-reading prediction can be executed for the current pre-reading ball at the timing when the activated reserved ball occurs, or at the same time as the start of the pattern variation display game that is played chronologically first, or at a specified timing during that game.

(Winning time prediction: Hold change prediction)
In this embodiment, when a look-ahead notice is executed (when the look-ahead notice lottery is won), a look-ahead notice is executed in which the reserved icon that is the target of the look-ahead notice among the reserved icons in the reserved display sections a1 to d1 and a2 to d2 changes from the white color of the normal reserved display (normal reserved display mode) to a reserved display (special reserved display mode) with a special reserved color or color such as a flashing white, blue, yellow, green, red, or rainbow color. This reserve change notice is also called a "win-time-based look-ahead notice" because it can be triggered by a win (a new operating reserved ball's reserved display).

As an example of this reserve change notice, FIG. 5A shows an example in which the hatched reserve display part b1's operating reserve ball has changed to a special reserve display. Here, the white flashing, blue, yellow, green, red, and rainbow display of the reserve icon indicate a higher winning expectancy in that order, and the rainbow-colored reserve icon display is a premium reserve icon (guaranteed reserve notice) that indicates a guaranteed jackpot (win). The white flashing icon display is a reserve icon that suggests the possibility of a "step-up reserve change notice" to be described later, and creates anticipation as to what color the final reserve color will be (there are also cases where the reserve color does not change and remains flashing white). In the case of white flashing, if the reserve display remains the same, the winning expectancy is the lowest among the special reserve displays, but if it changes to another reserve color, the winning expectancy increases to that of that reserve color.

In this embodiment, the preview performance has a high expectation of winning, that is, it is selected with a relatively low probability (low appearance rate) when the jackpot lottery result is a miss, and is selected with a relatively high probability (high appearance rate) when the jackpot lottery result is a win. In this embodiment, preview performances with a winning expectation rate of a predetermined value or more (in this embodiment, preview performances with a winning expectation rate of 20% or more) are treated as "high expectation (high winning expectation) preview performances," and the rest are treated as low expectation preview performances. In the case of the hold change preview mentioned above, the following colors are treated as preview performances: flashing white, blue, yellow, green, red If the winning expectancy of green, red, and rainbow colors is 1%, 5%, 9%, 20%, 30%, and 100%, respectively, then "green, red, and rainbow" belong to the high expectancy preview effects, and the rest (flashing white, blue, and yellow) belong to the low expectancy preview effects. When a pre-reading preview occurs, if a high expectancy preview (such as a high number of pseudo consecutive hits or SP reach) with a relatively high winning expectancy occurs during the pattern change display game targeting that activated reserved ball, combined with the content of the pre-reading preview effect, the expectation of winning will be further increased.

Existing activated reserved balls are consumed in sequence when the pattern change display game is executed. At this time, to indicate that one activated reserved ball has been consumed, the display position of the reserved display section corresponding to the existing activated reserved ball is moved forward (sequentially shifted to the left) and the number of displayed balls is reduced, a display control (shift display) is performed, but the above-mentioned special reserved display continues to be displayed continuously while changing the display position of the reserved display during this time. In this respect, the pre-reading notice differs from the notice performance that is performed during one pattern change operation such as pseudo consecutive, in that a dedicated notice performance can be displayed across multiple pattern change display games (multiple pattern change display operations).

In this embodiment, the hold change notification can be configured to be executable as described below in (A) to (C).
(A) A case where a special reserved display is displayed upon winning (the above-mentioned winning time reserved change notice). For example, a case where a special reserved display is displayed at the timing of executing the reserved display of a new operating reserved ball.
(B) A case where the normal hold display is changed to a special hold display at a predetermined timing. For example, when a prize is won, the normal hold display (white) is displayed, but at a predetermined timing, the normal hold display is changed to a special hold display (white → blue, white → red, etc.).
(C) At a predetermined timing, the current reserved display (normal reserved display or special reserved display) is changed to a special reserved display with a relatively higher winning expectation than that of the current reserved display. For example, the reserved color is changed from white flashing or blue to yellow or higher in a step-up manner (a reserved color with a higher expectation by one or more steps).

The "predetermined timing" in the above cases (B) or (C) may be, for example, a predetermined timing during reserved subtraction (while the shift display is being executed) or during a pattern change display game (changing performance) related to another operating reserved ball (for example, a predetermined timing during a specific notice performance), and refers to a case where a reserved display related to a new operating reserved ball is displayed and then a reserved change notice related to the operating reserved ball is executed at a predetermined timing. Also, a reserved change notice that changes from one reserved display to another reserved display at a predetermined timing after a reserved display, as in the above cases (B) or (C), is also called a "step-up reserved change notice". This step-up reserved change notice can be treated as one aspect of the "pattern change pre-reading notice" described below.

When the game-in-progress reserved ball K is placed on the receiving seat J, the display mode is basically the same as the reserved ball display mode in the reserved ball display areas 76, 77, and a pre-reading notice (special reserved ball display) targeting the active reserved ball related to the current symbol change display game can be notified to the player even during the game. However, when the game-in-progress reserved ball K is placed on the receiving seat J, or at a specified timing after it is placed on the receiving seat J, the display of the game-in-progress reserved ball K may change to another display mode (such as a reserved ball color with a high probability of winning or an item image). From this point of view, the display change of the game-in-progress reserved ball K can also be treated as belonging to the above-mentioned "step-up reserved ball change notice".

As a general rule, there is no "special reserve display downgrade" in which the current reserve color changes to a reserve color with a relatively low winning probability, but in exceptional cases where a downgrade occurs, it indicates that the active reserve ball is a sure win (or may have a high winning probability), and serves as a premium reserve change notice. An example of a downgrade is when the reserve color changes to a reserve display with a lower winning probability than the current reserve display, such as "blue to white" or "red to blue." In addition, the reserve display mode is not limited to a still image reserve icon display (static display mode), but may also be a video (animation) reserve icon display (dynamic display mode: for example, the reserve icon is displayed by rotating, vibrating, rocking, or flashing (fast flashing or slow flashing)).

(Pattern change mid-system prediction (changing mid-system prediction))
In this embodiment, a "pre-reading notice" can be executed when the symbol-changing display game starts or at a predetermined timing during the game. This pre-reading notice can appear during the symbol-changing, so it is a pre-reading notice of the symbol-changing start time change or the symbol-changing mid-change, and is referred to as a "pre-reading notice during the change" in this specification.

This "pre-reading during change" can be, for example, the above-mentioned "step-up reserved change notice" or "continuous notice." A "continuous notice" is a pre-reading notice in which a special pre-reading notice image is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display device 36, and is executed in one or more pattern change display games (displayed either singly or continuously).

In other words, when a game ball enters the start hole during a certain symbol change display game and the start condition is met, the right to play the symbol change display game related to the fulfillment of the start condition is temporarily reserved and a pre-reading prediction lottery is held regarding whether or not to play the pre-reading prediction performance, and when this pre-reading prediction lottery is held, if there are multiple active reserved balls (reserved memories) currently in existence at that time, the symbol change display game can be expressed in some way related to all or some of the reserved memories.

For example, during all or some of the pattern change display games related to the existing reserved balls from the oldest reserved ball in memory to the reserved ball that is the target of the pre-reading notice, a pre-reading notice image (for example, the lightning image in FIG. 5B) is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display device 36. In this case, all or some of the pre-reading notices can be different in each pattern change display game. For example, when the pre-reading notices are displayed over three pattern change display games, the first pattern change display game can be a thundercloud image, the second pattern change display game can be a rain image (image display expressing rain falling from a thundercloud) or a thundercloud image, and the third pattern change display game can be a lightning image. Also, a step-up pre-reading notice may be used in which the expectation level develops stepwise (expectation level increases) from "thundercloud image → rain image → lightning image" for each pattern change display game. Also, the expectation level of winning may differ depending on the pre-reading notice image. In the above example, the thundercloud image can be a low expectation level, the rain image can be a medium expectation level, and the lightning image can be a high expectation level. In this case, if the game ends with just a thundercloud image, the expectation of winning is low, but if a lightning bolt image is displayed, the expectation of winning increases dramatically.

In this embodiment, the pre-reading notice during change and the reserved change notice can be displayed independently of each other. Specifically, the execution of the reserved change notice and the pre-reading notice during change are determined by independent lotteries. Therefore, there are cases where the reserved change notice occurs alone, where the pre-reading notice during change occurs alone, and where the reserved change notice and the pre-reading notice during change occur simultaneously (overlapping). Note that the pre-reading notice is not limited to image display means, and various other presentation means such as movable props, light presentation means, and sound presentation means can be used.

(Example of pre-reading notice performance: FIG. 5B)
Next, referring to FIG. 5B, an example of a pre-reading preview effect created by the gaming machine 1 of this embodiment will be described.

In the figure (1), during the pattern change display game (the "↓" in the figure indicates that the decorative pattern is being changed), a ball enters the upper start hole 34, bringing the number of activated reserved balls on the special pattern 1 side to three, and of the third, the activated reserved ball that is the second to have the change start action executed is the target of the look-ahead notice performance, and here shows a case in which the reserved change notice and the during-change look-ahead notice occur at the same time. Also, here, the first activated reserved ball that was reserved earlier and the third activated reserved ball that was reserved later are activated reserved balls that do not execute the look-ahead notice (do not win the look-ahead lottery).

As shown in FIG. 1(1), the performance control unit 24 changes the reserved display of the second activated reserved ball that is the subject of the pre-reading notice to a special reserved display. At this time, the reserved displays corresponding to the first and third activated reserved balls that are not the subject of the pre-reading notice are maintained as normal reserved displays (white). The figure shows a case where the reserved display of the second activated reserved ball that is the subject of the pre-reading notice has changed its display mode from a normal reserved display (white circle (○) mark) to a special reserved display (hatched circle mark). This notifies the player that the pre-reading notice performance has started. Note that FIG. 1(1) shows the currently running pattern change display game ending, with the decorative pattern stopped and displayed as "246" corresponding to a miss.

The game progresses to (2) in the figure, where the main control unit 20 starts a special symbol change display game based on the activated reserved ball on the special symbol 1 side, which was the first (oldest activated reserved ball), and consumes that activated reserved ball (one consumed). The performance control unit 24 shifts the reserved display mode corresponding to each activated reserved ball to the left as the special symbol change display game starts, and sets it to a reserved display mode indicating that one activated reserved ball has been consumed, and starts a decorative symbol change display game based on the first activated reserved ball. At this time, a special background performance (lightning performance with a lightning image display) is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display device 36 as a preview of the change. As a result, the screen of the liquid crystal display device 36 becomes the display mode shown in (2) in the figure.

Then, the game progresses to (3) in the same figure, where the currently running symbol change display game ends and the decorative symbol is stopped and displayed as "351," which corresponds to a loss.

Then, the game progresses to FIG. 4 (4), where the main control unit 20 starts a special symbol change display game based on the second reserved ball, that is, the reserved ball that was the target of the look-ahead notice performance, and consumes the reserved ball. The performance control unit 24 shifts the reserved display mode corresponding to each reserved ball to the left with the start of the special symbol change display game, and starts a decorative symbol change display game based on the second reserved ball. At this time, the special reserved display of the reserved change notice disappears from the screen at the time of the shift, and is terminated with the start of the current symbol change display game (with the consumption of the reserved ball), and is then displayed as a reserved K during game execution. The change-in-progress pre-reading notice (here, the lightning performance) is also terminated with the occurrence of the current symbol change display game. FIG. 4 (4) shows an example of the screen display of the liquid crystal display device 36 immediately after the start of the symbol change display game. In addition, in FIG. (4), it was explained that the lightning effect of the in-flight read-ahead notice (in-flight read-ahead notice) ends with its occurrence in the current pattern change display game (the pattern change display game related to the activated reserved ball (second) that is the subject of the read-ahead notice), but this is not limited to this, and it may end with the previous pattern change display game.

(5-2-8. Setting hints)
In addition, in this embodiment, it is possible to present a presentation mode (setting suggestion presentation) that suggests information regarding the above-mentioned "setting value." For example, the following setting suggestion presentations (A) to (C) are possible.
(a) A "low setting suggestion" that suggests a low setting range (settings 1 to 3, 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc.).
(c) A "high setting suggestion effect" that suggests a high setting range (settings 4 to 6, 4 to 5, 5 to 6, etc.).
(k) An "even number setting suggestion effect" that suggests an even number setting (settings 2, 4, or 6).
(Yu) An "odd number setting suggestion effect" that suggests an odd number setting (settings 1, 3, 5).
(M) A "specific setting confirmation effect" that definitively notifies a specific setting value (which can be any of settings 1 to 6). For example, a "setting N confirmation effect" that definitively notifies "setting N". However, it is not desirable to definitively notify an internal setting value without reason. The reason is that something that definitively suggests a low setting region, such as setting 1 or setting 2 confirmation, reduces the player's willingness to play. Therefore, it is preferable to definitively notify one of settings 4 to 6 in the high setting region. In particular, if a specific setting confirmation effect appears that confirms a high setting, such as setting 5 confirmation or setting 6 confirmation, it can increase the player's willingness to play.
(m) A "specific setting negation effect" that definitively notifies that a specific setting value (which may be any of settings 1 to 6) is not present.
(l) "Specific range suggestion effect" that suggests a specific range of setting values. For example, it suggests settings 3 to 5 (α≦setting value≦β), suggests settings 4 or higher (α≦setting value), suggests multiple specific values such as "settings 1, 3, 5, 6", etc. It is also possible to suggest the high/low probability of a certain setting value by varying the appearance rate according to the setting value, for example, that it is unlikely to appear at setting 1, fairly likely to appear at setting 4, and likely to appear at setting 6.

The appearance rate (execution probability) of the setting suggestion effect can be set appropriately according to the setting value. For example, it may be set so that the appearance rate of the setting suggestion effect decreases as the setting value is relatively lower. In addition, there are no particular restrictions on the presentation mode of the setting suggestion effect, and one or more of the following effects can be used: sound effects, light effects, image display effects, and movable object effects.

The setting suggestion effect can be displayed at a specific timing during the symbol change display game, for example, in combination with the preview effect or alone. Also, it can be displayed not only during the game, but also during a jackpot game, while waiting for customers (non-play period), etc.

In addition, by specifying the occurrence rate of a specific preview effect according to the setting value, the preview effect itself can function as a "setting suggestion effect". For example, by varying the occurrence rate of one or more specific preview effects according to the setting value, the preview effect itself can function as a "setting suggestion effect". For example, if a specific SP reach is likely to appear when you lose, it is "high setting likely", if three pseudo consecutive wins (three pseudo fluctuations + main fluctuation) are likely to appear when you lose, it is "high setting likely", and if a specific button operation effect appears, it suggests "setting 6 confirmed". In addition, by using the effect of the pre-reading preview, a pre-reading preview mode dedicated to the setting suggestion effect can be made to appear. For example, if the reserved icon flashes rapidly, it is a high setting likely, and if one or all of the reserved icons change to a dedicated reserved icon (dedicated character or item image), it suggests "high setting likely".

(Decorative design presentation)
In addition, the decorative pattern effects (decorative pattern changing display effects) are used as part of the effects during the pattern changing display game; the decorative pattern effects are used to notify reach effects (reach state), the occurrence of pseudo-consecutive wins, and the final game results (jackpot lottery results), and to liven up the preview effects (preview during change), as well as functioning as important identification information to notify the start and end of the game, and can be said to form the core of the decorative pattern changing display game.

The decorative pattern variable display performance (decorative pattern performance) basically executes the following variable display operation. With the start of the special pattern variable display game, multiple decorative patterns (in this embodiment, three patterns, left, center, and right) start variable display from the stopped display state (fixed display state) simultaneously or separately, and each decorative pattern starts a high-speed variable state. During this high-speed variable state, each decorative pattern is in a display state that is difficult or impossible to distinguish, and the transparency of the decorative pattern is higher than when it is stopped, and for example, the background image becomes distinguishable through the decorative pattern during high-speed variation. Then, when a predetermined time has passed since the start of the variation, each decorative pattern starts a stop operation separately or simultaneously, and starts decelerating from the high-speed variable state to start a "low-speed variable state". During this low-speed variable state, each decorative pattern is in a "slow-down display period (deceleration period)" in which the speed of each decorative pattern gradually decreases while stopping, and the transparency is reduced immediately after the start of the stop operation (timing of the start of the stop operation), and the decorative pattern is redisplayed in a distinguishable state. In addition, if a performance using decorative symbols, such as a reach performance or pseudo consecutive performance, is executed during the high-speed fluctuation state, at least one decorative symbol will enter a low-speed fluctuation state or be displayed as a temporary stop, and the reach performance or pseudo consecutive performance will be executed.

<5-7. Direction means>
Various effects in the gaming machine 1 are produced by the effect producing means provided in the gaming machine. Such effect producing means exerts effects by appealing to human senses such as sight, hearing, and touch. Any stimulus transmission means that can obtain the stimulus may be used, and may be a light generating means (light performance means) such as a decorative lamp 45 or an LED device, a sound generating device (sound performance means) such as a speaker 46, or a performance display device (display means) such as a liquid crystal display device 36. A pressure device that transmits contact pressure to the body of the operator, a vibration device (vibration means) that applies vibration to the player, a wind pressure device that applies wind pressure to the player's body, or a visual production effect that is produced by the operation of the device. A representative example is a movable prop that exerts a visual effect. Here, the performance display device is a display device that appeals to the visual sense just like the image display device (image display means), but it is not based on images (for example, The term "image display device" refers to a type that produces effects (image display effects) mainly through image display, and does not refer to effects such as seven-segment displays that produce effects through something other than images. Any device that displays the above is included in the concept of the performance display device.

<6. Basic game format: Figure 6>
In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the basic game form (game characteristics, characteristics of each game state, transition between game states, and presentation modes related to game states) of the pachinko game machine 1 will be explained first with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a game flow showing an outline of the game form.

The type of hitting technique that is advantageous for the player varies depending on the game state. Basically, the game state that is advantageous for left-handed hits is a game state related to a state without electric support (including a game state that is essentially treated as a state without electric support, for example, a normal state, a slight time-saving state, a potential state), and the game state that is advantageous for right-handed hits is a game state related to a state with electric support (for example, a time-saving state, a probability state). In the case of this embodiment, in the normal state or the slight time-saving state, a "left-handed hit" (subject to the lottery on the special chart 1 side) that aims to make the game ball pass through the left flow path 3b is considered advantageous, and in the time-saving state, a "right-handed hit" (subject to the lottery on the special chart 2 side) that aims to make the game ball pass through the right flow path 3c is considered advantageous. In the following, it is assumed that the player follows a strategy that is advantageous to them according to the game state (they will not play in a way that puts them at a disadvantage), and that when left-handed players are advantageous, "Game 1 with symbol change display on the special chart 1 side" is executed, and when right-handed players are advantageous, "Game 2 with symbol change display on the special chart 2 side" is executed.

(Internal game state type (YJ type), game mode type (Tcode type))
First, the game state types according to this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, the game is controlled mainly under multiple states such as "winning game (special game state)", "normal state (YJ = 00H)", "slight time-saving state (YJ = 01H)", and "time-saving state (YJ = 02H)". As shown in Figures 6 and 25, these game states (excluding winning game) are provided with multiple game modes classified using the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode and presentation modes related to these. The specific contents are shown in "Play 1" to "Play 3" below.

<Play 1: "Heaven Mode (Tcode = 00H)">
The heaven mode is a game mode in which the internal game state is related to the "normal state". This heaven mode is the initial game mode (default game mode) that is started when the game machine is shipped or when a RAM clear operation is performed. The RAM clear operation includes RAM clearing by the RAM clear switch 98, and in the case of a game machine having a setting function (a type with a setting function, a one-stage setting type), RAM clearing by a setting change operation (see the processing route in which step S030 in FIG. 8 described later is executed).

In this embodiment, if a special time-saving feature is selected during normal mode (heaven mode), the selection is treated as valid (special time-saving feature activation permitted state) (see Note 1 in Figure 4C).

The probability of winning the special time-saving effect in Heaven Mode (normal state) is high at about 1/10, but if you win Special Time-Saving A or Special Time-Saving B among the special time-saving effects, you will be transferred to Hell Mode A (slight time-saving A) or Hell Mode B (slight time-saving B) described below, and the game will be placed in a state where the special time-saving effect is invalid (the special time-saving effect cannot be activated) (see line L1 in Figure 6 and Figure 4C).

On the other hand, if the player wins the special time-saving C, the game will move to consecutive win mode C (time-saving C) described below, which will put the player in a profitable state (see line L4 in Figure 6 and Figure 4C). If the player wins any of the jackpots A to C during the Heaven mode, the game will move back to Heaven mode after the jackpot (see lines L8 and L9 in Figure 6, the "win" box, and Figure 4A).

<Play 2: "Hell Mode A, B (Tcode = 01H)">
The hell mode is a game mode in which the internal game state is related to the “micro time-saving state.” The hell mode includes a plurality of game modes, and in this embodiment, there are the following two types of hell modes.
(A) "Hell mode A" related to micro-time saving A (micro-time saving number of 150 times),
(B) "Hell Mode B" relating to micro-time saving B (250 micro-time saving times).

However, in this embodiment, although "Hell Mode A" and "Hell Mode B" have different micro-time shortening times, they are managed by a common fluctuation pattern allocation designation number Tcode "01H" and a common fluctuation pattern allocation table is selected (see the hell mode frame in FIG. 6 and note 3 in FIG. 27). Therefore, for example, even if you observe the fluctuation performance while staying in hell mode A, you will be placed in a state where it is impossible to determine whether you are currently in hell mode A or hell mode B. In addition, different fluctuation pattern allocation designation numbers Tcodes may be used for "Hell Mode A" and "Hell Mode B". In this case, it is preferable to configure at least some of the fluctuation pattern allocation tables to be selectable (see note 5 in FIG. 27). The fluctuation pattern allocation tables that are made different can be "success fluctuation pattern allocation tables" and/or "loss fluctuation pattern allocation tables". Preferably, the miss variation pattern allocation table relating to the "misses" that players frequently encounter is configured to allow the player to select a miss variation pattern allocation table that is at least partially different between "Hell Mode A" and "Hell Mode B".

Hell mode (slight time saving) is mainly entered when special time saving A or special time saving B is won in heaven mode (normal) (see line L1 in Figure 6 and Figure 4C). This hell mode has the following characteristics (Ground 1) to (Ground 5).

(Area 1) The special time-saving feature is prohibited from being activated, and any winnings made during the special time-saving feature are treated as invalid (see the "Hell Mode" box in Figure 6 and Figure 4C).

(Earth 2) There is a low probability of transitioning to Heaven Mode (normal). In this embodiment, the winning type that triggers a transition to normal is limited to "Big Win C" (see the "Win" box in Figure 6 and Figure 4A).

(Ground 3) Hell Mode A (Slight Time Reduction A) lasts for 150 games, and Hell Mode B (Slight Time Reduction B) lasts for 250 games. Once you fall into Hell Mode, it is difficult to advance to Heaven Mode (normal) (see notes 1 and 2 in Figure 4A).

(Ground 4) Hell Mode B (Micro Time Saving B) is a game state with a relatively lower degree of advantage than Hell Mode A (Micro Time Saving A) because it has a greater number of micro time saving periods. In other words, the more micro time saving periods there are, the more disadvantageous the micro time saving state can be to the player. In this respect, it differs in nature from game states (such as time saving state and special bonus state) in which the more time saving periods there are, the more advantageous the state can be to the player (the micro time saving state in this embodiment has the opposite nature to the time saving state).

(Earth 5) This is the game mode that players can stay in for the longest time in terms of game progress, and acts as the most disadvantageous game state for the player. Since most players stop playing in Hell mode, there is a high probability that they will "start playing in Hell mode," and it is rare for them to start in Heaven mode.

Therefore, the standard route for a player to increase his/her profits is basically "Hell mode (slight time saving) → end of Hell mode due to the number of slight time saving rounds reached → Heaven mode (normal) → win special time saving C → consecutive win mode (time saving)" (see L1, lines L2, and L4 in Figures 4A, 4C, and 6).

＜Play 3: "Continuous Mode A to C (Tcode = 02H, 03H, 04H)">
The consecutive win mode is a game mode in which the internal game state is related to the “time-shortened state.” The consecutive win mode includes a plurality of game modes, and in this embodiment, there are the following three consecutive win modes.
(A) "Continuous mode A" related to time reduction A (time reduction 7 times),
(B) "Continuous mode B" related to time reduction B (time reduction 100 times),
(C) "Consecutive mode C" related to time reduction C (time of time reduction: 1).

"Continuous Winning Mode" is a game mode related to the time-saving state, and is provided with an electric chute support function, making it a game state in which the player can actively participate in the jackpot lottery on the special chart 2 side. This allows for a high probability of winning a small win (in this embodiment, the probability of winning a small win = 1/7). In other words, a high chance of winning a V hit (V hit winning chance) is created, making it possible to enter a consecutive winning state (a state in which a large number of prize balls can be won in a short period of time) in which the time-saving state and V hits are repeatedly looped (see lines L6 and L7 in Figure 6, the boxes for "Continuous Winning Mode" and "Winning", and Figure 4C).

In this embodiment, the probability of winning a small jackpot, that is, the chance of winning a V jackpot, can change depending on consecutive win modes A to C (depending on the number of time-saving modes). Specifically, for small jackpot wins, if time-saving mode B (time-saving mode 100 times) is selected, there is a nearly 100% chance of winning a small jackpot during the time-saving mode (a V jackpot is almost 100% guaranteed the next time), if time-saving mode A (time-saving mode 7 times) there is about a 66% chance, and if time-saving mode C (time-saving mode 1 time) there is about a 14% chance of winning a small jackpot and winning a V jackpot. Therefore, "time-saving mode B" acts as the time-saving mode with the highest degree of advantage among all the time-saving modes.

However, in this embodiment, at the final spin when the time-saving state ends, a long fluctuation pattern with a fluctuation time of about 60 seconds (for example, see "Incitement fluctuation during time-saving state" and "Final fluctuation during time-saving state" in FIG. 28) is selected, and as long as the player continues to hit the right during that fluctuation, a sufficient time width is ensured to reserve up to the maximum number of reserved balls, four, of the special chart 2 activation reserved balls. In other words, before the time-saving state ends, it is possible to reserve up to the maximum number of reserved balls, four, of the special chart 2 activation reserved balls. The special chart 2 activation reserved balls reserved at this timing will be consumed after the time-saving state ends. Hereinafter, these activation reserved balls are also referred to as "remaining special chart 2 reserves".

When the time-saving state ends with the special chart 2 remaining reserved balls being reserved (here, the maximum number of reserved balls is four), the state will transition to the normal state. In this embodiment, if during the normal state, a big win D or a small win (small win A, B) is won in the big win lottery on the special chart 2 side, and a V hit (V prize) is obtained, the state will transition to time-saving B (time-saving count 100 times) of consecutive win mode B, and the next V hit is essentially guaranteed (see Figure 4B).

Therefore, when the game moves to any of the time-saving modes A to C, the player is actually given a chance to win a small jackpot (a chance to win a V jackpot) by drawing a jackpot on the special chart 2 side for a number of times equivalent to the number of time-saving modes plus the number of remaining reserved balls on the special chart 2. In this embodiment, the player has a chance of winning a small jackpot and winning a V jackpot with almost 100% probability if the game is time-saving mode B (100 times of time-saving mode + 4 remaining reserved balls = 104 times of drawing the special chart 2), about 82% probability if the game is time-saving mode A (7 times of time-saving mode + 4 remaining reserved balls = 11 times of drawing the special chart 2), and about 54% probability if the game is time-saving mode C (1 time of time-saving mode + 4 remaining reserved balls = 5 times of drawing the special chart 2). In this embodiment, if the player wins a small prize during the normal state and gets a V prize, the game can be transferred to time-saving B (100 times the time-saving number of times) or time-saving A (7 times the time-saving number of times), so that a consecutive state in which the time-saving state and the V prize can be looped with a high probability can occur. Note that "consecutive" mainly means that a game state advantageous to the player is looped, but in this embodiment, the case where the lottery type that triggers the time-saving transition is won in the "game related to the time-saving state (consecutive mode)" or the "game related to the special chart 2 remaining reservation (special chart 2 side lottery in the normal state)" is treated as a consecutive game. Note that the lottery types that trigger the time-saving transition here include small prizes A and B. In this embodiment, if a small prize is won, a V prize (V prize) can be easily won, and in this respect, the small prize can be treated in the same way as the lottery type that triggers the time-saving transition. In addition, there is a so-called "first hit" in addition to the above-mentioned "consecutive wins." This "first hit" occurs when a win occurs in a game state other than the game state that is treated as a consecutive win as described above. In this embodiment, the game state at the time of the win is the normal state, and the jackpot on the special chart 1 side is treated as the "first hit," but the case where the special time-saving C is won in the normal state may also be treated as the "first hit."

The normal state during the consumption of the remaining reserved special chart 2 may be a dedicated game state. For example, a game mode for the remaining reserved special chart 2 and a dedicated presentation mode related to this (presentation mode for the remaining reserved special chart 2) can be provided. This makes it possible to select a variation pattern for the consumption of the remaining reserved in a game during the consumption of the remaining reserved special chart 2, and to produce a dedicated presentation. One or more variation patterns for the consumption of the remaining reserved may be provided.

(Case of special chart 2 reservation 0 configuration (configuration in which the state "special chart 2 remaining reservation exists" does not occur))
By the way, when the maximum reserved memory number on the special chart 2 side is set to 0 (hereinafter referred to as "special chart 2 reserved 0 configuration"), the following unique game characteristics can be created. For example, when the special chart 2 reserved 0 configuration and the above-mentioned "special time-saving super high probability lottery form" are adopted, the first game (the lottery of the first game on the special chart 1 side after the time-saving exit) after the fall transition from the time-saving state to the normal state (time-saving exit) is almost certain to win the special time-saving (in this embodiment, either time-saving transition or slight time-saving transition). Therefore, the first game immediately after this time-saving exit can create a game characteristic that is extremely tense for the player. The same phenomenon occurs in the first game in the morning state described below (because the special time-saving is almost certain to win in the first game, as in the time-saving exit state). In addition, in the case of the special chart 2 reserved 0 configuration, it is preferable to provide a game mode and/or a performance mode dedicated to the first game after the time-saving exit. For example, when a time-saving runout occurs, a dedicated background display (for example, a message such as "Chance in progress!" is displayed as in the band image 976 shown in FIG. 64(A)) can be switched, a variation pattern dedicated to the first game can be selected, or a variation effect dedicated to the first game (for example, a chance teasing effect (FIG. 63), a chance effect (FIGS. 62 to 63), etc., described later) can be displayed. Note that the special chart 2 reserve 0 configuration can be applied not only to this embodiment (first embodiment) but also to any of the embodiments described in this specification.

As mentioned above, the real thrill of the game is figuring out how to transition to consecutive win mode (time-saving state). To transition to consecutive win mode, you need to win special time-saving C in heaven mode (normal state), but as already explained, the basic game route is "Hell mode (slight time-saving) → end of hell mode due to completion of the number of slight time-saving turns → heaven mode (normal) → win special time-saving C → consecutive win mode (time-saving), described below," and many players are forced to play under unfavorable conditions from the start of the game.

<Morning function>
Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to provide the player with a particularly advantageous gaming state, the gaming state is forcibly transitioned to the default normal state (heaven mode) by performing a RAM clear operation, thereby forcibly creating a state in which it is possible to win the special time-saving bonus C, thereby providing the player with a chance (privilege) to win the special time-saving bonus C (see line M1 (morning function) in Figure 6).

The RAM clear operation itself is an operation that is appropriately performed by hall staff before the start of business for the day based on the business strategy of the pachinko hall (game arcade) (for example, when the game state from the previous day is not to be carried over, or when settings are to be changed), but this embodiment is characterized in that RAM clearing can forcibly create a game state that is advantageous to the player.

In this way, the RAM clear operation acts as a "first thing in the morning bonus grant" before business begins for the day, so the normal state (heaven mode) achieved by clearing the RAM is referred to in this specification as the "morning function" or "morning state."

There are cases where the RAM clearing operation is performed during business hours, such as when a specific error occurs that cannot be resolved without clearing the RAM, or when a player quits playing without completing the time-saving mode or winning game for some reason, and the state is reset. However, here we will explain the case where it functions as a "first thing in the morning bonus" (clearing the RAM before the start of business to create a morning state as part of the business strategy of a pachinko hall).

(Morning state concealment)
When functioning as "first thing in the morning bonus", it is preferable to conceal the fact that the RAM has been cleared from the player (non-morning notification form). If the morning state is made public (for example, the morning state is notified by a special effect), problems such as (Mo1) and (Mo2) below may occur. Note that "not notifying the player of the fact" above means that the morning state is made concealable from the player (difficult or impossible to distinguish) by means of special effects and/or device operation, and for example, external notifications by external end signals (security signals) for preventing fraud, such as a RAM clear signal sent to an external device, can be excluded. This is because the external notifications are not intended to inform the player in the first place.

(Problems with not concealing morning status)
(Mo 1) The fact that the machine has fallen into the Hell mode or is still in the Hell mode is quickly discovered, which leads to a decline in the operating rate of the gaming machine. For example, players may stop playing when they can predict that the machine will fall into the Hell mode, or they may not play the game at all unless they are in the Morning state, which may result in a decline in the operating rate of the gaming machine.
(Mo2) In addition, it may unnecessarily stimulate players' gambling instincts, leading to problems between customers, such as players fighting over gaming machines.

Therefore, by making the morning state confidential, it is possible to solve (prevent) the above problems.

(Morning state concealment method (morning state concealment form))
In order to conceal whether or not the state is in the morning state, it is necessary to conceal the fact that the state is the "heaven mode (normal)" (at least the heaven mode after the RAM is cleared is concealed). As already explained, since the game progress mainly goes back and forth between the heaven mode (normal) and the hell mode (slight time shortening), for example, it is conceivable to make the heaven mode (normal) and the hell mode (slight time shortening) substantially the same or the same presentation mode, and to make the game mode in which the player is staying indistinguishable (substantially indistinguishable) or difficult to distinguish from the presentation. As one of the methods, when the "normal presentation mode" related to the heaven mode (normal) and the "slight time shortening presentation mode" related to the hell mode (slight time shortening) are configured to be controllable, during the short time shortening presentation mode, the presentation mode is made to be substantially the same or the same as the normal presentation mode (morning state concealment form). For example, a "slight time shortening concealed presentation mode" is provided, which is a presentation mode different from the normal presentation mode, but conceals the short time shortening from the presentation. Also, instead of providing a separate presentation mode, the normal presentation mode and the short time shortening presentation mode may be a common presentation mode. By adopting such a presentation mode form, it is possible to pretend to be in the normal state even during the short time-saving state, and it is possible to conceal the morning state. Although details will be described later, in the case of this embodiment, a common variation pattern can be selected between the normal state and the short time-saving state, and it is possible to provide the above-mentioned short time-saving concealment presentation mode or to share the presentation mode.

However, even if the game is concealed in a dramatic way, the game mode that is being played can still be easily discovered by closely observing the operating state of the mechanical parts (for example, the operating state of the movable wing 47). If the micro-time-saving state were to be treated as a "state with electric support" similar to the time-saving state, the movable wing 47 of the normal variable winning device 41 would operate more frequently than in the normal state, or the operating state of the movable wing 47 would exhibit advantageous behavior, and it would be easy to discover that the micro-time-saving state is currently in effect.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the micro-time-saving state is made to function as a game state in which the operation of the device (here, the operating state of the movable wing piece 47 in the normal variable winning device 41) behaves approximately the same as the normal state. The micro-time-saving state is a game state that belongs to the "time-saving state", but as already explained using Figure 4D, the micro-time-saving state in this embodiment is either a state without electric support like the normal state, or a game state in which the electric support is activated very rarely in practice. In addition, since the normal pattern fluctuation time is the same or approximately the same as the normal state, it is virtually impossible to distinguish the difference even by closely watching the normal pattern fluctuation display operation of the normal pattern display device 39a.

In addition, in this embodiment, in order to further strengthen the secrecy, attention is focused on the miss winnings that players often encounter, and at least for the miss effects (effects during fluctuations when a miss occurs), the same or nearly the same effect can be displayed in Heaven mode (normal) and Hell mode (slight time saving). Specifically, the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table for Heaven mode and the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table for Hell mode have nearly the same configuration, and a common fluctuation pattern can be selected (see Figures 26 and 27 described below). This allows the same or nearly the same during fluctuation effects to be displayed in Heaven mode (normal) and Hell mode (slight time saving).

By making it difficult or impossible to distinguish between Heaven mode (normal) and Hell mode (slight time saving), players can be given a sense of expectation while playing, such as "If we're in Heaven mode now, there's a chance we'll move to consecutive mode!!!" (expectation of moving to an advantageous state) or "It might still be Heaven mode, so let's hang in there a bit longer..." (expectation of staying in an advantageous state). As a result, players' motivation to play can be increased, and the operating rate of the gaming machine can be improved.

(Morning Semi-Confidentiality)
In addition, the morning state may not necessarily be concealed, and the player may be informed of whether the current game state is heaven mode (normal) or hell mode (slight time reduction). However, it is preferable that the morning is not definitively notified (disclosed), but rather informed to the extent that it gives the player an element of guesswork (morning semi-concealed form). For example, as a variation effect, a "game state suggestion effect" that can suggest the current game state may be configured to be able to appear, and giving the player an element of guesswork about the current game state may be one of the things that makes the game interesting.

The above-mentioned "game state suggestion effect" may be an effect that suggests the current internal game state (hereinafter referred to as "internal game state suggestion effect"), or an effect that suggests the current game mode (hereinafter referred to as "game mode suggestion effect").

It is preferable to configure the internal game state suggestion effects and game mode suggestion effects so that "true (genuine) suggestion effects" and "false (fake) suggestion effects" can be executed. For example, when suggestion effects are displayed during heaven mode, heaven suggestion effects (genuine) appear with a high probability (e.g., 60%), while normal suggestion effects (fake) appear with a low probability (e.g., 40%), or they appear only when a predetermined variation pattern (predetermined variation effect) is selected. In any case, it is preferable to display suggestion effects with a predetermined probability.

The above-mentioned "internal game state indication effects" include, for example, effects that suggest (inform) that the game is in a micro-time-saving mode or normal mode (micro-time-saving mode indication effects, normal mode indication effects), effects that can only appear during a specific internal game state (for example, during the normal mode), in other words, notification effects that definitively notify the current internal game state when the effect appears (internal game state notification effects), etc.

The above-mentioned "game mode suggestion effects" include, for example, effects that can suggest whether the current game mode is Heaven mode, Hell mode A, or Hell mode B (specific game mode suggestion effects), and effects that can only appear during a specific game mode (for example, Heaven mode), i.e., announcement effects (game mode announcement effects) that definitively notify the current game mode when the effect appears.

(Morning state non-anonymization method)
Although the above describes a configuration for concealing the morning state, the morning state may be configured to be notifiable (morning notification form). This is because, depending on the nature of the game, it may be preferable to suggest or disclose the morning state rather than conceal it.

As a method of notifying the morning state, for example, it is possible to notify the morning state (normal state) by using the game state suggestion effects as described above, but it is also possible to configure the machine to be able to notify the morning state by using the customer waiting standby effects while the machine is waiting for customers after the power is turned on. Below, we will explain the method of notifying the morning state by using these customer waiting standby effects.

The above-mentioned waiting effects include those caused by RAM clearing (waiting effects when RAM is cleared) and those caused by returning to backup (waiting effects when backup is restored). We will explain these waiting effects below.

(About the waiting performance after the RAM is cleared)
First, the performance for waiting for customers after the RAM is cleared will be explained. When the RAM clear operation is performed, the game state, performance mode, number of balls in operation, etc. are all set to the default state (initial state), and the performance for waiting for customers is executed after the RAM clear notification performance (RAM clear error notification) that notifies that the RAM has been cleared is executed for a predetermined time. In the case of this embodiment, when the RAM is cleared, the internal game state is set to the normal state, the game mode is set to the heaven mode, and the performance mode is set to the normal performance mode as the default state.

In detail, after the RAM clear notification, the "customer waiting pre-show (first customer waiting standby show)" is executed first. This customer waiting pre-show is a show (pre-demo display) before the start of the "customer waiting show (demo display)" described later, and for example, the liquid crystal display device 36 displays a background display (background show) related to the normal show mode and a predetermined decorative stop pattern (for example, "731" for when the RAM is cleared). During this customer waiting pre-show, if no activated reserved ball is generated and a predetermined waiting time (for example, 180 seconds) has elapsed without switching to the menu screen (game environment setting screen (game setting screen)), the "customer waiting pre-show" is switched to the "customer waiting show (second customer waiting standby show)". In this customer waiting show, a standby show such as a predetermined demo movie (demo show (demo display)) is executed.

(About the performance while waiting for customers after the backup is restored)
Next, the performance for waiting for customers after the backup is restored will be described.

If the content backed up at the time of power outage is during a game or a jackpot, the game will be restored from that game state. However, here we will focus on the case where the backed up content is not during a game or a jackpot and there are no active reserved balls (restored during non-play), i.e., the case where the waiting performance for customers is executed immediately after the backup is restored.

The performance during the waiting period for customers after the backup is restored is basically the same as when the RAM is cleared as described above, except that the RAM clear notification is not executed. However, for the performance before waiting for customers after the backup is restored, a background display related to the performance mode of the game state at the time of the power outage is displayed, and the same predetermined decorative stop pattern (for example, "731") as when the RAM was cleared is displayed. Therefore, the only difference between when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored is basically the different background display (background performance).

However, when the customer waiting standby effects are substantially the same or common between different game states or different presentation modes, the customer waiting standby effects make it difficult to distinguish which game state it is (difficult to distinguish or indistinguishable), in other words, the morning state is also difficult to distinguish. For example, if a common presentation mode is used for the normal state and the micro-time-saving state, or if the above-mentioned micro-time-saving hidden presentation mode is adopted, the background display may also be the same, so it is impossible to distinguish which game state it is when the RAM is cleared and when it is restored to backup, and it is also impossible to distinguish the morning state. Therefore, the following configuration is preferable as a method for notifying the morning state in a distinguishable manner (morning notification function).

The performance for waiting for customers includes a stage of the performance before waiting for customers (before the demo display) and a stage of the performance for waiting for customers (demo display), so the performance mode of at least one of these performances is set to be different when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored. This makes it possible to notify the user through the performance whether the backup has been restored or the RAM has been cleared (notifying the morning state).

If you want to use a different presentation, you can use the following presentation systems (K1) to (K9), for example.

(K1) The display mode of the decorative pattern in the performance for waiting for customers (performance before waiting for customers) is different when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored. For example, after the RAM is cleared, "731 (first decorative stop pattern)" is displayed, and after the backup is restored, a different "732 (second decorative stop pattern)" is displayed. However, if even one game is executed after the power is turned on, it is no longer possible to determine the morning state. When the number of balls in operation becomes 0 after the end of the game, the performance before waiting for customers is executed after a predetermined time has elapsed, just like when the power is turned on. In this case, the decorative stop pattern that is the result of the first game is displayed as the decorative stop pattern in the performance before waiting for customers (see the processing route of YES in step S402 in FIG. 12 (steps S417 to S419) described later). In this respect, this example can function as a special offer for one game only in the morning (a special offer for one game only after the power is turned on (after the RAM is cleared)). In addition, instead of using the decorative stop pattern, the decorative pattern itself may be different. For example, a specific effect may be applied to the decorative symbols when the RAM is cleared (for example, a halo effect may be applied around the decorative symbols), or numbers or pictures may be displayed in a special way (for example, Arabic numerals are usually used, but Chinese numerals are used when the RAM is cleared), etc. In this case, since the decorative stop symbols described above are not used, the display mode may be specially designed for when the RAM is cleared, not just for one game, but over multiple games.

(c2) The background display in the performance during waiting for customers (performance before waiting for customers) differs when the RAM is cleared and when the machine returns to backup. For example, when the RAM is cleared, a background performance that is specifically designed for when the RAM is cleared is displayed (when the machine returns to backup, a background performance related to the performance mode when the power is cut is displayed).

(K3) The presentation mode (presentation content) executed in the customer waiting standby presentation (customer waiting pre-presentation and/or customer waiting presentation) is different when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored. For example, the presentation mode of a specific presentation can be different when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored, or a specific presentation can appear/not appear. Specifically, when the RAM is cleared, a specific character can be red, but when the backup is restored, the specific character can be blue, or when the RAM is cleared, a specific character can appear, but when the backup is restored, the specific character can not appear (the former and latter patterns can be reversed). In addition, if a presentation display (game setting guide presentation) that informs that the above-mentioned "game environment setting screen (menu screen)" can be displayed (that the game environment setting operation can be performed) can be executed, the presence or absence of the game setting guide presentation and/or its presentation mode (for example, the font and display color of the guide message display) can be different when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored.

(C4) The presentation style of the customer waiting effect (demo display) differs when the RAM is cleared and when the machine is restored from a backup. In the demo display, various presentation contents such as advertisements and warning displays for the machine and manufacturer, such as animation, copyright name, machine name, company logo, game explanation, and warning displays for the game, are displayed, but at least a part of the demo display can be presented in a different style when the RAM is cleared and when the machine is restored from a backup.

(K5) The presentation time (presentation length) of the customer waiting standby performance (customer waiting pre-performance and/or customer waiting performance) differs when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored. For example, suppose the presentation time of the customer waiting pre-performance is T seconds when the RAM is cleared, and the customer waiting pre-performance is "S seconds" when the backup is restored. The relationship can be "T<S" or "T>S".

(C6) The difference between when the RAM is cleared and when the machine is restored to a backup is whether or not the pre-customer waiting performance or the pre-customer waiting performance is executed. For example, when the RAM is cleared, the pre-customer waiting performance is not executed (a demo performance is started without executing the pre-customer waiting performance), but when the machine is restored to a backup, the pre-customer waiting performance is executed as usual (the former and latter patterns may be reversed). Also, for example, when the RAM is cleared, the pre-customer waiting performance is not executed, but when the machine is restored to a backup, the pre-customer waiting performance is executed (the former and latter patterns may be reversed).

(K7) At least some of the presentation aspects of the customer waiting standby presentation (customer waiting pre-presentation and/or customer waiting presentation) differ when the RAM is cleared and when the backup is restored. For example, a specific character may appear when the RAM is cleared, but not when the backup is restored (the former and latter patterns may be reversed).

(8) At least one of the above (1) to (7) may be adopted.

(Co9) It is not advisable to make the above-mentioned "morning state notification" (morning notification function) unnecessarily long-term. For example, in the above-mentioned case of (Co2), it is not advisable to display the special background effect forever, and it is preferable to switch to a background display that corresponds to the current presentation mode in terms of game progress. There are also cases where it is desirable to have the "morning state notification" function as an early morning bonus (a bonus for only one game after powering on). Therefore, it is preferable to set the period during which the morning state can be notified (morning notification allowable period) as follows (Permission 1) to (Permission 3).

(Allowance 1) After the power is turned on, the morning notification allowable period can be set to the period until a predetermined number of games (for example, 5 games) are started or until the predetermined number of games are completed. Various periods can be considered for the morning notification allowable period, such as only 1 game, only a few games, or only 10 games, but the most preferable period is one that takes into account the probability of winning the special time-saving feature. In the case of this embodiment, the probability is approximately 1/10 (see Note 2 in FIG. 4C), so it is optimal to set the morning notification allowable period to 10 games, taking into account the so-called "probability denominator (the reciprocal of the probability of winning)." Also, for example, if the above-mentioned "special time-saving super high probability lottery format" is adopted, the probability of winning the special time-saving feature is approximately 1/1, so the notification allowable period can be set to 1 game (effectively only 1 game).

(Permission 2) The period from when the power is turned on until a specific preview effect occurs, or the period until the game in which the specific preview effect occurs ends (which may be until a specified timing in the game), can be set as the morning notification permission period. Note that there are no particular restrictions on the specific preview effect, and specific reach effects, stage change effects, pre-reading previews, setting suggestion effects, etc. can be used as appropriate.

(Permit 3) The period until an event occurs in which the morning state is lost can be set as the morning notification allowable period (if an event occurs in which the morning state is lost, the morning notification allowable period can be terminated). If an event occurs in which the morning state is lost, it is no longer necessary to notify the morning state, so it is preferable to terminate the notification of the morning state (terminate the morning notification allowable period). Note that an "event in which the morning state is lost" is when an event occurs in the morning state that causes a transition in the game state (internal game state) (when the transition condition for transitioning from the morning state (normal state) to another game state is established). Specifically, this includes when a specific lottery type such as a jackpot or special time-saving is won (when transitioning from the normal state to another game state), or when the ceiling function described below is activated (when transitioning from the normal state to the time-saving state (ceiling time-saving)).

(When the backup is restored, the state is normal)
If the gaming state at the time of backup is the normal state, after backup is restored, it will return to the normal state, which is the same as the morning state. This normal state after backup is not exactly the morning state, but like the morning state, it is in a state in which the player can receive special benefits first thing in the morning. In such a case, the morning state may be notified. For example, a common effect may be displayed as the effect for waiting for customers when the RAM is cleared to notify the player that it is the morning state. Also, instead of a common effect, a different effect may be used to notify the player that the gaming state after backup is restored to the normal state. For example, a "pseudo morning state notification effect" for when the normal state is restored may be displayed to notify the player that it is the morning state (return to the normal state) due to backup restoration, not the morning state due to RAM clearing.

<Ceiling function>
In this embodiment, a ceiling function is provided as a rescue function for rescuing a player who has encountered a big hit. Specifically, when the condition device does not operate for a predetermined number of games (ceiling game number) in a state where the probability of winning a big win is low (the ceiling bonus condition is met), the ceiling function is activated and a bonus (ceiling bonus) is awarded due to reaching the ceiling. The condition device is activated by winning a big win or a V win (V winning), so "when the condition device does not operate" means winning a miss or winning a special time-saving win. The condition for activating the ceiling bonus is basically when a miss continues to be won for a predetermined number of games in a row (when a player continues to be stuck). However, when a predetermined winning event occurs in the ceiling game (for example, winning a special time-saving win or a small win), it becomes an issue as to whether or not to prioritize activating the ceiling function, but this will be described in detail later.

In this embodiment, the ceiling game number is "751 spins", and the ceiling privilege is "Time-saving C (time-saving count 1 time)" (hereinafter, also referred to as "ceiling time-saving"). This ceiling time-saving is one aspect of a specific state that is granted without going through a winning state, like the time-saving state due to the special time-saving. The occurrence of the ceiling time-saving may be triggered by the end of the ceiling game (occurring after the end of the 751st spin), or may be triggered by the start of the next game (752nd spin) of the ceiling game. The ceiling time-saving may be the same time-saving state as the time-saving state granted by a jackpot (including a V-hit) or a special time-saving, such as time-saving A to C, or may be another time-saving state different from time-saving A to C (for example, a time-saving state with another number of time-saving times, such as 4 times, 10 times, 200 times, etc.). It may also be a gaming machine without a ceiling function.

(False ceiling function: Figure 7)
Incidentally, the micro-time-saving state according to this embodiment is designed to transition to the normal state when a predetermined number of micro-time-saving times have been consumed (see line L2 in FIG. 6). Therefore, even if the state has been transitioned to the micro-time-saving state once, once the number of micro-time-saving times has been consumed, the state will transition to the normal state, and the chance to win the special time-saving C will come around. In other words, by utilizing the micro-time-saving state, it is possible to create a gameplay similar to the above-mentioned "ceiling function" in which "when a predetermined number of games are consumed in an unfavorable game state, the game state is transitioned to an advantageous game state" (temporary ceiling function). This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 7.

Figures 7 (a)-(b) show an example of a transition route from Heaven mode (normal) to Ran-chan mode (time-saving) via Hell mode (slight time-saving). Here, as an example, we will explain the case where the game starts from the morning state (Heaven mode).

(Temporary ceiling via pattern 1)
First, referring to FIG. 7 (A), this example (pattern 1 via temporary ceiling) is an example in which the special time-saving A is won during Heaven mode, the player moves to Hell mode A (micro-time-saving A), then the player continues to win losing jackpots until 150 micro-time-saving cycles have been played, at which point Hell mode A (micro-time-saving A, 150 micro-time-saving cycles) ends, the player moves to Heaven mode again, and in Heaven mode the player wins the special time-saving C, and then the player moves to consecutive wins mode (time-saving C).

(Temporary ceiling via pattern 2)
Next, referring to Figure 7 (b), this example (pattern 2 via temporary ceiling) is an example in which the special time-saving B is won during Heaven mode, the player moves to Hell mode B (micro-time-saving B), and then the player continues to win losing jackpots until 250 micro-time-saving cycles have been consumed, at which point Hell mode B (micro-time-saving B, 250 micro-time-saving cycles) ends, the player moves to Heaven mode again, and in Heaven mode the player wins the special time-saving C, and then the player moves to consecutive wins mode (time-saving C).

(Special time-saving C direct hit pattern)
Next, referring to Figure 7 (c), this example assumes a case where play is started from the above-mentioned "morning state", and shows an example in which during the Heaven mode first thing in the morning, the special time-saving C is won and the game is transitioned to consecutive wins mode (time-saving C).

In both of the above-mentioned Figures 7 (a) and (b), when the number of micro-time-saving times for the micro-time-saving state to which the player is to transition (Hell Mode A, B) ends, the game transitions to the normal state (Heaven Mode) and enters a state in which the special time-saving time can be activated, so the "number of micro-time-saving times" plays a role similar to the ceiling game number mentioned above. In this respect, the "number of micro-time-saving times" can be said to function as a "pseudo ceiling game number (temporary ceiling game number)."

In addition, in the case of going through Hell mode multiple times, for example, if the game route is "Hell mode A (time-saving A) → (150 micro-time-saving times consumed) → Heaven mode → (win special time-saving A) → Hell mode A → (again, 150 micro-time-saving times consumed) → Heaven mode → (win special time-saving C) → consecutive win mode C (time-saving C)", the provisional ceiling game number is reached every time 150 micro-time-saving times in Hell mode A are consumed. In other words, it is possible to create a "periodic ceiling function" in which a special benefit is periodically granted (here, a transition to Heaven mode, which is an advantageous state, is granted). In this way, the micro-time-saving state according to this embodiment is a special game state in creating gameplay such as granting a pseudo-ceiling function, and the novelty of this embodiment lies in the provision of such a game state.

In addition, when the number of games that reaches the provisional ceiling game number related to the consumption of the micro-time-saving count is the 751st spin of the ceiling game number related to the ceiling function (when the conditions for granting the ceiling bonus and the conditions for transitioning to the normal state due to the end of the micro-time-saving count are met simultaneously), the time-saving state (time-saving C) which is the ceiling bonus is activated preferentially. This is because granting the time-saving state due to the ceiling bonus is more profitable for the player than transitioning to the normal state (heaven mode) due to reaching the provisional ceiling game number (consumption of the micro-time-saving count) and is meaningful as a relief measure for players who are addicted.

(Starting gate entry instructions)
Next, we will explain the "start hole winning instruction effect" that encourages winning at the start hole.

As already explained, when the game state is changed from another game state (a winning game (winning state), a time-saving state, a minute time-saving state, etc.) to the normal state, the special time-saving activation is permitted, and the player has a big chance to gain profits (a chance to win the special time-saving C on the special chart 1 side). Even under such a game state, if there are no operating reserved balls on the special chart 1 side, the player cannot get a chance to win the special time-saving C, that is, a chance to transition to the time-saving state, unless there is a winning entry into the upper starting hole 34. Especially in recent years, the gameplay has tended to become more complex and diverse, and there are cases where the player mistakenly believes that the normal state after the time-saving state has ended is an unfavorable game state and stops playing, resulting in the missed chance to transition to the time-saving state. Therefore, in order not to miss the chance to transition to the time-saving state after the transition to the normal state, it is preferable to execute a notification effect (hereinafter referred to as a "starting hole winning instruction effect") to encourage the player to win the prize in the starting hole when there are no operating reserved balls after a big win game or after the time-saving state has ended.

The start port winning instruction performance according to this embodiment is a performance content that encourages a win at the upper start port 34 on the special chart 1 side to let the player know that there is a chance to win the special time-saving C on the special chart 1 side. The start port winning instruction performance may, for example, display an image that resembles the upper start port 34 and display a message such as "Aim for the upper start port!!" (winning instruction image), output a sound such as "Aim for the upper start port ♪" (winning instruction notification sound), or light up the performance LED (such as the decorative lamp 45) in a special manner (winning instruction light emission). This "start port winning instruction performance" is different in nature from the "launch guidance notification performance" described below, which notifies the left-handed hitter of a favorable state or right-handed hitter of a favorable state, in that it instructs a win at a specific start port.

(Example 1 of the starting gate winning instruction)
The start port winning instruction performance is a performance to encourage winning at the start port when there are 0 working reserved balls, so it can also be displayed during the customer waiting waiting performance (customer waiting pre-waiting performance (demo start waiting display) - customer waiting performance (demo display)), but it is preferable to continue the start port winning instruction performance at least until the end of the "customer waiting pre-waiting performance", that is, until the start of the "customer waiting performance" (until it switches to the demo movie). Also, if there are 0 working reserved balls even after the customer waiting performance ends or after the game setting screen is displayed, the customer waiting performance (demo movie) ends and switches to the customer waiting pre-waiting performance again (see the processing of S419 in FIG. 12 described later), but when it switches to the customer waiting pre-waiting performance, the start port winning instruction performance may or may not be reproduced. Also, it is preferable not to display the start port winning instruction performance during the power saving mode described later.

Note that since the sound effects (winning indication sound) and/or light effects (winning indication light) may cause discomfort to nearby players (the sound is too noisy, the light is annoying, etc.), it is preferable to limit them to a predetermined time (for example, from the start of the starting port winning indication effect until a predetermined time has passed) (start port winning indication effect mode switching form). For example, during the first predetermined time (10 seconds from the start), light effects, sound effects, and image display effects are performed (executing the first starting port winning indication effect), and after the first predetermined time has passed, only the image display effect is performed (executing the second starting port winning indication effect). Note that if the starting port winning indication effect is to be reproduced even when the effect switches back to the pre-waiting performance, it can be configured to only perform the image display effect (winning indication image).

(Starting gate winning instruction example 2)
In addition, the start port winning instruction performance may be displayed for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) regardless of whether it is during the performance before waiting for customers or during the performance before waiting for customers. In this case, the performance mode may be different between the first predetermined time (10 seconds from the start) and the second predetermined time (the remaining 20 seconds) after the first predetermined time has elapsed. For example, the first predetermined time may be a light performance, a sound performance, and an image display performance (first start port winning instruction performance), and the second predetermined time after the first predetermined time has elapsed may be a second start port winning instruction performance. In this case, as in the above "start port winning instruction performance example 1", it is preferable to keep the sound performance (winning instruction notification sound) and/or the light performance (winning instruction light emission) for only a predetermined time. Note that, when only the image display performance (winning instruction image) is performed, it may be displayed at least until the end of the performance before waiting for customers. Also, even during the performance before waiting for customers (demo movie), only the winning instruction image may be continued. Furthermore, if the appearance time of the starting port winning indication effect is set to a relatively long time, for example, if it is possible for it to appear even after the customer waiting effect has finished, then, as in the above starting port winning indication effect example 1, when the effect switches again to the pre-customer waiting effect, the starting port winning indication effect may be reproduced (at least the winning indication image may be reproduced), or it may not be reproduced.

In addition, in the above starting gate winning instruction performance example 1 or 2, if the starting gate winning instruction performance is to be displayed during the customer waiting performance (during the demo movie), it is preferable to display the winning instruction image in a position that does not interfere with the demo movie (evacuated display).

In addition, if the starting port winning indication performance is configured to end at a predetermined timing during the customer waiting standby performance, the starting port winning indication performance may be reproduced when the player performs a firing operation. Specifically, the starting port winning indication performance may be reproduced when the player touches the touch sensor of the firing operation handle 15. In this case, at least one of the winning indication notification sound, winning indication light, and winning indication image may be made to appear. Preferably, at least the winning indication image is made to appear.

(End timing of the starting gate winning instruction performance)
Regarding the starting port winning indication performance, it is preferable to configure it so that when a winning occurs at the upper starting port 34, its role is completed and it is terminated, and it is not allowed to be reproduced thereafter.

(Variation of the starting gate winning indication performance)
The start port winning indication effect may be limited to the time after the time-saving feature has ended, or may be configured to be displayed in the morning state. However, in this case, since it is the first notification in the morning, it is preferable that at least the winning indication notification sound is not displayed. This is because if the winning indication notification sound is ringing in a pachinko hall situation where there are few players at the start of business, it will cause discomfort to players who are trying to play on other gaming machines. In addition, if the start port winning indication effect is displayed first thing in the morning, there is a risk that players will mistakenly think that "this machine may already be in play," which will lead to a decrease in the operating rate of the gaming machine. Therefore, it is preferable that the start port winning indication effect related to the morning state be a different presentation mode from the start port winning indication effect related to the time-saving feature has ended (the start port winning indication effect is limited to the morning state).

(Regarding volume/light intensity adjustment for the starting gate winning indication performance)
The volume of the start port winning instruction performance can be configured to be adjustable by the player. For example, as one of the settings of the game environment, the volume of the start port winning instruction performance can be configured to be adjustable within a predetermined range. As already explained, the game environment can be configured to adjust the volume and light intensity (volume adjustment means, light intensity adjustment means), and the volume adjustment is mainly for the sound (sound performance) during the game, but the volume adjustment can also be configured to adjust the volume including the start port winning instruction performance. Also, the volume of the start port winning instruction performance can be made unadjustable (not subject to the volume adjustment means).

(Variation of the starting gate winning indication performance)
In addition, when the special chart 2 remaining reserve is being consumed, a performance (performance encouraging winning) that can exert the same function as the start port winning instruction performance can be configured to be able to appear. As already explained, when the game state is shifted from another game state to the normal state, the special time-saving activation is permitted, and a big chance for the player to gain profits (chance to win the special time-saving C on the special chart 1 side) comes around. When the special chart 2 remaining reserve exists, the reserved ball is consumed preferentially, but in order to prevent the player from stopping the game even after the special chart 2 remaining reserve is fully consumed, a special instruction performance encouraging winning (generation of the special chart 1 operating reserved ball) at the upper start port 34 can be made to appear during the game related to the special chart 2 remaining reserve (variation performance). In addition, when the special chart 2 remaining reserve and the special chart 1 operating reserved ball exist, a pre-reading notice (special reserve change notice) targeting the special chart 1 operating reserved ball may be made to appear upon transition to the normal state. In this special reserve change notice, the possibility of winning the special time-saving C (expected winning probability) can be notified according to the reserved color or reserved icon image. In addition, during the game related to the special chart 2 remaining reservation, a special notice performance may be displayed to suggest the possibility of winning the special time-saving C (expected winning rate). For example, the expected winning rate can be notified according to the characters that appear. In addition, the special reservation change notice and/or the special notice performance may notify the winning of the special time-saving C.

In this embodiment, there is no probability or potential state, but the same can be applied when transitioning from these game states to the normal state (when exiting probability or potential). In addition, the following types of jackpots can be set: a jackpot that triggers a transition to probability state (probability jackpot), a jackpot that triggers a transition to time-saving state (time-saving jackpot), a jackpot that triggers a transition to normal state (normal jackpot), and a jackpot that triggers a transition to potential state (potential jackpot). It can also be determined as appropriate which special chart side one or more of these jackpots will be selected for.

<Processing on the main control unit side: Figs. 8A to 22>
Next, the game operation processing on the main control unit 20 side of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8A to 22. The processing on the main control unit 20 side is mainly composed of an infinite loop main processing (main control side main processing: Figures 8A and 8B) and a timer interrupt processing (main control side timer interrupt processing: Figure 9) that is started by a regular interrupt from the CTC.

<8. Main Processing on the Main Control Side: Figs. 8A and 8B>
The main processing on the main control unit 20 side (main control side main processing) will be described with reference to Figures 8A and 8B. Figures 8A and 8B are flow charts showing the details of the main control side main processing.

Triggers for starting the main processing on the main control side include a system reset occurring when recovering from a power outage or power abnormality, or when the control program goes out of control and the watchdog timer (WDT) function is activated, forcing the CPU to be reset (WDT reset). In either case, when the main processing on the main control side is started, the main control unit 20 (CPU 201) first executes the initial setting processing required to start the game operation as part of the power-on processing (step S011).

The initial setting process includes, for example, initialization of register values within the CPU, including each part of the microcomputer, clearing of various ports including solenoid ports related to the electric props, LED output counters, etc., interrupt mode setting process to set a specific interrupt mode (interrupt mode 2), interrupt priority setting process to start the random number circuit (internal hardware random number circuit), waiting for the startup of peripheral boards (performance control unit 24 and payout control board 29), sending of a power-on command (BA08H), etc. When the performance control unit 24 receives the above-mentioned "power-on command," it executes a power-on performance such as "Please Wait" on the liquid crystal display device 36.

After the above initial setting process (step S010) is completed, the input port acquisition process is executed (step S011). In this input port acquisition process, the ON/OFF signals (ON/OFF state) of the switches required to determine whether to switch to a setting change transition mode, RAM clear mode, setting confirmation mode, backup return mode, etc., which will be described later, are acquired. Details will be described later, but in this embodiment, the transition destination process is determined based on the ON/OFF signals of the setting key switch 94, the door open sensor 61, and the RAM clear switch 98. The input signals corresponding to the 0th to 7th bits of the input port 1 (P_INPT1) are as shown in the figure, with the ON/OFF signal of the setting key switch 94 (setting key switch signal) being input to the 0th bit, the ON (open state)/OFF (closed state) signal of the door open sensor 61 (door open signal) being input to the 5th bit, and the ON/OFF signal of the RAM clear switch 98 being input to the 6th bit.

After completing the input port acquisition process (step S011), the process proceeds to step S14 and subsequent steps. In this embodiment, the process state is transitioned to the following process mode based on the ON/OFF state of the setting key switch 94, the door open sensor 61, and the RAM clear switch 98 acquired in the input port acquisition process (step S011).

(1) A "setting change mode" including the execution of a setting change process (step S023) and an in-area RAM clear process (step S030).
(2) A "RAM clear mode" including the execution of an in-area RAM clear process (step S030) without executing a setting change process (step S023);
(3) A "settings check mode" including the execution of a settings check process (S027) and a backup recovery process (S028);
(4) A "backup recovery mode" in which the backup recovery process (S028) is executed without executing the setting confirmation process (S027).
(5) A "RAM error mode" in which a "power re-on waiting process (S020)" is executed if a problem occurs in the contents of the RAM.

Of these processing modes, the four modes excluding the "RAM error mode" are switched according to the combination of the ON/OFF state of the setting key switch 94, the ON/OFF state (open/closed state) of the door open sensor 61, and the ON/OFF state of the RAM clear switch 98.

In this embodiment, when the RAM clear switch 98 and the setting key switch 94 are both ON, the "setting change mode" is selected in principle, and when the RAM clear switch 98 is ON and the setting key switch 94 is OFF, the "RAM clear" is selected. However, even if the setting key switch 94 and the RAM clear switch 98 are both ON, if the door is closed (the door open sensor 61 is OFF), the "RAM clear mode" is selected instead of the "setting change mode". Similarly, when the RAM clear switch 98 is OFF and the setting key switch 94 is ON, the "setting confirmation mode" is selected in principle, and when the RAM clear switch 98 and the setting key switch 94 are both OFF, the "backup return mode" is selected. However, even if the RAM clear switch 98 is OFF and the setting key switch 94 is ON, if the door is closed, the "backup return mode" is selected instead of the "setting confirmation mode".

In this embodiment, since a situation in which the RAM clear switch 98 or the setting key switch 94 is ON even when the door is closed is suspicious of fraudulent activity, the "setting change mode" and "setting confirmation mode" related to the setting change function are set to a condition that the door is open, and when the door is closed, the "RAM clear mode" which does not execute the setting change process (S023) and the "backup return mode" which does not execute the setting confirmation process (S027) are selected.

In addition, for the "RAM clear mode" and "backup return mode" that are not related to the setting change function, only the ON/OFF state of the RAM clear switch 98 and the setting key switch 94 are conditioned, and the ON/OFF state of the door open sensor 61 is not conditioned. Note that in this embodiment, the "setting change mode" and "setting confirmation mode" related to the setting change function are conditioned on the door being open, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the door opening need not be conditioned. In other words, the ON/OFF state of the door open sensor 61 (door open/closed state) may not be the subject of judgment, or the door open sensor 61 may be the subject of judgment, but the "setting change mode" or "setting confirmation mode" may be able to be transitioned to regardless of the ON/OFF state of the door open sensor 61.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 8A, after the initial setting process of step S011 is completed, it is then determined whether or not the game machine is in a setting change mode transition state in which the setting value can be changed, based on the signal state acquired by the input port acquisition process (step S014). In this embodiment, when the power to the gaming machine 1 is off and the door is open (the door open sensor 61 is ON (open state)), if the setting key switch 94 (operated to the setting change mode side) and the RAM clear switch 98 are operated to ON (both the setting key switch signal and the RAM clear signal are ON) and the gaming machine 1 is powered on, the setting change mode transition condition is satisfied, and the game machine is controlled to a setting change permission state (setting change mode transition state) in which the setting value can be changed. In other words, when the input states of the setting key switch 94 (setting key switch signal), the door open sensor 61 (door open signal), and the RAM clear switch 98 (RAM clear signal) are ON, it is determined that the game machine is in a setting change mode transition state.

If the game is in the setting change mode transition state (step S014: YES), a setting change process that manages the change operation of the setting value (1 to 6 levels) is executed (step S023). In this setting change process, it is first determined whether the setting value Nc (setting value data) stored in the setting value storage area of the RAM in the area is an abnormal value (a value other than 00H to 05H corresponding to settings 1 to 6). If the game is playing normally, the setting value storage area should store setting value data (setting value Nc) of any of '00H to 05H (normal value)' corresponding to settings 1 to 6. However, it is possible that the setting value data is corrupted due to some malfunction, and a value that does not correspond to any of settings 1 to 6 is set (setting abnormality error). Therefore, if the setting value Nc is not a normal value, the setting value storage area is cleared to zero and returned to the initial value of 00H (here, setting 1). The backup flag BF is also cleared here. This is because if a power outage occurs during the setting change process, the next time the power is turned on, the determination process in S016 will determine that there is a backup abnormality (backup flag BF = 00H) and that the setting change process did not end normally.

Note that in the case of the one-step setting type, it is possible to determine whether or not a setting abnormality error has occurred in the same way. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the setting value Nc stored in the setting value storage area of the internal RAM is an abnormal value, for example, a value other than 00H corresponding to setting 1. In the case of the one-step setting type, since there is only one setting, it is determined whether or not the setting value Nc is a value (00H) corresponding to a certain fixed value (here, setting 1), and if it is abnormal (Nc ≠ 00H), it is returned to the initial value (here, 00H).

If the setting is returned to the initial value or is a normal value, the current setting value is displayed on the setting display 97. After that, the ON/OFF operation of the setting change switch 95 is monitored, and the current setting value Nc is changed (updated) each time the setting change switch 95 is turned ON. As already explained, the setting value during the setting change (setting change operation) is switched cyclically between settings 1 to 6 each time the setting change switch 95 is operated, and the current setting value during the setting change is displayed on the setting display 97. Then, when the setting key switch 94 is confirmed to be turned OFF, the setting value is confirmed and the current setting value Nc (setting work value) is stored in the setting value storage area of the RAM 203. This exits the setting change process. Then, the processing state is shifted to the in-area RAM clear process (step S030) described later.

In addition, the setting change switch 95 may not be provided, and the RAM clear switch 98 may function as the setting change switch 95. Each time the RAM clear switch 98 is pressed, one of the setting values from Settings 1 to 6 can be selected.

On the other hand, if the setting change mode transition state has not been reached (step S014: NO), the contents of the RAM are checked to determine whether or not there is an abnormality (step S015). Here, it is checked whether the setting value data (setting value Nc) in the setting value storage area is a normal value (whether a value indicating any of settings 1 to 6 is stored) and whether or not the checksum value at the time of backup is a normal value. If there is an abnormality in the RAM contents (step S015: YES), it is determined that the RAM error transition state (RAM error mode) has been reached, and the process of waiting for the power to be turned back on (step S020), which will be described later, is executed.

If the contents of the RAM are normal (step S015: NO), it is then determined whether the backup flag BF is ON (5AH) (step S016). This backup flag BF is set to "5AH (normal value)" in the BF flag storage area of the internal RAM when the backup process is executed normally in the power supply abnormality check process (step S081 in FIG. 9) described later. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the backup flag BF should be 5AH. However, some kind of malfunction may occur and the backup flag BF may not be the normal value (≠ 5AH). Therefore, if the backup flag BF is not ON (step S016: NO), the power re-on wait process is executed (step S020).

In the power re-on waiting process (step S020), as a process in the event of a RAM error, the game process is forcibly stopped and the game is stopped. Specifically, after sending a power re-on command and clearing the backup flag BF (step S019), the WDT clear process to clear the WDT and the process to check the ON state of the power abnormality signal (check for power interruption) (power abnormality check process) are repeated until a power interruption occurs. In addition, when a RAM error occurs, the WDT clear process is executed until a power interruption is confirmed, and the WDT reset is not generated at the timing when the infinite loop process is repeated. In addition, when the power re-on command is received by the performance control unit 24, a performance image such as "RAM error Please turn the power back on and set the setting value to 1" is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36 as a RAM error notification (power re-on instruction performance), all performance LEDs such as the decorative lamp 45 are turned off, and the speaker 46 is muted. Additionally, during the process of waiting for the power to be turned back on, a specific display (e.g., the setting display 97) may display "E" indicating an error until a power outage occurs.

When the power re-on waiting process (step S020) is executed and the game is stopped, the currently occurring RAM error state cannot be resolved unless the power of the gaming machine 1 is re-turned and the setting change process (step S023) is executed by operating the gaming machine 1 so that the above-mentioned setting change mode transition state is set when the power is re-turned. In this embodiment, after the setting change process (step S023) is executed (after the setting value storage area is cleared in the case of a setting abnormality error), the in-area RAM clear process (step S030) described below is executed, which essentially clears the entire area of RAM 203 (excluding the RAM area related to the performance information display process (external RAM area)), thereby returning RAM 203 to its initial state and enabling the RAM error to be resolved.

If the backup flag BF is ON (step S016: YES), it is determined whether or not the game is in the RAM clear mode transition state based on the signal state acquired by the input information acquisition process (step S025). In this embodiment, when the power to the gaming machine 1 is OFF, the setting key switch 94 is turned OFF (not operated to the setting change mode side), and the RAM clear switch 98 is turned ON (setting key switch signal OFF, RAM clear signal ON), and the game machine 1 is powered on, the RAM clear transition condition is satisfied and the game machine is controlled to the RAM clear mode transition state. In other words, it is determined that the game machine is in the RAM clear mode transition state when at least the setting key switch 94 (setting key switch signal) is OFF and the RAM clear switch 98 (RAM clear signal) is ON.

If the RAM clear mode transition state is reached (step S025: YES), an in-area RAM clear process is executed (step S030). In this in-area RAM clear process, only the RAM area related to the in-area memory (in-area RAM) is cleared, and the outside-area RAM area (outside-area RAM) is not cleared. Note that data in the setting value storage area (setting value data) is not cleared, even if it is data in the in-area RAM. Initialization and changes to the setting value data are performed in the setting change process (step S023). In other words, in the in-area RAM clear process, a predetermined memory area (normal data storage area) is cleared, excluding at least the "outside-area RAM area related to the outside-area memory" and the "above-mentioned setting value storage area (setting value data) of the in-area RAM area related to the in-area memory". Therefore, the value of the backup flag BF and the checksum value set at the time of power interruption are both cleared to zero in this process. Note that a predetermined number of bytes of the in-area RAM is used as a stack area, and for example, a return address after a subroutine call is temporarily stored. Therefore, a certain area of the RAM area within the area is initialized, excluding the setting value data and the stack area in which the return address after a subroutine call is stored.

In more detail, the in-area RAM clearing process initializes (clears) all areas (normal data storage areas) of the in-area RAM for storing setting values and data used in normal game processing (game processing related to game progress such as pattern change display games, winning games, and game state transition control), excluding at least the setting value storage area, and returns the operating state of the gaming machine to its initial state (default state). In this embodiment, as already explained, the program and work area for processing related to the display of performance information (performance information display processing) are specified in an area (out-area memory (second memory area)) different from the area (in-area memory (first memory area)) that the CPU 201 accesses during normal game progress. That is, the main control unit 20 is configured with a RAM 203 including a first RAM area (intra-area RAM) capable of storing game data used in game processing related to normal game progress (for example, processing other than processing related to the display of the performance indicator 99) and a second RAM area (extra-area RAM) capable of storing information display data used in performance information display processing not directly related to the game progress (steps S034 and S043 in FIG. 8B, step S101 in FIG. 9, etc.), a ROM 202 including a first ROM area (intra-area ROM) that stores a game control program for executing the normal game processing and a second ROM area (extra-area ROM) that stores an information display control program for executing the information display processing, and a CPU 201 that executes game control operations based on the game control program and the information display control program.

...

In addition, in this embodiment, information regarding errors is stored separately in the in-area RAM and the out-area RAM depending on the type of error. In other words, information regarding in-area errors (first type errors) that mainly affect the outcome of the game (see FIG. 31 (A)) is stored in the in-area RAM, and information regarding other out-area errors (second type errors) (see FIG. 31 (B)) is stored in the out-area RAM, and processing related to in-area errors (determination, updating, command transmission, etc.) is performed by in-area processing, and processing related to out-area errors is performed by out-area processing. Therefore, in the in-area RAM clearing process (step S030) by the in-area program, the in-area error information shown in FIG. 31 (A) is cleared out of the various types of error information.

Here, various commands required for clearing the RAM (for example, a "RAM clear command" indicating that the RAM has been cleared and a "customer waiting command") are sent to the performance control unit 24. When the performance control unit 24 receives the RAM clear command, it executes a RAM clear notification performance (RAM clear error notification) for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) and sets the performance mode to the default state (initial state). In other words, when the RAM clear process within the area is executed, the game state (internal game state, game mode) and the performance mode are set to the default state.

In this embodiment, when the performance control unit 24 receives the RAM clear command, it sets the performance mode (performance state) to the default state of "normal performance mode" and uses the performance means to execute a RAM clear error notification for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds). For example, the decorative lamp 45 is fully lit in red, an alarm sound is output from the speaker 16 when the RAM is cleared, and a performance image such as "RAM is being cleared" is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36. In addition, in the RAM clear process within the area (step S030), the RAM clear command is sent and a customer waiting command is sent, but at this timing, the customer waiting performance (demo display) is not executed, and after executing the RAM clear error notification for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds), the customer waiting performance (demo start waiting display) is executed. For example, the alarm sound is faded out, and the liquid crystal display device 36 displays a background image related to the normal performance mode (default state) and a predetermined decorative stop pattern (for example, the decorative pattern is displayed stopped at "731"). After that, if a predetermined waiting time (for example, 180 seconds) has elapsed without an activated reserved ball being generated and without switching to the menu screen (game setting screen), a "customer waiting performance (demo display)" is executed (after the RAM clear notification performance, the customer waiting performance may be executed immediately without executing the pre-customer waiting performance).

Then, when the above-mentioned RAM clearing process is completed, the RAM clearing flag is set to "5AH" (step S031). This RAM clearing flag is a flag that specifies whether or not the RAM clearing process has been performed; if the flag is "5AH (ON state)," it indicates that the RAM clearing process has been performed, and if the flag is "00H (OFF state)," it indicates that the RAM clearing process has not been performed. If the RAM clearing flag remains at "00H," it means that the RAM clearing process has not been performed, that is, the process has followed a processing route in which the backup restoration process (step S028) described below is performed.

Next, the initial setting process (initial data setting process when power is turned on) when the RAM is cleared is executed (step S032). In the initial data setting process when power is turned on, for example, the error notification timer is set to 30,000 ms (30 seconds) as the transmission time of the RAM clear signal (one of the security signals), and the losing pattern data is set as the special pattern (special pattern 1 stop pattern, special pattern 2 stop pattern) data to be displayed on the special pattern display devices 38a, 38b. Then, the process proceeds to step S033 described later. Here, the time of the error notification timer (30 seconds) is the output time of the RAM clear signal indicating that the RAM clear has been executed, but this timer value is also used as the performance time width of the RAM clear notification performance (RAM clear error notification). The RAM clear signal is output to the hall computer HC through the frame external terminal board 21.

Returning to the explanation of step S025, if the game machine is not in the RAM clear mode transition state (step S025: NO), it is then determined whether the game machine is in the setting confirmation mode transition state (setting confirmation permitted state) in which the current setting value can be confirmed (step S026). In this embodiment, when the game machine 1 is powered off and the door is open (the door open sensor 61 is ON), the setting key switch 94 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 98 is turned OFF (setting key switch signal ON, RAM clear signal OFF), and the game machine 1 is powered on, it is determined that the setting confirmation mode transition condition is met and the game machine is controlled to the setting confirmation mode transition state (see steps S014 to S026). In other words, when the setting key switch 94 (setting key switch signal) is ON, the door open sensor 61 (door open signal) is ON, and the RAM clear switch 98 (RAM clear signal) is OFF, it is determined that the game machine is in the setting confirmation mode transition state.

If the setting check mode transition state is reached (step S026: YES), the setting check process (step S027) and the backup return process (step S028) are executed in sequence. In the setting check process (step S027), the current setting value is controlled to a setting check state in which it can be checked. Specifically, a setting check command is sent to the performance control unit 24, and a display process is performed to display the current setting value (setting check display) on the setting display 97. When the performance control unit 24 receives the setting check command, the performance means is used to execute the setting check performance. For example, a performance image such as "Setting check in progress" is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36 to notify that the setting is being checked. The display of the setting value is terminated by turning the setting key switch 94 OFF (end of setting check display). When the setting key switch 94 is turned OFF (setting key switch 94 ON to OFF), a setting check end command is sent to the performance control unit 24. When the performance control unit 24 receives the setting check end command, the performance means is used to end the setting check performance. This completes the setting confirmation process (step S027).

Next, the backup recovery process (step S028) is executed. In the backup recovery process, the game process is restored from the backup data backed up at the time of the power outage. As a result, after the power is restored, the game operation before the power outage is resumed. For example, if the game was waiting for customers (with no reserved patterns stopped) at the time of the power outage (backup process), the game will be restored from the waiting for customers, if the patterns were changing, the game will be restored from the pattern changing, and if a winning game was being played, the game will be restored from the winning game. In addition, the "special pattern 1 reserved number designation command" and "special pattern 2 reserved number designation command" which respectively designate the number of reserved balls in the special pattern 1 operation and the number of reserved balls in the special pattern 2 operation at the time of the power outage, the "game state designation command at the time of recovery" which designates the game state at the time of recovery (game state number YJ at the time of backup), and the "power outage recovery display command" which designates the completion of recovery are transmitted to the performance control unit 24.

When the performance control unit 24 receives a power failure recovery display command, it uses the performance means to execute a "recovery performance" that notifies the user that recovery is in progress or that recovery has been completed. For example, the liquid crystal display device 36 displays performance images such as "Recovery in progress" or "Recovery from power failure. Please resume play" for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds). In addition, when the performance control unit 24 receives a special chart 1 reserve number designation command and a special chart 2 reserve number designation command, it grasps the number of active reserved balls at the time of power failure, and lights up and displays reserved icons corresponding to the number of active reserved balls in the reserve display sections a1 to d1 of the reserve display area 76 shown in FIG. 5A and the reserve display sections a2 to d2 of the reserve display area 77. In addition, when the performance control unit 24 receives a recovery game state designation command, it transitions to a performance mode corresponding to the game state at the time of power failure, and displays a background image corresponding to the performance mode on the liquid crystal display device 36. After the backup is restored, the game operation will start normally, and the presentation control process will be executed according to the presentation control command sent from the main control unit 20 (for example, a customer waiting command, a reserved addition command, a fluctuation pattern designation command, a command related to a winning game, etc.) depending on the processing state after the backup is restored.

When the backup restoration process (step S028) is completed, the process proceeds to step S033, which will be described later.

On the other hand, if the game machine 1 is not in the setting confirmation mode transition state (step S026: NO), that is, if the game machine 1 is simply powered on without turning on the setting key switch 94 or the RAM clear switch 98 (in this embodiment, the ON/OFF state of the door open sensor 61 is not a condition), the game machine 1 is deemed to be in the backup return mode transition state, and the backup return process (step S028) is performed without executing the setting confirmation process, and the game machine 1 proceeds to the process of step S033 described below.

As described above, depending on the combination of the ON/OFF states of the setting key switch 94, RAM clear switch 98, and door open sensor 61, one of the processes (processes belonging to the in-area processes) is executed: "setting change process (step S023)", "setting confirmation process (step S027)", "internal area RAM clear process (step S030)", or "backup restoration process (step S028)". After that, the contents of all registers are saved (step S033), and the out-of-area programs, the operation confirmation timer setting process (step S034) and the out-of-area error information clear process (step S035), which will be described later, are executed in sequence, after which the saved contents of all registers are restored (step S036).

In the above operation check timer setting process, the in-area stack pointer is first saved, the out-area stack pointer is set, and then the initial settings required for the confirmation operation when the performance indicator 99 is turned on are performed. In this embodiment, as part of the power-on process, in order to perform an operation check on the performance indicator 99, after the power is turned on, the four 7-segment LEDs 99a to 99d are turned on and off periodically (for example, for 5000 ms) for a predetermined time (for example, 300 ms on and 300 ms off are repeated periodically) to perform an "operation check display (all blinking)" (see step S833 in FIG. 19, and FIG. 21 for details). As a setting process for this operation check display, an initial value (for example, 5000 ms) is set to the operation check timer that counts the operation check time of the performance indicator 99, and the "blinking timer" that counts the blinking period of the performance indicator 99 is cleared (blinking timer ← 0). Then, the operation check timer setting process is exited. The process for displaying the operation check of the performance display 99 (operation check process) is performed in the timer interrupt outside area process described below (see step S101 in FIG. 9, step S833 in FIG. 19, and FIG. 21). The operation check timer may be provided in the RAM inside the area. In this case, an initial value can be set in the operation check timer after step S036 and before the loop process from step S040 onwards. For example, this can be done before the interrupt process is started (before the CTC setting process in step S039 is executed) or after the interrupt process is started (after the CTC setting process in step S039 is executed).

Once the above operation check timer setting process (step S034) is completed, the out-of-area error information clear process is then executed (step S035).

In this out-of-area error information clearing process, first the RAM clear flag is checked. As already explained, this RAM clear flag is a flag for specifying whether or not the in-area RAM clearing process has been executed. If the RAM clear flag is "5AH (ON state)", this indicates that the in-area RAM clearing process has been executed, and if the RAM clear flag is "00H (OFF state)", this indicates that the backup recovery process (step S028) has been executed.

In this process, if the RAM clear flag is "5AH" (when clearing RAM), out-of-area error information stored in the out-of-area RAM is cleared, and if the RAM clear flag is not 5AH (when restoring from backup), the items to be cleared when restoring from backup are cleared (out-of-area clearing process when restoring from backup).

Now, with reference to Figures 31 (B) and (D), we will explain the out-of-area error information. The radio wave error detection timer, magnetic error detection timer, and prize slot error detection timer (α) through (γ) in Figure 31 (B) are timers for measuring the time required to determine whether or not an error has occurred. Additionally, the radio wave error notification timer, magnetic error notification timer, and prize slot error notification timer (δ) through (ζ) are timers for measuring the error notification period.

The out-of-area error flag (η), as shown in FIG. 31(D) (B0 to B7 in the figure indicate bit numbers), indicates whether or not there is an error (error being reported) for multiple types of out-of-area errors (here, three types: magnetic error, radio wave error, and prize slot error) (ON (error) = 1, OFF (normal) = 0), with the 0th bit corresponding to a prize slot error, the 1st bit corresponding to a radio wave error, and the 3rd bit corresponding to a magnetic error. For example, if the 0th to 3rd bits are "0 0 1", it indicates that a magnetic error is occurring.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 31(B), when the RAM is cleared, all out-of-area error information is cleared, whereas when the backup is restored, only the out-of-area error flag and each detection timer are cleared out of the out-of-area error information, and the notification timers are not cleared. As a result, if an out-of-area error was being notified before the power was cut off, the error notification will continue even after the power is restored.

When the out-of-area clearing process when clearing RAM or the out-of-area clearing process when restoring from a backup based on the RAM clear flag is completed, the in-area stack pointer is set, thereby completing the out-of-area error information clearing process and returning to in-area processing.

Next, after restoring all register information (step S036), an in-area error information clearing process is executed (step S37). In this in-area error information clearing process, in addition to the in-area error information stored in the in-area RAM, the level/edge data of various switches (e.g., door open sensors) used to determine in-area errors, the RAM clear flag, etc. are cleared.

Here, the intra-area error information will be described with reference to FIGS.
(α) The backup flag indicates whether or not a backup recovery is possible.
(β) The power supply abnormality confirmation counter is a counter used when confirming a power supply abnormality (power outage, etc.).
(γ) The dispensing communication abnormality confirmation counter is a counter used when confirming a communication abnormality with the dispensing control board (dispensing control unit) 29.
(δ) The serial circuit error flag is a flag indicating whether or not there is a serial circuit error relating to the circuit for serial transmission such as the payout of game balls. (ε) The random number circuit abnormality confirmation flag is a flag indicating whether or not there is a random number circuit abnormality relating to the random number circuit (the random number circuit used for the jackpot lottery).
(ζ) The in-area error flag, as shown in Figure 31 (C) (B0 to B7 in the figure indicate bit numbers), indicates whether or not there is an error (error is being reported) for multiple types of in-area errors (here, five types: ball jam error, out of supply error, counting error, disconnection error, and door open error) (ON (error) = 1, OFF (normal) = 0), with the 0th bit corresponding to a ball jam error, the 1st bit corresponding to an out of supply error, the 2nd bit corresponding to a counting error, the 3rd bit corresponding to a disconnection error, and the 4th bit corresponding to a door open error. Note that a disconnection error is an error that occurs when a disconnection or short is detected in the wiring (harness) connecting boards to each other or between the boards and various sensors.

After the area error information clear process (step S37) is completed, the CTC setting process is then executed (step S038). Here, the CTC setting process is executed to generate a timer interrupt periodically every 4 ms. As a result, an interrupt request signal is periodically output to the interrupt controller, and the main control side timer interrupt process (4 ms interrupt process) shown in Figure 9 is executed.

Then, assuming that the game start possible state (game start conditions) is met, the launch control signal that permits the launch operation of the launch device 32 is set from the OFF state (launch prohibited state) to the ON state (launch permitted state) (set to launch control signal output state (launch permission signal ES output state)), and a game start command is sent to the performance control unit 24 (step S039). This allows the launch operation of the game ball from the launch device 32. Note that the launch control signal at power-on, including when the power is restored, is set to OFF (set to launch control signal output stop state (launch stop signal NS output state)) until the processing of step S039 is executed. Also, when the performance control unit 24 receives the game start command, it executes the initial operation (initialization operation) for the performance means. Note that the initialization operation here is mainly a check of the operation at power-on for the movable body role.

After completing the above series of power-on processes, an infinite loop process (normal game process) of steps S040 to S045 related to normal game progress is executed (main control side main loop process (timer interrupt waiting main loop process)). This causes the game to be controlled in a state where game start is possible and game progress is possible. When the loop process is entered, first, the CPU is set to an interrupt prohibited state (step S040), and various random number update processes are executed (step S041). In the various random number update processes, various software random numbers (random numbers that circulate within a specified numerical range by increment processing) used in the special pattern change display game and the normal pattern change display game are updated. For example, it updates random numbers (initial value random numbers for special pattern determination, initial value random numbers for supplementary win determination, etc.) used to change the initial values (start values) of random numbers related to the jackpot lottery (random numbers for determining jackpots used in the lottery for winning or losing, random numbers for determining special patterns used in the lottery for patterns), random numbers related to the supplementary win lottery (random numbers for determining supplementary wins used in the lottery for winning or losing supplementary wins, random numbers for determining normal patterns used in the lottery for supplementary wins), and random numbers for the variation patterns used to select the variation patterns of the patterns (special patterns, normal patterns) (random numbers for the variation patterns related to special patterns, random numbers for the variation patterns related to normal patterns).

After the above random number update process (step S041) is completed, the main loop outside area process of the outside area program is executed (step S043). This main loop outside area process is mainly composed of the process required to calculate the base value to be displayed on the performance display 99 (performance display monitor tally division process).

In this embodiment, the operating program and memory area for processing related to performance display are specified in the external memory (second memory area). Therefore, in the external processing in the main loop, the internal stack pointer is first saved, the external stack pointer is set, and then the external RAM check processing is executed. This external RAM check processing determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the RAM area related to the performance display of the performance indicator 99, and if there is an abnormality, the external RAM initialization processing is executed. Note that the external RAM check processing is common to the external RAM check processing shown in Figure 20 described below.

After the out-of-area RAM check process is completed, the performance display monitor tally process is then executed. In this performance display monitor tally process, the base value to be displayed on the performance display 99 is calculated. Note that in the performance display monitor tally process, the counts required for the base value (for example, number of dispensed in normal mode, number of out in normal mode, number of out in all states, etc.) are always processed, but the division process to calculate the real-time base value using these count values may be executed at any appropriate time.

After the performance display monitor aggregation process is completed, the in-area stack pointer is restored and the out-of-area processing in the main loop is exited.

When the processing outside the area in the main loop in step S043 is completed, the interrupt is enabled (step S045), and the processing returns to step S040. Thereafter, the processing of steps S040 to S045 is repeatedly executed (main loop processing). The CPU 201 is configured to repeatedly execute various random number update processes and processing outside the area in the main loop, except when performing timer interrupt processing that is executed intermittently.

<9. Main control side timer interrupt processing: Figure 9>
Next, the timer interrupt processing on the main control side will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the timer interrupt processing on the main control side. This timer interrupt processing on the main control side is started by an interrupt from the CTC at regular intervals (approximately 4 ms) and is executed by interrupting during execution of the main processing on the main control side. The timer interrupt processing on the main control side mainly includes processing related to the in-area program in steps S081 to S100 and processing related to the out-of-area program in step S101.

In FIG. 9, when a timer interrupt occurs, the CPU 201 immediately executes a power supply abnormality check process without saving the contents of the registers (step S081). This power supply abnormality check process monitors the power level supplied from a power supply board (not shown), and if a power failure or other power abnormality occurs, it performs backup processing including setting the backup flag BF (BF←5AH), performing a checksum calculation to calculate a checksum value (here, an 8-bit addition calculation process targeting the RAM within the area), and storing the calculation results. The power supply abnormality check process acts as a backup means that retains data in a specified area of RAM even after the power is cut off.

Next, a timer management process (intra-area timer management process) is executed (step S082). The timer values of various timers (times) used to control the gaming operation of the gaming machine 1 are updated here. Note that the timers managed by this process are mainly timers related to the intra-area RAM (for example, special symbol gadget operation timers, error notification timers related to intra-area errors, etc.), and timers related to the extra-area RAM are managed by the intra-area timer interrupt extra-area process described below.

Next, input management processing is executed (step S083). In the input management processing, input data is created and winning counters (counters for counting winning balls provided for each winning slot) are updated based on detection information from various sensors and switches provided in the gaming machine 1 and input information on status signals from the payout control board 29 (information on ON/OFF signals, information on rising states (ON edge, OFF edge), etc.). In addition, fraud monitoring processing (winning invalid processing) is also performed for fraudulent winning. If a fraudulent winning is confirmed or if the status signal indicates an abnormality, a specified error processing is executed in the error management processing (step S089) described below.

Next, a setting abnormality check process is executed (step S084). In the setting abnormality check process, it is determined whether the setting value data is a normal value (a value indicating a setting 1 to 6). If the setting value data is not within the normal range, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the setting value data, the setting error flag is set to the ON state (5AH), a setting value abnormality command is sent to the performance control unit 24, and the setting abnormality check process is exited. When the performance control unit 24 receives the setting value abnormality command, it is configured to execute a setting error notification (RAM error notification) using the performance means. Note that if the setting error flag remains ON, nothing is done and the setting abnormality check process is exited.

Next, a random number management process within the timer interrupt is executed (step S085). In the random number management process within the timer interrupt, the random numbers for each variable display game are periodically updated. Specifically, in order to make the count value of the random number counter random, the random numbers for determining special symbols and for determining supplementary hits are updated (+1 is added for each interrupt) and the start value of the random number counter is changed each time the random number counter goes around once. Note that the random numbers for internal lottery (random numbers for determining big hits) are generated by the random number generation circuit described above and are not updated here.

Next, an error management process (intra-area error determination process) is executed (step S089). This error management process includes an intra-area error monitoring process that monitors intra-area errors (FIG. 31(A)), and an intra-area random number circuit process that monitors for abnormalities in the random number circuit.

In the above-mentioned area error monitoring process, multiple types of area errors are monitored. In this embodiment, five types of errors are monitored, which correspond to the area error flags (Figure 31 (C)): "door open error, disconnection error, counting error, supply shortage error, and ball jam error."

Here, it monitors whether an error (abnormality) has occurred in the game operation based on detection information related to various switches and sensors, status signals from the payout control board 29, etc., and if an error occurs, it turns on the error flag in the area corresponding to that error (Figure 31 (C)) (corresponding bit value → 1), and sends an error command (error notification command) corresponding to the type of error to the performance control unit 24.

When the performance control unit 24 receives the error command, it executes an error notification process according to the error command type (error type). For example, if a door-opening error occurs, the main control unit 20 sends a door-opening error command corresponding to the door-opening error to the performance control unit 24. When the performance control unit 24 receives a door-opening error command, it may output an alarm sound using the speaker 46 or display an error image such as "Door is open" on the LCD display unit 36 as an error notification corresponding to the door-opening error.

In addition, when an error that has occurred is cleared, the in-area error flag (Figure 31 (C)) is turned OFF (corresponding bit value -> 0), and an error clear command corresponding to the type of error is sent to the performance control unit 24. When the performance control unit 24 receives the error clear command, it executes an error clear process (for example, terminating the ongoing error notification).

The error command and the error clear command are sent using a common in-area command sending module (command sending process).

After completing the above-mentioned in-area error monitoring process, the in-area random number circuit process is then executed. In this in-area random number circuit process, the random number circuit abnormality confirmation flag is first obtained, and if the random number circuit abnormality confirmation flag is "5AH (abnormality occurring)", that is, if the random number circuit is already in an abnormal state, the process related to the random number circuit abnormality determination described below is skipped, and the in-area random number circuit process is terminated as is, and the error management process is exited.

If the random number circuit abnormality confirmation flag is not "5AH", a random value is obtained and stored in a specified area of the RAM within the area, and it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the random number circuit (for example, the hardware random number circuit is not running). If there is no abnormality in the random number circuit, the random number circuit processing within the area is terminated and the error management process is exited.

On the other hand, if the random number circuit is abnormal, the random number value obtained in the RAM in the area is cleared, and the random number circuit abnormality confirmation flag is set to "5AH". As a result, from then on, the random number circuit will be treated as being in an abnormal state until the random number circuit abnormality confirmation flag is cleared (random number circuit abnormality confirmation flag ← 00H). The random number values to be cleared are at least the random number values stored in the determination random number memory area described below, but it is also possible to clear all random number values (random number values stored in the reservation memory area) related to existing activated reserved balls (at least special pattern activated reserved balls) (all random number values cleared). In addition, random numbers related to the supplementary winning lottery (random number for determining supplementary winning used in the winning/losing lottery, and random number for determining normal pattern used in the pattern lottery) may also be included in the targets to be cleared.

Then, a random number circuit abnormality command (error command) is sent to the performance control unit 24, the in-area random number circuit processing is terminated, and the error management processing is exited. Note that this random number circuit abnormality command is sent using the in-area command sending module that is also used for the error notification/cancellation command in the in-area error determination processing. Also, when the random number circuit is in an abnormal state, the game operation may be controlled to a stopped state (for example, at least the pattern change display game may be controlled so that it cannot be executed).

Next, the prize ball management process is executed (step S090). This prize ball management process mainly checks the winning counter, and if a prize is won, a payout control command specifying the number of prize balls is sent to the payout control board 29. When the payout control board 29 receives the payout control command, it controls the game ball payout device 19 based on the prize ball number information contained therein, and causes it to execute the payout operation of the specified number of prize balls.

As described above, the prize ball management process specifically includes the following processes to properly process the prize ball payout operation.

In the prize ball management process, first, the value of the serial circuit error flag (Figure 31 (A)) is determined, and if the serial circuit error flag is "5AH (abnormality occurring)," that is, if a serial circuit error is already occurring, the process related to determining the real circuit error described below is skipped and the prize ball management process ends.

If the serial circuit error flag is not "5AH", determine whether the dispensing communication with the dispensing control board 29 is normal (dispensing communication abnormality determination).

(If payment communication is not normal)
If the payout communication is not normal as a result of the payout communication abnormality judgment, the payout communication abnormality confirmation counter is incremented (payout communication abnormality confirmation counter + 1). Then, if the payout communication abnormality confirmation counter after increment has not yet reached a predetermined value (abnormality judgment value), the prize ball management process is exited. However, if the payout communication abnormality confirmation counter after increment reaches a predetermined value, that is, if the judgment that the payout communication is not normal continues for a predetermined number of times, a payout communication abnormality command (error command) is sent to the performance control unit 24, and the prize ball management process is exited.

(If payment communication is normal)
On the other hand, if the payout communication is normal as a result of the payout communication abnormality judgment, the payout communication abnormality confirmation counter is cleared (payout communication abnormality confirmation counter ← 0), the winning information and prize ball information are updated, and a payout control command is sent. Then, it is judged whether the serial transmission status is an abnormal value, and if it is not an abnormal value, the prize ball management process is terminated as it is, but if the serial transmission status is an abnormal value, a serial transmission abnormality command (error command) is sent to the performance control unit 24, the serial circuit error flag is set to "5AH", and the prize ball management process is terminated.

The payout communication abnormality command and serial transmission abnormality command are sent using the same intra-area command sending module as the error notification/clearance command in the error management process (step 089) and the random number circuit abnormality command in the intra-area random number circuit process in the same process.

Next, normal symbol management processing is executed (step S091). In this normal symbol management processing, processing required for the normal symbol variable display game (variable display operation of normal symbols) is executed.

Here, it monitors whether a gaming ball has been detected by the normal symbol start sensor 37a, and if a gaming ball is detected, it acquires the predetermined gaming information required for the auxiliary hit lottery (normal symbol gaming information such as random numbers for determining auxiliary hits, random numbers for determining normal symbols, and random numbers for normal symbol variable patterns) (normal symbol random number acquisition process), and stores the gaming information as reserved data (normal symbol activation reserved balls) up to the maximum reserved memory number (here, 4) (normal symbol reserved storage process).

When a predetermined start condition is met, a lottery is performed for a supplementary winning based on the normal symbol activation reserved ball (normal symbol game information) (random number determination process for determining activation of normal electric device), the normal symbol stop display mode (normal stop symbol: supplementary winning symbol, losing normal symbol) is determined based on the result of the supplementary winning lottery (normal symbol stop symbol creation process), and a normal symbol fluctuation pattern is selected and its fluctuation time is set (normal symbol fluctuation pattern creation process). Here, in order to operate the normal symbol to display a fluctuation, if it is fluctuating, LED display data for the fluctuation display is created, and if it is not fluctuating, LED display data for the stop display is created (normal symbol display data update process).

It is possible to provide one or more types of auxiliary wins and/or misses for normal symbols. When multiple auxiliary wins are provided, the movable wing piece 47 can be controlled to have different operation patterns depending on the type of auxiliary win, making it possible to implement normal power open games with different degrees of advantage (profit states).

In addition, one or more types of normal pattern variation patterns can be provided. For example, different variation patterns can be selected based on the result of the auxiliary hit lottery (auxiliary hit type and miss type), or the same variation pattern can be selected regardless of the lottery result. In addition, when selecting the variation pattern of the normal pattern, as with the special pattern, the number of activated reserved balls (the number of existing activated reserved balls excluding the activated reserved balls used for the current variation display operation) can be taken into consideration, and different variation patterns can be selected according to the result of the auxiliary hit lottery and the number of activated reserved balls of the normal pattern. For example, in the case of an auxiliary hit, the normal hit variation pattern 1 with a variation time of 3 seconds can be selected for all the number of activated reserved balls of the normal pattern, and in the case of a miss, the normal miss variation pattern 1 with a variation time of 3 seconds can be selected when the number of activated reserved balls of the normal pattern is 0 to 2, and the normal miss variation pattern 2 with a variation time of 5 seconds can be selected when the number of activated reserved balls of the normal pattern is 3.

Next, the normal electric role management process is executed (step S092). In this normal electric role management process, the process required to execute the normal electric open game is executed based on the result of the auxiliary win lottery. Here, if the result of the auxiliary win lottery is a win, a process is executed to generate and set solenoid control data for the normal electric role solenoid 41c. Based on the data set here, an excitation signal based on the solenoid control data is output to the normal electric role solenoid 41c in the solenoid management process of step S100 described below, and the operation pattern of the movable wing piece 47 is controlled.

Next, a special symbol management process is executed (step S093). In this special symbol management process, a process related to the special symbol change display game is executed. In this special symbol management process, mainly, a look-ahead judgment and a lottery for a jackpot in the special symbol change display game are performed, and the change pattern of the special symbol (look-ahead change pattern, change pattern at the start of change) and the special stop pattern are determined based on the lottery result. Details of the special symbol management process will be described later using FIG. 10.

Next, the special electric device management process is executed (step S095). In this special electric device management process, the process necessary for the winning game is mainly performed, such as controlling the execution of the winning game according to the winning result based on the jackpot lottery result, and setting the transition destination game state after the jackpot game. The special electric device management process functions as a special game control means for controlling the execution of the winning game according to the type of winning. The details of the special electric device management process will be described later using FIG. 15.

Next, a right-hit notification information management process is executed (step S097). In this right-hit notification information management process, LED data is created to turn on the right-hit display device 39b when the game is in a "right-hit favorable" state (during a winning game, during an electric support state (time-saving state or probability change state)), and LED data is created to turn off the right-hit display device 39b when the game is in a "left-hit favorable" state (normal state). In this embodiment, when the game is right-hit favorable (when the game has shifted from a left-hit favorable state to a right-hit favorable state), a "right-hit instruction performance (first launch induction notification performance)" that notifies a right-hit instruction is displayed, and when the game is left-hit favorable (when the game has shifted from a right-hit favorable state to a left-hit favorable state), a "left-hit instruction performance (second launch induction notification performance)" that notifies a left-hit instruction is displayed. However, the right-hit instruction performance is basically displayed continuously until the right-hit favorable state ends, but the left-hit instruction performance is terminated when a predetermined termination condition is met even during the left-hit favorable state. The specified end condition may be, for example, a specified time (e.g., 10 seconds), until one or more games have been played, or until a specific effect (e.g., a reach effect) appears.

Next, LED management processing is executed (step S098). In this LED management processing, output control of control signals (dynamic lighting data) for various LED display devices such as the normal symbol display device 39a, the special symbol display devices 38a and 38b, and the right-hit display device 39b is executed. Control signals based on LED display data created in the normal symbol management processing (step S091), the special symbol management processing (step S093), the right-hit notification information management processing (step S097), and the like are output in this LED management processing.

Next, the external terminal management process is executed (step S099). In this external terminal management process, various outer end signals are created and output control is executed to external devices such as the hall computer HC through the frame external terminal board 21.

Next, solenoid management processing is executed (step S100). In this solenoid management processing, based on the solenoid control data set in the normal electric role management processing (step S092) and the special electric role management processing (step S094), excitation signal output control is executed for the normal electric role solenoid 41c and the large prize opening solenoid 52c. This drives and controls the movable wing piece 47 and the opening door 52b, and realizes the opening and closing operation of the lower start opening 35 and the large prize opening 50.

Next, after all registers are saved to the stack area, the timer interrupt outside-area processing belonging to the outside-area program is executed (step S101). This timer interrupt outside-area processing includes monitoring for outside-area errors, management of the outside-area error notification timer (timer subtraction processing), processing required for calculating the base value to be displayed on the performance indicator 99, processing required for display control (LED control of the 7-segment indicators 99a to 99d), as well as checking the validity of the outside-area RAM (checking for data corruption and base value anomalies) and creating a type test signal and outputting it. Details of the timer interrupt outside-area processing will be described later with reference to FIG. 19.

Next, all registers are restored and the WDT count value is cleared (step S102). This resets the WDT with each interrupt and returns the count value to its initial value.

When the above steps S081 to S102 are completed, the timer interrupt process ends and the main control side main process is executed until the next timer interrupt occurs.

<8. Special symbol management process: Figure 10>
Next, a description will be given of the special symbol management process (step S093) in Fig. 9. Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing the details of the special symbol management process (step S093).

In FIG. 10, the CPU 201 first performs a "special chart 1 starting hole check process" for the special chart 1 side (upper starting hole 34 side) (step S301), and then executes a "special chart 2 starting hole check process" for the special chart 2 side (lower starting hole 35 side) (step S302). Details of the special chart 1 starting hole check process and the special chart 2 starting hole check process will be described later with reference to FIG. 11.

After completing the start port check process in steps S301-S302, the state of the condition device operation flag is then determined (step S304). This "condition device operation flag" is a flag that specifies whether or not a jackpot game is in progress; if the flag is in the ON state (5AH), it indicates that a jackpot game is in progress, and if the flag is in the OFF state (00H), it indicates that a jackpot game is not in progress.

If the condition device operation flag is ON, that is, if a jackpot is being played (step S304: = 5AH), the process for the variable display of the special symbols in steps S306 to S308 is not performed, and the process proceeds directly to the special symbol display data update process in step S309. Therefore, the variable display operation of the special symbols is not performed during a jackpot play. In other words, during a win play, the special symbol corresponding to that win is displayed as stopped (confirmed) on the special symbol display device and is maintained.

On the other hand, in step S304, if the condition device operation flag is OFF (00H) (step S304: ≠ 5AH), i.e., if a jackpot game is not being played (step S304: ≠ 5AH), processing is performed according to the special symbol operation status (00H to 03H). Note that the "special symbol operation status" is a status value that indicates the behavior of the special symbol, and this status value is changed according to the processing state and stored in the special symbol operation status storage area of RAM 203.

In the special symbol operation status branching process in step S305, one of the processes in steps S306 to S308 is executed depending on whether the special symbol operation status is "Waiting (00H, 01H)", "Changing (02H)", or "Confirming (03H)". Specifically, if the special symbol operation status is "Waiting (00H, 01H)", the special symbol change start process (step S306) is executed, if it is "Changing (02H)", the special symbol change process (step S307) is executed, and if it is "Confirming (03H)", the special symbol confirmation time process (step S308) is executed. Here, the above-mentioned "Waiting" indicates that the behavior of the special symbol is in a waiting state for the next change, "Changing" indicates that the behavior of the special symbol is changing (changing display), and the above-mentioned "Confirming" indicates that the change of the special symbol has ended and is displayed as stopped (confirmed) (during the special symbol confirmation time). These processes realize the special symbol change display operation (a display operation that sets the start and stop of change). Details of the special symbol change start process (step S306) and the special symbol confirmation time process (step S308), which are closely related to the present invention, will be described later in Figure 12, Figures 11 to 13, and Figures 14A to 14B, respectively.

When any of the above steps S306 to S308 is completed, the special symbol display data update process is performed in step S309, which will be described later. In this special symbol display data update process, it is determined whether the special symbol is changing or not, and if it is changing, data for the special symbol that flashes repeatedly at predetermined intervals (data for the 7-segment flashing display while changing) is created, and if the special symbol is not changing, data for the stationary display (data for the 7-segment flashing display while the stationary display is being displayed) is created. The special symbol display data created here is output as LED data in the LED management process (step S098) in FIG. 9, and the special symbol changing and stationary display is realized in the special symbol display devices 38a and 38b. This leaves the special symbol management process, and the special electric device management process in step S095 in FIG. 9 is executed.

<9. Special Diagram 1 Starting Port Check Processing: Figure 11>
With reference to FIG. 11, the special chart 1 start port check process (step S301 in FIG. 10) will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the details of the special chart 1 start port check process (step S301). This special chart 1 start port check process plays a role as a winning process executed based on the establishment of a predetermined starting condition, and is mainly composed of a process related to reserved memory when a game ball wins in the upper start port 34 and a process related to pre-reading judgment. The special chart 1 start port check process and the special chart 2 start port check process are essentially the same process content, with the only difference being whether the process content is related to the special chart 1 side or the special chart 2 side. Therefore, in order to avoid overlapping description, the special chart 1 start port check process will be described here.

In FIG. 11, the CPU 201 first determines whether a winning ball has been detected at the upper starting hole 34 (step S311).

If a winning entry is detected at the upper starting hole 34 (the starting hole on the special drawing 1 side) (step S311: YES), it is determined whether the number of balls reserved for operation on the special drawing 1 is 4 or more (step S312). In other words, it is determined whether the number of balls reserved for operation on the special drawing 1 is less than the maximum reserved memory number (here, 4). Note that if a winning entry is not detected at the upper starting hole 34 (step S311: NO), the special drawing 1 starting hole check process is exited without doing anything.

If the number of reserved balls in operation for special chart 1 is 4 or more, that is, if an over-winning occurs that exceeds the maximum reserved memory number (step S312: YES), an over-winning command specifying an over-winning (for example, B406H for special chart 1, B506H for special chart 2) is sent to the performance control unit 24 (step S324). On the other hand, if the number of reserved balls in operation for special chart 1 is not 4 or more, that is, if it is less than 4 (step S312: NO), 1 is added (+1) to the number of reserved balls in operation for special chart 1 (step S313), and the process proceeds to step S314.

When the process proceeds to step S314, various random numbers used in the special pattern change display game 1 related to the currently generated special pattern 1 activation reserved ball are obtained (step S314). Specifically, the current values of the random numbers for jackpot determination, special pattern determination, and change pattern are obtained from various random number counters, and the obtained random number values are stored in the reserved memory area of the RAM in the area. This reserved memory area is an area that stores predetermined game information related to the pattern change display game as activation reserved balls (reserved data), and in this reserved memory area, the above-mentioned various random number values as reserved data are reserved and stored in the order of establishment of the starting conditions (order of winning) until they are used for the special pattern 1 activation display operation (until the special pattern change display game 1 is executed). In addition, the reserved memory area is provided with reserved memory areas corresponding to the special pattern 1 side and the special pattern 2 side (special pattern 1 reserved memory area corresponding to special pattern 1 and special pattern 2 reserved memory area corresponding to special pattern 2), and each is capable of storing reserved data for the maximum number of activation reserved balls.

Next, the command data (winning command 1) corresponding to the lower byte (EVENT) of the winning command is read from the win command, and the read-ahead prohibition data (EVENT: "9FH") that prohibits the read-ahead judgment is obtained (step S315), and then it is determined whether or not the "read-ahead prohibition condition" is satisfied (step S316). This "read-ahead prohibition condition" is a condition that prohibits the read-ahead judgment, specifically, a condition that prohibits the read-ahead notice. If the special chart 1 start hole check process is in progress, it is determined whether or not the read-ahead prohibition condition for the special chart 1 operation reserved ball is satisfied, and if the special chart 2 start hole check process is in progress, it is determined whether or not the read-ahead prohibition condition for the special chart 2 operation reserved ball is satisfied. In this embodiment, if the current game state is a game state accompanied by an electric support state (time-saving state or probability state), that is, a game state in which a special chart 2 activation reserved ball is likely to occur, it is set to "special chart 1 pre-reading prohibited", and if it is a game state accompanied by a non-electric support state (normal state or potential state), that is, a game state in which a special chart 1 activation reserved ball is likely to occur, it is set to "special chart 2 pre-reading prohibited". Therefore, in the judgment process of step S316, if the current game state is a time-saving state or probability state, the special chart 1 pre-reading prohibition condition is established, and the judgment result is 'YES'. In addition, whether special chart 1 or special chart 2 is to be pre-read can be determined according to the internal game state (game state judgment number YJ) and/or the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode.

If the above-mentioned special chart 1 pre-reading prohibition condition is met (step S316: YES), the process skips steps S317 to S320 and proceeds to step S321 described below. In this case, the process related to the pre-reading judgment targeting the current special chart 1 activation reserved ball (steps 318 to S320) is not executed, and a winning command with pre-reading prohibition data (EVENT: "9FH") is created (see the random number judgment process when winning the starting hole in step S320 described below). As a result, the execution of the pre-reading notice for the current activation reserved ball is controlled to a prohibited state (the pre-reading notice for the current activation reserved ball is not executed).

If the special chart 1 pre-reading prohibition condition is not met (step S316: NO), then it is determined whether the setting error flag is ON (5AH) (step S317). If the setting error flag is ON (step S317: = 5AH), that is, if a RAM error (setting abnormality error) has occurred, the pre-reading judgment process (steps S318 to S320) is skipped and the process proceeds to step S321 described below. In this case, the pre-reading judgment targeting the current activation reserved ball is not executed, and a winning command with pre-reading prohibition data (EVENT: "9FH") is created, and the pre-reading notice is not executed. In other words, the pre-reading prohibition data (9FH) is data that specifies that the pre-reading judgment process (steps S318 to S320) has not been executed.

If the setting error flag is not ON (step S317: ≠ 5AH), a setting value command is sent to execute random number determination processing (step S318). This random number determination processing is performed as part of the 'pre-reading determination' processing, and here, a 'pre-reading winning/losing determination' is performed to determine in advance the 'winning/losing lottery at the start of fluctuation (step S410 in FIG. 12 described below)' which is executed when the current pending activation ball is used for the fluctuation display operation.

(Settings command)
The "setting value command" includes information that can identify the current setting value, and is used by the performance control unit 24 when controlling the appearance of a preview performance based on that setting value (a setting suggestion performance, described below). This setting value command is sent each time an activated reserved ball is generated during the start port check process. This allows the performance control unit 24 to control the appearance of a preview performance related to an activated reserved ball (for example, a setting suggestion performance related to a look-ahead preview performance) based on correct setting value information. Note that in the case of a "non-setting gaming machine" or a "one-step setting type," setting value information is not required, so there is no need to send a setting value command (there is no need to provide a process for sending a setting value command).

In the random number determination process of step S318, first, a "win random number determination table (not shown)" is obtained, and a random value for determining a jackpot is obtained. Then, based on the obtained random value for determining a jackpot and the win random number determination table, a lottery (pre-reading win/loss determination) is performed for the currently activated reserved ball, and the lottery result (pre-reading win/loss result) is obtained.

The above winning random number determination table has winning random number determination tables (winning random number determination table for special pattern 1, winning random number determination table for special pattern 2) corresponding to the special pattern type (special pattern 1, special pattern 2). Therefore, the "winning random number determination table for special pattern 1" is referenced in the special pattern 1 start hole check process related to special pattern 1, and the "winning random number determination table for special pattern 2" is referenced in the special pattern 2 start hole check process related to special pattern 2. This winning random number determination table is also used when conducting the winning/losing lottery in the "random number determination process for determining the operation of special electric role (step S410 in FIG. 12)" described below.

In these winning random number judgment tables, judgment areas (judgment values (distribution values)) for determining the winning or losing type (whether it is a winning or losing jackpot, a small winning or a special time-saving winning or losing jackpot, or a losing jackpot) are associated with the winning or losing type random number value (size of the winning or losing type random number: 65536) for each winning or losing jackpot lottery probability state (high probability or low probability). Specifically, the winning or losing type is determined by whether the winning or losing type random number value belongs to any judgment value (distribution value). In this embodiment, since the special probability state does not occur, there is no judgment area for high probability.

In the case of a "type with setting function" having multiple setting values (for example, settings 1 to 6), the above-mentioned winning random number determination table can be provided with a winning determination table corresponding to each setting value (settings 1 to 6) (a table in which at least the probability of winning a jackpot differs depending on settings 1 to 6).

After completing the random number determination process in step S318 described above, the special stop symbol data creation process is then executed (step S319). This special stop symbol data creation process is performed as part of the 'pre-reading determination' process, and here, a 'pre-reading symbol determination' is performed to determine in advance the 'symbol lottery at the start of fluctuation (step S411 in FIG. 12 described below)' which is executed when the current pending activation ball is used for the fluctuation display operation.

In the special stop symbol data creation process, a "symbol table (not shown)" is selected according to the pre-read result obtained in step S318 and the special symbol type (special symbol 1 or special symbol 2) to be processed this time. Then, the random number value for special symbol determination obtained in step S314 is obtained, and a symbol lottery (pre-read symbol determination) for the currently activated reserved ball is executed based on the selected symbol table and the obtained random number value for special symbol determination, and the lottery result (pre-read symbol result) is obtained.

The "design table" includes a "jackpot design table", a "small jackpot design table", a "special time-saving table", and a "miss design table" for determining the jackpot type, the small jackpot type, the special time-saving type, and the miss design table, which are provided in accordance with the special design type. For example, if only "jackpot type, small jackpot type, and miss design type" are defined as the winning type on the special design 2 side, the design table for the special design 2 is provided with a "jackpot design table", a "small jackpot design table", and a "miss design table", excluding the "special time-saving table". These design tables are also used when drawing designs at the start of the fluctuation in the special stop design creation process (step S411 in FIG. 12) described later.

In the symbol table, a judgment area (judgment value) for determining the winning type (symbol type) and a random number value for special symbol judgment (for example, the size of the random number value for special symbol judgment: 100) are associated and defined. In addition, the symbol table also defines special symbol judgment data and special stop symbol number corresponding to the winning type, and the winning type is determined according to a predetermined symbol selection rate depending on which judgment value the random number value for special symbol judgment belongs to, and the special symbol judgment data and special stop symbol number are obtained as data indicating the selection result. For example, in the case of a jackpot, one of the jackpot types (one of jackpots A to C) is determined according to the symbol selection rate shown in Figure 4A, and in the case of a loss, one of the loss types (one of loss A to C) is determined according to the symbol selection rate shown in Figure 4C.

The "special symbol determination data" is data that identifies the type of winning (type of winning: big win type, small win type, special time-saving type, and miss type). Specifically, it is data for identifying which type of winning (in this embodiment, big win A to big win D, small win A, small win B, special time-saving A to C, miss A to C) has been won. This special symbol determination data is used in processes that require winning type information. Processes that require special symbol determination data include various processes such as the game state transition preparation process in step S412 in FIG. 12 described later, the special symbol variation pattern creation process in step S413, and processes related to the execution control of winning games such as big win types and small win types (special electric device management process in step S093 in FIG. 9 described later).

The "special stop pattern number" is data that specifies the special stop pattern mode to be displayed on the special pattern display device, and is used when the main control unit 20 specifies the type of special stop pattern (the display mode of the '7-segment' in this embodiment). The special stop pattern number is basically different depending on the type of win, but even for the same type of win, the display mode of the special stop pattern displayed on the special pattern display device may be different. For example, when winning jackpot A, the display mode of the special stop pattern displayed on the special pattern display device may be different, such as "H" and "F". Note that normal patterns are also provided with normal pattern determination data and normal stop pattern numbers, just like special patterns.

After the special stop symbol data creation process in step S319 described above is completed, the random number determination process when the ball enters the start hole is then executed (step S320). This random number determination process when the ball enters the start hole is also performed as part of the 'pre-reading determination' process, in which a 'pre-reading fluctuation pattern determination' is performed to determine in advance the 'fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation' when the current pending activation ball is used for the fluctuation display operation. Specifically, the result of the 'special symbol fluctuation pattern creation process (step S413)' shown in Figure 12 described below is pre-read and determined.

In detail, the result of the look-ahead pattern determination obtained in the special stop pattern data creation process (step S319) (at least the winning/losing lottery result obtained in the random number determination process (step S318)) and the random number for the variation pattern obtained in step S314 (the size of the random number: 10,000) are used to look-ahead and determine the "variation pattern at the start of the variation" related to the current operation reserved ball. This look-ahead pattern determination is performed by referring to a separately provided "look-ahead determination table" that has the same basic configuration as the variation pattern allocation table used at the start of the variation, since it determines the variation pattern at the start of the variation in advance. However, in the case of this embodiment, in order to reduce the program capacity, the variation pattern allocation table is provided as a table for "combined use at the time of winning (look-ahead determination) and at the start of the variation", and the variation pattern allocation table is referenced both at the time of winning and at the start of the variation, and the variation pattern at the start of the variation can be looked-ahead and determined based on the obtained random number for the variation pattern.

Then, as the result of the look-ahead judgment, "winning command data" that specifies the look-ahead fluctuation pattern is obtained. Here, the command data that constitutes the winning command is "MODE 1 (first byte (higher byte))" command data that can identify whether it is a hit or a miss, and "EVENT (second byte (lower byte))" command data that can identify the contents of the look-ahead fluctuation pattern. In other words, the contents of the look-ahead fluctuation pattern (excluding the information on the number of balls in operation) are specified by the command data that is determined in the random number judgment process when the ball is won at the starting port.

The following explains the random number determination process (step S320) when the starting gate wins, touching on the processing contents of the fluctuation pattern allocation table according to this embodiment not only at the time of the pre-reading determination (when a winning symbol is won) but also at the time when the fluctuation starts (see the special symbol fluctuation pattern creation process (step S413) in FIG. 12 described later).

The random number determination process when the starting port is won includes the following processes (a) and (b) as a process for determining a "winning command" for specifying a pre-reading fluctuation pattern.
(a) A “winning time fluctuation pattern allocation table determination process” that determines a “fluctuation pattern allocation table” by referring to a “fluctuation pattern allocation table selection table” (not shown);
(b) A "winning command data determination process (pre-reading fluctuation pattern determination process)" which refers to the "variation pattern allocation table" determined in (a) above (e.g., Figures 26 to 28) and determines winning command data corresponding to the pre-reading fluctuation pattern based on the obtained random number value for the fluctuation pattern.

In the above-mentioned "variation pattern allocation table selection table", multiple types of "variation pattern allocation tables" associated with the special symbol type, winning type, number of reserved balls in operation, and the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode (current game state) are defined. Specifically, based on the special symbol type, winning type, number of reserved balls in operation, and the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode, one of the multiple types of variation pattern allocation tables is determined. This variation pattern allocation table selection table is a variation pattern allocation table selection table that is used (common) at the time of winning and at the start of variation, and is used not only when determining the "winning command" at the time of winning (at the time of pre-reading judgment), but also when determining the "variation pattern designation command" at the start of variation (see the special symbol variation pattern creation process in step S413 in FIG. 12 described later).

However, when making a look-ahead judgment (the "Winning-time fluctuation pattern allocation table determination process" described above), the number of activated balls at the time of judgment may differ between winning and the start of fluctuation, so the number of activated balls is ignored (the number of activated balls is set to 0) and the desired fluctuation pattern allocation table is selected from the above fluctuation pattern allocation table selection table (this will be described later). On the other hand, at the start of fluctuation, the value obtained by subtracting the number of activated balls to be used for the current fluctuation display operation from the existing activated balls (number of activated balls - 1) is referenced as information on the number of activated balls (for example, see the "Number of activated balls" column in Figures 26 to 28, and steps S403 and S413 of the special pattern fluctuation start process in Figure 12 described later).

(Fluctuation pattern allocation table (when winning))
Next, the above-mentioned "variation pattern allocation table" will be described. An example of the variation pattern allocation table according to this embodiment is shown in Fig. 26 to Fig. 28. In Fig. 26 to Fig. 28, the variation pattern allocation table selected at the time of a miss, which is closely related to the present invention, is shown, and the variation pattern allocation table selected at the time of a big win, a small win, or a special time-saving winning (win variation pattern allocation table, special time-saving variation pattern allocation table) is omitted from the illustration.

The following data groups are defined in the fluctuation pattern allocation table. This will be explained with reference to Figures 26 to 28.

(Data on predictive fluctuation patterns)
(a) In the variation pattern allocation table, command data for configuring a "winning command" that specifies a look-ahead variation pattern and a judgment value related to a random number value for the variation pattern are associated with each other. The winning command is composed of two-byte control data: command data ("MODE1" in the figure) on the upper byte (first byte) side that can specify the type of winning (here, whether it is a win, a miss, or a special time reduction) and command data ("EVENT" in the figure) on the lower byte (second byte) side that can specify the contents of the look-ahead variation pattern (see Note 1 in FIG. 26).

When making a look-ahead judgment, the variation pattern allocation table is referenced, and the winning command data (look-ahead variation pattern) is determined by a lottery using the random number value for the variation pattern (whether the random number value for the variation pattern belongs to which judgment value). This creates a winning command, and specifies the contents of the look-ahead variation pattern. For example, if the current variation is "Special chart 1 side, Miss A, Heaven mode (normal)" (the number of balls in operation is determined to be zero when winning), the variation pattern allocation table "FH1" shown in FIG. 26 is referenced, and if the acquired random number value for the variation pattern is, for example, a value that belongs to "normal variation 16s", "B004H" (normal variation 16s specification) is created as a winning command that specifies the look-ahead variation pattern. When the winning command is sent to the performance control unit 24, the performance control unit 24 grasps the contents of the look-ahead variation pattern (look-ahead variation pattern information) and uses it for performance processing related to the look-ahead notice.

(Data on fluctuation patterns at the start of fluctuations)
(B) In addition, in the fluctuation pattern allocation table, command data for constituting a "fluctuation pattern designation command" that designates the fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation and a judgment value related to the random number value for the fluctuation pattern are associated and determined. The fluctuation pattern designation command is composed of two bytes of control data: command data on the upper byte (first byte) side ("MODE 2" in the figure) that can specify whether it is a hit, a miss, or a special time reduction, and command data on the lower byte (second byte) side ("EVENT" in the figure) that can specify the content of the fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation (see Note 2 in FIG. 26).

When determining the fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation (see the special symbol fluctuation pattern creation process (step S413) in FIG. 12 described later), the above fluctuation pattern allocation table is referenced in the same way as when a prize is won, and the fluctuation pattern designation command data (fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation) is determined by a lottery using a random number value for the fluctuation pattern. However, at the start of fluctuation, a fluctuation pattern allocation table that takes into account the number of pending balls in operation is referenced. This creates a fluctuation pattern designation command, and the contents of the fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation are specified. When the fluctuation pattern designation command is sent to the performance control unit 24, the fluctuation pattern at the start of fluctuation is grasped by the performance control unit 24, and the fluctuation pattern information is used for performance processing related to the symbol fluctuation display game.

For ease of explanation, Figures 26 to 28 show the "selection rate" (or more accurately, the range of judgment values), but in reality, a judgment area (a judgment area that can determine which of the judgment values from 0 to 9999 it belongs to) is set for determining the winning command data or the variation pattern designation command according to the random number value for the variation pattern, and the command data (variation pattern) is determined depending on which judgment value the random number value for the variation pattern belongs to.

Specifically, the relationship between the random number value for the fluctuation pattern and the judgment value is as follows. For example, if we take the failure fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH1" in Figure 26 as a representative example, looking from the top to the bottom of the front of the drawing and referring to the place where the judgment value is first written, the judgment values are written in the order of "10", "8990", and "1000". This content is such that if the random number value for the fluctuation pattern (BRND = 0 to 9999) falls within the range of judgment values 0 to 9 (corresponding to the above-mentioned "10" entry column), command data specifying "normal fluctuation 13s" is selected, if it falls within the range of judgment values 10 to 8999 (corresponding to the above-mentioned "8990" entry column), command data specifying "normal fluctuation 16s" is selected, and if it falls within the range of judgment values 9000 to 9999 (corresponding to the above-mentioned "1000" entry column), command data specifying "N reach 1" is selected. In this embodiment, the blank spaces in the figure, that is, the addresses where the judgment values are stored, do not store judgment value data, but store a judgment value of "0." This is to facilitate adjustment of the selection rate when developing a new model or during the design and development stage.

In this embodiment, when making a pre-reading judgment (when a win occurs), the number of activated reserved balls is ignored (the number of activated reserved balls is set to zero), and the desired fluctuation pattern allocation table is selected by referring to the above-mentioned "variation pattern allocation table selection table." The reason for this is as follows.

The above-mentioned "variation pattern allocation table selection table" according to this embodiment is used both at the time of winning and at the start of variation, but the number of active reserved balls at the time of winning does not necessarily match the number of active reserved balls at the start of variation. However, if the number of active reserved balls at the time of the pre-reading judgment does not match the number of active reserved balls at the start of variation, and the pre-reading variation pattern is judged by simply ignoring the number of active reserved balls, there is a possibility that a large difference will occur between the content of the pre-reading variation pattern and the content of the variation pattern at the start of variation, and as a result, there is a risk of a large discrepancy between the content of the pre-reading notice and the notice performance during the variation performance (pre-reading notice during variation). In detail, at the time of winning, the main control unit 20 sends a "winning time command" including pre-reading variation pattern information to the performance control unit 24, and the performance control unit 24 that receives this sends a performance control related to the pre-reading notice performance based on the reserved addition command. On the other hand, at the start of the change, the main control unit 20 sends a "change pattern designation command" including change pattern information at the start of the change to the performance control unit 24, and the performance control unit 24, which receives this, performs performance control regarding the change during the change, including the change display operation performance of the decorative pattern during the decorative pattern change display game (decorative pattern performance) and the notice performance (change during notice performance) based on the change pattern designation command. From this relationship, if there is a large difference between the content of the look-ahead change pattern and the content of the change pattern at the start of the change, the relevance between the content of the look-ahead notice and the content of the change during notice will be lost, the reliability and interest of the look-ahead notice will decrease, and the player's motivation to play may be reduced. For example, even if a green reserved with a fairly high winning expectation appears as a reserved change notice, there is a case where the change during the change performance does not produce a hype performance such as a reach or a pseudo consecutive win, and ends with a simple normal change. Therefore, in this embodiment, the look-ahead judgment has the following characteristic element (first characteristic element).

(First Characteristic Element)
26, for example, when the current game state is normal, the activated reserved ball to be pre-read this time is the special chart 1 side, and the winning type is miss A (special chart 1 side miss A), as described above, when the pre-read judgment is made, the miss variation pattern allocation table "FH1" is selected regardless of the number of activated reserved balls (when the pre-read judgment is made, the number of activated reserved balls is judged as 0). On the other hand, when the fluctuation starts, one of the variation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH4" is selected depending on the number of activated reserved balls (see the "Tcode = 00H (normal), special chart 1, miss A" column in FIG. 26).

Here, in the fluctuation pattern sorting tables "FH3" and "FH4", "normal fluctuation 4s, normal fluctuation 8s, normal fluctuation 13s" and the like belonging to the normal fluctuation (normal fluctuation pattern) type can be selected, but these are defined as "non-pre-reading prediction fluctuation pattern types" in which no pre-reading prediction is executed. Specifically, this non-pre-reading prediction fluctuation pattern is a pre-reading fluctuation pattern that is "not subject to pre-reading prediction lottery" or "subject to pre-reading prediction lottery but has zero winning probability (pre-reading prediction not executed)." In this embodiment, the only fluctuation pattern (pre-reading prediction fluctuation pattern) that is subject to pre-reading prediction among the normal fluctuation types is "normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading prediction" that can be selected in the case of miss B (see "FH5" in Figure 26).

Furthermore, in the fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1" and "FH2", in addition to "normal fluctuation 13s and normal fluctuation 16s" which belong to the normal fluctuation type, N reach 1 which belongs to the N reach type can be selected. Here, a simple "N reach 1" belongs to the above-mentioned "non-preview forecast fluctuation pattern" and is different from the "preview forecast reach 1" where a preview forecast is executed.

Therefore, if you win the special chart 1 side miss A during normal play, the fluctuation pattern (pre-read fluctuation pattern) that is the target of the pre-reading notice will not be selected at the time of winning ("FH1" is selected during the pre-reading judgment). In other words, even in cases where different fluctuation patterns are determined at the time of winning and at the start of the fluctuation, for example, when it is determined to be "N reach" during the pre-reading judgment and "normal fluctuation" at the start of the fluctuation, in the case of the special chart 1 side miss A during normal play, the pre-reading notice will not appear, so there will be no problem such as "the relationship between the contents of the pre-reading notice and the contents of the fluctuation notice will be lost" as described above.

As mentioned above, it is not necessary to configure the system so that no pre-reading notice appears at all. If the pre-reading notice rarely appears when normal fluctuation 13s, normal fluctuation 16s, or N reach 1 is selected, no particular problem is expected to occur. For example, at least one of the normal fluctuation 13s, normal fluctuation 16s, and N reach 1 may be determined as the pre-reading notice fluctuation pattern. In this case, it is preferable to determine "normal fluctuation 13s" and/or "N reach", which have a relatively low selection rate, as the pre-reading notice fluctuation pattern, and more preferably, normal fluctuation 13s, which has the lowest selection rate, as the pre-reading notice fluctuation pattern. However, in this case, in order to prevent the pre-reading notice from appearing excessively, it is preferable to set the appearance rate of the pre-reading notice (probability of winning the pre-reading lottery) to a lower probability than the pre-reading notice fluctuation pattern (normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice and/or N reach 1 for pre-reading notice).

Also, as shown in Figure 26, when the current game state is normal and you win a miss B on the special chart 1 side (miss B on the special chart 1 side during normal), or you win a miss C on the special chart 1 side (miss C on the special chart 1 side during normal), or you win a miss D on the special chart 2 side (miss on the special chart 2 side during normal), the same miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH5", "FH6", and "FH7" are selected regardless of the number of balls in operation at the time of winning and the start of the fluctuation. Also, as shown in Figure 27, during a small time-saving period (Tcode = 01H), the same events occur as during the normal period (Tcode = 00H) described above.

As described above, in this embodiment, efforts have been made to minimize the occurrence of problems such as the correlation between the contents of the pre-reading forecast and the contents of the changing forecast being lost in each game state.

(Regarding the second characteristic element)
Generally, even without electric support, the number of active reserved balls can change by about 1 or 2 in a relatively short time. By utilizing this, if the variation pattern according to the number of active reserved balls can be selected, it is possible to change the presentation time (execution time of the pattern variation display game) for each pattern variation display game, and generate a variety of presentations.

However, if the average execution time (pattern change time) of one symbol change display game during a losing spell is set to a short time (for example, about a few seconds), the occurrence of so-called "change slump (a period when the symbol change display game is not being executed)" increases, making players more likely to feel that "it's not spinning, it's not fun," reducing interest in the game and lowering the repeat rate of the game. Therefore, it is thought that if the average execution time of one symbol change display game is lengthened, it will be easier to accumulate activated reserved balls, and the occurrence of change slump can be reduced.

However, if the execution time of the pattern change display game is made unnecessarily long, the game progress speed will slow down, the performance during the change will become uninteresting, and the tension of the big win caused by the advance notice will be broken, making the player feel bored and dissatisfied. Also, if the execution time of the pattern change display game is made unnecessarily long, it will be easy for the operating reserved balls to overflow (initial winning exceeding the maximum number of reserved memories (4)), in other words, many of the game execution rights will be lost, and the player's motivation to play may decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a way to generate a well-balanced execution time of the pattern change display game. For example, it is important to have a change pattern selection technique that takes into account the number of operating reserved balls and the game state at the start of the change. In particular, it is important to have a change pattern selection technique that focuses on the missing times that players often encounter during the game progress.

In consideration of these issues, this embodiment has a unique configuration for selecting a miss fluctuation pattern, particularly during "normal" or "slightly time-saving" play, when the duration of play is relatively long in terms of game progress, i.e., when the game progresses, these are the main game states. The following will be explained using Figures 26 and 27.

As already explained, in this embodiment, in order to make it difficult for the player to distinguish whether the current game state is in the micro-time-saving mode (Hell mode) or the normal mode (Heaven mode), the "normal mode miss fluctuation pattern allocation table" shown in FIG. 26 and the "micro-time-saving mode miss fluctuation pattern allocation table" shown in FIG. 27 are configured to be substantially identical. First, the "normal mode miss fluctuation pattern allocation table" shown in FIG. 26 will be explained.

<A. Characteristics of the fluctuation pattern allocation table for winning during normal wins: FIG. 26>
The normal miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH7" will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the miss type includes multiple types of misses A to C, and the pattern selection rate for these is 95% for miss A, 4% for miss B, and 1% for miss C (see the "Pattern Selection Rate" column in Figure 4C). Here, as shown in Figure 26, if you win the miss A on the special chart 1 side, one of the fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH4" is selected depending on the number of balls in operation. However, if you win the miss B on the special chart 1 side, the common fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH5" is selected regardless of the number of balls in operation, and if you win the miss C on the special chart 1 side, the common fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH6" is selected regardless of the number of balls in operation, just like the miss B mentioned above. Also, if you win any of the misses A to C on the special chart 2 side, the common fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH7" is selected regardless of the number of balls in operation.

These normal miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1" to "FH7" have the following characteristics (α) to (ε). For ease of explanation, below, a fluctuation pattern allocation table that is selected regardless of the number of reserved balls in operation (a fluctuation pattern allocation table that is used in common for each number of reserved balls in operation), such as the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH7", is also referred to as a "common fluctuation pattern allocation table". In addition, a fluctuation pattern allocation table that is selected according to the number of reserved balls in operation is also referred to as a "variation pattern allocation table by reserved number".

In addition, in Fig. 26 and Fig. 27, as an example of a variation pattern distribution table by reserved number, the variation pattern distribution tables "FH1 (reserved number 0) to FH4 (reserved number 4)" are shown, which are selected according to each number of reserved balls in operation (for each reserved ball number of operation of 1 to 4, respectively). However, even if a common variation pattern distribution table is selected for some of the reserved balls in operation and a different variation pattern distribution table is selected for the rest, they are treated as belonging to this "variation pattern distribution table by reserved number". For example, when the reserved ball number is 0 to 1, the "first variation pattern distribution table (e.g., "FH1 (reserved ball number 0, 1)") is selected, when the reserved ball number is 3, the "second variation pattern distribution table (e.g., "FH3 (reserved ball number 3)")" is selected, and when the reserved ball number is 3, the "third variation pattern distribution table (e.g., "FH4 (reserved ball number 4)")" is selected.

(A-1. Fluctuation pattern allocation table for when you win A during normal draws on the special chart 1 side (fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number) "FH1-FH4")

(First feature)
(α) Each of the miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH4" is at least "selectable from multiple types of normal fluctuations." Specifically, when "FH1" is selected, normal fluctuation 13s, normal fluctuation 16s, or N reach 1 (fluctuation time 26s) may be selected, and when "FH2" is selected, normal fluctuation 13s, normal fluctuation 16s, or N reach 1 may be selected. Also, when "FH3" is selected, normal fluctuation 8s or normal fluctuation 13s may be selected, and when "FH4" is selected, normal fluctuation 4s or normal fluctuation 8s may be selected. Normal fluctuation 16s belongs to the "longest normal fluctuation (longest normal fluctuation pattern) type" which has the longest fluctuation time among normal fluctuation types, and normal fluctuation 4s belongs to the "shortest normal fluctuation (shortest normal fluctuation pattern) type" which has the shortest fluctuation time among normal fluctuation types. In this embodiment, depending on the number of active reserved balls (reserved memory number), the "normal variation 16s", which has a variation time that is approximately the same as the variation time of at least the "normal variation 16s for advance notice", can be selected (determined) with different selection rates.

The present invention can be configured as in (Z1) to (Z3).
(Z1) The present invention may include a miss fluctuation pattern allocation table in which the longest normal fluctuation and/or the shortest normal fluctuation can be selected at different selection rates depending on the number of pending balls in operation.
(Z2) The present invention can also include a first miss fluctuation pattern allocation table that can select, depending on the number of reserved balls for activation, either a first specific fluctuation pattern (e.g., normal fluctuation 16s) or a shortened fluctuation pattern having a shorter fluctuation time than the first specific fluctuation pattern (e.g., normal fluctuation 4s, normal fluctuation 8s, or normal fluctuation 13s), and a second miss fluctuation pattern allocation table that can determine a second specific fluctuation pattern (e.g., normal fluctuation 16s for advance notice) having approximately the same fluctuation time as the first specific fluctuation pattern regardless of the number of reserved balls for activation.
(Z3) The present invention can also include a first miss fluctuation pattern allocation table that can determine a first specific fluctuation pattern (for example, normal fluctuation 16s) with different selection rates depending on the number of reserved balls in operation, and a second miss fluctuation pattern allocation table that can determine a second specific fluctuation pattern (for example, normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice) that has a fluctuation time that is substantially the same as the fluctuation time of the first specific fluctuation pattern regardless of the number of reserved balls in operation. In this case, the selection rate of the first specific fluctuation pattern (normal fluctuation 16s) can be configured to be different for each number of reserved balls in operation.

Therefore, if we look at the overall picture of the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH1-FH4", when a miss (miss A in this embodiment) that players encounter frequently in the course of the game is won, if there are relatively many operating reserved balls (when the number of reserved balls is 2-3), a fluctuation pattern with a relatively short fluctuation time is likely to be selected, and if there are relatively few operating reserved balls (when the number of reserved balls is 0-1), a fluctuation pattern with a relatively long fluctuation time is likely to be selected. This allows for an appropriate level of speed and slowness in the fluctuation time, which can contribute to reducing the occurrence rate of a fluctuation slump. As a result, the player feels as if the operating reserved balls are accumulated and the game is being played continuously. Also, in the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH1-FH4", normal fluctuation is selected with a high probability for any number of operating reserved balls, but the smaller the number of operating reserved balls, the higher the probability of a reach fluctuation being selected. The reach variation to be selected is "N reach (a reach variation with a relatively short variation time)" which belongs to the low expectation reach, and in this embodiment, in particular, in the case of miss A, the predictive prediction variation pattern is not selected. This prevents unnecessary excitement over the expectation of winning when there is a miss.

The failure fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH4" according to this embodiment contribute to reducing the occurrence rate of fluctuation slumps, and can create a well-balanced pattern fluctuation display game that does not unnecessarily increase the expectation of winning when a failure occurs.

Note that the miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1" and "FH2" are configured to allow "reach fluctuation (reach fluctuation pattern)" to be selected, in other words, the reach fluctuation can be selected when the number of activated reserved balls is relatively small, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the reach fluctuation can be selected only in the fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH1", that is, the reach fluctuation can be selected only when the number of activated reserved balls is the smallest. Also, the fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1-FH4" may be configured to allow only normal fluctuation to be selected.

In this embodiment, when normal fluctuation types are distinguished by the length of the fluctuation time, fluctuation patterns of 10 seconds or more, such as the normal fluctuation 16s type and normal fluctuation 13s type, are treated as "long fluctuation patterns" with relatively long fluctuation times. On the other hand, fluctuation patterns of less than 10 seconds, such as the normal fluctuation 4s type and normal fluctuation 8s type, are treated as "short fluctuation patterns" with relatively short fluctuation times. The reason for this distinction is that in a typical pinball game machine, if game balls are continuously fired for about 10 seconds, it is believed that there is a high probability that an activated reserved ball will be generated. Note that short fluctuation patterns are more likely to be selected when there are a large number of existing activated reserved balls.

(Second feature)
(β) The miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH4" are set so that the fluctuation time of the fluctuation pattern with the highest selection rate (high frequency fluctuation pattern) among the fluctuation patterns determined by each table is different. That is, the fluctuation time of the high frequency fluctuation pattern is set so that it is longer in the order of "FH4 (reservation 3), FH3 (reservation 2), FH2 (reservation 1), FH1 (reservation 0)". That is, the fluctuation time of the high frequency fluctuation pattern is set so that it is longer relatively as the number of reserved balls in operation decreases. In the case of this embodiment, the above-mentioned high frequency fluctuation pattern is "normal fluctuation (normal fluctuation pattern)" (high frequency normal fluctuation pattern), and specifically, as shown in FIG. 26, in the case of the fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH1", it is "normal fluctuation 16s", in the case of "FH2", it is "normal fluctuation 13s", in the case of "FH3", it is "normal fluctuation 8s", and in the case of "FH4", it is "normal fluctuation 4s". In addition, the average fluctuation time (average execution time of one symbol fluctuation display game) when the fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH1 to FH4" is selected is set so that the average fluctuation time becomes longer in the order of "FH4 (reserved 3), FH3 (reserved 2), FH2 (reserved 1), FH1 (reserved 0)". In other words, the average fluctuation time is set so that the smaller the number of activated reserved balls is, the longer the average fluctuation time is.

(A-2. Common variable pattern allocation table for winning B on the normal special chart 1 side: "FH5")
(Third Feature)
(γ) The miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH5" allows the selection of a fluctuation pattern type having a winning expectation of "less than the SPSP reach type (highest expectation reach type)". In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, in addition to the N reach type and the SP reach type, the "longest normal fluctuation (longest normal fluctuation pattern) type" having the longest fluctuation time among the normal fluctuation types is selectable (see the FH5 column in FIG. 26). Specifically, the "SPSP reach type (developed SPSP reach, direct hit SPSP reach)" which has a higher winning expectation than the "SP reach type" (has a longer fluctuation time than the SP reach type) is not selected. The average fluctuation time when this miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH5" is selected is relatively longer than the miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH4" described above.

(A-3. Common variable pattern allocation table for winning the normal special chart 1 side C: "FH6")
(Fourth Feature)
(δ) The miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH6" allows at least the "SPSP reach type" to be selected, that is, the highest expectation reach fluctuation type to be selected. In other words, it can be said that this is a table configuration in which the fluctuation pattern with the longest fluctuation time is selected among the reach fluctuation patterns. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in the figure, only the SPSP reach type (developed SPSP reach, direct hit SPSP reach) is selectable. Therefore, the average fluctuation time when the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH6" is selected is longer (the longest average fluctuation time) than the other normal miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 to FH5".

(A-4. Common variable pattern allocation table for winning during normal wins on the special chart 2 side: "FH7")
(Fifth Feature)
(ε) The miss variation pattern allocation table "FH7" is a variation pattern allocation table not for the miss winning of the special chart 1 side, but for the miss winning of the special chart 2 side. In this embodiment, as already explained, due to the relationship of playability, except for the operation reserved ball (remaining reservation) reserved just before the end of the time-saving state, the special chart 2 operation reserved ball is almost never generated during normal times, and the case where the miss variation pattern allocation table "FH7" is selected is limited exclusively to the game situation after the time-saving has ended (the consecutive mode that stimulates the expectation of consecutive wins). And, the game related to the remaining reservation is a relatively short game period of a maximum of four times (less than the maximum number of reserved memories), and the player will play with a sense of tension and expectation of whether or not he will win a small win. Under such a game situation, there is no need to provide a wide variety of variation patterns, and from the viewpoint of reducing the control burden, the types of variation patterns should not be increased unnecessarily. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to ensure an appropriate presentation time and execute a presentation that stimulates the expectation of a small win, only the ``stimulation variation for remaining holds (variation time 48 s)'' is selected as a miss variation.

(B-1. Fluctuation pattern allocation table (fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number) for when you win A during the small time reduction on the special chart 1 side "FH8", "FH2 to FH4")
Next, with reference to FIG. 27, the miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH2 to FH6", "FH8", and "FH21" during the micro time-saving period will be described.

(Sixth Feature)
(ζ) As shown in FIG. 27, the difference between the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table during the micro time reduction and the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table during the normal time is that the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table for the special chart 1 side in the case of "special chart 1 side miss A, number of reserved 0" is different ("FH8" is selected during the micro time reduction, and "FH1" is selected during the normal time), and the other miss fluctuation pattern allocation tables are the same ("FH2" to "FH6" can be selected during both the micro time reduction and normal time reduction). In this embodiment, in the case of "special chart 1 side miss A, number of reserved 0", the selection rate of normal fluctuation 13s during the micro time reduction is slightly higher than during normal time, and the selection rate of normal fluctuation 16s is slightly lower than during normal time. However, the difference is slight, and it can be said that the selection rates are approximately the same (see the "FH1" column in FIG. 26 and the "FH8" column in FIG. 27, especially the gray part in FIG. 27). In other words, the average fluctuation time when the micro time-saving fluctuation pattern allocation table is selected (the average execution time of one pattern fluctuation display game) is approximately the same as the average fluctuation time when the normal fluctuation pattern allocation table is selected. Also, the micro time-saving miss fluctuation pattern allocation table on the special chart 1 side and the normal miss fluctuation pattern allocation table on the special chart 1 side have the same fluctuation pattern type to be selected. Therefore, it can be said that the micro time-saving miss fluctuation pattern allocation table on the special chart 1 side and the normal miss fluctuation pattern allocation table on the special chart 1 side have approximately the same configuration.

The configurations of the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH21" during the micro-time-saving mode and the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH7" during normal play are different, but as already explained, there are almost no cases of special chart 2 activation reserved balls occurring during the micro-time-saving mode, and the game situation in which the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH21" is selected can be treated as virtually non-existent. In other words, there is no problem in treating the overall table configuration of the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table during the micro-time-saving mode as being substantially the same (almost the same) as the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table during normal play.

Therefore, the relationship of "X ≒ Y" (X = average fluctuation time of the special chart related to the micro-time-saving state, Y = average fluctuation time of the special chart related to the normal state) in the above (Formula A1) can be realized, and the base value can be made common (the same or nearly the same) between normal and micro-time-saving states, and the effects that appear (such as effects based on fluctuation patterns (fluctuation effects)) can be made common (the same or nearly the same) between normal and micro-time-saving states. As a result, it is possible to make it extremely difficult (almost impossible) to distinguish whether the current game state is in micro-time-saving state (in hell mode) or normal state (in heaven mode). Furthermore, when at least the micro-time-saving miss fluctuation pattern allocation table on the special chart 1 side is selected, the same action and effect (see (α) to (δ) above) can be achieved as when the normal miss fluctuation pattern allocation table on the special chart 1 side is selected.

(B-2. Common fluctuation pattern allocation table for winning during the special chart 2 side micro time reduction: "FH21")
In the failure fluctuation pattern allocation table "FH21" relating to special chart 2, only the short fluctuation pattern "normal fluctuation 4s" is selected, for the following reason.

In this embodiment, there is almost no chance of a special chart 2 activation reserved ball occurring during the micro-time reduction, and if a special chart 2 activation reserved ball occurs during the micro-time reduction, it is considered that there is a high possibility of an irregular win or a fraudulent win due to cheating. Taking this into consideration, for a miss on the special chart 2 side, only the short-time variation pattern "normal variation 4s" is selected, without randomly selecting a long variation pattern or selecting a variation pattern according to the number of activation reserved balls. Note that, even during the micro-time reduction, if a special chart 2 activation reserved ball occurs, there is a possibility of a small win (see Figure 4A), but in this case, since there is a high possibility of an irregular win or a small win due to a fraudulent win, it is preferable to configure it as follows (E1) to (E3).

(E1) At least during the micro time reduction, the variation pattern at the time of winning a small win on the special chart 2 side is selected to be the same as that at the time of a loss, and from the pattern variation display to the small win game, the performance pretends to be a loss, so that the small win is not realized from the outside. In addition, in the loss variation pattern allocation table "FH21", only "normal variation 4s" is the selection target, but a variation time shorter than the variation time of 4 seconds, such as normal variation 0.5s (variation time 0.5 seconds) or normal variation 1s (variation time 1 second), may be set. In this case, the pattern variation display game is ended in an extremely short time, and even if a small win is won, the small win can be played without being realized from the outside.
(E2) In an opening/closing operation game related to a small win game, the opening/closing member (opening door 52b, V induction device) is operated in an operation pattern that makes it substantially impossible to win a prize in the large prize opening 50 and/or the V prize opening.
(E3) The above-mentioned (E1) and (E2) configurations may also be used.

(C-1. Winning fluctuation pattern allocation table)
Although the winning fluctuation pattern allocation table is not shown, a fluctuation pattern allocation table for each game state (Tcode) is provided in the same way as in the case of a loss. In the case of this embodiment, when a winning (big win or small win) is won, a fluctuation pattern allocation table according to the type of winning is selected regardless of the number of balls in operation. In addition, in the case of a winning, a normal fluctuation is not selected, and a reach fluctuation type (for example, see various reach fluctuations in FIG. 26) is selected. However, in the case of a small win, a configuration may be made in which a fluctuation dedicated to winning a small win is selected.

In addition, in the case of a special time-saving, as in the case of a win, a variation pattern allocation table for each game state (Tcode) when a special time-saving is won is provided. In addition, when a special time-saving is won, a variation pattern allocation table corresponding to the type of special time-saving is selected regardless of the number of balls in operation. Note that a special time-saving is a winning type that is selected when a jackpot is not won by lottery, and can be treated as one form of a miss. Therefore, when a special time-saving is won, either normal variation or reach variation can be selected, as in the case of a miss. However, in order to notify the winning of a special time-saving, specifically, in order to ensure the performance time width of the preview performance related to the special time-saving, it is preferable to select a long variation pattern if the normal variation type is used. Furthermore, when reach fluctuations are the selection targets, any of N reach to SPSP reach (see, for example, Figures 26 and 27) can be selected, but since special time-saving A and B are winning types that trigger a transition to a slight time-saving state, and special time-saving C is a winning type that triggers a transition to a time-saving state, in the case of special time-saving C, it is preferable that a high-expectation reach type (SP reach type) is selected with a higher probability than a low-expectation reach type (N reach type), and, in the case of special time-saving A and B, the opposite of the case of special time-saving C, that a high-expectation reach type is selected with a lower probability than a low-expectation reach type.

For example, in the case of special time-saving C, the selection rate of reach types can be "N reach 1 < reach N2 < SP reach < advanced SPSP reach < direct hit SPSP reach". Also, in the case of special time-saving A and B, the selection rate of reach types with high expectation can be "N reach 1 > reach N2 > SP reach > advanced SPSP reach > direct hit SPSP reach". Note that in the case of special time-saving A and B, high expectation reach types (SP reach, advanced SPSP reach, direct hit SPSP reach) may not be selected, and among high expectation reach types, reach types with relatively high expectation (advanced SPSP reach and direct hit SPSP reach, or direct hit SPSP reach) may not be selected.

In addition, if a special time-saving is won during a micro-time-saving, the win is treated as invalid (treated as a loss), and the loss fluctuation pattern can be selected by referring to the loss fluctuation pattern allocation table, just as in the case of a loss win. In this case, the loss fluctuation pattern allocation table corresponding to a specific loss (for example, corresponding to loss A) may be referenced for any of the special time-saving A to C. For example, the loss fluctuation pattern allocation table for the loss A win is referenced. Also, depending on the type of special time-saving, the loss fluctuation pattern allocation table corresponding to each loss may be referenced. For example, depending on each of the special time-saving A to C, the loss fluctuation pattern allocation table for the loss A win may be referenced. Also, in the case of the special time-saving A and B, the loss fluctuation pattern allocation table for the loss A win may be referenced, and in the case of the special time-saving C, the loss fluctuation pattern allocation table for the loss B or loss C win may be referenced (a form in which a common loss fluctuation pattern allocation table is referenced for each special time-saving type).

(Variation 1)
In addition, when adopting "Specific Example 2 (FIG. 4D (A))" or "Specific Example 3 (FIG. 4D (A))" for the normal diagram in FIG. 4D already explained, that is, when generating a micro-time-saving state that does not require the operation of the special diagram time-saving function, a common fluctuation pattern distribution table may be used for normal and micro-time-saving from the viewpoint of reducing the control burden. In addition, at least the miss fluctuation pattern distribution table related to the special diagram 1 side may be a common miss fluctuation pattern distribution table for normal and micro-time-saving.

(Variation 2)
In this embodiment, the variation pattern type to be selected is the same in the special chart 1 side micro time shortening miss variation pattern distribution table and the special chart 1 side normal miss variation pattern distribution table, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one or more dedicated variation patterns such as "not selected during normal, selected during micro time shortening" or "selected during normal, not selected during micro time shortening" can be provided. The dedicated variation pattern can be reach variation and/or normal variation.

(Seventh Feature)
In addition, according to the above-mentioned "miss fluctuation pattern allocation table" during normal and slight time-saving modes, the following effects can be achieved.

(A) The miss type includes multiple types of miss A to C, and the pattern selection rate for these is 95% for miss A, 4% for miss B, and 1% for miss C (miss A > miss B > miss C) (see the remarks column in Figure 4C). In this embodiment, by utilizing the relationship of the pattern selection rate, when miss A is selected during normal or short time reduction, multiple short fluctuation patterns with different fluctuation times are likely to be selected if there are relatively many operating reserved balls, and multiple long fluctuation patterns with different fluctuation times are likely to be selected if there are relatively few operating reserved balls. In addition, when miss A is selected, the reach fluctuation is selected with a lower probability than when miss B or miss C is selected. This not only prevents long pattern changes from occurring too frequently, i.e., provides an appropriate pace to the change time, which contributes to reducing the occurrence of change slumps, but also creates a well-balanced execution time for the pattern change display game, in which the player feels as if the game is being played continuously as the activation reserve balls are accumulated (see (α) to (δ) above, for example).

(B) Also, if Miss A is won during normal play, the fewer the number of activated reserved balls, the longer the average fluctuation time (the average execution time of one pattern change display game). In other words, the more the number of activated reserved balls, the shorter the average fluctuation time (for example, see (α) and (β) above). This allows for a well-balanced execution time of the pattern change display game to be generated, where the execution time of the pattern change display game is not unnecessarily extended, the occurrence rate of fluctuation slumps is suppressed, and the occurrence rate of overflow of activated reserved balls is also suppressed. This is particularly suitable for "normal play" and "slight time-saving play" that players encounter frequently in the course of the game.

(Γ) Also, during normal or short time play, if miss A is hit, normal fluctuation is selected with a higher probability than reach fluctuation, if miss B is hit, low expectation reach types (N reach or SP reach) are selected with a higher probability, and if miss C is hit, high expectation reach types (advanced SPSP reach, direct hit SPSP reach) are selected with a higher probability (see (α)-(δ) above, for example). In other words, in most cases of misses, the effects related to normal fluctuation (normal fluctuation effects) are displayed, and reach effects can be displayed with an appropriate frequency. This prevents the player from feeling excessively excited about winning. Also, the rare appearance of high expectation reach effects can greatly increase the interest in the game (expectations of winning).

(Eighth Feature)
(η) In addition, in this embodiment, as already explained, "normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice" and "N reach 1 for pre-reading notice" are provided. These fluctuation patterns are defined as pre-reading notice fluctuation patterns, and have the characteristics described in the following (A1) to (A3).

(A1) As shown in Figure 26, the fluctuation time of "normal fluctuation 16s for look-ahead notice" is approximately the same as the fluctuation time of "normal fluctuation 16s" belonging to the non-look-ahead notice fluctuation pattern type, and the fluctuation time of "N reach 1 for look-ahead notice" is approximately the same as the fluctuation time of "N reach 1" belonging to the non-look-ahead notice fluctuation pattern type. These fluctuation patterns belong to long fluctuation patterns. In the case of this embodiment, "normal fluctuation 16s for look-ahead notice" and "normal fluctuation 16s" are fluctuation patterns defined as the longest fluctuation times among the normal fluctuation types, and belong to the longest normal fluctuation type.
(A2) Also, as shown in Figure 26, "normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice" and "normal fluctuation 16s" are the same type of fluctuation pattern, but the command values at the time of winning are different. Also, "N reach 1 for pre-reading notice" and "N reach 1" are the same type of fluctuation pattern, but the command values at the time of winning are different.
(A3) "Normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice" and "Normal fluctuation 16s" are fluctuation patterns belonging to low expectation fluctuation patterns (normal fluctuation type, N reach type), and their winning expectation is approximately the same. Similarly, "N reach 1 for pre-reading notice" and "N reach 1" are fluctuation patterns belonging to low expectation fluctuation patterns, and their winning expectation is approximately the same.

The functions of the above-mentioned "normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice" and "N reach 1 for pre-reading notice" will be explained while touching on the relationship between the miss fluctuation pattern allocation table in Figure 26 and the appearance control of the pre-reading notice.

When Miss A is won during normal play, one of the Miss variation pattern allocation tables "FH1-FH4" (variation pattern allocation table by number of reserved balls) is selected at the start of the variation depending on the number of balls in operation (see FIG. 26), and either Normal variation 16s or N Reach 1 may be selected (see "FH1" and "FH2" in FIG. 26). Also, in rare cases, Miss B (symbol selection rate 4%) is won, and in this case, Miss variation pattern allocation table "FH5" (common variation pattern allocation table) is selected, and either "Normal variation 16s for pre-reading notice" or "N Reach 1 for pre-reading notice" may be selected (see "FH5" in FIG. 26). Here, the game situation that the player is most likely to encounter as the game progresses is the winning of Miss A (symbol selection rate 95%).

Therefore, as a first effect, when a low expectation fluctuation pattern is selected, excessive pre-reading notices are not displayed, and the player's expectations of winning are not unnecessarily aroused.

As a second effect, when the activated reserved ball related to the pre-reading notice is used in the pattern change display game, the expectation of winning due to the pre-reading notice can be sustained for a long time. In detail, when a pre-reading notice related to a short change pattern such as normal change 4s or normal change 8s occurs, the execution time of the pattern change display game related to the activated reserved ball that is the target of the pre-reading notice is short, and the game ends abruptly without any significant notice performance. In addition, when the execution time of the pattern change display game is short, for example, when a performance that suggests the occurrence of a "step-up reserved change notice" such as a white flashing reserved icon appears, the game ends abruptly without stirring up the expectation of the occurrence. In such a case, the player becomes disheartened and wonders, "What on earth was the meaning of that pre-reading notice?", which causes distrust in the pre-reading notice. However, in the case of this embodiment, "normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice" and "N reach 1 for pre-reading notice" belong to a "long fluctuation pattern" (the longest normal fluctuation in this embodiment) that has a relatively long fluctuation time, so it is possible to prevent such problems from occurring.

Although the "normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice" and the "normal fluctuation 16s" differ in whether they are pre-reading notice targets or not, it is preferable to configure them so that the same presentation can be executed in both pattern change display games (the same applies to the relationship between "N reach 1 for pre-reading notice" and "N reach 1"). In other words, the presentation during the pattern change is the same for the "normal fluctuation 16s" for non-pre-reading notice and the "normal fluctuation 16s" for pre-reading notice that has a substantially identical (including identical) change time, and the presentation makes the player recognize that the same change pattern has been selected, regardless of which change pattern is selected. In this way, by distinguishing between non-pre-reading notice and pre-reading notice, which are the same in content but have different selection rates, pre-reading notices are appropriately displayed when losing, preventing excessive pre-reading notices from being executed, and the player's expectation of winning can be moderately stimulated (the player does not feel stressed due to the appearance of excessive pre-reading notices). Note that "same presentation" here means that it is preferable that the presentation mode, including at least the decorative pattern change display (decorative pattern presentation) and the preview presentation, is the same, but it is also acceptable to make the "decorative pattern change display" and/or the "preview presentation" the same. However, in order to make the presentation look similar, it is preferable that the decorative pattern change display mode is different but the other presentations are the same. Also, it is acceptable to provide only one or more types of pre-reading normal change that have the same function as "pre-reading preview normal change 16s", or to provide only one or more types of pre-reading N reach that have the same function as "pre-reading preview N reach 1".

As already explained, "normal fluctuation 16s" and/or "N reach 1" may be defined as the fluctuation pattern for look-ahead notice. In this case, the occurrence rate of the look-ahead notice is set to a lower probability than "normal fluctuation 16s for look-ahead notice" and/or "N reach 1 for look-ahead notice". For example, the occurrence rate (execution rate) of the look-ahead notice may be set to satisfy the relationship "normal fluctuation 16s < normal fluctuation 16s for look-ahead notice" or "N reach 1 < N reach 1 for look-ahead notice".

(Variation 3 (other embodiments): Cases where there is no need to conceal the normal and short-time periods)
In the above embodiment, it was explained that during normal play and during the micro-time-saving mode, the fluctuation pattern can be selected using a fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number, and both have substantially the same table configuration (see Figures 26 and 27). However, when there is no particular need to conceal the normal play and the micro-time-saving mode due to gameplay characteristics (for example, when there is no need to conceal the play for presentation reasons), the configuration can be as follows (Variation 3-1) and/or (Variation 3-2).

(Variation 3-1) During normal play (in Heaven mode), the above-mentioned "common fluctuation pattern allocation table" is used to select the fluctuation pattern, and during micro-time-saving play (in Hell mode), the above-mentioned "number-of-reserved fluctuation pattern allocation table" can be used to select the fluctuation pattern. For example, during normal play (in Heaven mode), a fluctuation pattern allocation table that is selected regardless of the number of reserved balls in operation, such as fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH7" and "FH21", is used, and during micro-time-saving play (in Hell mode), a fluctuation pattern allocation table that is selected according to the number of reserved balls in operation, such as fluctuation pattern allocation tables "FH1 (number of reserved balls: 0) to FH4 (number of reserved balls: 4)" is used.

The "common fluctuation pattern allocation table" or "reserved number-specific fluctuation pattern allocation table" can be used in the case of a miss, a special time-saving win, or a win (big win, small win). In addition, each of these fluctuation pattern allocation tables can define one or more fluctuation patterns.

By the way, it is preferable to use the above-mentioned "common fluctuation pattern allocation table" during normal play (heaven mode), and the above-mentioned "reserved number-specific fluctuation pattern allocation table" during micro-time-saving play (hell mode). The reason for this is as follows.

In this embodiment, "normal (heaven mode)" is a gaming state in which there is a high expectation (transition rate) of transition to the "time-saving state (consecutive wins mode)" in which the player can expect high profits, but the duration of this state is relatively short (because in this embodiment, the probability of winning the special time-saving state is high (approximately 1/10)). When placed in this gaming state, many players would rather transition to consecutive wins mode quickly than enjoy the effects during the game (variable effects).

Therefore, in the normal mode (heaven mode), it is not meaningful to "make various change patterns selectable according to the number of reserved balls in operation, thereby making various change effects appear." Rather, it is preferable to make the game proceed at a good tempo and to make change effects that stimulate the expectation of a transition to consecutive win mode appear regardless of the number of reserved balls in operation (for example, to make a predetermined reach effect, a predetermined excitement effect, etc. appear every game). For example, if only specific change patterns (for example, reach changes or change patterns with a specified change time) are selected as the change patterns to be selected (in this case, the change time width is fixed regardless of the number of reserved balls in operation), or if a specific change pattern is selected with a higher probability than other change patterns, it is possible to make the game proceed at a good tempo every game and to make change effects that stimulate the expectation of a transition to consecutive win mode appear regardless of the number of reserved balls in operation. Therefore, in the normal mode (hell mode), it is preferable to use a common change pattern allocation table rather than a change pattern allocation table by reserved number.

On the other hand, during the micro-time-saving mode (Hell mode), unlike the normal mode (Heaven mode) described above, the expectation of transitioning to the consecutive win mode is low, and the duration of stay tends to be longer than during the normal mode. During such a gaming state, the game tends to become monotonous, and there is a risk that the player's motivation to play will decrease. Therefore, during the micro-time-saving mode (Hell mode), contrary to the normal mode (Heaven mode) described above, it is preferable to vary the speed of the game progress depending on the number of reserved balls in operation (reducing the fluctuation slump) and allow the player to enjoy various fluctuation effects at their own pace. Therefore, during the micro-time-saving mode (Hell mode), it is preferable to use a fluctuation pattern distribution table by reserved number, rather than a common fluctuation pattern distribution table, to select various fluctuation patterns depending on the number of reserved balls in operation (it is possible to vary the speed of the game progress depending on the number of reserved balls in operation), and to present various fluctuation effects (it is possible to enjoy various fluctuation effects at their own pace).

(Variation 3-2) During normal play and during micro-time-saving play, at least one (a part) of the variation patterns that can be selected can be configured to be different. For example, in Figures 26 and 27, among the variation patterns that can be selected on at least one special chart side (for example, special chart 1 side), some of the variation patterns can be configured to be different. For example, this can be done as follows.

(1) "At least some of the variation patterns to be selected are different."
For example, during normal play, the selectable fluctuation patterns are "first normal fluctuation 4s, normal fluctuation 8s, N reach 1, SP reach," and during micro-time-saving play, the selectable fluctuation patterns are "second normal fluctuation 4s (a fluctuation pattern with the same fluctuation time as the first normal fluctuation 4s but a different fluctuation pattern type), normal fluctuation 8s (a common fluctuation pattern), N reach 1 for pre-reading notice (the reach type is the same as N reach 1 but a different fluctuation pattern type), and SP reach (a common fluctuation pattern)" (at least some of the fluctuation patterns to be selected are different).
(2) "All of the variation patterns to be selected are different."
For example, during normal play, the selectable fluctuation patterns are "normal fluctuation 7s, normal fluctuation 8s, N reach 1, SPSP reach," and during micro-time-saving play, the selectable fluctuation patterns are "normal fluctuation 4s, normal fluctuation 6s, N reach 1 for pre-reading notice, SP reach."
(3) There are no particular restrictions on the different fluctuation patterns, and various fluctuation patterns can be adopted, regardless of whether they are reach fluctuations or normal fluctuations.

In addition, in the case of this modified example (Variation 3-2), as in the relationship between Figures 26 and 27, the above-mentioned "fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number" may be used to select a fluctuation pattern during both normal and micro-time-saving modes, or, as in the above-mentioned (Variation 3-1), the above-mentioned "common fluctuation pattern allocation table" may be used during normal modes and the above-mentioned "fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number" may be used during micro-time-saving modes.

When using the above-mentioned "variation pattern allocation table by reserved number" during both normal play and micro-time-saving play, a common variation pattern allocation table may be selected for at least one number of activated reserved balls. For example, it is possible to have "different variation pattern allocation tables for 1-2 activated reserved balls, and a common variation pattern allocation table for 3-4 activated reserved balls," or to have "different variation pattern allocation tables for 1 activated reserved ball, and a common variation pattern allocation table for 2-4 activated reserved balls." In other words, it is possible to select different variation patterns between normal play and micro-time-saving play for a certain number of activated reserved balls, and a common variation pattern for other numbers of activated reserved balls.

In addition, when the above-mentioned "common fluctuation pattern allocation table" is used during normal operation and the above-mentioned "fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number" is used during micro-time-saving operation, (Te1) "a part of the fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number and the common fluctuation pattern allocation table are common fluctuation pattern allocation tables". (Te2) Also, it can be "a fluctuation pattern allocation table in which all of the fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number and the common fluctuation pattern allocation table are different". An example of the former (Te1) case is when the fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number is "FH1 (reserved number 0) to FH4 (reserved number 4)" and the common fluctuation pattern allocation table is "FH1 (common for reserved number)". In the latter case (Te2), the fluctuation pattern allocation table by reserved number is "FH1 (reserved number 0) to FH4 (reserved number 4)," and the common fluctuation pattern allocation table is a fluctuation pattern allocation table other than "FH1 to FH4" (for example, "FH5 (common reserved number)").

(C19. Regarding fluctuation patterns related to winning prizes and special time-saving winning prizes)
In addition, the fluctuation pattern related to a winning hit (winning fluctuation pattern), the fluctuation pattern related to a winning special time-saving hit (special time-saving fluctuation pattern), and the performance related to the fluctuation pattern (performance during fluctuation) can be configured as follows (winning 1) to (winning 4). The winning fluctuation pattern can be a fluctuation pattern selected in the case of a big hit and/or a small hit. The winning fluctuation pattern can be a fluctuation pattern related to at least one specific winning (for example, big hit D). The special time-saving fluctuation pattern can be a fluctuation pattern related to at least one specific special time-saving (for example, special time-saving C).

(Win 1) The winning fluctuation pattern and the special time-saving fluctuation pattern may be different fluctuation patterns, or at least one fluctuation pattern may be different. Also, the winning fluctuation pattern and the special time-saving fluctuation pattern may be a common fluctuation pattern.
In addition, even if the variation pattern is common, it is not necessary to make a common variation effect appear during the variation. Since the main control unit 20 transmits a variation pattern designation command to the performance control unit 24 as well as a decorative pattern designation command capable of identifying the pattern lottery result information (winning type information), even if the variation pattern is common, at least a part of the performance can be different depending on the winning type (for example, depending on whether it is one of the big wins A to D and the special time-saving A to C (which may be at least one specific big win and at least one specific special time-saving)). In addition, when making a different performance, one or more advance notice performances that appear during the performance and the pattern form of the decorative pattern can be made different.

(Win 2) In addition, a configuration can be made in which reach fluctuation is selected in the case of a win, and reach fluctuation is not selected in the case of a special time-saving. Specifically, the win fluctuation pattern includes reach fluctuation (one or more reach fluctuations can be selected), and the special time-saving winning fluctuation pattern does not include reach fluctuation. The special time-saving winning fluctuation pattern can be a normal fluctuation and/or a special time-saving winning fluctuation pattern. A special time-saving winning fluctuation pattern is a fluctuation pattern exclusively used when a special time-saving winning is selected, which is not selected in the case of a win, and can be, for example, a fluctuation pattern that does not specify a reach performance (one aspect of the normal fluctuation type).

(Win 3) In addition, the reach variation can be configured to be selectable in both the case of a win and a special time-saving. If multiple special time-saving options are provided, the reach variation may be selectable only when at least one specific special time-saving option (for example, special time-saving option C) is won. The reach variation in this example may be a common reach variation in both the case of a win and a special time-saving option, or may be a different reach variation (if there are multiple reach variations to choose from, at least one of the reach variations may be a common reach variation).

(Win 4) In the above example of (Win 3), it is preferable to set the selection rate of reach fluctuation in the case of special time-saving to be lower than in the case of hit. For example, when a special time-saving is won, it is not preferable to excessively display reach effects (reach effects suggesting a jackpot win) like those in the case of a jackpot win, but it is also important to moderately stimulate the expectation of a jackpot win in order to make the game enjoyable.

(V19. Regarding the preview effects when winning the jackpot and the preview effects when winning the special time-saving prize)
In addition, the preview effects related to winning the jackpot and the preview effects related to winning the special time-saving prize can be configured as follows (Prediction 1) to (Prediction 4).

(Preliminary 1) When a special time-saving option is selected, it is preferable not to display a premium preview effect (a guaranteed jackpot preview effect) that definitely notifies (suggests) that a jackpot has been won. This is because it is not preferable to display a preview effect (a contradictory effect) that notifies of a jackpot win when a special time-saving option is selected. However, when a specific special time-saving option is selected, a guaranteed jackpot preview effect may be displayed. For example, when a special time-saving option C that triggers a transition to a time-saving mode (consecutive mode) is selected. In the case of a type of win that triggers a transition to a game mode that is more advantageous to the player, such as the "special time-saving option C" in this embodiment, there is no particular disadvantage to the player and it is considered to be no problem even if a guaranteed win preview effect is displayed. It is preferable to determine the type of advance notice presentation according to the gameplay, such as not displaying the jackpot guaranteed advance notice presentation when the special time-saving feature is considered to be a type of winning that simply triggers a transition to the time-saving mode, and displaying the jackpot guaranteed advance notice presentation when the special time-saving feature is considered to be a type of winning that has the same value as a jackpot.

(Preliminary 2) In addition, when the special time-saving feature is selected, a premium preview effect (special time-saving feature guaranteed win preview effect) that definitely notifies the player that the special time-saving feature has been selected can be configured to appear. In this case, if the number of types of special time-saving feature guaranteed win preview effects is N and the number of types of jackpot guaranteed win preview effects is M, the relationship can be "N=M", "N≠M", "N<M", or "N>M".

(Preliminary 3) In addition, the duration of the special time-saving winning prediction performance and the jackpot winning prediction performance may be the same (approximately the same) or different.

(Preliminary 4) Furthermore, the variable effect including the "special time-saving winning confirmation notice effect" and the variable effect including the "jackpot winning confirmation notice effect", or the special time-saving winning confirmation notice effect and the jackpot winning confirmation notice effect, may have common effect content (common effect scenario) until partway through the effect (for example, from the start of the effect to a specified timing), and as a final effect, an effect that notifies the player of a special time-saving winning or jackpot winning (special time-saving winning confirmation notice effect, winning confirmation notice effect) may be executed. If the effect content is common until partway through the effect, it is possible to keep secret which type of winning is involved at least until partway through the effect, and it is possible to give the player a sense of expectation and tension about what the outcome of the current game will be. In particular, when a common fluctuation pattern can be selected for both the jackpot and the special time-saving (for example, the "SP reach fluctuation" case in (Win 1) above), if the timing of the appearance of the special time-saving winning notice and the timing of the appearance of the jackpot winning notice are substantially the same (the same) during the fluctuation performance related to that fluctuation pattern, it is even more preferable in terms of concealing which type of win has occurred. Note that the timing of appearance can be various, such as before the reach (a specified timing before the reach state is formed) or after the reach (a specified timing after the reach state is formed) in the case of a reach fluctuation, and before or after the SP reach development in the case of an SP reach.

(D19. Other Configuration Example 1)
Furthermore, when it is possible to produce a "first preview effect" that notifies the possibility of winning a specific special time-saving effect and a "second preview effect" (for example, a reach effect) that notifies the possibility of winning a jackpot as during-variation effects at least in the normal state (heaven mode), the relationship between the first appearance rate (execution probability) of the first preview effect and the second appearance rate of the second preview effect can be configured to satisfy any of the following relationships (Formula A) to (Formula D).
(Formula A) "first appearance rate = second appearance rate",
(Formula B) "First appearance rate ≒ Second appearance rate (approximately the same execution rate)"
(Formula C) "first appearance rate < second appearance rate",
(Formula D) "1st appearance rate > 2nd appearance rate"

The "first preview effect" mentioned above is a presentation mode (state transition preview effect) that can mainly notify whether or not there will be a transition to a specific state (control state) other than the winning state (specific state transition/non-specific state transition). The "specific state" can be any of a specific game mode, a specific internal game state, or a specific presentation mode. The content of the state transition preview effect can be, for example, a case where a specific type of win has been won and a transition to a specific state is scheduled, in which a notification of the game mode or presentation mode to be transitioned to, or a case where a ceiling game has been reached and a ceiling bonus has been awarded.

Incidentally, the state transition notice presentation may be exceptionally configured to notify a transition to a winning state (a win). For example, after first notifying a transition or non-transition to a time-saving state, a promotion presentation may be used to notify a transition to a jackpot game (a jackpot state) (a jackpot has been won).

In this embodiment, a "time-saving transition notice effect" that can notify whether or not a transition to a time-saving state (consecutive win mode) will occur ("time-saving transition/no time-saving transition" or "won special time-saving type") can be used as the state transition notice effect (first notice effect). One example of a time-saving transition notice effect is, for example, a door image (shutter image) that resembles a door is displayed, and a performance that builds up anticipation as to whether the door (shutter) will open is executed, and as a result, if the door opens, a confirmation of a time-saving transition is notified, and if the door remains closed, a confirmation of a no-time-saving transition is notified. In this embodiment, chance-teasing effects (FIG. 63) and chance effects (FIGS. 61 to 62) described below are provided as state transition notice effects (FIGS. 61 to 62 described below).

Therefore, when this first preview effect appears, the player does not look to win a jackpot, but rather looks to a transition to a more favorable gaming state (promotion transition) than the current gaming state, and watches the effect. In contrast, the second preview effect is the opposite of the first preview effect, in that the player does not look to a transition, but rather looks to a jackpot.

In addition, since the normal state (heaven mode) in this embodiment acts as a game state in which transitioning to the time-saving state (consecutive mode) is more advantageous than the slight time-saving state, the player will mainly enjoy playing the game in anticipation of transitioning to the time-saving state (time-saving transition). Therefore, during the normal state, it is preferable to have a higher probability of occurrence of the first advance notice effect (for example, a reach effect) than the second advance notice effect (first appearance rate > second appearance rate).

In addition, during the normal state (heaven mode), in order to greatly heighten anticipation for the transition to the time-saving mode, the first preview performance may be configured to be executed every game (execution rate 100%) or executed with an extremely high probability (for example, execution rate of 99% or more).

In addition, when a jackpot is won, a first preview performance may be executed, and the first preview performance may notify the jackpot win instead of notifying the non-transition to the time-saving mode.

On the other hand, during the micro-time-saving state (Hell mode), contrary to the above example, it is preferable to set the appearance rate of the second preview effect to be higher than that of the first preview effect (first appearance rate < second appearance rate). Note that in the micro-time-saving state of this embodiment, since special time-saving effects are excluded from the jackpot lottery, the appearance rate of the first preview effect may be 0% (not executed). The relationship of "first appearance rate < second appearance rate" is suitable mainly for configurations in which special time-saving effects can be won (activated) even during the micro-time-saving state.

The decorative stop symbols (stops) may be displayed in a first specific display mode in the case of a jackpot win, and in the case of a special time-saving win, in a second specific display mode different from the first specific display mode. The first specific display mode is, for example, a so-called "pattern match" such as "777". Stops corresponding to the type of jackpot may also be displayed.

The stop marks related to the special time-saving types (special time-saving A to C) may be the same or different. Also, the special time-saving C, which triggers a transition to the time-saving state, and the special time-saving A and B, which trigger a transition to the minute time-saving state, may have different stop marks. For example, the special time-saving C can have a special display mode such as "7:7" or "Time☆Save", while the special time-saving A and B can have stop marks that are the same as the losing numbers or are not derived for the losing numbers (for example, consecutive numbers such as "123" or "756").

In addition, in ceiling games where the ceiling function is activated, stopping numbers exclusive to ceiling games (for example, "Ten☆I" or "7 Ten 7") may be displayed.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 11, when the random number determination process at the start port winning is completed in step S320, a "winning command" is sent to the performance control unit 24 (step S321). If look-ahead is prohibited or an abnormality occurs in the set value data, the look-ahead prohibition data "9FH" is maintained as is, and a winning command with the "look-ahead prohibition data" is sent to the performance control unit 24. In this case, an appropriate value, for example "B3H", is obtained for the value on the upper byte (MODE1) side, and a winning command with look-ahead prohibition (B39FH) is sent.

Next, a "reserved addition command" that specifies the number of active reserved balls at the time of the pre-reading judgment is created (step S322), and this is sent to the performance control unit 24 (step S323). As already explained, the "reserved addition command" is composed of two bytes of control data, with an upper byte (MODE) that specifies whether the active reserved ball that is the subject of the pre-reading this time is on the special chart 1 side or the special chart 2 side, and a lower byte (EVENT) that specifies the number of active reserved balls at the time of winning. The reserved addition command is used by the performance control unit 24 to notify the reserved display areas 76, 77 of information regarding the current number of active reserved balls when an active reserved ball is generated, and also to display a pre-reading notice for the reserved ball that is the subject of the notice when a pre-reading notice performance is executed.

When the winning command and reserved addition command are sent from the main control unit 20, the performance control unit 24 that receives them, if the information included in the command is "other than the prohibition of pre-reading", holds a lottery (pre-reading notice lottery) regarding whether or not to execute the pre-reading notice, and if it is won, creates a performance scenario for the pre-reading notice and controls the execution of the pre-reading notice targeting the currently activated reserved ball based on that scenario. On the other hand, if "prohibition of pre-reading" is specified, the pre-reading notice lottery is not executed, or the pre-reading notice lottery is executed but the lottery result is forcibly processed as a miss (no pre-reading performance executed), and the execution of the pre-reading notice is prohibited (restricted). In this embodiment, the winning command with the prohibition of pre-reading is sent in both cases when pre-reading is prohibited or when a setting abnormal error occurs, and the reason is as follows.

In the present embodiment, even if a setting abnormality error occurs, the game operation is not forcibly stopped. The reason is that, first, as already explained, a setting abnormality error can be resolved by performing a setting change operation, but setting change operations during business hours are likely to be prohibited from the viewpoint of legal requirements as an act that incites gambling. Secondly, if the game operation processing is forcibly stopped immediately when a setting abnormality error occurs, the player will feel distrustful of the sudden game stop. For example, if a setting abnormality error occurs by chance when a pattern variation display game in progress is executed during normal operation or during a jackpot game, and the game is immediately controlled to a state where it cannot be played, the profit that the player should have obtained will disappear, leading to distrust from the player. In consideration of such circumstances, when a setting abnormality error occurs, only an error notification is performed, and the game progress itself is allowed to continue, although it is conditional. I say "conditionally" because if a setting abnormality error occurs, the pre-reading notice is prohibited and the result of the symbol change display game is forcibly set to a loss (see the processing route of step S317 (=5AH) in FIG. 11 and step S409 (=5AH) in FIG. 12 described below).

As a result of the above, the special chart 1 start port check process is exited, and the special chart 2 start port check process (step S302) is then executed.

<10. Special symbol variation start process: Figure 12>
Next, the special symbol variation start process (step S306) in Fig. 10 will be described. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the details of the special symbol variation start process (step S306).

In FIG. 12, the CPU 201 first determines whether the number of reserved balls for operation of the special chart 2 is zero (step S401), and if the number of reserved balls for operation of the special chart 2 is not zero (step S401: NO), it executes the processing at the start of the change targeting the number of reserved balls for operation of the special chart 2 (steps S403 to S416). On the other hand, if the number of reserved balls for operation of the special chart 2 is zero (step S401: YES), it then determines whether the number of reserved balls for operation of the special chart 1 is zero (step S402), and if the number of reserved balls for operation of the special chart 1 is not zero (step S402: NO), it executes the processing at the start of the change targeting the number of reserved balls for operation of the special chart 1 (steps S403 to S416). The processing of steps S401 and S402 determines the "priority change order" of which of the reserved balls for operation of the special chart 1 or the reserved balls for operation of the special chart 2 is given priority for the change display operation (which reserved balls for operation are consumed). In this embodiment, if there are activation reserved balls on both the special chart 1 activation reserved ball and the special chart 2 activation reserved ball, the special chart 2 activation reserved ball is consumed preferentially (special chart 2 side priority change function).

If the number of activated balls for both Special Pattern 2 and Special Pattern 1 is zero (step S401: YES and step S402: YES), the state is "no activated balls pending." This "no activated balls pending" state occurs when a special pattern is waiting and there is no reserved memory. If the state is "no activated balls pending," proceed to step S417 and determine whether the special pattern operation status is "waiting (00H)," which indicates the above-mentioned "no activated balls pending" state (step S417).

If the special symbol operation status when the "no activated balls reserved" state is "Waiting (01H)" (this "Waiting (01H)" is updated in step S472 during the special symbol confirmation time processing in FIG. 14A described below) (step S417: NO), the special symbol operation status is switched to "Waiting (00H)" (waiting without reserved) (step S418). Then, a waiting for customers command (BA04H) is sent to the performance control unit 24 as a performance control command (step S419), and the special symbol change start processing is exited. When the performance control unit 24 receives the waiting for customers command, a "waiting for customers performance (demo display)" is displayed based on the specified execution conditions. After receiving the waiting for customers command, if a predetermined waiting time (e.g., 180 seconds) has elapsed without game starting, i.e., without an activated reserved ball being generated (without receiving a winning command (e.g., a reserved addition command)), and without switching to the game environment setting screen (menu screen), the performance control unit 24 will, for example, display a demo screen (demo movie) on the liquid crystal display device 36.

The "pre-waiting performance (demo start waiting display)" is displayed until the waiting time (180 seconds) until the customer waiting performance starts has elapsed. This "pre-waiting performance" displays a performance mode such as displaying a decorative pattern (decorative stop pattern) that is the result of the current game, making the decorative lamp 45 emit light in a predetermined light-emitting pattern, and muting the speaker 43 (a predetermined sound performance may be executed), and this state is maintained until the customer waiting performance (demo display) starts. When the customer waiting performance starts, a demo movie is played, and if there is no winning at the start gate until the demo movie ends or after the game setting screen is displayed (after the player sets the game), it switches back to the pre-waiting performance. The demo movie may be played repeatedly until there is a winning at the start gate or until the game setting screen is displayed.

Furthermore, when a predetermined transition condition (power saving mode transition condition) is met after the start or end of the customer waiting performance (including when the performance switches back to the pre-customer waiting performance), the performance control unit 24 can end the customer waiting performance and transition to "power saving mode". For example, if a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes) has passed after the start of the customer waiting performance without an activated reserved ball being generated and without switching to the menu screen (game setting screen), the performance mode is transitioned to power saving mode, a power saving screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36 (for example, the text "Power saving in progress" is displayed on the liquid crystal screen), and some or all of the decorative lamps 45 and other performance LEDs are controlled to be turned off (power saving control).

(Production stage)
In this embodiment, a plurality of presentation stages that the player can select are provided as one of the game environment settings (game setting items). This "presentation stage" is a presentation state whose transition is controlled by presentation processing unique to the presentation control unit 24, unlike a presentation state (presentation mode) that is transitioned with the transition of the game state managed by the main control unit 20. A presentation stage may continue over one or multiple games.

Therefore, even if the performance stage is changed, the game state itself managed by the main control unit 20 is not changed, the selection target of the variation pattern is the same, and the "variation pattern allocation table selection table" and "variation pattern allocation table" referenced when determining the variation pattern of the special symbol are not changed. In other words, when the current game state is the "normal state", even if the performance stage is different (for example, performance stages A to C), the variation pattern is determined by referring to the variation pattern allocation table related to the normal state. However, it is possible to produce a performance related to each of the performance stages A to C by the performance control on the performance control unit 24 side. For example, even if the performance stage is changed from "performance stage A to performance stage B", the selection target of the variation pattern is the same, and the exact same variation pattern can be selected, but different performances can be executed depending on the performance stage. For example, when normal variation 13s is selected, "performance A" is executed on performance stage A, but "performance A" is not executed on performance stage B, and another performance (for example, performance B) is executed.

In this example, the change patterns to be selected are the same for all performance stages A to C (the exact same change pattern can be selected), and it is possible to execute a performance that corresponds to each performance stage. In this example, the stopping operation pattern of the decorative symbols is made different depending on the performance stage, thereby increasing the freedom and variety of the performance.

In this embodiment, the player has a "customization function" that allows the player to switch to a desired presentation stage (a presentation stage set by the player) by operating the operation means (presentation button 13 or directional key 75). The customization function is a function that allows the player to select one of a plurality of presentation stages (player-selectable presentation stages) related to the normal presentation mode when the current game state is the "normal state", for example, and allows the player to select one of three presentation stages (player-selectable presentation stages) related to the normal presentation mode, namely, "normal mode (presentation stage A)", "simple mode (presentation stage B)", and "premium mode (presentation stage C)". It should not be confused that these presentation stages are presentation states under the same variation pattern selection mode (Tcode), and do not mean that the player can freely switch the variation pattern selection mode (Tcode) itself. Therefore, some or all of the presentations that appear may differ depending on the difference between normal, simple, and premium modes, but the selection target for the variation pattern of the special pattern in each presentation stage does not change.

For example, "normal mode" is the default presentation state, and "simple mode" is a presentation state (specific pre-notification presentation appearance rate change mode) in which the appearance rate of specific pre-notification presentations is lower than in normal mode or does not appear at all. In "simple mode", for example, the appearance rate of specific high expectation pre-notification presentations with a relatively high winning expectation (for example, 30% winning expectation in normal mode) when missing is lower than in normal mode, and the appearance rate of player participation type presentations in which the winning expectation increases significantly when the specific high expectation pre-notification appears is lower than in normal mode. Also, in "premium mode", the appearance rate of guaranteed win presentations (for example, presentations with a winning expectation of 90% or a guaranteed jackpot win) is higher than in normal mode and simple mode, and the appearance rate of one or more types of specific low expectation pre-notifications is low (including 0%). Therefore, even with the same change pattern, the type of effect (pre-notice effect, non-pre-notice effect, pre-reading notice during change, setting suggestion effect, etc.) executed during the pattern change and whether or not it is executed, as well as the type of hold change notice and whether or not it is executed, can be different depending on the performance stage.

In addition, in each of the normal, simple, and premium production stages, a unique background display corresponding to the production stage may be displayed to enable identification of which stage is being performed. For example, the "normal mode (production stage A)" may be a background image reminiscent of "morning," the "simple mode" a background image reminiscent of "daytime," and the "premium mode" a background image reminiscent of "night." For example, if the current state is normal, the base background display may be the "spring" seasonal background display for the normal production mode, and may be changed to a background display representing a "spring morning background," "spring daytime background," or "spring night background" depending on the normal, simple, or premium production stage.

You can also provide a setting item (customization initialization selection) to initialize (return to default) any customizations you have set.

The performance control unit 24 has a customization setting means, a volume adjustment means, a light intensity adjustment means, etc. as a functional unit related to game settings (game environment settings), and various settings are possible according to the player's preferences, and the settings can be configured to be set during play and/or non-play. In addition, even if the settings can be set during play and/or non-play, a game setting prohibition period can be set during a specific period during which the settings cannot be set. In addition, when there are multiple game settings that can be set, they can be appropriately determined according to the type of game setting, such as items that can be set only when not playing and items that can be set not only when not playing but also when playing. For example, the volume and light intensity can be adjusted both during and outside of play, but settings related to the customization function can be set only when not playing. Which game settings are set to be set during play or non-play can be appropriately determined according to the game characteristics.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 12, if the number of activated reserved balls in Special Chart 1 or the number of activated reserved balls in Special Chart 2 is not zero (step S401: NO or S402: NO), steps S403 to S416 are executed in sequence. Note that the processing method of steps S403 to S416 described below is essentially the same, with the only difference being whether the target is the activated reserved ball in Special Chart 1 or the activated reserved ball in Special Chart 2. Therefore, to avoid repetition, unless otherwise necessary, the explanation will be given without distinguishing which activated reserved ball is the target of the processing.

When the process proceeds to step S403, the number of active reserved balls on the special symbol side used for this variable display operation is decremented by one (step S403), and a "reserved subtraction command" including information on the number of active reserved balls after subtraction is sent to the performance control unit 24 (step S404). The reserved subtraction command is composed of data on the upper byte side that specifies the type of special symbol, and data on the lower byte side that makes it possible to identify the information on the number of active reserved balls after subtraction (reserved subtraction information). Using the information contained in this reserved subtraction command, the performance control unit 24 knows the current number of active reserved balls and uses it to display performance related to reserved subtraction (for example, reserved shift display, pre-reading notice related to reserved subtraction, etc.).

Next, the special symbol activation confirmation data is stored (step S405). This special symbol activation confirmation data is information that specifies the type of special symbol on the side that starts the current change, and if special symbol 1 is on the side that starts the change, "00H" is stored in the special symbol activation confirmation data, and if special symbol 2 is on the side that starts the change, "01H" is stored in the special symbol activation confirmation data.

Then, the reserved data stored in the reserved memory area of RAM 203 is shifted (step S406), and the reserved 4 memory area is cleared to zero (step S407). In the process of steps S406 to S407, the reserved data stored in the reserved memory area (reserved 1 memory area) corresponding to the reserved memory number n = 1 is read and stored in the random number storage area for judgment in the RAM in the area, and the reserved data stored in the reserved memory area corresponding to the reserved n memory area (n = 2, 3, 4) is stored in the reserved memory area corresponding to 'n-1' (step S406), and the reserved 4 memory area is cleared to provide an empty area (step S407). As a result, the start order of the special symbol change display game matches the order of the number of activated reserved balls n (n = 1, 2, 3, 4), and it is determined which reserved memory area the activated reserved ball obtained at the time of winning the starting hole corresponds to, and it is possible to reserve and store a new activated reserved ball.

Next, a game status information transmission process is executed (step S408). In the game status information transmission process, a "game status designation command" is sent to the presentation control unit 24. The game status designation command here includes game status information that can identify the game status at the start of the game. When the presentation control unit 24 receives the game status designation command, it grasps the game status based on the information contained therein, and manages the presentation mode in a manner that maintains consistency with the game status managed by the main control unit 20. The game status information included in the game status designation command only needs to be the minimum information required to perform the desired game processing, and can be, for example, information including the "internal game status (game status determination number YJ)" and/or the "variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode".

Here, if necessary, a "time-saving number command" is sent to specify the remaining number of time-saving times if the time-saving state is in progress, and a "ST number designation command" is sent to specify the remaining number of ST times if the special probability state is in progress. The performance control unit 24 determines the remaining number of time-saving times and the remaining number of ST times based on the information contained in these commands, and produces a "remaining number display effect (countdown display)" that notifies the remaining number of time-saving times or the remaining number of ST times in a special probability state. Note that if the special probability state continues until the next jackpot (including cases where it will effectively continue until the next jackpot), it is not necessary to send the ST number designation command.

(Processing route when the setting value is normal: Processing route following S410)
Next, it is determined whether the setting error flag is ON (5AH) (step S409). If the setting error flag is not ON (step S409: ≠ 5AH), a setting value command is sent to the performance control unit 24, and then a random number determination process for determining the operation of the special electric role is executed (step S410). In this random number determination process for determining the operation of the special electric role, a random number value for determining a big win is used to execute a "win/lose lottery at the start of fluctuation" for the operation reserved balls provided for the current fluctuation display operation. The basic processing procedure of this process is the same as the random number determination process of step S318 in FIG. 11 already described, so it will be omitted as appropriate to avoid duplication.

In the random number judgment process for judging the operation of the special electric device in step S410, first, based on the special symbol operation confirmation data, the winning random number judgment table for the side being processed this time (for example, if the special symbol 1 side is the processing target, the winning random number judgment table for special symbol 1) is obtained. Next, the random number value for jackpot judgment stored in the judgment random number storage area is obtained, and a winning/losing lottery is performed based on the random number value for jackpot judgment and the winning random number judgment table. Then, if the lottery result is a "jackpot" win, the jackpot judgment flag is set to "5AH", if the lottery result is a "small win", the small win judgment flag is set to "5AH", and if the "special time-saving" win is won, the special time-saving judgment flag is set to "5AH". If the player does not win a jackpot, small win, or special time-saving, in other words, if the player has "lost", the jackpot judgment flag, small win judgment flag, and special time-saving judgment flag are all set to "00H".

Next, the ceiling management process is executed (step S410A). In this ceiling management process, the processes required for activating the ceiling bonus (activating the ceiling time reduction) are performed. Here, the processes required for activating the ceiling bonus include a subtraction process (remaining ceiling game count process) of the "ceiling counter" for counting the remaining ceiling number of times (ceiling game number = 751 times) until the ceiling is reached, and a process for setting the "ceiling determination flag" to ON (5AH) when the ceiling is reached (ceiling game number is reached).

As already explained, in this embodiment, when the probability of winning a jackpot is low and a predetermined number of games in a row result in a miss, a "ceiling time reduction" function is activated as a rescue function.

Here, the winning type, special time-saving type, and losing type cannot be won in the same prize, but since the ceiling bonus is only allowed to be activated when the condition device does not operate for a certain number of consecutive games, there may be cases where a player transitions to a certain game state (in this example, one of time-saving types A to C) in response to a special time-saving win in which the condition device does not operate in the current game, and cases where the ceiling number of games is reached in the current game and the player transitions to a certain game state due to the ceiling bonus (in this example, time-saving type C) in the next game.

However, the ceiling function of this embodiment is activated when the ceiling game (751st spin) is a "miss" or a "special time-saving win", and the ceiling bonus is given preferentially even if the special time-saving win is won in the ceiling game (ceiling priority activation). Therefore, in the "random number determination process for determining the operation of special electric role device (step S410)", which is a pre-processing of the ceiling management process, when the ceiling is reached (751 consecutive misses), the ceiling function is allowed to be activated and the ceiling time-saving is given except when at least the big hit determination flag or the small hit determination flag is "5AH" and there is no V winning (condition device operation flag is not activated). In this embodiment, if the "special time-saving" is won in the ceiling game, the ceiling function is activated preferentially and the ceiling time-saving is given. Also, if a small hit is won in the ceiling game, if it is a non-V winning, the ceiling time-saving is given after the small hit play ends.

(Regarding priority order for ceiling activation)
Even if a "special time-saving" is won in a ceiling game, the reason why the ceiling time-saving (ceiling bonus) is activated first is as follows.

In this embodiment, if the player wins "special time-saving A, B" in the ceiling game, the player is transferred to "micro-time-saving state A, B", which is a game state that is more disadvantageous to the player than the normal state. On the other hand, if the player wins special time-saving C, the player is transferred to "time-saving C (one time of time-saving)", which is the same as the profit state due to the ceiling time-saving (time-saving C). In other words, the player is given a lower profit state (advantage) when the special time-saving win (transition to special time-saving state) is won than the ceiling privilege. In addition, considering that the role of the ceiling privilege is "to act as a rescue function that rescues players who have encountered a big hit-and-miss", it is preferable to activate the ceiling privilege first even when the player wins the special time-saving with a relatively low advantage. Therefore, in this embodiment, the ceiling activation priority order is set to "special time-saving win < ceiling time-saving".

(Modification of ceiling activation priority order)
The priority order for ceiling activation may be determined as follows:
(1) The special time-saving winning can be prioritized over the ceiling privilege (special time-saving state transition priority due to special time-saving (special time-saving state priority activation) form). In this embodiment, the ceiling privilege is set to be relatively more advantageous, but if the special time-saving C is won (if a specific special time-saving is won), a profit equivalent to the ceiling privilege can be granted. In light of this point, if the special time-saving is won in the ceiling game, it may be considered that the player is granted a corresponding profit state as in the case of a win, and the ceiling privilege may not be activated, and the special time-saving winning may be prioritized. In this case, the ceiling privilege is activated when neither the big win, the small win, nor the special time-saving is won in the ceiling game, that is, when the ceiling game (the 751st spin) is a "miss."

(2) When a specific special time-saving is won, the ceiling benefit can be given priority (a ceiling benefit priority activation mode when a specific special time-saving is won). For example, when a specific special time-saving is won that is less advantageous than the ceiling benefit, such as special time-saving A or special time-saving B, the ceiling benefit is given priority, and when a special time-saving is won that is equal to or more advantageous than the ceiling benefit, such as special time-saving C, the special time-saving is given priority. In more detail, when multiple special time-savings including at least a first special time-saving and a second special time-saving are included, and the advantage (profit state granted) due to the winning is in the relationship of "first special time-saving < second special time-saving", the priority order for ceiling activation can be "winning the first special time-saving < ceiling benefit" (ceiling benefit priority activation) and "winning the second special time-saving > ceiling benefit" (special time-saving state priority activation due to the second special time-saving). In addition, even if the degree of advantage due to winning is "first special time-saving = second special time-saving," the ceiling benefit may be preferentially activated when the first special time-saving is won, and the special time-saving state may be preferentially activated when the second special time-saving is won.

Next, a special stop symbol creation process is executed (step S411). In this special stop symbol creation process, the result of the lottery in step S410 and the random number value for determining the special symbol are used to execute a "symbol lottery at the start of fluctuation." The basic processing procedure of this process is the same as the processing procedure of the special stop symbol data creation process (step S319) shown in FIG. 11, which has already been explained, so the explanation will be omitted as appropriate to avoid duplication.

In the special stop pattern creation process in step S411, first, a pattern table (jackpot pattern table, small win pattern table, special time-saving pattern table, or losing pattern table) is selected according to the special pattern activation confirmation data (special pattern type) and the result of the lottery in step S410. For example, if the special pattern activation confirmation data is 00H and the jackpot determination flag is 5AH, that is, if the side that starts the fluctuation this time is the 'special pattern 1 side' and the lottery result is a 'jackpot', the "jackpot pattern table for special pattern 1" is selected. Then, the random number value for special pattern determination stored in the above-mentioned random number storage area for determination is obtained, a pattern lottery is performed based on the selected pattern table and the random number value for special pattern determination, and the special pattern determination data and special stop pattern number, which are the lottery results, are stored in the corresponding areas of the RAM in the area.

After the special stop symbol creation process in step S411 is completed, a game state transition preparation process is then executed (step S412). In this game state transition preparation process, the necessary setting process is performed to specify the game state as a setting for transitioning the game state, such as the game state after a big win, the time-saving state due to a special time-saving win, or the time-saving state due to reaching the ceiling (ceiling time-saving), etc.

In the game state transition preparation process, a "game state transition table (not shown)" is obtained, which defines a set of data for specifying the game state to transition to, and the various data defined in the obtained game state transition table is stored in the corresponding state buffer (state buffer setting process).

The game state transition table includes a game state transition table for a big win, a game state transition table for a small win, and a game state transition table for a special time-saving. These game state transition tables are provided with multiple types of game state transition tables associated with game state determination numbers (YJ) and special symbol determination data (winning types). For example, if a special time-saving win (for example, time-saving C) is won during a normal state (YJ = 02H (time-saving state designation), special time-saving determination flag = "5AH", special symbol determination data = special time-saving C corresponding value), a game state transition table for special time-saving corresponding to the special time-saving type (here, special time-saving C) and the current game state (normal state) is obtained, and various data defined in the table are stored in the corresponding state buffer. In the case of the special time-saving game state transition table of this example, various data for the time-saving C transition designation are stored in the state buffer after the current game (after the special time-saving winning variation ends).

The data stored in the buffer is read out by a predetermined process, such as after the end of a big win game, the end of a V win game, or the end of a special time-saving winning variation, and is stored in a predetermined memory area of RAM 203 (a flag memory area or a counter memory area corresponding to each buffer). This specifies the destination game state (the "destination game state" in Figures 4A to 4C).

The roles of the various status buffers mentioned above are as follows:
(α) "Normal electric device opening extension transition state buffer, normal pattern time reduction transition state buffer, normal pattern probability change transition state buffer, special pattern time reduction transition state buffer, special pattern probability change transition state buffer"
In these state buffers, designation data of ON/OFF (5AH/00H) of each function for designating the internal game state is set. Specifically, in the normal power role open extension transition state buffer, a normal power role open extension state flag designating the operating state of the open extension function is set, in the normal symbol time reduction transition state buffer, a normal symbol time reduction state flag designating the operating state of the normal symbol time reduction function is set, in the normal symbol probability change transition state buffer, a normal symbol probability change state flag designating the operating state of the normal symbol probability change function is set, in the special symbol time reduction transition state buffer, a special symbol time reduction state flag designating the operating state of the special symbol time reduction function is set, and in the special symbol probability change transition state buffer, data related to a special symbol probability change state flag designating the operating state of the special symbol probability change function is set.
(β) "Special pattern time-saving counter buffer"
Data for specifying the number of time-saving times or the number of minute time-saving times (data for the special pattern time-saving times counter) is set.
(γ) "Special pattern probability change count counter buffer"
Data for specifying the number of chance bonuses (data for the special symbol chance bonus count counter) is set.
(δ) "Special pattern change count counter buffer"
Data for specifying the number of times a certain variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode continues (data for a special pattern variation counter) is set.
(ε) "Fluctuation pattern allocation designation number buffer"
When a predetermined update condition is satisfied, data specifying the update destination variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode (data for the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode) is set. The update condition includes after a big win game, after a V win game, when a special time-saving function is activated, when the special symbol variation counter becomes zero, and the like.

For example, in the case where the current game state is "normal state (YJ = 00H)" and "special time-saving C" is won, the normal power role open extension transition state buffer, normal pattern time-saving transition state buffer, normal pattern probability change transition state buffer, and special pattern time-saving transition state buffer are each set to "5AH (ON designation)", the special pattern time-saving count counter buffer is set to "a value designating one time of time-saving", and the variation pattern allocation designation number buffer is set to "a value designating consecutive win mode C (04H)". As a result, the transition game state of the next game is designated as "time-saving C". In this embodiment, since the update timing of the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode is the same as the update timing of the internal game state, "0 times" is set in the special pattern variation count counter buffer, but there is no different update timing, specifically, no update (transition) of the internal game state, but in the case where the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode is updated according to the number of games executed (number of changes), a predetermined value is set in the special pattern variation count counter buffer. For example, if the number of games during micro-time saving B (micro-time saving count 250 times) is set to Hell mode A from 1 to 100, and Hell mode B from 100 to 250, the special symbol change count counter buffer is set to 100 times. Also, the change pattern allocation designation number buffer is set to Tcodes that designate Hell modes A and B. Note that the change pattern allocation designation number Tcode is updated when the update timing arrives (see steps S488 to S492 described below).

Next, a special symbol variation pattern creation process is executed (step S413). In this special symbol variation pattern creation process, the desired variation pattern allocation table is obtained using the symbol lottery result (result obtained in step S411), the variation pattern random number, the variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode (current game state), the setting value information (obtained as necessary), and the number of activated reserved balls (0 to 3 existing activated reserved balls excluding the activated reserved ball used for the current variable display operation: see step S403), and a variation pattern targeting the activated reserved ball used for the current variable display operation is determined, in other words, a variation pattern designation command is created. The created variation pattern designation command is then sent to the performance control unit 24.

The special symbol variation pattern creation process is basically the same as the random number determination process when the starting hole wins (step S320 in FIG. 11), which is the pre-reading variation pattern determination process already mentioned. The basic processing procedure of this process is the same as the random number determination process when the starting hole wins (step S320 in FIG. 11), so to avoid duplication, the explanation will be omitted as appropriate.

The special symbol fluctuation pattern creation process includes the following processes (A) to (D) for determining the fluctuation pattern at the start of the fluctuation.

(A) A “fluctuation start time fluctuation pattern distribution table acquisition process” that refers to the “fluctuation pattern distribution table selection table” and acquires a “fluctuation pattern distribution table”;
(B) A "variation pattern designation command acquisition process (variation pattern determination process)" for acquiring variation pattern designation command data (determining a variation pattern) by a variation pattern lottery based on the acquired variation pattern allocation table, and creating a variation pattern designation command;
(C) A "variable time setting process" that determines the variable time (including the addition time required for pseudo-consecutive wins) corresponding to the determined variable pattern and sets it in the "special symbol role operation timer" which is the timer management area of the RAM in the area;
(D) a “command transmission process” for transmitting a variation pattern designation command to the performance control unit 24;
The present invention is configured to include the following.

At the start of the variation, unlike when a prize is won (when a pre-reading judgment is made), the variation pattern allocation table is selected taking into consideration the number of balls in operation (the number of balls in operation at the start of the variation in step S403). As already explained, in the variation pattern allocation table, one or more types of variation patterns related to special symbols are defined in association with the special symbol type, winning type, number of balls in operation, variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode, and random number value for variation pattern (see Figures 26 to 28), and one of the multiple types of variation patterns is selected by lottery using the random number for variation pattern. Specifically, the upper byte data (MODE2) and lower byte data (EVENT) that constitute the variation pattern designation command are determined. This designates the variation pattern at the start of the variation related to this symbol variation display game.

When the change pattern is determined, the change time corresponding to that change pattern is also determined. This determines the current change pattern and its change time. This change time is essentially the same as the play time (decorative pattern change display time (performance time)) of the decorative pattern change display game that is executed in sync with the special pattern change display game.

The information relating to the variation pattern determined in this manner includes at least the winning/losing lottery results (detailed symbol lottery result information is included in the decorative symbol designation command), the current game state, variation time information, and information relating to the execution designation of a particular preview effect (for example, a reach effect or pseudo consecutive win). The main control unit 20 transmits a variation pattern designation command capable of identifying the content to the performance control unit 24. The variation pattern designation command is used by the performance control unit 24 when determining the performance scenario (such as the decorative symbol variation display and various preview effects) relating to the current symbol variation display game.

After the special symbol fluctuation pattern creation process in step S413 is completed, the fluctuating flag corresponding to the current fluctuating start side is set to the ON state (5AH) (step S414). The "fluctuating flag" is a flag indicating whether special symbol 1 or 2 is fluctuating. When the flag is ON (5AH), it indicates that the special symbol is fluctuating, and when the flag is OFF (00H), it indicates that the special symbol is stopped. In this embodiment, a "special symbol 1 fluctuating flag" corresponding to special symbol 1 and a "special symbol 2 fluctuating flag" corresponding to special symbol 2 are handled. For example, if the special symbol 1 side is the current processing target (fluctuating start side), the special symbol 1 fluctuating flag is set to ON and the special symbol 2 fluctuating flag is set to OFF.

Next, a decorative symbol designation command capable of identifying the symbol lottery result information obtained in the special stop symbol creation process in step S411 is obtained, and this is sent to the performance control unit 24 (step S415). The decorative symbol designation command is composed of two bytes, a high-order byte (MODE) that designates the special symbol type on the variable side, and a low-order byte (EVENT) that designates the winning type. Therefore, this decorative symbol designation command contains information on the special symbol type on the variable side and the winning type (symbol lottery result). This decorative symbol designation command is mainly used when determining the combination of decorative symbols (symbol types that are components of the reach symbol) when forming a reach state, the combination of decorative symbols (decorative stop symbols) that are finally stopped and displayed, and the preview performance corresponding to the winning type in the symbol change display game. When the performance control unit 24 receives the change pattern designation command and the decorative symbol designation command, it determines the performance during the symbol change display game (changing performance) and starts the decorative symbol change display game.

Then, as a process for setting the start of fluctuation, the special pattern operation status is switched to "Fluctuating (02H)" (02H is stored in the special pattern operation status), and 00H is stored in the judgment random number storage area (zero clear) (step S416).

As a result of the above, when this special symbol variation start process is exited, the special symbol display data update process (step S309) in FIG. 10 is performed, and thus the variable display of the special symbols is started. This exits the special symbol management process (step S093) and proceeds to the special electric role management process (step S095) in FIG. 9.

(In case of a setting error: Processing route S409 → S411)
Returning to the explanation of the judgment process of step S409, in step S409, if the setting error flag is ON (5AH), that is, if a setting abnormality error is occurring (step S409:=5AH), the random number judgment process for judging the operation of the special electric role object in step S410 (lottery for winning or losing) is skipped, and the special stop pattern creation process in step S411 is executed. In other words, if a setting abnormality error occurs, the lottery for winning or losing at the start of the variation is not executed, and the result of the lottery this time is always processed as "losing" (forced losing control). In this case, considering that a serious error called "setting abnormality error" has occurred, it is preferable to select only the normal variation pattern type without selecting the reach variation pattern type that stimulates the expectation of winning. In addition, in the case of a setting abnormality error, it may be configured to be "unable to continue playing" and not to start the pattern variation display game itself (not to start the pattern variation). In this case, the error notification can be continued until the power of the gaming machine is turned off. In this embodiment, the error notification continues even if the power is turned on again until the setting change process (step S023) shown in FIG. 8A is executed and the setting abnormality error is removed.

<13. Special symbol change processing: Figure 13>
Next, the special symbol variation process (step S307) in Fig. 10 will be described. Fig. 13 is a flow chart showing the details of the special symbol variation process (step S307).

In FIG. 13, the CPU 201 first determines whether the special symbol role operation timer is at zero, i.e., whether the special symbol change time has elapsed (step S451). If the special symbol role operation timer is not at zero (step S451: NO), the special symbol change time has not yet elapsed, i.e., the special symbol is changing, so the CPU 201 does nothing and exits the special symbol change process.

When the special symbol role operation timer reaches zero (step S451: YES), a "change stop command" indicating that the special symbol change has ended is sent to the performance control unit 24 as a performance control command (step S452). This change stop command causes the performance control unit 24 to understand that the special symbol change time has elapsed and the special symbol change display game has ended, and causes the decorative symbol currently being displayed to stop changing (confirmed display). This ends the special symbol change display game, and the decorative symbol change display game also ends.

Next, as a setting process for when the special symbol stops changing, the special symbol confirmation signal output time (for example, 100 ms) is stored in the special symbol confirmation timer of RAM 203, the confirmation display time (for example, 500 ms) is stored in the special symbol role operation timer, the special symbol operation status is switched to "checking (03H)" (03H is stored in the special symbol operation status), 00H (OFF state) is stored in the special symbol changing flag (step S453), and this special symbol changing process is terminated. Here, the above-mentioned "special symbol confirmation signal output time" is a margin time to secure the output time of the special symbol confirmation signal that notifies the hall computer HC that the special symbol has been confirmed and displayed from the frame external terminal board 21. Also, the "confirmed display time" is the time (stopped display time) for which the stopped display is maintained when the special symbol changing display ends and the special symbol is stopped and displayed. During this confirmed display time, the decorative symbol is also confirmed and displayed (mainly stopped). Similarly, the confirmation display time for normal symbols is 500 ms.

When the above special symbol changing process is completed, the special symbol display data update process (step S309) in FIG. 10 is performed, the special symbol management process is completed, and the process proceeds to the special electric device management process in step S095 in FIG. 9.

<13. Processing during special symbol confirmation time (processing when fluctuation stops): Fig. 14A and Fig. 14B>
Next, a description will be given of the special symbol confirmation time process (step S308) in Fig. 10. Fig. 14A and Fig. 14B are flow charts showing the details of the special symbol confirmation time process (step S308).

In Figures 14A and 14B, the CPU 201 first determines whether the special symbol role operation timer is at zero (step S471). The special symbol role operation timer here is set to a "determined display time" (see step S453 in Figure 13). Until the special symbol role operation timer reaches zero (step S471: NO), the CPU 201 does nothing and exits the special symbol confirmation time processing.

When the special symbol device operation timer reaches zero (step S471: YES), this special symbol change display game is deemed to have ended, the special symbol operation status is switched to "Waiting (01H)" (01H is stored in the special symbol operation status) (step S472), and the game status number YJ is stored (step S473).

Then, the big win determination flag, the small win determination flag, the special time-saving determination flag, and the ceiling determination flag are successively determined (steps S474 to S477), and if any of the determination flags is "5AH", the process corresponding to that determination flag is executed (steps S474A to S477A). Each process is explained below.

(When the jackpot determination flag is "5AH")
When the jackpot determination flag is "5AH" (step S474:=5AH), "various setting processes when the jackpot pattern stops" are executed as a setting process before the jackpot game starts (step S474A). In this process, the jackpot determination flag, ceiling counter, ceiling determination flag, variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode, etc. are set to "00H", the condition device operation flag is set to "5AH", and other state flags related to these are set to "00H" to set the low probability and no electric support state, and other processes necessary for the jackpot game transition (start of the jackpot game) are executed.

(When the small hit judgment flag is "5AH")
When the small win determination flag is "5AH" (step S475: = 5AH), "various setting processes when the small win pattern stops" are executed as a setting process before the start of the small win game (step S475A). In this process, the small win determination flag is set to "00H" and the small win in progress flag is set to "5AH", and other processes necessary for the start of the small win are executed. The small win in progress flag is a flag for specifying whether or not a small win game is being played, and when the flag is in the ON state (5AH), it indicates that a small win game is being played, and when the flag is in the OFF state (00H), it indicates that a small win game is not being played.

(When the ceiling judgment flag is "5AH")
When the ceiling judgment flag is "5AH" (step S476:=5AH), "ceiling time-saving setting process" is executed as a setting process before the start of ceiling time-saving (step S476A). In this embodiment, in order to generate "time-saving C" (ceiling time-saving) as a ceiling privilege, in this process, a setting process for transitioning to this time-saving C is executed. Specifically, the state flag (function related to time-saving state) related to the time-saving state is set to "5AH", a predetermined value (ceiling time-saving = time-saving C (time-saving 1 time)) is set to the special pattern time-saving count counter, the special time-saving flag is set to "00H", the variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode is set to "04H (time-saving C)", the game state number YJ is set to "02H", and the ceiling judgment flag is set to "00H", and other processes necessary for the ceiling time-saving transition (start of ceiling time-saving) are executed. As a result, after the ceiling game ends, the game is controlled to the ceiling time-saving (time-saving C). In addition, when a small win is won in the ceiling game, the various setting processes (step S475A) when the small win pattern stops are executed with priority over the ceiling time-saving setting process (step S476A), and when it is determined in the small win process (Figure 15) described below that a non-V win has been won, the ceiling time-saving setting process is executed and the ceiling time-saving is granted.

(When the special time-saving judgment flag is "5AH")
When the special time-saving flag is "5AH" (step S477: = 5AH), "various setting processes when the special time-saving pattern stops" are executed as a setting process before the start of the special time-saving (step S477A). In this process, a setting process is executed to transition to a special time-saving state (micro time-saving A, micro time-saving B, time-saving C) corresponding to the special time-saving type (special time-saving A to C) that has been won. In the case of micro time-saving A or micro time-saving, the above-mentioned state flag (function related to the micro time-saving state) related to the micro time-saving state is set to "5AH", a predetermined value (150 times in the case of micro time-saving A, 250 times in the case of micro time-saving B) is set in the special pattern time-saving count counter, the variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode is set to "01H (micro time-saving A, B)", and the game state number YJ is set to "01H", and other setting processes necessary for starting the micro time-saving state are executed. In the case of time-saving C, similarly to the above-mentioned ceiling time-saving (time-saving C), the state flag (function related to time-saving state) related to the time-saving state is set to "5AH", the special symbol time-saving count counter is set to a predetermined value (time-saving count 1 in the case of time-saving C), the variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode is set to "04H (time-saving C)", the game state number YJ is set to "02H", and other setting processes required for transition to time-saving C (start of time-saving C) are performed. As a result, from the next game, the game is controlled to micro-time-saving A, micro-time-saving B, or time-saving C.

After executing any of the above steps S474A to S477A, the special symbol confirmation time processing is exited.

If the big win judgment flag, small win judgment flag, special time-saving judgment flag, and ceiling judgment flag are all "00H" (steps S474 to S477: ≠ 5AH), in other words, if there is no win, no special time-saving, and the ceiling time-saving is not activated (if it is a complete "miss"), then it is determined whether the special symbol time-saving count counter (remaining number of time-savings) is zero (step S478). If the special symbol time-saving count counter is zero (step S478: YES), the process skips steps S479 to S482 related to the time-saving state or the minute time-saving state, and proceeds to the process of step S483.

On the other hand, if the special pattern time-saving count counter (time-saving count) is not zero (step S478: NO), the special pattern time-saving count counter is decremented by 1 to represent the amount of time spent during this change (step S479), and it is determined whether the special pattern time-saving count counter after decrement is zero (step S480).

If the special symbol time-saving count counter after subtraction is not zero (step S480: NO), the number of times the special symbol time-saving state (including the minute time-saving state) has ended has not been reached, so nothing is done and the process proceeds to step S483. On the other hand, if the special symbol time-saving count counter after subtraction is zero (step S480: YES), it is determined that the time-saving state or the minute time-saving state has ended, and the setting process at the time of the time-saving end is executed (step S481). Here, as the setting process at the time of the time-saving end, the state flag (function related to the time-saving state or the minute time-saving state) related to the time-saving state is set to "00H", the variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode is set to "00H (normal)", and the transition setting process from the time-saving state or the minute time-saving state to the normal state is executed. As a result, the game will be controlled to the "normal state (heaven mode)" from the next game.

After completing the setting process for the time-saving end in step S481, the game state information transmission process is then executed (step S482). Here, a game state designation command is sent to the performance control unit 24. The game state designation command here includes information designating the end of the time-saving state. This game state designation command lets the performance control unit 24 know that the time-saving state has ended in the current game, and that the next game will transition to the normal state. This completes the end setting process for the time-saving state or the minute time-saving state, and proceeds to the process of step S483. Note that the processes of steps S483 to S487 are processes related to the high probability state (including the potential high probability state). In this embodiment, the high probability state is not provided, but they will be described as processes in the case where the high probability state is configured to be controllable.

When the process proceeds to step S483, it is then determined whether the special symbol probability change count counter (remaining probability change count) is zero (step S483). If the special symbol probability change count counter is zero (step S483: YES), the process skips steps S484 to S486 related to the probability change state and proceeds to step S488.

On the other hand, if the special symbol probability change counter (probability change count) is not zero (step S483: NO), the special symbol probability change counter is decremented by 1 to represent the number of times the special symbol has changed this time (step S484), and it is determined whether the special symbol probability change counter is zero after the decrement (step S485).

If the special symbol chance count counter after subtraction is not zero (step S485: NO), the chance count has not ended, so nothing is done and the process proceeds to step S488.

If the special symbol probability change counter after subtraction is zero (step S485: YES), the probability change state is deemed to have ended, and the setting process at the end of the probability change state is executed (step S486). Here, as the setting process at the end of the probability change state, the state flag (function related to the probability change state) related to the probability change state is set to "00H", the variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode is set to a predetermined value (the Tcode of the destination game state), and other transition setting processes are executed from the probability change state to a specific game state. The "specific game state" here refers to a game state that can be transitioned to when the probability change state ends, and includes, for example, a normal state, a time-saving state, or a slight time-saving state (any game state may be transitioned to depending on the game characteristics). In addition, if a potential winning state is provided, the timing of the end of the potential winning state is monitored in steps S483 to S485 in the same way as in the processing of the potential winning state, and when the potential winning state ends (when the determination result of step S485 is YES), the potential winning state is ended by the setting process for the end of the potential winning state (step S486).

After completing the setting process for the end of the special probability state in step S486 above, the game state information transmission process is then executed (step S487). Here, as in step S482 above, a game state designation command is sent to the performance control unit 24, but the information contained in the game state designation command here includes information designating the end of the special probability state or the potential probability state (designation of the end of a high probability state). This game state designation command lets the performance control unit 24 know that the special probability state or the potential probability state (high probability state) has ended in the current game, and that the game will transition to a specific game state (for example, normal state, time-saving state, or slight time-saving state) from the next game.

After completing the game status information transmission process in step S487, it is then determined whether the special symbol change count counter is zero (step S488). Here, the timing of the change in the change pattern allocation designation number Tcode is monitored. In this embodiment, as already explained, the update timing of the change pattern allocation designation number Tcode is the same as the update timing of the internal game status, so the value of the special symbol change count counter is always zero.

If the special pattern change count counter is zero (step S488: YES), nothing is done and the process for this special pattern confirmation time is exited. On the other hand, if the special pattern change count counter is not zero (step S488: NO), the special pattern change count counter is decremented by 1 to represent the number of changes used up this time (step S489), and it is determined whether the special pattern change count counter after the decrement is zero (step S490).

If the special pattern change count counter after subtraction is not zero (step S490: NO), it is not time to update the change pattern allocation designation number Tcode, and the process exits from this special pattern confirmation time without doing anything.

If the special pattern change count counter after subtraction is zero (step S489: YES), it is determined that the time to update the change pattern allocation designation number Tcode has arrived, and the change pattern allocation designation number update process is executed (step S491).

Next, the game status information transmission process is executed (step S492). Here, as in step S482 above, a game status designation command is sent to the performance control unit 24, but the information contained in the game status designation command here includes information that can identify the updated variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode.

As a result of the above, when this special symbol variation start process is completed, the special symbol display data update process (step S309) in FIG. 10 is performed, the special symbol management process (step S093) is completed, and the process proceeds to the special electric role management process (step S095) in FIG. 15.

<15. Special Electric Features Management Process: Figure 15>
Next, the special electric role management process (step S095) in Fig. 15 will be described. Fig. 15 is a flow chart showing the details of the special electric role management process (step S095).

In FIG. 15, the CPU 201 first judges the small win flag (step S501). The small win flag is set to "5AH (ON state)" when the special symbol variable display operation ends during the special symbol confirmation time processing (step S308) in the special symbol management processing (step S093 in FIG. 9) if the big win lottery result is a small win (see step S475A in FIG. 14A). If the small win flag is "5AH" (step S501: = 5AH), small win processing is performed (step S504). This small win processing is processing that controls a series of game operations in a small win game. Details of this small win processing will be described later using FIG. 16 to FIG. 18.

If the small win flag is "00H" (step S501: ≠ 5AH), then the state of the condition device operation flag is determined (step S502). The condition device operation flag is set to "5AH (ON state)" if the big win lottery result is a big win at the end of the special pattern change display game during the special pattern confirmation time processing (step S308) in the special pattern management processing (step S093 in FIG. 9) (see step S474A in FIG. 14A), or if a V is won during a small win game (see flag setting processing (step S642) in FIG. 17 described later).

If both the small win flag and the condition device operation flag are "00H (OFF state)" (step S501: ≠ 5AH and step S502: ≠ 5AH), the game is not in a small win game and is not in a big win game, so the game exits the special electric device management process without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the condition device operation flag is "5AH" (step S502: = 5AH), it is determined that a jackpot or V-hit game is in progress, and processing is performed according to the special electric device operation status "00H-04H" (special electric device operation status branching processing: step S503).

The "special electric device operation status" is a status value indicating the behavior of the special variable winning device 52, and the value is changed according to the processing state and stored in the special electric device operation status area of the RAM in the area. The special electric device operation status includes "start processing in progress (00H)" which specifies the standby state before the start of a jackpot game (including a V-win game), "operation start processing in progress (01H)" which specifies the standby state before the start of a round game, "operation in progress (02H)" which specifies that a round game is being played, "continuation determination in progress (03H)" which specifies that a determination is being made as to whether or not to continue the next round game, and "jackpot end processing in progress (04H)" which specifies that end processing is being performed at the end of a jackpot game (at the end of a V-win game). In addition, in a V-win game, the condition device and the device sequence device are activated and a round game is played in the same way as in a jackpot game, so the processing related to the jackpot game here also includes processing related to the V-win game.

In the special electric device operation status branching process in step S502, it is determined whether the special electric device operation status value is one of the status values "start processing in progress (00H)", "operation start processing in progress (01H)", "operating (02H)", "continuation determination in progress (03H)", or "jackpot end processing in progress (04H)", and the processing state is shifted to one of the processes in steps S505 to S509. The processes in steps S505 to S509 realize jackpot play or V-win play.

For ease of explanation, we will first use Figures 16 to 18 to explain the "small hit process (step S504)", and then explain the processing content of steps S505 to S509.

(16. Small hit processing: Figure 16)
The small hit process (step S504) in Fig. 15 will be described below. Fig. 16 is a flow chart showing the details of the small hit process (step S504).

In FIG. 16, the CPU 201 first determines whether the special electric role operation status is "operating (02H)" or "continuation judgment in progress (03H)" (step S601). If the special electric role operation status is neither "operating (02H)" nor "continuation judgment in progress (03H)" (step S601: ≠ 02H and ≠ 03H), the CPU 201 proceeds to the judgment process of step S603.

On the other hand, if the special electric device operation status is "operating (02H)" or "continuation judgment in progress (03H)" (step S601: =02H or =03H), the number of winnings in the large prize slot is confirmed (step S602), and then the process proceeds to the judgment process of step S603. Details of this number of winnings in the large prize slot confirmation process will be described later using FIG. 17.

When the process proceeds to step S603, it is determined whether the special symbol role operation timer is zero (step S603). The special symbol role operation timer here has timer values set to manage the small win start INT (opening performance time), small win end INT (ending performance time), opening and closing action play time (1.8 seconds), etc., depending on the processing status.

Until the special symbol role operation timer reaches zero (step S603: NO), the process proceeds to the judgment process of step S606. If the special symbol role operation timer reaches zero (step S603: YES), the special electric role operation status specific process (step S605) is executed, and the process according to the current special electric role operation status value "00H to 04H" is executed. Details of this special electric role operation status specific process will be described later using FIG. 18.

When the special electric role operation status processing in step S605 is completed, it is determined whether the special electric role operation status is "operating (02H)" (step S606). If the special electric role operation status is not "operating (02H)" (step S606: ≠ 02H), the small win processing is exited without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the special electric device operation status is "operating (02H)" (step S606: = 02H), the large prize opening opening opening operation setting process is executed (step S607). In this large prize opening opening opening operation setting process, the solenoid control data required to realize the opening and closing operation of the large prize opening 50 (opening door 52b) according to the type of small prize and the operation of the V-induction device are set. The data set in this large prize opening opening opening operation setting process is used in the solenoid management process (step S100) in Figure 9. When the large prize opening opening opening operation setting process is completed, the small prize process is exited.

(17. Large Winning Port Winning Count Confirmation Process: FIG. 17)
Next, the process of confirming the number of winnings in the special prize slot (step S602) in Fig. 16 will be described. Fig. 17 is a flow chart showing the details of the process of confirming the number of winnings in the special prize slot (step S602).

In FIG. 17, the CPU 201 first determines whether or not a win (winning ball) has been detected in the large prize opening 50 (step S621). If a win in the large prize opening 50 has not been detected (step S621: NO), the process proceeds to step S630.

When a winning ball is detected in the large winning opening 50 (step S621: YES), a "large winning opening winning command" is sent to indicate that a winning ball has been won in the large winning opening 50 (large winning opening winning command sending process; step S622), and the large winning opening winning counter that counts the winning balls in the large winning opening 50 is incremented by one (step S623). In addition, a "large winning opening winning command" is sent to the performance control unit 24 each time a winning ball is won in the large winning opening 50. The large winning opening winning command here includes winning information in the large winning opening and winning ball count information (it may also include setting value information), and is used for a winning performance that notifies the fact that a winning ball has been won in the large winning opening 50, as well as for controlling the appearance of setting suggestion performances that use winning performances. For example, when an over-winning that exceeds the maximum number of winning balls occurs, a special over-winning performance is displayed instead of the normal over-winning performance according to the appearance rate determined according to the setting value.

Next, it is determined whether the special electric role operation status is "in operation (02H)" (step S624). If the special electric role operation status is not "in operation (02H)" (step S624: NO), the process proceeds to step S630.

On the other hand, if the special electric device operation status is "operating (02H)" (step S624: YES), the remaining ball discharge time (see step S614 in FIG. 18 described below) has not elapsed, and the winning into the large winning slot 50 is deemed valid. Next, it is determined whether the large winning slot winning counter has reached the maximum number of winnings (for example, 10 balls) (step S625).

If the maximum number of winnings has not been reached (step S625: NO), the process proceeds to step S630 without doing anything. If the maximum number of winnings has been reached (step S625: YES), the special symbol device operation timer is cleared (step S626) as the condition for closing the large winning opening is met, and the process proceeds to step S629. The special symbol device operation timer (the large winning opening opening/closing operation time during timing) is forcibly reset to zero, and the large winning opening 50 that is currently open is closed as the maximum number of winnings has been reached. Note that if step S625 is executed while the special electric device operation status is "operating (02H)", the special symbol device operation timer here is set to the large winning opening operation time (see step S613 in FIG. 18 described later).

In step S629, the process determines whether or not there has been a detection by the specific area sensor 51a that detects winnings in the V winning port (specific area), i.e., whether or not there has been a V winning. If there has been no V winning (step S630: NO), steps S631 to S643 relating to V winnings, which will be described later, are skipped, and the process exits from the large winning port winning count confirmation process.

If a V win has been made (step S630: YES), a V win command is sent to the performance control unit 24 (V win command sending process: step S631). This V win command contains at least information about the current small win type (small win A to B (V win 1 to 2)), and in this embodiment, it contains the current small win type (V win type) and game state information at the time of winning. The V win command allows the performance control unit 24 to determine that a V win has been made (that a V win has occurred) and the game state to which it will transition, and performs performance processing related to the V win time performance (opening performance) that corresponds to the current small win type (V win type).

Next, it is determined whether the conditional device activation flag is "5AH" (step S641), and if the conditional device activation flag is "5AH" (step S641: NO), that is, if the conditional device activation flag due to a V win has already been set to "5AH (ON state)", the process exits the large win slot win count confirmation process without doing anything.

If the condition device operation flag is not "5AH (OFF state)" (step S641: YES), a flag setting process for the occurrence of a V win is performed (step S642). In this flag setting process, as a pre-processing before the start of the V hit game, the condition device operation flag and the V win flag are set to "5AH", and the ceiling judgment flag is set to "00H" (ceiling function activation prohibition control when the condition device is activated). As a result, the condition device is in an activated state, and after the small hit game is finished, the judgment result of step S502 in the special electric device management process in FIG. 13 becomes "=5AH", and the control process (steps S505 to S509) for the big hit game is executed according to the value of the special electric device operation status, and the "V hit game" corresponding to the small hit type is controlled. The "V Winning Flag" is a flag that specifies that a V win has occurred during a small win game, and is a flag for identifying whether the current win, for which the condition device operation flag is set to "5AH", is due to a V win or a big win. The "V Winning Flag" is also set to "00H (OFF state)" when the V win game ends.

In the event that a small win is won in the ceiling game and the win is not a V win, the processing of step S642 is not executed and the ceiling determination flag remains at "5AH" (see the processing route where step S630 is NO), and the ON/OFF state of the ceiling determination flag is determined in the small win end processing (step S616) during the processing by special electric role operation status (step S605) described below. If the ceiling determination flag is ON (5AH), the small win end processing executes processing similar to the ceiling time reduction setting processing (step S476A) described above, and the ceiling time reduction is granted.

Next, a game state transition setting process for when a V is won is performed (step S643). In this game state transition setting process, various data for specifying the game state to be transitioned to after the V win game ends (see FIG. 4B) depending on the type of small win that was won this time and the game state at the time of winning is stored in a specified buffer (state buffer setting process). The data stored in the buffer is read out in the big win end process (step S509) during the special electric device management process in FIG. 14 described later, and is set to the corresponding state flag. Note that since game state transition control is not performed when a non-V is won, in this embodiment, there is no game state transition setting process for when a non-V is won.

(18. Special Electric Role Operation Status Processing: FIG. 18)
Next, the special electric role operation status-specific processing (step S605) in Fig. 16 will be described. Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing the details of the special electric role status-specific processing (step S605).

In FIG. 18, the CPU 201 refers to the current special electric role operation status, and executes each process of steps S612 to S616 depending on which of the values 00H to 04H the status value is (special electric role operation status branching determination process: step S611). Each process of steps S612 to S616 is explained below.

(18-1. Small hit start processing: step S612)
First, the "small win start processing (step S612)" related to the special electric device operation status "start processing in progress (00H)" will be explained.

When the small win game starts, the special electric device operation status is "Start processing in progress (00H)" (see the small win end processing in step S616 described below). Therefore, here, the small win start processing in step S612 is executed first.

In this small win start process, a "small win start command" that instructs the start of a small win is sent to the performance control unit 24 as pre-processing before the opening and closing action game is started. This small win start command is used by the performance control unit 24 for performance processing related to the opening action. Then, the special symbol role operation timer is set to "small win start INT (opening time)" as the interval time before opening before the opening and closing action game is executed, the large prize opening winning counter that counts the number of wins in the large prize opening 50 is cleared, and the special electric role operation status is updated to "operation start processing in progress (01H)". This ends the small win start process.

(18-2. Small hit special electric role start processing: step S613)
Next, the small win special electric device operation start processing (step S613) related to the special electric device operation status "start processing in progress (01H)" will be described.

This small win special electric device activation start process is executed when the special electric device operation status is "activation start process in progress (01H)" after the small win start INT has elapsed. (When the judgment process result of step S603 in FIG. 16 is "YES" and "activation start process in progress (01H)"). Here, the prize number counter related to the large prize opening (prize number counter for the large prize opening) is cleared, and the large prize opening opening operation time (opening and closing operation time of the large prize opening 50 related to the opening and closing operation game) is set in the special pattern device operation timer. Then, the special electric device operation status is updated to "activation in progress (02H)". This ends the small win special electric device activation start process.

In addition, in the process of setting the opening and closing operation of the large prize opening in step S607 in FIG. 14, a process of setting the excitation signal ON/OFF for the solenoid based on the opening operation time of the large prize opening is executed, thereby controlling the opening and closing operation of the large prize opening 50 related to the opening and closing operation game. The opening and closing operation of the large prize opening 50 is controlled until the large prize opening operation time (here, the opening and closing operation game time) has elapsed and the special symbol device operation timer becomes zero, or until the maximum number of wins is reached and the special symbol device operation timer is forcibly cleared to zero (see the processes of steps S625 to S626 in FIG. 17 and the judgment process of step S603 in FIG. 16).

(18-3. Processing during operation of small win special electric device: step S614)
Next, the small win special electric device operation processing (step S614) related to the special electric device operation status "in operation (02H)" will be described.

This small win special electric device operation process functions as a setting process at the end of the opening and closing action during a small win game, and is executed when the special pattern device operation timer becomes zero due to the passage of the above-mentioned opening and closing action game time or the reaching of the maximum number of winnings, and the special electric device operation status is "operating (02H)" (when the judgment process result of step S603 in FIG. 16 is "YES" and "operating (02H)"). Here, as a setting process at the end of the opening and closing action game, the remaining ball discharge time (for example, 1500 ms) is set in the special pattern device operation timer, and the special electric device operation status is updated to "continuation judgment in progress (03H)". This ends the small win special electric device operation process. The "remaining ball discharge time" refers to the time required to discharge the remaining balls inside the large prize opening, and this time width is sufficient to allow the game ball that entered just before the large prize opening is closed to pass through the winning detection switch (large prize opening sensor 52a, specific area sensor 51a) formed inside the large prize opening. Therefore, if the game ball in the large prize opening 50 enters the V prize opening before this remaining ball discharge time has elapsed, it will be a "V win" and a V hit game will occur.

(17-4. Small hit continuation judgment processing: step S615)
Next, the small win continuation judgment process (step S615) related to the special electric device operation status "continuation judgment in progress (03H)" will be described.

This small win continuation judgment process is executed when it is determined that all game balls that entered the large winning opening 50 during the opening and closing operation game have been discharged. Specifically, it is executed when the special electric device operation status is "continuation judgment in progress (03H)" after the remaining ball discharge time (1500 ms) set in the special symbol device operation timer has elapsed (when the judgment process result of step S603 in FIG. 16 is "YES" and "continuation judgment in progress (03H)"). Note that until the remaining ball discharge time (1500 ms) has elapsed, the judgment of step S603 during the small win process shown in FIG. 16 is "NO", and the process of "step S601 → S603 (= NO) → S606 (≠ in operation)" is executed until the remaining ball discharge time has elapsed.

Here, the "small win end INT" is set in the special symbol role operation timer, and the special electric role operation status is updated to "end processing in progress (04H)". In addition, the small win end INT set here is the pre-open interval time (pre-open INT) for the first round (effectively the second round) of the V win game when a V win is won. On the other hand, in the case of a non-V win, the "ending time" is set as the ending performance time width for the end of the small win game. However, the pre-open INT at the time of a V win may not be set, and the V win INT (start interval time for the V win game) may be set immediately. In addition, the small win end INT at the time of a non-V win may be set to a different interval time depending on the type of small win and/or the game state at the time of the small win. For example, it is 10 seconds when the game state at the time of the win is normal, and 2.5 seconds when in a time-saving state.

(17-5. Small hit end processing: step S616)
Next, the small win end processing (step S616) related to the special electric device operation status "end processing in progress (04H)" will be explained.

This small win end process functions as a setting process at the end of a small win game, and is executed when the special electric device operation status is "end processing in progress (04H)" after the small win end INT has elapsed (when the judgment process result of step S603 in FIG. 16 is "YES" and "end processing in progress (04H)"). Here, as various setting processes at the end of a small win, the small win flag is set to "00H" and the special electric device operation status is updated to "start processing in progress (00H)". Also, although not shown in the figure, here, the ON/OFF state of the ceiling judgment flag is judged (whether the ceiling judgment flag is "5AH" or not), and if the ceiling judgment flag is ON (5AH), the same processing content as the above ceiling time reduction setting process (step S476A) is executed, and the processing required for the ceiling time reduction transition is executed. As a result, the transition to the ceiling time reduction will be made after the small win game ends. With the completion of this small win end process, the series of control processes related to small win play ends.

<15. Big Win Game Control Process (Steps S505 to S509): FIG. 15>
(15-1. Big hit start processing)
Returning to the explanation of FIG. 15, steps S505 to S509 in the special electric role management process (step S095) will be explained.

First, we will explain the "jackpot start process" in step S505. When a jackpot game starts, the condition device operation flag is set to "5AH" and the special electric device operation status is set to the initial value of "start processing in progress (00H)". Therefore, when a "jackpot" occurs, this "jackpot start process" is executed first. Note that when a V is won, the "jackpot start process" is also executed first (when a V is hit, the condition device operation flag is set to 5AH and the special electric device operation status is set to "start processing in progress (00H)": see step S642 in FIG. 17 and step S616 in FIG. 18).

When the jackpot start process begins, the CPU 201 first sets the feature continuous operation device operation flag to "5AH (ON state)" as the setting process required when starting a jackpot game (start-time setting process). This allows continuous operation of the special electric feature (round play). The special electric feature operation status is then updated to "operation start process in progress (01H)" and the "continuous number counter" that counts the number of rounds is set to 01H, which specifies the first round. Note that in the case of a V hit, the opening and closing action play due to the small hit play is considered to be the first round, so the continuous number counter here is set to "02H", which specifies the second round.

Next, depending on the type of win that has been won this time (special pattern determination data (here, data related to the jackpot type, V-win type (small win type))), the "maximum number of rounds" corresponding to the current jackpot or V-win is set in the relevant area of the RAM within the area, and the "start interval time" and round display LED number are set in the special pattern role operation timer. Note that the "start interval time (start INT)" refers to the interval period from when the special pattern confirmation display time (see steps S471 and S474A in FIG. 14A) has elapsed in the case of a jackpot and the jackpot is confirmed (after the jackpot pattern stop is displayed as confirmed) until the special variable winning device 52 is activated (until the first round of play begins), and refers to the time width that determines the opening performance period. In the case of a V-win, the above-mentioned V-winning INT is set as the start interval time. Additionally, the "round display LED number" is data that specifies the maximum number of rounds (prescribed number of rounds), and the CPU 201 causes the round number display device 39c to display the current maximum number of rounds according to the round display LED number.

Next, a "win start command" is sent to the performance control unit 24, and this jackpot start process is exited. The "win start command" includes information that can identify the current win type (special pattern determination data) and the game state at the time of the win. When the performance control unit 24 receives this win start command, it determines a series of win performance scenarios (opening performance, during round performance, between-round interval performance, round end performance, ending performance, etc.) that will be played out during this jackpot game or V win game (during start INT, between round play, during round play, during end INT, etc.), and starts the opening performance. Thus, the jackpot game or V win game begins.

The following effects are displayed during the winning performance. For example, in the opening performance, a flashy performance to celebrate the winning (V winning) is performed along with the start of the big winning game (V winning game). In addition, in the round performance, a performance is performed to notify the number of winnings in the big winning port 50 and the number of winning balls (balls) obtained, and in the round INT performance, a performance is performed to notify the end of the current round of play. In addition, in the ending performance, specific information notification performances such as company logo display and warning displays to prevent addiction to the game and to prevent forgetting to take the IC card, and transition-related information notification performances that notify information ("information related to the game state of the transition destination" and/or "information related to the performance mode of the transition destination") are also performed. Details of the specific information notification performance and the transition-related information notification performance will be explained using FIG. 64 described later.

(15-2. Special electric device operation start processing)
Next, the special electric feature operation start processing (step S506) related to the special electric feature operation status "operation start processing in progress (01H)" will be described.

When the special electric device operation start process is started, the CPU 201 first determines whether the special symbol device operation timer is zero. The special symbol device operation timer here is set to a pre-round interval time. As for this interval time, in the first round (1R for a jackpot game, 2R for a V-hit game), the "start interval time (start INT)" set in the above-mentioned "jackpot start process (step S505)" is monitored, but when passing through this process (step S506) from the 2nd round onwards, the "pre-open interval time", specifically, the interval time between rounds (R INT) from the end of the current round game to the start of the next round game, is monitored. Since the current round game has not ended until the special symbol device operation timer reaches zero, the special electric device operation start process is exited without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the special symbol device operation timer is zero, that is, the pre-open interval time (start interval time in the case of the first round) has elapsed, the opening/closing operation pattern of the large prize opening 50 is set according to the type of win (special symbol determination data) and the current number of rounds (consecutive number counter value) (large prize opening opening/closing operation setting process). Here, the large prize opening opening/closing operation time (maximum opening time) is stored in the special symbol device operation timer, and based on the large prize opening opening/closing operation time (special symbol device operation timer), control data for the solenoid (control data for the large prize opening solenoid 52c) for controlling the opening/closing operation of the large prize opening 50 (opening door 52b) is set.

In addition, when the large prize opening opening start operation starts, a "large prize opening opening command" is sent to the performance control unit 24. This "large prize opening opening command" contains the current round number information, and is used by the performance control unit 24 when causing the performance during the round corresponding to the round number to appear. Then, the special electric device operation status is switched to "operating (02H)" and the special electric device management process is exited. Thus, the large prize opening 50 is opened up to the upper limit of the large prize opening opening and closing operation time, and the current round of play begins.

(15-3. Processing during operation of special electric devices)
Next, the special electric feature operation processing (step S507) related to the special electric feature operation status "in operation (02H)" will be described.

When the special electric device operation processing starts, the CPU 201 first executes the "large prize slot winning number confirmation processing" shown in FIG. 17. Details of the large prize slot winning number confirmation processing have already been explained in the small prize processing above, but here, winnings in the large prize slot 50 during a big prize game or a V prize game are monitored. During a big prize game or a V prize game, the processing of steps S621 to S630 is executed, but since there is no winning in the V prize slot, the processing route where the judgment result of step S630 is "NO" is always followed.

The special symbol role operation timer here is set to the special symbol role operation timer set in the above-mentioned "special electric role operation start process (step S506)", and until this special symbol role operation timer reaches zero, that is, until the large prize opening operation time (maximum opening time) has elapsed or the maximum number of prizes has been reached, nothing is done and the special electric role operation process is exited.

When the maximum number of winnings is reached or the maximum opening time has elapsed and the special symbol device operation timer reaches zero, the current round of play is deemed to have ended, the special electric device operation status is updated to "Continuation determination in progress (03H)", and the remaining ball discharge time (1500 ms) is stored in the special symbol device operation timer. In addition, when the large winning port closes (end of round play), an inter-round interval command is sent to the performance control unit 24. This "inter-round interval command" includes information on the end of the round of play and the current number of rounds, and is used by the performance control unit 24 to produce an inter-round INT performance during the inter-round INT. This causes the special electric device operation processing to exit.

(9-4. Special electric device operation continuation determination process)
Next, the special electric feature operation continuation determination process (step S508) relating to the special electric feature operation status "continuation determination in progress (03H)" will be described.

When the special electric device operation continuation determination process is started, the CPU 201 first determines whether the special symbol device operation timer is at zero. Since the special symbol device operation timer here is set to the remaining ball discharge time after the large prize opening is closed (1500 ms) (see step S507), it determines whether this remaining ball discharge time has elapsed. Until the special symbol device operation timer reaches zero, the CPU 201 does nothing and exits the special electric device operation continuation determination process.

When the special symbol device operation timer reaches zero, meaning the remaining ball discharge time has elapsed, the value of the consecutive number of rounds counter is obtained to determine whether the current number of rounds has reached the maximum number of rounds. If the maximum number of rounds has not been reached, the consecutive number of rounds counter is incremented by 1 (+1) as processing for continuing round play, the "interval time before release" is stored in the special symbol device operation timer, and the special electric device operation status is updated to "operation start processing in progress (01H)."

When the current number of rounds reaches the maximum number of rounds, the "end INT (end interval time)" is stored in the special symbol device operation timer as the setting process for the end of the final round, and the special electric device operation status is updated to "end processing in progress (04H)". The above "end INT" refers to the interval period from the end of the final round of round play and the remaining ball discharge time has elapsed until the end of the jackpot game or V hit game, and refers to the time width that determines the ending performance period. The end INT may also be treated as the interval period from the end of the jackpot game to the start of the symbol change display game. In this case, the period excluding the end INT can be treated as the jackpot game or V hit game period.

Then, a "jackpot end command" that instructs the start of the ending presentation is sent to the presentation control unit 24, and the special electric device operation continuation judgment process is exited. This ends the final round (the maximum number of rounds) of round play. The jackpot end command includes information regarding the type of jackpot this time and the game state at the time of the win, that is, information (destination game state information) that can identify the game state after the jackpot game or V-hit game ends (see Figures 4A and 4B), and is also used by the presentation control unit 24 when determining the presentation mode after the end of these winning games.

(15-5. Big win end processing)
Next, the jackpot termination process (step S509) relating to the special electric device operation status "termination processing in progress (04H)" will be described.

When the jackpot end process starts, the CPU 201 first judges whether the special symbol role operation timer is at zero (step S591). Since the special symbol role operation timer here is set to the end interval time (end INT) described above, here it is judged whether this end interval time has elapsed. Until the special symbol role operation timer reaches zero, the jackpot end process is exited without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the special symbol role operation timer reaches zero (the end interval time has elapsed), a status flag setting process is executed. In this status flag setting process, the values of the status buffers set in the "game status transition preparation process (step S412 in FIG. 12)" already explained are set in the flag area or counter area corresponding to the status buffer. This specifies the game status after a jackpot game or a V-hit game.

Next, various setting processes are executed when the jackpot ends. Here, various data used during the jackpot game control process is cleared, the game status notification LED output number (game status notification LED data by the composite display device 38c) is updated, and the special electric device operation status is updated to "Start processing in progress (00H)". With the end of this jackpot end process, a series of control processes related to the jackpot game or V-win game is terminated.

<19. Timer interrupt outside area processing: Figure 19>
Next, the timer interrupt area outside process (step S101) in Fig. 9 will be described below. Fig. 19 is a flow chart showing the details of the timer interrupt area outside process.

In this embodiment, the operating programs and storage areas for the management process for out-of-area errors (FIGS. 31(B)(D)) and the signal output process for type testing related to the control process for performance display are specified in the out-of-area memory (second memory area). After completing the solenoid management process in FIG. 9, the CPU 201 saves all registers to the stack area, and then in FIG. 19, first saves the stack pointer related to the in-area RAM (step S820A) and sets the stack pointer related to the out-of-area RAM (step S820B).

Next, an out-of-area timer management process is executed (S821). In this out-of-area timer management process, timer update processes related to multiple types of out-of-area errors are performed. Here, timer management process (timer subtraction process) is executed for the operation check timer for the operation check display of the performance indicator 99 and the error notification timer (each notification timer for radio error, magnetic error, and prize slot error (see FIG. 31 (B))), and the operation check display time and out-of-area error notification time are managed. Note that if the operation check timer is set in the in-area RAM, it can be managed by the timer management process (step S082) in FIG. 9.

Next, an out-of-area error determination process is executed (step S822). In this out-of-area error determination process, multiple types of out-of-area errors are monitored. In this embodiment, three types of errors are monitored, which correspond to the out-of-area error flag (Figure 31 (D)): radio wave error, magnetic error, and prize slot error. For each of these out-of-area errors, an error determination value (determination value of the error detection timer), error notification time (setting value of the error notification timer), error command (error notification command), and error release command are defined.

For radio wave errors, magnetic errors, and prize slot errors, when the respective error detection timers reach their judgment values, it is determined that an error has occurred, and the out-of-area error flag (Fig. 31(D)) corresponding to the error is turned ON, a predetermined value is set in the error notification timer, and an error command is sent to the performance control unit 24. For example, when the magnetic sensor detects magnetism continuously for a predetermined time, it is determined that a magnetic error has occurred, and the third bit of the in-area error flag (Fig. 31(C)) is turned ON, the error notification timer is set to a timer value for magnetic error notification (for example, 30 seconds), and an error command specifying the magnetic error is sent. Note that when the currently occurring error is released, the corresponding out-of-area error flag (Fig. 31(D)) is turned OFF (0), and an error release command is sent to the performance control unit 24 to end the error notification. Note that the error command and the error release command are sent using a common out-of-area command sending module.

Next, the test-fire signal terminal management process is executed (step S823). The gaming machine 1 of this embodiment is configured to be able to output a "type test signal" capable of identifying the control state of the gaming machine from the frame external terminal board 21 in response to a type test conducted by a third-party testing organization (a designated testing organization based on the provisions of Article 20, Paragraph 5 of the Law Concerning the Control and Proper Management of Amusement and Amusement Businesses, etc.) to determine whether the gaming machine is proper or not. In addition, the gaming machine provided for the type test is provided with a dedicated connection terminal (test-fire device information terminal) for connecting to a test device, and the type test can be carried out by inputting and outputting test signals between the gaming machine and the test device. Furthermore, when a gaming machine that meets the type test is installed in a pachinko hall, no changes to the compatible control program are permitted, so even after installation in the pachinko hall, this test firing signal terminal management process (step S823) will be executed repeatedly for each interrupt. However, mass-produced gaming machines are not equipped with the above-mentioned dedicated connection terminal, and so cannot be used as an outer end signal for the so-called data counter or hall computer HC.

In this test firing signal terminal management process, game information (test information) required for type testing is acquired in a 1-byte external output buffer (corresponding to test firing device information terminal ports 1-5) provided in the external RAM, and the information (for example, flag ON/OFF information) is supplied to an 8-bit output port (for example, test firing device information terminal ports 1-5), and various test information is output externally as a type test signal. In this embodiment, predetermined test information is acquired and can be output from the test firing device information terminal (test firing device information terminal ports 1-5). The CPU 201 acquires various data (such as flags stored according to the processing status of the game progress related to the game) stored in the internal RAM, and transmits the game information required for type testing to the test device.

(Performance display monitor process: steps S824 to S831)
After completing the test firing signal terminal management process, the display control process for performance information (hereinafter referred to as the "performance display monitor process") is executed in steps S824 to S831 in (P) of the figure.

The performance display monitor process first executes an out-of-area RAM check process (step S824). This out-of-area RAM check process monitors for out-of-area RAM errors (RAM abnormalities such as data corruption). Details of the out-of-area RAM check process will be described later with reference to FIG. 20.

Next, the external LED management process is executed (step S825). In the external LED management process, the output of a control signal (dynamic lighting data) is controlled to the performance display 99 based on the display data created in the display data update process (step S831) described below. In the external LED management process, the data set in the "output buffer for identification display unit" and "output buffer for base display unit" set in the display data update process at the time of the previous interrupt is output to the performance display unit 99, and display control of the performance information (display control of the identification display unit and data display unit) is performed. The output buffer for identification display unit and the output buffer for base display unit are used to store the display pattern data of the identification display unit and the base display unit, and are provided in the external RAM.

(Processing related to the operation confirmation display: processing route from step S826 to S833)
Next, it is determined whether the operation check timer is equal to zero (step S826). The operation check timer is set to an initial value of 5000 ms in the "operation check timer setting process (step S034 in FIG. 8B)" which is part of the power-on process.

If the operation check timer is not zero (step S826: ≠ 0), the operation check process is executed (step S833). In this operation check process, the process required for executing the operation check display (all blinking) when the power is turned on is executed. As already explained, the operation check timer is set to an initial value (5000 ms) during the process when the power is turned on, including when the power is restored after a power outage. Therefore, if the power is interrupted during the operation check, when the power is restored after the power outage, the operation check is not resumed from the state when the power was interrupted. Instead, when the power is restored, the initial value of the operation check timer is reset, and the operation check display is displayed again until the operation check time of 5000 ms has elapsed. Details of this operation check process will be described later using FIG. 21.

(Processing route from step S826 to S827)
On the other hand, if the operation check timer is zero (step S826:=0), it is determined that the operation check display has ended, and the process (steps S828 to S831) for causing the performance display unit 99 to display the performance information is performed.

First, the state determination flag is set to "00H" (step S827). This "state determination flag" is a flag for specifying whether or not the section is a "counting target section" (a game state related to the counting target) for measuring performance information (in this embodiment, the base value), and is used to calculate the performance information. In this embodiment, when the flag is ON (=5AH), it indicates that the section is a counting target section (a game state that is a counting target = a normal state and a slight time-saving state), and when the flag is OFF (=00H), it indicates that the section is not a measurement target section (a game state other than a normal state and a slight time-saving state). This state determination flag is advantageous in that multiple game states can be specified as counting target sections with one flag (a flag that is common to multiple game states).

Next, it is determined whether the current gaming state is a specific gaming state (counting target section: in this embodiment, normal state or slight time-saving state) (step S828), and if it is a specific gaming state (step S828: YES), the state determination flag is set to "5AH (ON state)" (step S829). This designates that the current section is a counting target section.

However, if the specific game state is not reached (step S828: NO), that is, if the area is not subject to counting, nothing is done and the process proceeds to step S830. Therefore, in this case, the state determination flag is maintained at "00H", and it is specified that the area is currently not subject to counting.

(Regarding the counting section)
In this embodiment, the "normal state and the minute time-saving state" are specified as the game states to be counted. The reason why not only the normal state but also the minute time-saving state belonging to the time-saving state is included in the counting target is as follows.

In this embodiment, the base value of a game state that the player may frequently encounter during game progress (a game state in a low base state) is measured to check whether the original performance of the gaming machine is being demonstrated and whether any abnormalities in the ball output have occurred due to fraudulent activity, etc. Specifically, in addition to a high-base state during a high-variant state or a time-saving state, a winning game in which a large number of prize balls can be obtained in a short period of time is also excluded. In this embodiment, the above-mentioned "game state in a low base state" corresponds to the "normal state" and the "slight time-saving state".

The micro-time-saving state is a game state belonging to the time-saving state, but the micro-time-saving state according to this embodiment is either a state without electric support like the normal state, or a game state in which electric support is present but the electric support is rarely activated. In other words, it is defined as a game state that can exert a base value substantially the same as the normal state (base value of the normal state ≒ base value of the micro-time-saving state). Here, when comparing the "normal state" and the "micro-time-saving state" from the viewpoint of the encounter rate (stay rate) of the game state, the "micro-time-saving state" has a higher stay rate, that is, it is a game state that can be stayed in for the longest period of time in terms of game progress. For this reason, when calculating the base value as performance information, it is considered to set only the micro-time-saving state as the counting target. However, the normal state is also a game state that can exert a base value substantially the same as the micro-time-saving state, and it is preferable to count the normal state as well, rather than only the micro-time-saving state, in order to improve the reliability of the performance information.

By the way, a memory area for managing the same data as the current game state information (for example, game state number YJ) managed in the internal RAM can be provided in the external RAM, and the current game state information (game state number YJ) can be managed in the external RAM as well. In the above-mentioned step S828, the game state information (game state number YJ) in the external RAM can be obtained, and it can be determined whether the current game state is a specific game state (normal state or slight time-saving state) that is the counting target zone. In addition, when determining whether a big win is being played or not, a condition device operation flag is obtained, and when determining whether a small win is being played or not, a small win in progress flag is obtained, and the ON (5AH)/OFF (00H) state of the flag can be determined. In other words, when determining whether a win is being played or not (whether the internal game state or game mode related to a win is being played or not), it can be determined according to the setting state of the condition device operation flag or the small win in progress flag.

However, in such a configuration, even though the game status information is managed in the internal RAM, the same duplicated data is managed in the external RAM, which unnecessarily puts pressure on the external memory, ultimately leading to pressure on the memory area of the entire RAM 203 and a control burden. In particular, in the gaming machine according to this embodiment, access to the internal RAM is not prohibited when executing processes related to the external memory (processing related to performance display, processing related to test firing), and the capacity of the RAM is strictly limited due to legal requirements, so reducing the usage even as much as possible is preferable for executing various processes related to the game. Therefore, without providing a separate storage area in the external RAM to manage the current game status information (game status number YJ), the game status number YJ on the internal RAM side can be directly obtained to perform the process of determining whether or not the specific game status related to the counting target is being reached.

(Section designation number SF: FIG. 25)
Also, in the internal RAM, a counting target information storage area (hereinafter referred to as "section designation number SF") may be provided for storing common data in a plurality of game states related to the counting target section. For example, when "normal state and slight time-saving state" are adopted as game states related to the counting target section, if the current game state is either the normal state or the slight time-saving state, the section designation number SF is set to "01H (counting section designation)", and if it is any other game state, the section designation number SF is set to "00H (non-counting section designation)" (see the "SF" column in FIG. 25, Note 1).

Then, in the judgment process of step S828 in FIG. 19, the section designation number SF on the RAM side in the area is directly obtained, so that the judgment process of whether or not the specific game state related to the counting target is in progress can be performed. When such a section designation number SF is used, the following advantages are obtained.

In the case of this embodiment, when multiple types of game states such as "normal state and slight time-saving state" are counted, when determining the counting target section in the determination process of step S828, for example, if the determination is made by referring to "YJ" as game state information, it becomes necessary to provide multiple stages of processing such as whether or not it is in a normal state, whether or not it is in a slight time-saving state, whether or not it is in a time-saving state, whether or not it is in a winning game (whether or not the condition device is operating, whether or not it is in a small winning state, etc.), which may lead to an increase in the control burden. Similarly, when the determination is made by referring to "Tcode" as game state information, it may become necessary to provide multiple stages of processing.

However, if the section designation number SF is set, the common section designation number "01H" is set for the "normal state and the minute time-saving state", and the section designation number "00H" is set for other (non-countable) game states. Therefore, in the judgment process of step S828 in FIG. 19, it becomes possible to determine whether or not the game state is subject to counting simply by obtaining the section designation number SF on the in-area RAM side and determining whether its value is a specific value (for example, 01H (countable area designation)). In other words, without providing a storage area in the out-area RAM to manage the current game state information (game state number YJ), the in-area out-of-area process in the timer interrupt directly obtains the section designation number SF of the in-area RAM, and thereby makes it possible to perform the judgment process (step S828) of whether or not the game state is subject to counting.

In the case of the embodiment in which the section designation number SF is set as described above, in the judgment process of step S828, if the section designation number SF is "01H", the judgment result is "YES", the status judgment flag is set to "5AH" (counting target section designation) (step S829), and the process proceeds to step S830; on the other hand, if the section designation number SF is "00H", the judgment result is "NO", the process of step S829 is skipped, and the status judgment flag remains "00H" (non-counting target section designation), and the process proceeds to step S830.

In this way, the section designation number SF is suitable for defining multiple game states as counting sections or multiple game states as non-counting sections.

The process of setting the section designation number SF to "01H" or "00H" may be performed when clearing the RAM or during processes related to the transition (update) of the game state, such as the in-area RAM clear process shown in step S030 of FIG. 8B (in this case, the game is initialized to the default normal state, so in this embodiment, the section designation number SF is set to "01H"), the setting process in steps S474A to S477A of FIG. 14A, or the jackpot end process (step S509) of FIG. 15. In processes related to the transition (update) of the game state, the section designation number SF may be set or updated to a predetermined value ("01H" or "00H") as appropriate.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 19, when the process proceeds to step S830, the switch input data setting process is executed (step S830). In this switch input data setting process, input data regarding the presence or absence of winning for each winning port is created based on various switch input data acquired in the input management process (step S082) during the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 9, specifically, input data (game ball detection data) of sensors required for performance information such as the start port sensor 34a, 35a, the large winning port sensor 52a, the specific area sensor 51a, the general winning port sensor 43h, and the OUT monitoring switch 49a. The data created here is used as data for calculating performance information such as the number of payouts under normal conditions, the number of outs under normal conditions, the base value, and the count of the number of outs in all states in the performance display monitor tally division process of the outside area process in the main loop of FIG. 8B, which has already been explained.

Next, a display data update process is executed (step S831). Details will be described later with reference to FIG. 22, but in this display data update process, LED display data for displaying performance information on the performance display unit 99 is created and set in LED output buffers such as the identification display unit output buffer and the data display unit output buffer. The data created here is output in the outside area LED management process (step S825) at the time of the next interrupt. This allows the performance display unit 99 to display performance information in real time, such as the current base value (real-time base value) and previous history information (history base value).

Then, the saved contents of the stack pointer SP are restored (step S832), the timer interrupt outside area processing is exited, and all registers are restored.

Of the timer interrupt outside area processing in FIG. 19, steps S824 to S831 function as information display control means that controls the information display means (performance indicator 99) based on the information display control program. In this embodiment, the inside RAM of RAM 202 is provided with a game information storage area capable of storing game state data (either the game state number YJ or the section designation number SF described above may be used) for identifying the current game state. On the other hand, the outside RAM of RAM 202 is provided with a specific information storage area capable of storing specific data indicating a specific game state (normal state or minute time-saving state).

The information display control means includes a determination means (step S828) for determining whether the current game state is a specific game state based on game state data stored in the game information storage area of the RAM in the area, a specific information storage means (step S829) for storing the specific data in the specific information storage area when the determination means determines that the game state is a specific game state, a calculation means (S043 in FIG. 8B, S830 in FIG. 19) for calculating specific information (base value) regarding the game performance based on the specific data, and a display control means (S825, S831 in FIG. 19) for controlling the display of information regarding the specific information on the performance display device 99.

<20. RAM out of range check process: Fig. 20>
Next, the outside RAM check process (step S824) in Fig. 19 will be described. Fig. 20(A) is a flowchart showing details of the outside RAM check process according to this embodiment, and Fig. 20(B) is a flowchart showing a modified example of the outside RAM check process. This outside RAM check process is a process (common process) executed not only during the outside process in the timer interrupt in Fig. 19 but also during the outside process in the main loop in Fig. 8B (step S043), but may be configured to be executable during the outside process in the main loop and/or the outside process in the timer interrupt.

This out-of-area RAM check process mainly checks whether the process related to performance display is being executed correctly (step S841), and whether there is a problem with the data in the RAM area related to performance display (checks for data corruption, etc.) (step S842). If an abnormality is found, a data initialization process (step S843) is executed to initialize the measurement data.

In more detail, in FIG. 20A, the CPU 201 first judges whether the check data is the initial normal value (AA55H) (step S841). This check data is data monitored in a process that compares the total number of outs R with the normal number of outs S (out ball count confirmation process: not shown). When an impossible count state occurs, for example, when the total number of outs R is greater than the normal number of outs S (R<S), a counting abnormality is assumed to have occurred, and the check data is set to "00H" to indicate this. When the check data is not a normal value (step S841: NO), that is, when an abnormality has occurred in the out-of-area RAM, the data initialization process (step S843) described below is executed.

If the check data is normal (step S841: YES), it is then determined whether an abnormality has occurred in the counting data (step S842). An abnormality in the counting data occurs, for example, when the switch input data indicates an abnormal value or when the calculation process related to the performance information is not performed correctly. An example of a case where the calculation process is not performed correctly is when the calculation process (ball number addition process) for the sensor related to the calculation of the performance information is not performed correctly. The sensors that are counted in this embodiment are six types of winning detection sensors: the upper start opening sensor 34a, the lower start opening sensor 35a, the large winning opening sensor 52a, the specific area sensor 51a, the general winning opening sensor 43h, and the OUT monitoring switch 49a. Therefore, it is determined whether the "ball number addition process" (not shown) for all of these sensors, specifically the "prize ball number addition process" and the "out ball number addition process", has been performed correctly.

The "ball count addition process" is executed in the outside area process in the main loop of Figure 8B (step S043). In this ball count addition process, the five sensors - the upper start opening sensor 34a, the lower start opening sensor 35a, the general prize opening sensor 43h, the large prize opening sensor 52a, and the specific area sensor 51a - are first checked in order to see if a prize has been won, and if a prize has been confirmed, the number of prize balls is added (prize ball count addition process). Then, each time the prize ball count addition process is completed for each sensor, one is added to the "sensor detection count counter" which counts the number of processes (sensor detection count counter + 1).

Specifically, first, the upper start opening sensor 34a, which is the first sensor to be counted, is checked for winning, and if winning is confirmed, the number of winning balls at the upper start opening is added (first winning ball number addition process). When this addition process is completed, the sensor detection count counter is incremented by 1 and the counter value is updated to "01H". Next, the lower start opening sensor 35a, which is the second sensor to be counted, is checked for winning, and if winning is confirmed, the number of winning balls at the lower start opening is added (second winning ball number addition process). When this addition process is completed, the sensor detection count counter is incremented by 1 and the counter value is updated to "02H". In the same manner, the third, fourth, and fifth counting sensors, the general winning opening sensor 43h, the large winning opening sensor 52a, and the specific area sensor 51a, are subjected to the winning ball number addition process (third, fourth, and fifth winning ball number addition process) in order, and each time the addition process is completed, the sensor detection count counter is incremented by 1 and the counter value is updated.

After completing the fifth prize ball count addition process for the final fifth specific area sensor 51a, the sensor detection count counter is always updated to "05H". Finally, an "out ball count addition process" is performed for the OUT monitoring switch 49a, and when this out ball count addition process is completed, the sensor detection count counter is cleared to zero (00H). In this way, the first through fifth prize ball count addition processes and the out ball count addition process are executed as one cycle.

Therefore, the range of values that the sensor detection counter can take is "00H" to "05H", and when the ball count addition process (final out ball count addition process) is completed correctly, the sensor detection counter should be set to "00H". However, if the sensor detection counter value becomes a value other than "00H" to "05H" due to some malfunction, or if the value is other than "00H" when the first prize ball count addition process begins, it can be determined that the calculation process was not performed correctly, that is, an abnormality has occurred and the counting data is invalid (an abnormality has occurred).

Then, in the judgment process of step S842, it is judged whether the counting data is valid or not. If the check data is a normal value (AA55H) (step S841: YES) and the counting data is valid (step S842: within range), it is determined that the operation is normal, the data initialization process of step S843 is skipped, and the out-of-area RAM check process is exited.

However, if the count data is not valid (step S842: out of range), it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the out-of-area RAM, and data initialization processing is executed (step S843).
In this data initialization process, the check data is set to the initial value (normal value) "AA55H", the out-of-area RAM area related to performance display is cleared, the currently displayed display data is also cleared, and the out-of-area RAM is returned to its default state.

The "outside RAM related to performance display" determined to be abnormal may be cleared by clearing the RAM area of the outside RAM excluding the area for the outside error information, but considering the possibility that the outside error information may also be abnormal, the entire outside RAM area including the area for the outside error information may be cleared. The above-mentioned "outside RAM area related to performance display" is, for example, a RAM area used when updating the performance display contents, a counting information storage area (a counting information storage area related to the calculation of performance information (a RAM area used when aggregating base values)), a performance display storage area (a RAM area that stores historical base values, etc.), a RAM area that is determined to be abnormal only when the power is turned on for the first time, etc.

Also, out of the RAM area related to performance display, only the counting information storage area may be cleared. The reason for this is that the data stored in the performance display storage area usually contains the previous base value data (if this is the first measurement, a specific value for the test section (a value specifying "no data") is stored), but this data is considered to contain the results of the previous correct processing. Also, if an abnormality occurs, the operation check timer may be set to 0, and if an operation check is in progress, it may be forcibly terminated.

Even if it is determined that there is an abnormality in the external RAM and data initialization processing is executed, no error is reported or gameplay is stopped (game progress processing is stopped), and processing continues as is (processing from step S825 onwards is executed). In other words, when an abnormality occurs, no special error processing such as reporting an error or not measuring a new base value is performed, and the counting data and display data are simply cleared and a new base value is calculated. The reason for this is that the performance information itself is not directly related to the game progress when the player is playing, and the importance of the data is lower than that of the data stored in the internal RAM (data related to game progress processing). If an abnormality occurs in the internal RAM, as already explained, the process proceeds to the power re-on waiting process (S020 in FIG. 8A) and game processing is stopped (see the processing route where step S015 is YES or S016 is NO).

Of course, if an abnormality occurs, an error command (out-of-area RAM error command) may be sent to the performance control unit 24 to execute a specified error notification (out-of-area RAM error notification). In this case, the performance display 99 may be displayed in a display mode dedicated to errors. Note that even during an error notification, new base values may be measured (counting the number of payouts under normal conditions, the number of outs under normal conditions, and the number of outs in all states, and calculating the base value). The error notification may be cleared on the condition that the power is turned back on. When the above-mentioned out-of-area RAM error command is sent, it may be sent using the same out-of-area command sending module as the error notification/clearance command in the above-mentioned out-of-area error determination process (step S822).

As described above, in this embodiment, the RAM area related to performance display is checked in the outside area processing in the main loop (step S043 in FIG. 8B) and the outside area processing in the timer interrupt (step S101 in FIG. 9), and if there is a malfunction, the outside area RAM area (counting information storage area) that stores at least the measurement data necessary to calculate the performance information is initialized and returned to the default state, and then measurement of a new base value is started.

Furthermore, the out-of-area RAM area related to performance display is not subject to a RAM check when the power is turned on, i.e., it is not subject to the setting change process (step S023) in FIG. 8A or the in-area RAM clear process (step S030) in FIG. 8B. Therefore, even if a malfunction occurs in the contents of the in-area RAM, the data related to performance display will not be initialized (cleared) all together; only the data related to normal game progress will be initialized separately. Therefore, as long as there is no malfunction in the memory contents of the RAM area related to performance display, the backup function operates normally, and the gaming machine operates normally, the data can be retained permanently, whether for a few days or a few years, making it possible to retain and display performance information for a long period of time.

(Modification of out-of-area RAM check process: FIG. 20B)
The out-of-area RAM check process of Fig. 20A can be configured (modified) as follows: Fig. 20B shows a flowchart of this modified example.

Figure 20 (B) shows the data initialization process of step S843 in Figure 20 (A) with the addition of a process to clear the operation check timer to zero and a process to set the operation check timer to 5000 ms in step S844. The other process contents are the same as those in Figure 20 (A).

As shown in the figure, in the configuration of FIG. 20(B), if the result of the judgment in step S841 is NO due to a data defect or the result of the judgment in step S842 is out of range, the data initialization process in step S843 sets the check data to a normal value, clears the RAM area related to the performance display (performance display storage area, counting information storage area, etc.) and the currently displayed display data, and further clears the operation check timer. Then, the operation check timer is reset to 5000 ms (step S844). Note that if the operation check timer is cleared in the data initialization process, a different timer value (for example, 10000 ms) instead of the usual 5000 ms may be reset in step S844. Therefore, in this modified example, if an abnormality occurs in the contents of the out-of-area RAM, the operation check display will be executed again for a predetermined time. This point differs from the configuration of FIG. 20(A), in which the operation check display is executed only when the power is restored after the power interruption.

In this modified example, if the operation check timer is not reset, when the data initialization process is executed, the operation check display will be forcibly terminated if it is in progress, but the performance display 99 will then display the newly measured real-time base value and historical base value as usual.

<21. Operation Check Process: FIG. 21>
Next, the operation check process (step S833) in Fig. 19 will be described below. Fig. 21 is a flowchart showing the details of the operation check process.

In FIG. 21, the CPU 201 first subtracts 1 from the operation confirmation timer (step S851) and adds 1 to the blinking timer (S852).

Next, it is determined whether the blinking switching timing has arrived (step S853). In this embodiment, during the operation confirmation display, off periods and on periods are repeated at a predetermined cycle of, for example, 300 ms. This blinking switching timing is managed by a blinking timer. In this embodiment, the blinking timer is incremented by 1 for every 4 ms interrupt. If the switching timing is a 300 ms cycle, it can be determined that the blinking switching timing has arrived based on whether the blinking timer value is "75" (switching value). If the blinking switching timing has not arrived (step S853: NO), nothing is done, that is, the current on or off state is maintained and the operation confirmation process is exited.

On the other hand, if the blinking switching timing arrives (step S853: YES), the blinking timer is cleared (step S854), and the update cycle counter is updated (step S855). The update cycle counter is used as a counter for determining whether to turn on or blink. For example, if the update cycle counter is an 8-bit counter that cycles through the range of 0 to 255 by incrementing, blinking control can be performed such that the light is turned on when the least significant bit of the update cycle counter value is '0', and the light is turned off when the least significant bit is '1'.

Next, the update cycle counter is referenced to determine whether its value is "0" or "1" (step S856). In this embodiment, when the operation confirmation display starts, the update cycle counter is zero and the performance display 99 is controlled to be fully lit. Therefore, when passing through this process for the first time, the update cycle counter value is updated to "1" in the process of step S856 above, so the process proceeds to step S857 (step S856: = 1) and the output buffer for the identification display unit and the output buffer for the base display unit are each set to off data, i.e., "0000H" (steps S857, S858). These off data are written directly to each output buffer without referring to a data table or the like. This ends the on period and creates an off period.

On the other hand, if the next blinking switching timing arrives (step S853: YES) and the update cycle counter is "0" (step S856: = 0), proceed to step S859, and set the lighting data, i.e., "FFFFH", to the output buffer for the identification display unit and the output buffer for the base display unit, respectively (steps S859, S860). These lighting data are also written directly to each output buffer without referring to a data table or the like. This ends the off period and creates an on period. In this embodiment, when performing the operation confirmation display, for example, a predetermined data value is simply set in each output buffer without referring to an LED data table such as that shown in FIG. 29 used for normal display control, so that the operation confirmation display (all blinking) can be realized with simple processing.

The above operation check process causes the performance indicator 99 to flash fully on and off repeatedly for a predetermined period of time (5000 ms), allowing the performance indicator 99 to be visually checked for operation. If the performance indicator 99 does not display a normal operation check, for example if part of the 7-segment display remains off due to a broken wire, appropriate measures such as part replacement can be taken.

Even during the operation confirmation process, the outside area processing in the main loop (S043 in FIG. 8A) is executed, and at least the counting process (ball number addition process, etc.) required to calculate the base value is performed. Therefore, winning balls and out balls during the operation confirmation can be accurately reflected in the base value displayed after the operation confirmation display. However, since the base value is not displayed during the operation confirmation display, it is sufficient to perform at least the counting process during the outside area processing in the main loop (step S043) during the operation confirmation, but it is also possible to calculate the base value for the 5000 ms during which the operation confirmation is displayed.

In addition, a judgment process may be provided to judge whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the performance indicator 99 during the operation check process, and if an abnormality has occurred, a process may be provided to send a dedicated error command (operation check display error command) to the performance control unit 24. When the performance control unit 24 receives the operation check display error command, it can use a performance means to notify that an abnormality has occurred in the performance indicator 99. For example, together with an alarm sound, a performance image such as "An abnormality has occurred in the performance indicator 99" is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36. This eliminates the risk of overlooking a malfunction such as the decimal point DP, which is difficult to confirm visually.

In addition, in this embodiment, in the processing from step S033 (junction point) shown in FIG. 8B onwards, an operation check of the performance indicator 99 is performed, so that during the operation check, the setting display 97 does not display settings (settings related to setting check or setting change). In other words, during the setting check or setting change, the operation check display is not performed, and the base display is not performed either. This prevents overlapping display periods between the performance indicator 99 and the setting display 97, and prevents the overlapping displays from complicating the confirmation operation.

<22. Display Data Update Processing: FIG. 22>
Next, the display data update process (step S831) in Fig. 19 will be described. Fig. 22 is a flowchart showing the details of the display data update process. This display data update process is executed regardless of whether the section is a counting section or a non-counting section.

In FIG. 22, the CPU 201 first obtains identification display section display pattern data from the "identification display section LED data table" shown in FIG. 29(a) according to one of a number of display sections, such as the base value display period being a test section, the first measurement section (N=1), a subsequent measurement section (N≧2), a real-time base value display section, or a historical base value display section (step S871), and sets it in the identification display section output buffer (step S872). Which of the multiple display sections it is is managed by the display content pointer, and each time the timing for switching the display content arrives, the value of the display content pointer is updated, making it possible to specify the display content for the performance indicator 99.

In this embodiment, two types of base value output periods are provided: a 'first base value output period' that displays the real-time base value, and a 'second base value output period' that displays the historical base value, and these are switched every 5000 ms. In addition, as shown in FIG. 29(a), the identification display unit LED data table stores display pattern data (upper "01111100B" (for 7-segment display with 'b' display), lower "10111000B" (for 7-segment display with 'L' display) corresponding to the identification display of "b6." indicating the historical base value (upper "01111100B" (for 7-segment display with 'b' display), lower "11111101B" (for 7-segment display with '6.' display)) corresponding to the identification display unit display.

Also, depending on the base value at that time (the base value during real-time measurement), display pattern data for the base display unit is obtained from the decimal value LED data table (step S873) and set in the output buffer for the base display unit (step S874). The decimal value LED data table stores display pattern data of 1 byte length corresponding to 10 types of values from 0 to 9, as shown in FIG. 29(b). For example, if it is the first base value output period for displaying the real-time base value and the first base value at that time is "35", then "01001111B" corresponding to "3" is obtained from the decimal value LED data table as the display data for the tens digit, and "01101101B" corresponding to "5" is obtained as the display data for the ones digit, and set in the output buffer for the base display unit.

By performing the above display update process, after all flashing (operation check) has finished, the performance display device 99 can display a performance display in which the real-time base value and the previous history base value are switched periodically (for example, every 5000 ms).

It is preferable to set initial values for the blinking control data (e.g., blinking timer, update cycle counter) required for the blinking control in the operation check display of the performance display 99 when the power is turned on (including power recovery) in the same way as the operation check timer. In this embodiment, as already explained, in the operation check timer setting process (step S034) of FIG. 8B, the operation check timer is set to an initial value of 5000 ms and the blinking timer is set to an initial value of 0 (zero cleared), but it is preferable to also initialize the update cycle counter. This makes it possible to perform operation checks at power-on (including power recovery) with a common lit blinking state each time (always starting the blinking operation from the same state).

In more detail, if the first information (operation confirmation timer) for timing the execution time of the confirmation display and the second information (blink timer and update cycle counter) for timing the blinking cycle of the confirmation display are not initialized when the power is turned on, these timer values are restored to the values they were at when the power is turned off (when the power is returned to the backup). This can cause a problem that the operation of the confirmation display of the performance indicator 99 is not constant each time the power is turned on, including when the power is turned off. Specifically, when the power is turned on, the confirmation operation of the performance indicator 99 ends instantly, or when the power is turned on, the performance indicator 99 starts blinking in the middle of its lit state (for example, only lit for a moment), making it difficult to check the operation of the performance indicator 99, and increasing the possibility of misunderstanding that some kind of malfunction (malfunction) has occurred in the performance indicator 99. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to always start the blinking operation (confirmation display operation) from the same state when the power is turned on, and the above-mentioned problems do not occur.

Note that, when the power is turned on, the operation confirmation timer and the blinking timer can be simply initialized to obtain almost the same effect as this configuration, but if the update cycle counter is not initialized, the blinking operation (confirmation display operation) will not always start from the same state. For example, if the update cycle counter value is "0" when the power is interrupted, it will become "1" when the first blinking switch timing arrives after the power is restored (after the backup is restored), and if the update cycle counter value is "1" when the power is interrupted, it will become "0" when the first blinking switch timing arrives after the power is restored (after the backup is restored) (see steps S853 to S855 in FIG. 21). In other words, there are cases where the confirmation display operation starts from a lit state and cases where it starts from an off state, and the blinking operation (confirmation display operation) does not always start from the same state.

(Regarding other control forms related to the operation check display related to the performance indicator 99)
The control form for the operation check display related to the performance indicator 99 can be configured as follows (configurations (S1) to (S4)).

Configuration (S1): The base value can be counted even during an operation check related to the performance display 99. In this case, even if the base value is updated during the operation check, the operation check (all blinking) can be continued until the preset operation check time has ended, and the updated content can be prevented from being displayed. However, without being limited to this, if the base value is updated before the operation check time has ended, the operation check can be forcibly ended and the display of the base value can be started.

Configuration (S2): During the operation check related to the performance indicator 99, a presentation means may be used to notify that an operation check is in progress. There are no particular limitations on the presentation means used here, and one or more types of presentation means may be used. For example, at least one of light presentation, sound presentation, image display presentation, movable body presentation, and contact pressure presentation (presentation using a vibration device, pressure device, or wind pressure device) may be used to notify that an operation check is in progress. In this configuration, hall staff or others can confirm from the front of the gaming machine that an operation check is in progress.

Configuration (S3): Although the programs and data related to the performance indicator 99 are described as being stored in the external RAM, at least the operation check timer may be stored in the internal RAM. This eliminates the need to access the external RAM when setting the operation check timer during power-on processing (step SS034 in FIG. 8B), making it possible to reduce the program capacity required when power is turned on. Also, if the operation check timer is stored in the internal RAM, the timer management processing (step S082) during the main control timer interrupt processing in FIG. 9 executes the count processing of the operation check timer (processing equivalent to step S851 in FIG. 21), and the external processing within the timer interrupt during the same interrupt processing (step S101) only references the operation check timer value, without executing the count processing.

(S4: Processing for in-area errors and out-of-area errors)
In the present embodiment, the processing related to an in-area error and an out-of-area error has been described. However, the present embodiment can solve the problems described below and achieve unique effects.

(assignment)
For example, in gaming machines such as pinball gaming machines, the so-called gaming machine regulations prescribe standards for the storage means of the memory mounted on the main control board, and in addition to the total storage capacity, for example, in the case of ROM, restrictions are placed on the storage capacity of the usage area (first storage area) consisting of a control area and a data area, and information other than information necessary to prevent unauthorized modification or other changes is to be processed within the usage area. Conventional gaming machines (for example, JP 2019-092882 A) were configured to execute all processing related to various errors within the usage area.

However, there are various types of errors, some of which, such as errors related to random number circuits, may affect the outcome of the game, while others may not. The latter can be interpreted as "information necessary to prevent unauthorized modifications and other changes" and configured to be executed in an area (second memory area) separate from the above-mentioned usage area, allowing for a corresponding margin in the capacity of the usage area. In this case, it is important to consider how to handle errors that have been moved outside the usage area.

(Action and Effect)
According to this embodiment, more efficient processing can be performed for some errors by using an area (second memory area) separate from the used area (first memory area). More specifically, in this embodiment, the first type error processing for determining an error within the area (first type error) and sending an error command, and the first processing for non-errors (e.g. processing related to prize balls) are performed by the in-area processing (error management processing (in-area error determination processing, in-area random number circuit processing), prize ball management processing: S089, 090 in FIG. 9), and then the in-area processing is transitioned to the out-area processing (out-area processing within timer interrupt (S101 in FIG. 9, details of which are shown in FIG. 19), and the out-area processing detects an out-of-area error (second type The system is configured to execute a second type error process related to determining whether an error has occurred and sending an error command, and a second process related to non-errors (test firing signal terminal management process (S822), performance display monitor process (S824-S831), etc.), and then return from outside-area processing to inside-area processing. In this manner, in this embodiment, it is possible to more efficiently perform some error-related processes by using an area (second storage area) separate from the area used (first storage area). This embodiment can be configured, for example, as follows.

a first storage area provided so as to be within a predetermined upper limit capacity;
a second storage area separate from the first storage area,
In a gaming machine, an intra-area program for executing an intra-area process is stored in the first storage area, and an out-area program for executing an out-area process is stored in the second storage area,
A first type of error among a plurality of types of errors is determined by the in-area process, and a second type of error is determined by the out-of-area process,
an error command is transmitted by the in-area process for the first type error and an error command is transmitted by the out-of-area process for the second type error,
A gaming machine characterized in that, after transitioning from the in-area processing to the out-area processing, error commands relating to a plurality of types of the second type errors can be transmitted during the period until returning to the in-area processing.

In this embodiment, ball jam errors, out-of-supply errors, counting errors, disconnection errors, and door open errors are considered to be in-area errors (first type errors), but at least some of these may be considered to be out-of-area errors (second type errors), and the out-of-area processing may be configured to detect and/or determine errors, and send error notification/cancel commands, etc. In this case, error detection and/or error determination, and sending error notification/cancel commands, etc. may be performed using a program separate from the magnetic error, radio wave error, and prize slot error, but if a program common to the magnetic error, radio wave error, and prize slot error is used, further reduction in program capacity is possible.

Even if some of the ball jamming errors, out-of-supply errors, counting errors, disconnection errors, and door open errors are considered to be out-of-area errors (second type errors) as described above, it is desirable to configure the system so that error detection and/or error judgment, and error notification/cancellation commands are sent, etc., for ball jamming errors, out-of-supply errors, and counting errors are performed by in-area processing. This is because these errors are directly related to the bonuses paid out to the player and may affect the outcome of the game.

In addition, in this embodiment, the out-of-area error information is cleared in the out-of-area error information clearing process before the main loop (step S035 in FIG. 8B), but it may also be configured to clear the out-of-area error information in the out-of-area processing within the main loop (step S044 in FIG. 8B) or in the out-of-area processing within a timer interrupt (step S101 in FIG. 9). This eliminates the need to call the out-of-area program just to clear the out-of-area error information, making it possible to further reduce the program capacity.

For specific errors detected by the dispensing control board 29 (such as ball jam errors, out of supply errors, counting errors, door open errors, etc., but may be others), the program on the dispensing control board 29 may be provided with an in-area program and an out-of-area program, and the out-of-area program may perform error detection processing and transmit the detection results to the main control unit 20. In this case, the error detection processing may be performed by the out-of-area program and the detection result transmission processing may be performed by the in-area program, or the error detection processing may be performed by the in-area program and the detection result transmission processing may be performed by the out-of-area program.

<23. Processing on the Production Control Unit Side: Figs. 23 to 24>
Next, the performance control process on the performance control unit 24 side of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 23 and 24. The process on the performance control unit 24 side is mainly composed of a predetermined main process (performance control side main process: Figure 23) and a timer interrupt process (performance control side timer interrupt process: Figure 24) that is started by a regular interrupt from the CTC.

<23. Main processing on the performance control side: Figure 23>
23 is a flowchart showing the main process on the performance control unit side (main process on the performance control side). When power is applied to the gaming machine main body from the outside, the performance control unit 24 starts the main process on the performance control side shown in FIG.

In the main processing on the presentation control side, the presentation control unit 24 (CPU 241) first performs the necessary initial setting processing before the start of game operation (step S1001). Here, the initial setting processing includes, for example, command reception interrupt setting, return-to-start processing of the movable role, initial setting of the CTC, permission of timer interrupt, and initial setting of register values inside the CPU including each part of the microcomputer.

After completing the above initial setting process, the main loop process of steps S1003 to S1012 is performed at predetermined time intervals (16 ms) as normal operation processing, and otherwise the performance software random number update process of step S1013 is repeatedly performed.

In the process of step S1002, the CPU 241 refers to the main loop update counter and judges whether the main loop update period (counter value > 15) that triggers the execution of the main loop process has arrived (step S1002). The main loop update counter is a counter that is incremented during the performance control side timer interrupt process that is executed every 1 ms (see step S1057 in FIG. 17). In this embodiment, the main loop process is executed approximately every 16 ms, and in the judgment process of step S1002, the main loop update counter value is judged, and if the value is greater than "15" (step S1002: YES), it is determined that the timing to execute the main loop process has arrived, and the processes of steps S1003 to S1011 are executed. Otherwise, various performance lottery random numbers used for lotteries such as advance notice performances during the decorative pattern variation display game are updated until the main loop update period arrives (step S1002: NO) (step S1012).

When the above-mentioned main loop update period has arrived (step S1002: YES), the main loop update counter is cleared to zero (step S1003), and then error processing is executed (step S1004). Here, the setting of a performance scenario for error notification during an error and error cancellation processing when the error is cleared are executed. Note that errors related to the performance means (movable object errors, audio IC errors, etc.) are monitored here.

Next, the demo/power saving mode process is executed (step S1005). In this demo/power saving mode process, the demo start waiting performance, customer waiting performance, and setting processing required for the power saving mode are executed.

Next, the effect switch input process is executed (step S1006). In this effect switch input process, the operation state of the operation means (effect button 13, directional key 75) is monitored, and when an operation is detected, the effect control process corresponding to that operation is executed. The input state of the operation means is monitored in the button input state update process (step S1052) in FIG. 24 described later.

Next, a command analysis process is executed (step S1007). In this command analysis process, it is monitored whether or not a performance control command is stored in the command reception buffer, and if a performance control command is stored, the command is read out and a performance process corresponding to the read performance control command is executed. When an interrupt occurs based on a strobe signal from the main control unit 20, a command reception interrupt process (not shown) is executed. The performance control command is obtained by this command reception interrupt process, and the data is stored in the command reception buffer of the RAM 243.

In the command analysis process, for example, when a variation pattern designation command is received and stored in the reception buffer (in this embodiment, when a variation pattern designation command and a decorative symbol designation command are received and stored in the reception buffer), the command analysis process determines the performance pattern to be displayed based on the information contained in the command (variation pattern information and winning type information (symbol lottery result). There are various performance patterns determined here, and one performance pattern acts as a "performance element (part-like performance: part performance)" that constitutes the performance scenario. The performance control unit 24 determines a time schedule for the timing and performance time width for the various determined performance patterns (performance elements), and thereby configures a performance scenario and stores it in a specified setting area of the RAM 243. The various performance patterns incorporated in this performance scenario are deployed one after another or simultaneously, thereby realizing a "performance scenario" in the broad sense. Details of the command analysis process will be described in detail using Figures 65 to 106, etc., described later.

After the command analysis process is completed, the scenario update process is then executed (step S1008). In this scenario update process, the contents of the timer required for executing the performance scenario are updated, and the performance scenario is advanced based on the timer value. A typical example of the timer is the performance scenario timer, which manages the time schedule regarding the timing of performance occurrence. For example, during the period during which the decorative pattern is displayed in a variable manner (decorative pattern variable period), which is substantially the same period as the period during which the special pattern is displayed in a variable manner (special pattern variable period), the timer manages the time schedule regarding what performance pattern is to be displayed, with what time width, and by what performance means on that time axis. Such a performance scenario timer is also used in the LED drive data update process (step S1010) and the performance character operation update process (step S1053) described later. Here, the performance scenario timer is monitored, and when the time for a certain performance to occur arrives, sound data for the speaker 46 and liquid crystal commands for image display control are created, and each is stored in a designated area of the RAM 243. Note that LED data for the optical display device is created in the LED drive data update process (step S1010) described below, and motor control data for the movable props is created in the prop operation update process (step S1053) described below.

Next, sound output processing is executed (step S1009). In this sound output processing, the sound data created in the scenario update processing in step S1008 is acquired, and if there is sound data to be played, data such as phrases and volume is output to the sound control unit (sound source LSI) based on the sound data set for each sound channel, and sound effects are produced from the speaker 46 via the sound control unit. This realizes sound effects that match the performance scenario.

Next, an LED drive data update process is executed (step S1010). In this LED drive data update process, LED data for light display devices such as decorative lamps 13 and various LEDs for performance is created based on the performance scenario data and the performance scenario timer.

Next, LED output processing is executed (step S1011). In this LED output processing, the LED data created in the LED drive data update processing is output to the light display control unit, and light-emitting means such as the decorative lamp unit 45 and the performance LEDs are turned on and off via the light display control unit. This realizes a light performance according to the performance scenario.

When the main loop processing is thus terminated, the performance software random number update processing is performed in step S1013 until the next main loop update period arrives.

<24. Timer interrupt processing on the performance control side: Figure 24>
Next, the timer interruption process on the performance control side will be described with reference to Fig. 24. Fig. 24 is a flowchart showing the timer interruption process on the performance control side. This timer interruption process on the performance control side is started by an interrupt from the CTC at regular intervals (1 ms) and is executed by interrupting the main process on the performance control side.

In FIG. 24, when a timer interrupt occurs, the CPU 201 saves the contents of the register to the stack area (step S1051) and then executes a button input state update process (step S1052). In this button input state update process, the input state of the operation detection signal from the operation means (effect button 13, directional key 75) is monitored, and when it is confirmed that an operation detection signal has been received, the detection information is stored in a specified area of the RAM 243. This operation detection information is used in the scenario update process (step S1008) in FIG. 23 when displaying information related to player participation effects, menu screens, and menu items. In this embodiment, it is also possible to detect short presses (single press), long presses, and repeated presses.

Next, a prop action update process is executed (step S1053). In this prop action update process, motor control data for the movable props is created based on the prop scenario data and the prop scenario timer.

Next, the SOL/MOT output process is executed (step S1054). In this SOL/MOT output process, the control data for the movable body part created in the performance part operation update process is output to the drive control unit. The drive control unit outputs a control signal based on the control data to the movable body part motor of the movable body part to be operated, and controls its operation. This allows a movable body performance to be realized using the movable body part (such as the clock-shaped part 80 or the flower-shaped part 90) in accordance with the performance scenario.

Next, an LCD command transmission process is executed (step S1055). In this LCD command transmission process, if there is an LCD command created in the scenario update process (step S1008) of FIG. 23, the LCD command is transmitted to the display control unit (LCD control CPU), which executes image display control on the LCD display device 36. This allows image presentation according to the presentation scenario to be realized.

Next, an RTC information acquisition process is executed (step S1056). In this RTC information acquisition process, date and time information (RTC information) kept by the RTC is acquired. This RTC information is used when producing effects based on the RTC information.

Then, the main loop update counter is incremented (step S1057). This main loop update counter is reset in step S1003 during the main processing on the performance control side described above, and is incremented in this processing. Therefore, when step S1057 is executed, the main loop update counter value is one of 0 to 15.

After completing the processing of step S1057 above, the saved register contents are restored (step S1058), the timer interrupt processing is terminated, and the main processing on the performance control side is executed until the next timer interrupt occurs.

The present invention (first embodiment described above) can have the following configurations (C1) and (C2). Note that the elements in parentheses correspond to the corresponding elements in the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these.

<Configuration (C1)>
A specific display means (performance display 99) capable of displaying predetermined information based on game results (for example, a base value calculated based on game results);
A specific display control means (main control unit 20) for controlling the specific display means;
A gaming machine comprising:
The predetermined information based on the game results in a normal game state (normal state) and a specific game state (specific state) different from the normal game state can be calculated.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (C2)>
A special electric device (special variable prize winning device 52) configured to be able to open and close the large prize winning port;
A specific display means (performance display 99) capable of displaying predetermined information based on game results (for example, a base value calculated based on game results);
A specific display control means (main control unit 20) for controlling the specific display means,
A gaming machine capable of controlling at least a normal gaming state (normal state), a specific gaming state (specific state) different from the normal gaming state, and a winning state in which the big prize opening is opened and closed,
The specific game state can be transitioned to without passing through the winning state (winning game) (for example, transition to a micro-time-saving state by a special time-saving function, transition to a specific game state by a ceiling function, etc.),
The specific display control means
The predetermined information based on the game results in the normal game state and the specific game state can be calculated (for example, the “SF” column in FIG. 25 ),
A gaming machine characterized by:

In the above configuration (C1) or (C2), the normal gaming state can adopt a gaming mode related to the normal state, not limited to when the internal gaming state is normal. Also, the specific gaming state can adopt one or more gaming states (internal gaming states or gaming modes) different from the normal gaming state. Also, in the case of a managed gaming machine described below, the frame control unit 22 can have the functional unit of the specific display control means in the above configuration (C1) or (C2).

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, a general pinball game machine was described. In the second embodiment, the game balls (the number of balls held) used by the player are electromagnetically managed, and the game balls enclosed inside are used cyclically to play the game, which is a type of game machine called a "sealed game machine" or a "managed game machine". Hereinafter, the game machine according to the second embodiment will be described as a "managed game machine" or a "game machine 1a". In addition, even in the embodiment that targets the managed game machine, it is possible to equally apply the gameplay described in the first embodiment (various gameplay including a pattern change display game and performance (for example, Figures 5A to 5B, Figures 6 to 7, etc.)). Therefore, it is possible to have various functional units (means) for realizing the gameplay according to the first embodiment.

As has been known for some time, a managed gaming machine is a gaming machine that circulates multiple (predetermined number) gaming balls (gaming media) inside the gaming machine, eliminating the need to use gaming balls in games or to directly pay out gaming balls to players. For example, it is a gaming machine that can be played without supplying gaming balls from outside by sealing multiple (predetermined number) gaming balls inside, collecting gaming balls launched by launching device 32, and circulating the gaming balls by supplying them again to launching device 32 (for example, JP 2002-272914, JP 2006-81599, JP 2010-142475, JP 2013-106760).

In the above-mentioned managed gaming machine, the player plays using game balls enclosed inside the machine, so the number of game balls (number of balls held) used by the player is electromagnetically recorded and managed (electromagnetically recorded (stored) and managed as data). Such managed gaming machines are mainly composed of a main control unit that manages the overall game operation, and a sub-control unit (frame control unit) that manages the number of balls held and requests to lend to the game ball lending device installed outside the gaming machine. The main control unit controls the game that displays the changing patterns and monitors the winning of each winning slot, but the frame control unit manages the number of balls held, so the main control unit needs to send important information that occurs as the game progresses, such as the number of winning balls, the occurrence of a jackpot, the start/stop of the pattern change, and information on changes in the game state, to the frame control unit in real time. Therefore, it is desirable to devise a way to smoothly exchange information between the main control unit and the frame control unit without unnecessarily increasing the control burden between them. In view of the above, this embodiment aims to provide a managed gaming machine that can reduce the control burden.

The managed gaming machine is a "circulating" gaming machine in which games are played using game balls enclosed inside the gaming machine, and differs from "non-circulating" gaming machines (general gaming machines) in which games are played using game media supplied from the outside, without enclosing game balls inside the gaming machine, such as the gaming machine of the first embodiment. For this reason, there is no upper tray 9 or ball removal button 14. Instead, the number of balls held is recorded and managed electromagnetically, and the result (current number of balls held) is displayed on a specified display (LED display).

In this embodiment, a game ball count display device 77 (see FIG. 32) is provided that can display the number of game balls (number of balls held) owned by the player. The game ball count display device 77 is formed in an appropriate position on the gaming machine 1a so that it is easy for the player to see, such as a position corresponding to the upper tray unit 8 in FIG. 1 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 32(a)).

For example, if the player starts playing with "P balls," the number of balls he or she has is calculated as "(P+Y+Z)-X" if the number of game balls (out balls: shot in balls) shot from the launching device 32 is "X balls," the number of prize balls (safe balls: prize balls for winning) is "Y balls," and the number of loaned game balls provided by the ball loaning device is "Z balls." For example, if the player starts playing with "100 balls," the number of out balls is 4,000, the number of safe balls is 3,000, and the number of loaned game balls is 2,000, the current number of balls he or she has is "+1,100 balls" (100 balls at the start of playing + 1,000 balls difference = 1,100 balls), and this ball information (number of balls he or she has) is displayed on the game ball number display device 77. In reality, the exact number of balls he or she has is measured in real time, taking into account foul balls, which will be described later, and the measured number of balls he or she has is displayed on the game ball number display device 77. When the number of balls held reaches zero, the ball release operation stops, and in order to continue playing, balls must be supplied from the ball dispenser. Therefore, although the number of balls held may reach zero (number of balls held = 0), it never becomes negative.

Even if the number of balls held is not zero, if the launch control signal is not output (if the generation control signal is OFF) or if the launch stop switch is operated, no launch operation will be performed no matter how much the launch operation handle 15 is operated, and no game balls will be launched. This is the same as in the first embodiment.

<2A. Control device: Fig. 32>
The control device that controls the game operation of the gaming machine according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 32. Fig. 32 is a control block diagram showing the outline of the control device, and Fig. 32 (A) shows a schematic diagram of the gaming machine 1a. In Fig. 32, elements that basically have the same functions as those shown in Figs. 1 to 3 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate to avoid duplication.

As shown in the figure, the control device of the managed gaming machine according to this embodiment is mainly composed of a main control unit 20, a performance control unit 24, a frame control board 22 (hereinafter referred to as the "frame control unit 22") that receives information commands from the main control unit 20 (such as the "gaming machine installation information notification message" and "gaming machine information notification message" described later) and generally manages the number of balls and performance information, and a power supply board (not shown). Note that the power supply route is omitted in FIG. 32. Also, FIG. 32 (A) is used to explain the managed gaming machine (gaming machine 1a) according to this embodiment, and shows a schematic front view of the managed gaming machine. In this embodiment, the main control unit 20 is arranged on the back side of the liquid crystal display device 36 of the gaming board 3, and the frame control unit 22 is arranged on the back side of the front operation panel 7.

(2A-3. Frame Control Unit 22)
The frame control unit 22 is comprised mainly of a microcomputer equipped with a microprocessor having a built-in CPU (frame control CPU), a ROM (frame control ROM) for storing various data required for control, a RAM (frame control RAM) that functions as a work area or buffer memory, a control program that describes the control procedures for counting the number of game balls and controlling the display of performance information, and a display control unit for a predetermined display device (display device such as the number of game balls display device 77 or the performance display device 99), an interrupt controller circuit, a reset circuit, a WDT circuit, and other necessary functions. In addition, like the main control unit 20, the frame control unit 22 also has a backup function for backing up necessary data.

The main roles of the frame control unit 22 are to manage ball information (number of balls held) (measuring the number of balls held (real-time measurement), storing the number of balls held, etc.: ball number management means), manage performance information (managing the data necessary for calculating the base value, calculating the base value, etc.: base value management means), control the display of performance information on the performance display device 99, control the display of the number of balls held on the game count display device 77, control the circulation and discharge functions of the game balls, launch control for the launch device 32, control of message communication with the main control unit 20 (details about messages will be described later), and control of communication with external units (communication control with external devices such as the ball lending device, hall computer HC, data counter DT, etc.).

The frame control unit 22 is connected to a launch control board (launch control unit) 28 and a launch device 32 via the launch control board 28. In this embodiment, the launch device 32 is disposed in the upper left corner of the front of the gaming machine 1a as shown in FIG. (A), but the launch device 32 may be disposed in approximately the same position as in the first embodiment (the lower left corner of the front of the gaming machine).

The frame control unit 22 is connected to the launch control board 28, and is capable of transmitting a launch control signal to the launch control board 28. Basically, when there are balls in hand, the frame control unit 22 outputs a launch control signal (launch control signal ON) and controls the launch operation to a permitted state, but when the number of balls in hand becomes zero, it controls the launch control signal to OFF (launch prohibited state) and immediately stops the launch operation by the launch device 32.

The main control unit 20 can also send a launch control signal to the launch control board 28, allowing the main control unit 20 to directly control the "launch permission/launch stop" of the launch device 32. In this embodiment, the launch operation by the launch device 32 is controlled to a "launch permission state" when the launch control signals from the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20 are both ON, and is controlled to a "launch prohibition (stop) state" when the launch control signal from at least one of the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20 is OFF. After the power is turned on, when the game start conditions are met, the main control unit 20 outputs a launch control signal (launch control signal ON) to permit the launch operation (control to the launch operation permitted state) (see step S037 in FIG. 33B described later), but when the game is stopped (for example, when a serious error that may seriously affect the game progress occurs), or when a door open signal ON (open state) is input from the door open sensor 61, the launch control signal is immediately turned OFF to stop the launch operation (control to the launch operation prohibited state) (immediate response function related to the launch operation). In addition, when the door open signal ON is input continuously for a predetermined time (for example, when the door open state is detected continuously for 200 ms), the main control unit 20 determines that a door open error has occurred and transmits a door open error command to the performance control unit 24 to execute a door open error notification by the performance means (delayed response function related to the door open error notification). Details of this point will be explained in the fourth embodiment described later.

The frame control unit 22 is also connected to a circulation unit 73 and a polishing unit 74, and is capable of controlling these units. The circulation unit 73 functions as a circulation means that collects game balls (out balls) launched from the launching device 32 toward the game area 3a and supplies the collected game balls to the launching device 32, and is composed of a circulation mechanism (including a lifting mechanism, etc.) and a drive motor that drives the circulation mechanism. The polishing unit 74 functions as a polishing means that polishes (removes dirt from) the game balls during circulation, and is composed of a polishing mechanism for the game balls and a drive motor that drives the polishing mechanism.

(About the movement of the launched ball)
The process of movement of the game balls launched from the launching device 32 is as follows. Referring to Fig. 32 (A), the game balls launched from the launching device 32 move within the game area 3a as shown in the figure, enter the winning hole (here, the upper start hole 34 and the large winning hole 50 are exemplified) or the out hole 49, and are discharged from the game area 3a. The game balls discharged from the game area 3a are collected through the circulation path R. The circulation path R is provided with a lifting mechanism that lifts the discharged game balls to the upper position where the launching device 32 is located, and this lifting mechanism is provided with a polishing unit 74. The collected game balls are polished by the polishing unit 74 and are supplied to the launching device 32 again.

In managed gaming machines, the launched game balls are collected and used multiple times. If the game balls become dirty, it can cause ball clogging, so the polishing unit 74 is used to remove dirt from the game balls. However, over time, the polishing unit 74 becomes dirty and its performance deteriorates, making it necessary to replace it periodically. For this reason, the polishing unit 74 itself is designed to be easily replaceable. Even if the polishing unit 74 is not installed, the collected game balls can be normally supplied to the launching device 32, and the launching operation is possible.

As mentioned above, the polishing unit 74 is a consumable item that requires periodic replacement, so it is desirable for pachinko parlor employees and the like to be able to easily know when it is time to replace the polishing unit 74. Therefore, in this embodiment, a replacement time display sticker (replacement time display means) indicating when it is time to replace the polishing unit 74 is provided in a position that is visible when the front door of the gaming machine is open. This allows parlor personnel to know when it is time to replace the polishing unit 74. Taking into consideration its ease of viewing, it is preferable to provide the replacement time display sticker near the polishing unit 74 or around the circulation passage R.

The replacement time of the polishing unit 74 may be notified by using a presentation means. For example, when the power is turned on, a "replacement time notification presentation" that urges replacement or notifies that the replacement time has arrived can be made to appear. Specifically, a dedicated image can be displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36, a decorative lamp or a presentation LED can be made to emit light in a dedicated manner, or a dedicated sound can be emitted from a speaker. Regarding the replacement time, the frame control unit 22 can be provided with a backup means for storing the period information, a determination means capable of determining the replacement time, and other functional units, and can be configured to execute a replacement time notification presentation when it is determined that a predetermined period (for example, two years) has passed since the date of market launch of the gaming machine. The frame control unit 22 may be provided with a predetermined operation button (operation means), and can be configured to execute a replacement time notification presentation when the power is turned on while operating this operation button. The replacement time notification presentation can be a presentation mode that can notify the market launch date, the number of days since installation in a pachinko parlor, the remaining period until the replacement time, etc. In addition to notifying the user when it is time to replace the polishing unit 74, the device may be configured to execute a replacement mode (inspection mode) for properly replacing the polishing unit 74. In this replacement mode, the device can check for defects in the polishing unit 74, such as whether the polishing unit 74 is installed correctly.

The launching device 32 that launches the game balls, the circulation unit 73, the polishing unit 74, etc. can be appropriately configured as known in the art (for example, the launching means 53, the circulation means 54, and the polishing means 55 of JP 2013-106760 A, Figures 1 to 11).

The frame control unit 22 is also connected to a ball removal unit 72 and a ball removal switch 62 for activating the ball removal unit 72.

The ball removal unit 72 is equipped with a discharge means for discharging the game balls enclosed therein from the main body of the gaming machine to the outside of the gaming machine. The discharge means may be anything capable of discharging the enclosed game balls to the outside of the gaming machine, such as a path switching mechanism that can switch between the circulation path R that is supplied to the launching device 32 and a discharge path (not shown) for discharging the enclosed game balls to the outside using an electrical drive source (e.g., an electromagnetic solenoid). The ball removal unit 72 also has a "ball removal state detection switch (not shown)" that detects whether the path switching mechanism is switched to the "ball removal state" on the discharge path side or the "non-ball removal state" on the circulation path R side.

The ball removal switch 62 is a push button switch (such as an alternate switch or a momentary switch) that can be operated by a hall staff member or the like, and the frame control unit 22 drives and controls the discharge means (pathway switching mechanism) in the ball removal unit 72 based on the detection signal of the ball removal switch 62. For example, when the ball removal switch 62 is turned ON (when the detection signal from the ball removal switch 62 is ON), it switches from the "ball removal state to the non-ball removal state", and when the ball removal switch 62 is turned OFF (when the detection signal from the ball removal switch 62 is OFF), it switches from the "non-ball removal state to the ball removal state".

The frame control unit 22 also has a functional unit (ball removal state monitoring means) that monitors whether or not the ball is being removed based on the detection information from the ball removal state detection switch. Note that the switching between "ball removal state ⇔ non-ball removal state" is not limited to being controlled by software in response to the ON/OFF operation of the ball removal switch 62, but may also be manually switchable. However, in either case, it is preferable to provide a ball removal state detection switch and configure it so that it can be monitored whether or not the ball is being removed.

The frame control unit 22 is also connected to a performance display unit 99, and is capable of transmitting a control signal for controlling the display of the performance display unit 99. The frame control unit 22 performs display control of the performance information (base value) (calculation of the base value, display control of the performance display unit 99, etc.). The basic content of the display control process of the performance information is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that display control of the performance information is performed using the telegram information sent from the main control unit 20 (see Figures 50A to 53F below, in particular Figure 50F (E)).

The frame control unit 22 is also connected to a game ball count display device 77 capable of displaying information related to the number of balls held, and the frame control unit 22 is capable of transmitting a control signal for controlling the display of this. In addition to the ball information, the game ball count display device 77 is also capable of displaying an error code that can identify the type of error.

The frame control unit 22 is also connected to a ball-entering passage count sensor 66, a ball-entering passage count sensor 67, and a subtraction mechanism count sensor 68, and is capable of receiving detection signals from these switches.

The ball entry passage count sensor 66 is a detection means for detecting out balls, and its function is the same as that of the OUT monitoring switch 49a.

The non-entered ball passage count sensor 67 also functions as a foul ball detection means for detecting so-called "foul balls (returned balls)" (game balls that were launched by the launch device 32 but did not reach the game area 3a). In this embodiment, if a game ball launched from the launch device 32 does not reach the game area 3a, it is resupplied to the launch device 32 through a non-entered ball passage (not shown), and the game ball can be detected as a "foul ball" by the non-entered ball passage count sensor 67.

The subtraction mechanism count sensor 68 also functions as a live shot detection means for detecting the game ball (live shot ball) shot from the launch device 32.

The frame control unit 22 calculates the current number of balls in real time based on the information required for ball calculation, specifically, detection information from the ball entry passage count sensor 66, non-ball entry passage count sensor 67, subtraction mechanism count sensor 68, etc., as well as the gaming machine information notification message (see Figures 49, 50A to 50C) containing the prize ball number information (count information related to the number of prize balls) described below, and displays the result on the gaming ball number display device 77. In other words, the frame control unit 22 has a ball number management means capable of managing the number of balls in possession, and the ball number management means grasps the number of out balls (out ball management means), the number of safe balls (safe ball management means), the number of actual shot balls (shot ball management means), and the number of foul balls (foul ball management means), and also grasps the prize ball number information contained in the gaming machine information notification message sent from the main control unit 20, and is able to calculate the current number of balls from this information.

In addition, since the foul ball does not reach the play area 3a, the number of balls held is treated as "no count". In detail, when one actual shot ball shot from the launching device 32 is detected by the subtraction mechanism count sensor 68, one game ball is subtracted from the number of balls held (current number of balls held - 1: shot ball subtraction process), but when the actual shot ball is detected as a foul ball by the non-entering ball passage count sensor 67, one foul ball is added to the current number of balls held (current number of balls held (number of balls held after one shot) + 1: foul ball addition process), and as a result, the increase or decrease in the number of balls held is 0 (no count). In addition, when the ball lending button (ball lending request switch 87) provided on the external unit SC (ball lending device) described later is operated and a predetermined number of game balls (lend game ball number data) is supplied from the ball lending device, the number of lent balls is added to the current number of balls held (current number of balls held + number of lent balls).

The frame control unit 22 is also connected to a frame RAM clear switch 63, which initializes the in-area RAM area (for example, the storage area used for the current number of balls held and the calculation of the number of balls held, etc.) excluding the storage area for performance information (external RAM), an error release switch 64 for releasing a specified error, and a game ball clear switch 65 for initializing the number of balls held, and the frame control unit 22 is capable of receiving detection signals from these.

The frame control unit 22 is also connected to an external connection terminal board 85, and an external unit SC (unit dedicated to external communication) as an external device is detachably connected to the external connection terminal board 85. The frame control unit 22 is capable of transmitting predetermined information (for example, game ball count information, game machine installation information, performance information, specific information (information required by the data counter DT and hall computer HC), information on the number of enclosed game balls, information on the number of loaned game balls, loaned game ball receipt results, etc.) to the external unit SC via the external connection terminal board 85. The external unit SC also functions as a control device for controlling communication with other external devices, such as the ball loan device, hall computer HC, data counter DT, or a game machine information center (not shown) that collectively manages information on game machines installed in pachinko halls nationwide.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 32, the door open sensor 61 is connected to both the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20, and its detection signal can be input. Specifically, the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20 can each receive a detection signal from the door open sensor 61, and these control units 20, 22 can each independently execute a predetermined error process (error process related to door opening) based on the detection signal from the door open sensor 61.

In detail, the main control unit 20 monitors for a door open error based on the detection signal from the door open sensor 61, and if a door open error occurs, it sends a door open error command to the performance control unit 24 without notifying the frame control unit 22 of the error (it does not send a message related to the detection information (door open/close information) of the door open sensor 61 to the frame control unit 22), causing the performance control unit 24 to execute a door open error notification in the performance means. On the other hand, the frame control unit 22 monitors for a door open error based on the detection signal from the door open sensor 61, and if a door open error occurs, it outputs a predetermined outer end signal (here, a security signal related to door opening) to the external connection terminal board 85 without notifying the main control unit 20 of the error (it does not send a message related to the detection information (door open/close information) of the door open sensor 61 to the main control unit 20). The external end signal (a security signal related to door opening) output from the external connection terminal board 85 is sent via the external unit SC to an external device (such as a hall computer HC, a data counter DT, or a gaming machine information center), allowing the external device to grasp the status of the gaming machine (in this case, that a door opening error has occurred).

The above-mentioned "call button" of the data counter DT may be mounted on the gaming machine 1. However, in the case of a managed gaming machine, since the main functions of the frame control unit 22 are to manage the number of winning balls and game balls, and to manage the output of the above-mentioned outer end signal, it is preferable to configure the detection signal from the call button (ON (operated)/OFF (not operated)) to be input to the main control unit 20, and when the call button is operated, the main control unit 20 notifies the frame control unit 22 of the operation, and the frame control unit 22 side can transmit the signal as one of the outer end signals from the external connection terminal board 85 to an external device (such as a hall computer HC and/or a data counter DT). In short, the route of the detection signal of the call button is "call button (operation ON signal) → main control unit 20 → frame control unit 22 → external connection terminal board 85 → external unit SC → external device (such as a hall computer HC)" and notifies the external device.

<Processing on the main control unit side: Figs. 33A to 46B>
Next, referring to Figures 33A to 46B, the game operation processing on the main control unit 20 side of the second embodiment will be described. As with the first embodiment, this second embodiment is mainly composed of an infinite loop main processing (main control side main processing: Figures 33A to 33B) and timer interrupt processing (two main control side timer interrupt processing: 4 ms interrupt processing in Figure 36, 108 ms interrupt processing in Figure 40) that is started by a regular interrupt from the CTC. However, since the managed gaming machine according to the second embodiment has a "circulating" configuration, some of the processing is different from the "non-circulating" general gaming machine described in the first embodiment (especially the processing when the power is turned on and the processing related to the prize balls are different).

In Figures 33A to 46B, the same step numbers are used for processes that are essentially the same as those in the first embodiment, and details about the processing content are omitted as appropriate to avoid duplication.

<12A. Main processing on the main control side: Figs. 33A and 33B>
The main processing on the master control side according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 33A and 33B. Figures 33A and 33B are flowcharts showing the details of the main processing on the master control side.

In FIG. 33A, steps S011, S014 to S016, S019 to S020, S023, S025 to S028, and S030 to S032 are substantially the same as those in FIG. 8, as shown in the figure. Therefore, to avoid duplication, an explanation of the main control side main processing shown in FIG. 33A will be omitted here, and the explanation will focus on the processing shown in FIG. 33B.

Referring to Figures 33A and 33B, when the CPU 201 completes any one of the above-mentioned setting change processing (step S023), in-area RAM clear processing (step S031), setting confirmation processing (step S027), and backup restoration processing (step S028) shown in Figure 33A, it then executes various processes (steps S051 to S063 shown in Figure 33B) required for transmitting and receiving with the frame control unit 22 when the power is turned on.

In this embodiment, communication between the main control unit 20 and the frame control unit 22 is performed using an asynchronous serial port and a telegram format. Therefore, the CPU 201 first starts the serial transmission circuit (step S051).

Next, the "gaming machine installation information notification message" shown in FIG. 48 (A) is created (step S052), and the created gaming machine installation information notification message is written to the transmission serial port buffer (transmission buffer related to the serial I/O port) and transmitted to the frame control unit 22 (step S053). The CPU 201 transfers the transmission shift register byte by byte, starting with the data stored first in the transmission serial port buffer, and outputs the data as serial data to the peripheral control board (here, the frame control unit 22). In this embodiment, the transmission serial port buffer has a storage capacity of 16 bytes.

(Gaming machine installation information notification message: FIG. 48(A))
The above-mentioned "gaming machine installation information notification message" will be described with reference to Fig. 48. Fig. 48(A) shows the details of the gaming machine installation information notification message.

As shown in the figure, the gaming machine installation information notification message is composed of a total of 25 bytes, including the message length (message length information: 1 byte), the command code of the message (command information: 1 byte), the communication serial number (sequence number: 1 byte), gaming machine information related to the gaming machine (21 bytes), and the checksum (1 byte). The message length indicates the data length of the message, and here, a value (0x19) indicating "25 bytes", which is the data length from the message length to the checksum, is set. In addition, fixed values (0x01, 0x00) are set for the command code and the communication serial number. In addition, the gaming machine installation information includes information on the type of gaming machine, such as a pinball gaming machine, a reel gaming machine, an arrange ball gaming machine, or a mahjong ball gaming machine (1 byte), at least the chip ID number (9 bytes) of the CPU on the main control unit 20 side (in this embodiment, the main control unit 20 and the frame control unit 22 side), a chip manufacturer code (3 bytes), and a chip product code (8 bytes). The gaming machine installation information may include various information such as pachinko parlor store information (store name), pachinko model information and its manufacturer, and performance information.

This gaming machine installation information notification message is sent via the external unit SC to an external device such as the hall computer HC or the gaming machine information center. This allows the legitimacy of the gaming machines installed in the pachinko hall to be monitored, for example, for illegally modified machines, fraudulent acts, ball payout information, error information, etc., and checks whether the gaming machines installed are functioning properly to meet legal requirements.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 33B, after the gaming machine installation information notification message is sent to the frame control unit 22, a power supply abnormality check process is executed (step S054). In the power supply abnormality check process, the WDT is cleared, and then the presence or absence of a power interruption is checked based on the input information of a power supply abnormality signal (voltage drop signal) indicating a power interruption, and a standby process is executed for a predetermined time T. The predetermined time T is a sufficient time required for the main control unit 20 to receive the "gaming machine installation information response message" described below, for example, the execution interval time (108 ms or 54 ms) of the interrupt process described below (FIGS. 40 and 45). If the power supply abnormality signal is ON, the process state is shifted to the initial setting process of step S011, and the system waits for a power interruption.

On the other hand, if the power supply abnormality signal is OFF, it is determined that the operation is normal, the power supply abnormality check process is terminated, and it is determined whether or not a gaming machine installation information response message has been received (step S055). In short, this gaming machine installation information response message is receipt result information that is sent to the main control unit 20 when the frame control unit 22 receives the gaming machine installation information notification message.

(Gaming machine installation information response message: FIG. 48(B))
The above-mentioned "gaming machine installation information response message" will be described with reference to Fig. 48. Fig. 48(B) shows the details of the gaming machine installation information response message.

As shown in the figure, the gaming machine installation information response message is composed of a total of 5 bytes: message length (1 byte), command code (1 byte), communication number (1 byte), gaming machine installation information receipt result (1 byte), and checksum (1 byte). The message length is the data length from the message length to the checksum, and is set here to the above-mentioned total of 5 bytes (0x05). The command code and communication number are each set to fixed values (0x11, 0x00). The receipt result is set to indicate that the gaming machine installation information has been received (0x00 = receipt OK).

The checksum is the last data received, and is set to the sum of the message length and the gaming machine receipt result. Therefore, the checksum value (normal value) when the gaming machine installation information response message is received normally is:
・"0x05 (message length) + 0x11 (command code) + 0x00 (communication serial number) + 0x00 (game machine installation information receipt result) = 0x16 (checksum = 16H)"
It becomes.

When the frame control unit 22 responds with the reception result of the gaming machine installation information notification message, it responds with the communication number of the gaming machine installation information notification message (fixed at 0), and if it receives a communication number other than 0, it considers this to be a communication abnormality and does not respond (returns no response).

In the case of a "ball-removed state," "0x01" is set as the reception result (see the "Receiving result" column in Figure 48 (B)). Details of this will be described later using Figures 34 and 35. Here, we will first explain the case where the "ball-removed state" is not taken into consideration.

Whether or not the "gaming machine installation information response message" has been received is checked by checking the "receive serial port buffer status register (hereafter abbreviated as "receive buffer status")," which indicates the presence or absence of received data in the receive serial port buffer (receive buffer related to the serial I/O port). This receive buffer status contains information regarding the length of received data; for example, 00H indicates "no received data," and 01H to 10H indicates "1 byte to 16 bytes of received data."

The CPU 201 repeatedly executes the power supply abnormality check process of step S054 until it confirms receipt of the gaming machine installation information response message, that is, until it confirms that the reception buffer status value is a value other than 00H (processing route of step S055: NO). Note that in this embodiment, as described above, since a sufficient time (for example, 108 ms) is secured for the main control unit 20 to receive the gaming machine installation information response message, the result of the determination in step S055 is usually YES, but if the frame control unit 22 is in the "no response" state, the main control unit 20 cannot receive the gaming machine installation information response message, and the result of the determination in step S055 is NO. In this case, the processes of steps S054 to S055 are repeatedly executed until a power interruption occurs (until the power supply abnormality signal ON is detected).

If the gaming machine installation information response message is received (step S055: YES), the number of received data (value of the reception buffer status) is obtained and set as the loop count (step S056). This loop count is used in step S058 described later. Here, the gaming machine installation information response message is fixed at 5 bytes of data as described above, but if data of 6 bytes or more is received multiple times, a bug may occur. Therefore, here, the number of received data is obtained and set as the loop count. Note that if the gaming machine installation information response message from the frame control unit 22 is normally received, the value of the reception buffer status is "05H" indicating that "5 bytes of received data are available", so the loop count is set to 5 times. In addition, the above-mentioned "number of received data (number of data stored in the reception serial port buffer)" can be confirmed in the reception buffer status, and when the stored data in the reception serial port buffer is read, the number of received data in the reception buffer status is subtracted accordingly. If the receive serial port buffer is read when the amount of received data is 0, the value of the receive buffer status will be 00H.

Next, one byte of information received from the frame control unit 22 is loaded sequentially from the receive serial port buffer into a specified register (for example, register A) until the loop count becomes zero (the processing route in which the result of the judgment in step S058 is NO). As already explained, if the gaming machine installation information response message from the frame control unit 22 has been received normally, the data finally loaded into register A is the checksum related to the gaming machine installation information response message, and its value is the normal value of "16H".

When the number of loops becomes zero (step S058: YES), it is determined whether the value finally input into the A register matches the normal checksum value "16H" (step S059). If the gaming machine installation information response message has been received correctly, the value of the A register should be "16H". Therefore, here it is determined whether the value finally written into the A register is the normal value "16H".

If the checksum is not a normal value (if the checksum is abnormal) (step S059: NO), the process returns to the power supply abnormality check process of step S054. In this case, the process of steps S054 to S055 is repeated until a power outage occurs (an infinite loop state in which the power supply abnormality check process is repeatedly executed). In addition, if the process of step S055 is passed again, it is because it is determined that the gaming machine installation information response message was not received correctly.

If the gaming machine installation information response message is not received normally (including the above-mentioned "no response"), the main control unit 20 does not transmit the "gaming machine information notification message (see FIG. 49)" described later to the frame control unit 22. Therefore, if the frame control unit 22 does not receive the gaming machine information notification message from the main control unit 20 after a predetermined time has elapsed, a timeout (reception failure) occurs and a predetermined error process (checksum error process) such as a timeout error notification is executed. In addition, in the case of a checksum abnormality (step S059: NO), the main control unit 20 transmits a dedicated error command related to the checksum abnormality (which may be the above-mentioned "power re-on command") to the performance control unit 24, and then causes the performance control unit 24 to execute, for example, a checksum abnormality error notification (RAM error notification), and the process returns to the power supply abnormality check process of step S054, and the power supply abnormality check process is repeatedly executed (infinite loop). If a checksum abnormality occurs, the gaming machine can be restored to normal by turning the power OFF and ON again to execute the power-on process (Figures 33A and 33B) and correctly receiving the gaming machine installation information response message (if the checksum is normal).

On the other hand, if the checksum is normal (step S059: YES), a specified RAM area in the transmission/reception relationship between the main control unit and the frame control unit 22 is cleared in preparation for the start of normal play (step S060). Specifically, the storage area related to the communication number (communication number RAM area), which will be described later, the reception error counter that counts the number of times a response message has been received incorrectly from the frame control unit 22, the reception check start flag, the reception checksum RXSUM, etc. are cleared. Note that the transmission ring buffer, the final address RAM area indicating the final address of the ring buffer, the load pointer, the save pointer, etc. are not cleared here, taking into consideration the case where they have been restored in the backup restoration process (step S028 in Figure 33A).

Next, the CTC setting process is executed to generate timer interrupts periodically every 4 ms and every 108 ms (step S061). After that, an interrupt request signal is periodically output to the interrupt controller, and the two main control side timer interrupt processes (4 ms interrupt process, 108 ms interrupt process) shown in Figures 36 and 40 are executed.

Next, as the game is ready to start, the launch control signal that permits the launch operation of the launch device 32 is set from OFF (launch prohibited state (launch control signal stopped)) to ON (launch permitted state (launch control signal output)), and a game start command is sent to the performance control unit 24 (step S037). This causes the launch control signal to be output to the launch control board 28, enabling the launch device 32 to launch game balls, and an initial operation (initialization operation) related to the performance means is executed.

Then, the game permission flag is set to the ON state (5AH) (step S063). This game permission flag is a flag that specifies whether normal game processing is permitted or not; when the flag is ON (5AH), it indicates that normal game processing is permitted, and when the flag is OFF (00H), it indicates that normal game processing is prohibited. The game permission flag is used, for example, in the 4 ms interrupt processing in FIG. 36 and the 108 ms interrupt processing in FIG. 40 (see step S81A in FIG. 36 and step S111 in FIG. 40).

After completing a series of power-on processes (steps S011 to S063: pre-game processing), an infinite loop of steps S040 to S045 of game processing related to normal game progress is executed. As a result, the game is controlled to a state in which game progress is possible (a state in which game can be started). Note that in this embodiment, step S041 (performance display monitor tallying and division processing) shown in FIG. 8 does not exist, but this is because the calculation of performance information (base value) and the processing related to its display are left to the frame control unit 22 (the same applies to the third embodiment described below).

Here, in this embodiment, after the various random number update processes in step S041, the reception buffer status value is checked to determine whether or not there is received data from the frame control unit 22 (step S046). The received data here is the "game machine information response message" shown in FIG. 51, which is sent from the frame control unit 22 during normal play. Details will be described later, but when normal play begins, the main control unit 20 side transmits the "game machine information notification message (FIG. 49)" described later to the frame control unit 22 as predetermined game information at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 108 ms interrupt process execution in FIG. 40), and the frame control unit 22 side transmits the "game machine information response message" to the main control unit 20 as a receipt notification for the game machine information notification message. In this embodiment, the above-mentioned "game machine information response message" and "game machine information notification message" are transmitted and received within 108 ms. By sending and receiving such messages, it is possible to manage game operations such as performance information, number of winning balls, number of balls held by the player, and whether or not there is any cheating.

(Gaming Machine Information Response Message: FIG. 51)
For ease of explanation, the above-mentioned "game information notification response message" will be explained first with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 51, the "game information notification response message" includes the message length (1 byte), command code (1 byte), communication number (1 byte), game information receipt result (1 byte), and checksum (1 byte), and is composed of a total of 5 bytes, the same as the "game machine installation information response message" shown in FIG. 48 (B). The message length of the game information notification response message is the length information of the message up to the checksum, and here, 5 bytes (0x05) is set. In addition, fixed values (0x12, 0x00 = receipt OK) are set for the command code and receipt result (game machine information receipt result). In addition, the communication number is set to the communication number received in the "game machine information notification message (see FIG. 49)" described later (any value between 0x00 and 0xFF (0 to 255)) (the received communication number is responded to as is). The checksum is the last data received, and here, the value obtained by adding up the message length to the receipt result is set. Therefore, if the gaming information notification response message is received correctly, the checksum value will be "0x05 (message length) + 0x12 (command code) + 0x00 (game machine installation information receipt result) + communication serial number (any value between 0 and 255) = fixed value (0x17() + communication serial number (any value between 0 and 255)"

In steps S046 to S047, the presence or absence of received data for the "gaming machine information response message" shown in FIG. 51 described above is checked, and if received data is present, the slot received data storage process is executed (step S047).

In this frame reception data storage process, the reception data of the gaming machine information response message is stored in a specified area (reception checksum RXSUM) of RAM 203. In other words, taking advantage of the fact that "the last data received (the fifth byte) is the checksum," when the main control unit 20 receives reception data related to the gaming machine information response message (if there is reception data), it continues to sequentially store the "message length (1 byte), command code (1 byte), communication number (1 byte), gaming information reception result (1 byte), and checksum (1 byte)" related to that gaming machine information response message in the reception checksum RXSUM. As a result, the data finally stored in the reception checksum RXSUM becomes the checksum data of the gaming machine information response message received this time. The checksum data of the gaming machine information response message received this time is then retained until the next gaming machine information response message is received. The checksum value stored in this receive checksum RXSUM is used in the 108 ms interrupt process (e.g., step S114 in FIG. 40) shown in FIG. 40, which will be described later.

In this embodiment, as described above, the exchange of "game information notification response message ⇔ game machine information response message" is performed every 108 ms interrupt, so the game machine information response message is sent from the frame control unit 22 at intervals of about 108 ms. Therefore, there is enough time for the main control unit 20 to receive the current game machine information response message and store the received data in the reception checksum RXSUM before receiving the next game machine information response message.

The presence or absence of received data for the gaming machine information response message can be confirmed by the above-mentioned reception buffer status. After the checksum of the current gaming machine information response message has been stored (after the end of the all data storage process), the value of the reception buffer status becomes 00H, and the judgment result of step S046 will be "NO" until the next gaming machine information response message is received. The storage process of the received data related to the gaming machine information response message may be a loop process of S040 to S045, as shown in the figure, while storing the received data one byte at a time in the frame reception data storage process of step S047, or, if there is received data, the process of steps S046 and S047 may be repeatedly executed until the reception serial port buffer becomes empty (until the reception buffer status = 00H). In either case, there is enough time between the storage of the checksum of the current gaming machine information response message and the reception of the next gaming machine information response message, so no particular problem occurs.

(When checking the ball removal status during power-on processing: Fig. 34)
Next, the processing at the time of power-on including the monitoring of the "ball-removing state" will be described. Figure 34 is a flowchart showing the processing contents at the time of power-on including the monitoring of the "ball-removing state". In Figure 34, the same step numbers are given to the processes substantially the same as those in Figure 33B, and the explanation of the processing contents will be omitted as appropriate to avoid duplication.

In a form that checks whether or not the machine is in the ball-removed state (hereinafter referred to as the "ball-removed state monitoring configuration"), when the frame control unit 22 transmits a gaming machine installation information response message to the main control unit 20, it checks the ON/OFF state of the ball-removed state detection switch (not shown) (the ball-removed state monitoring means) and transmits a gaming machine installation information response message that includes data that can identify whether the machine is in the "ball-removed state" or "non-ball-removed state". Specifically, as shown in the "Receipt Result" column in FIG. 48(B), if the machine is in the "ball-removed state", the reception result is "0x01", and if the machine is in the "non-ball-removed state", the reception result is "0x00".

The checksum for the gaming machine installation information response message is "0x16 (16H)" if the ball has not been removed, and if the ball has been removed, the checksum will be "0x17 (17H)" as the received result is "0x01". Taking advantage of this difference in checksum value, the ball removal status monitoring configuration employs the process shown in Figure 34.

Referring to FIG. 34, in the case of the ball removal state monitoring configuration, as shown in the figure, it is determined whether the checksum value is the normal value of "16H" (step S059), and if the checksum value is not the normal value (step S059: NO (≠ 16H)), it is then determined whether the ball removal state is in place (step S065).

If the ball is not removed (step S065: OFF), that is, if the checksum value is neither "016H (normal value)" nor "017H (ball removed state value)", some kind of malfunction (checksum abnormality) has occurred, and the process proceeds to step S054. In this case, as in the case where the judgment result of step S059 in FIG. 33B already explained is NO, the process route (infinite loop process) is to repeatedly execute the power supply abnormality check process (step S054). Note that, if the ball is not removed (if the judgment result of step S065 is OFF), the main control unit 20 side may send a dedicated error command related to the abnormality (which may be the above-mentioned "power re-on command") to the performance control unit 24, and then have the performance control unit 24 execute, for example, a checksum abnormality error notification (RAM error notification), and the process may return to the power supply abnormality check process of step S054 and repeatedly execute the power supply abnormality check process. In this case, just as in the case where a checksum abnormality has occurred as described above (when the determination result of step S059 in FIG. 33B is NO), the gaming machine can be restored to normal by turning the power OFF/ON (re-powering) to execute the power-on process again (FIGS. 33A and 34) and correctly receiving the gaming machine installation information response message (when the checksum is normal).

On the other hand, if the ball is being removed (step S065: ON), i.e., if the checksum value is "017H", the launch control signal that permits the launch operation of the launching device 32 is turned ON, and the launch is set to the permitted state (step S037). The reason that the launch operation is permitted when the ball is being removed is that there may be game balls remaining in the launching device 32 waiting to be launched, and it is preferable to permit the launch operation in order to remove these remaining balls from the launching device 32. Note that it is preferable not to calculate the base value (performance information) during the ball removal state.

Then, after executing the ball removal error state notification process (step S038), the process returns to step S054. In the ball removal error state notification process, an error command (ball removal error command) specifying that a ball removal error has occurred is sent to the performance control unit 24. When the performance control unit 24 receives the ball removal error command, it uses the performance means to execute a ball removal error notification. The ball removal error notification may be by sound, light, or image display, for example, outputting a voice message saying "Ball removal error has occurred," turning on all of the frame LEDs in white, or displaying "Ball removal error has occurred" on the LCD screen.

The ball removal error notification may be made using the performance display 99 and/or the game ball count display device 77. For example, an error code (ball removal error code) indicating a ball removal error may be displayed on the performance display 99 or the game ball count display device 77. Since the performance display 99 and the game ball count display device 77 can be directly controlled by the frame control unit 22, the ball removal error code may be displayed immediately when a ball removal state is detected.

(Resolved ball removal error)
In this embodiment, once it is determined that the ball is removed, an infinite loop process is started in which the power supply abnormality check process (step S054) is repeatedly executed, so that the ball removal error cannot be cleared even by operating the ball removal switch 62 or the error clear switch 64. To return to normal from the ball removal error state, it is necessary to turn the power OFF/ON (re-insert) after clearing the ball removal state.

When determining whether or not the ball is being removed, it is preferable to use a processing program such as that shown in FIG. 35 (i).

Figure 35 (a) shows an example of source code focusing on the judgment process of steps S059 and S065. Note that in order to make it easier to understand the difference between Figure 35 (a) "Specific example" and (b) "Comparative example", the ball removal state error notification process (step S038) has been omitted.

Referring to FIG. 35 (A), in the judgment process of step S059, the normal checksum value "16H" is subtracted from the A register (the register that has taken in the checksum data of the gaming machine installation information response message) and the result is set in the A register (SPm1). If the result in the A register is zero, that is, the checksum value is the normal value (=016H) (step S059: YES), it is determined that the receipt has been properly completed and the process jumps to the process of step S060 (SYSTEM_129) (SPm2).

If the result in the A register is not zero, that is, if the checksum value is not the normal value (=016H) (step S059: NO), the value in the A register is decremented (SPm3). Here, if the ball is removed, the checksum value is "17H", and the difference between this and the normal value "16H" is "01H", so the value in the A register is decremented by 1.

If the subtraction result is not zero (step S065: OFF), it is assumed that some kind of malfunction has occurred, and the process jumps to the power supply abnormality check process (SYSTEM_126, step S054) (SPm4).

If the subtraction result is zero (step S065: ON), it is determined that the ball is being removed, and the firing operation is permitted (SPm5, step S037), and the process jumps to the power supply abnormality check process (SYSTEM_126, step S054) (SPm6).

As described above, in the specific example of Figure (A), as shown in SPm1 to 3 above, the checksum value is the normal value "16H", and the checksum value in the ball-removed state is "017H". Taking advantage of this, the process determines whether the ball is removed or not depending on whether the result of the calculation "value of A register - normal value (016H) - ball-removed state (01H)" is zero (00H) or not.

Doing this leads to a reduction in program capacity compared to a processing program that determines the checksum value (ball removal state) in stages, as shown in the "Comparative Example" in Figure 35 (b). This will be described in more detail below.

In FIG. 35 (b), the judgment process of step S059 judges whether the value of the A register is normal (016H) or not (SPm7), and depending on the judgment result, it is decided whether to jump to the power supply abnormality check process (SYSTEM_126, step S054) or to the judgment process of step S065 (SPm8). Here, if the value of the A register is normal, it is assumed that the receipt has been properly completed and the process jumps to the process of step S060 (SYSTEM_129); if the value of the A register is not normal, it moves to the judgment process of step S065 (judgment process of whether the ball is removed or not).

When the process proceeds to the judgment process of step S065, the value of the A register is compared to determine whether it is the checksum value (017H) in the ball-pulling state (SPm9), and depending on the result of the judgment, it is decided whether to jump to the power supply abnormality check process (SYSTEM_126, step S054) or to the process of permitting the firing operation of step S037 (SPm10). Here, if the value of the A register does not match "017H (ball-pulling state)", i.e., it is not in the "ball-pulling state", it is determined that there is some kind of malfunction, and the process jumps to the power supply abnormality check process (SYSTEM_126, step S054). On the other hand, if the value of the A register matches "017H (ball-pulling state)", i.e., it is in the "ball-pulling state", the firing operation is permitted (SPm11, step S037), and the process jumps to the power supply abnormality check process (SYSTEM_126, step S054) (SPm12).

As shown here, the "Comparative Example" in FIG. 35(B) requires 13 bytes, while the "Specific Example" in FIG. 35(A) requires 12 bytes, resulting in a reduction of 1 byte. In gaming machines that are installed in pachinko parlors and are targeted at Type 7 business under the Law Concerning the Control and Proper Management of Amusement and Amusement Businesses, etc., the program capacity of the ROM mounted on the main board that controls the overall gaming operation (in this embodiment, this corresponds to the main control unit 20) is limited by the regulations on the certification and type inspection of gaming machines in the Law (Appendix 3 of the same Regulations: Technical Standards Concerning the Structure of Gaming Machines to Prevent Unauthorized Modification and Other Changes (Article 6)), so even a reduction in program capacity of 1 byte is significant.

When the ball is removed, the launching operation of the launching device 32 is permitted, but the game permission flag is not set to ON, and the process may proceed to the infinite loop process from step S040 onwards, which is the same as the normal game process. Specifically, when the ball is removed (step S065: ON), the processes of steps S060, S061, and S037 are executed in sequence, as when the checksum is normal, but the process of setting the game permission flag to ON in step S063 may be skipped (the game permission flag is left in OFF state), and the process may proceed to the process from step S040 onwards. In any case, when the ball is removed, there is a risk that the circulating game balls may leak out of the gaming machine, so it is preferable to control so that the processes required for normal game progress (for example, the timer interrupt process described below (the 4 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 36, the 108 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 40) are not executed.

<70. Main control side timer interruption process (second embodiment): Fig. 36, Fig. 40>
Next, the timer interrupt processing on the main control side according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 36 and Fig. 40. Fig. 36 shows the 4 ms interrupt processing of the timer interrupt processing on the main control side, and Fig. 40 is a flow chart showing the 108 ms interrupt processing. These timer interrupt processing on the main control side are started by an interrupt from the CTC at regular intervals (approximately 4 ms and 108 ms), and are executed by interrupting the execution of the main processing on the main control side.

In this embodiment, multiple interrupt processes including 4 ms interrupt process and 108 ms interrupt process are handled. The 4 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 36 is basically the same as the "main control timer interrupt process" described in FIG. 9, and as shown, mainly processes required for normal game progress (such as the symbol change display game and the winning game) are executed. On the other hand, the 108 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 40 is mainly executed to execute processes related to the creation and output of information required by the frame control unit 22. Examples of information required by the frame control unit 22 include information required to perform various control processes (display process for the game ball number display device 77, display process for the performance display device 99, etc.) such as the number of balls held, the number of winning balls, and performance information, and information required by external devices (ball lending device, hall computer HC) (mainly game machine information notification message (see FIG. 49)).

In addition, in this embodiment, the 4 ms interrupt process is set to have a higher interrupt priority (priority) than the 108 ms interrupt process. This is because, while there are no particular problems with processes related to the number of balls held and performance information, etc., being executed at relatively long time intervals (approximately 100 ms to 110 ms), game processes related to effects and pattern change display games are subject to strict time constraints in order to ensure smooth game progress, and therefore require processing at extremely short intervals (approximately 2 ms to 4 ms). Also, with regard to error processing, it is preferable to be able to immediately respond to error notifications, etc., from the perspective of preventing fraudulent activities.

Note that the configuration may allow multiple interrupts to execute a high-priority 4 ms interrupt while a low-priority 108 ms interrupt is being executed. Also, the interrupt may be set to a disabled state when the 108 ms interrupt is executed, and set to an enabled state after the 108 ms interrupt is completed. In this case, if an interrupt request for a 4 ms interrupt occurs during the 108 ms interrupt, the 4 ms interrupt may be executed immediately after the 08 ms interrupt is completed.

<4ms interrupt processing: FIG. 36>
First, the 4 ms interrupt process will be described with reference to Fig. 36. In Fig. 36, the same steps as those in the first embodiment (the main control timer interrupt process in Fig. 9) are given the same step numbers, and descriptions of the process contents will be omitted as appropriate to avoid duplication.

In FIG. 36, when a 4 ms timer interrupt occurs, the CPU 201 first executes a power supply abnormality check process (step S081).

Next, it is determined whether the game permission flag is ON (5AH) (step S81A). If the game permission flag is not ON (step S81A: ≠ 5AH), it is determined that game processing execution is prohibited, and the process skips the illustrated steps S082 to S101 (the execution of at least some game processing is prohibited (restricted)), proceeds to step S104, clears the WDT count value, ends the 4 ms interrupt processing, and executes the main control main processing until the next 4 ms interrupt occurs.

On the other hand, if the game permission flag is ON (step S81A:=5AH), the game process is permitted to be executed, and the timer management process (step S082) to the WDT clear process (step S104) are executed in sequence as processes required for normal game progress (processing related to the symbol change display game, normal power release game, and winning game (big win game, small win game), etc.). However, since the gaming machine according to this embodiment is a "managed gaming machine", there is no prize ball management process (step S090) for paying out actual game balls, compared to the main control side timer interruption process (FIG. 9) of the gaming machine according to the first embodiment (non-circulating gaming machine), and since the processing related to performance information is performed on the frame control unit 22 side, there is no processing related to the calculation of performance information and its display control (processing related to the performance information display in step S101 in FIG. 9).

The information required for game progress is sent to the frame control unit 22 at the required timing by creating a "game machine information notification message" (described later) (see the message sending process (step S123) during the 108 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 40 described later). The frame control unit 22 receives this game machine information notification message and, based on the information contained therein, calculates and displays the number of balls held and performance information, and manages specific game information (for example, the number of winning balls, the number of pattern changes, the number of wins, information on fraudulent activity detection, etc.) sent to an external device (such as the hall computer HC).

(Gaming Machine Information Notification Message: FIG. 49, FIG. 50A to FIG. 50F)
The above-mentioned "gaming machine information notification message" will be described with reference to Figures 49 and 50A to 50F.

Figure 49 shows the details of the gaming machine information notification message. As shown in the figure, the gaming machine information notification message is composed of a total of 9 to 19 bytes, including message length (1 byte), command code (1 byte), communication number (1 byte), main control status 1 (1 byte), main control status 2 (1 byte), gaming machine error status (1 byte), fraud detection status (1 byte), number of gaming information items (1 byte), gaming information n (n = 0 to 5: 2 bytes per gaming information item, type information (1 byte) + count information (1 byte), 0 to 10 bytes), and checksum (1 byte).

The communication number of the gaming machine information notification message is the previous communication number plus 1 when the gaming machine information notification message is sent. Specifically, the communication number takes a value between 0 and 255 (0x00 to 0xFF), and after 255 it returns to 0, so it cycles through the range of 0 to 255.

The above main control status 1, main control status 2, gaming machine error status, and fraud detection status are mainly information related to the outer end signal output from the external connection terminal board 85 connected to the frame control unit 22.

The "Advantageous state" in the "Content" column for main control state 1 and main control state 2 means a game state that is more advantageous than normal gameplay, such as a time-saving state, a sure-win state, or a potential win state. In addition, "during a jackpot + advantageous state" in the "Content" column for main control state 2 means the period during a jackpot and the advantageous state after the jackpot ends. Note that the micro-time-saving state in this embodiment acts as a special time-saving state that is "a game state that belongs to the time-saving state, but can realize a base value that is approximately the same as the normal state." For this reason, it can be determined as appropriate whether the micro-time-saving state is an advantageous state or a non-advantageous state (treated as a game state equivalent to the normal state).

The gaming machine error state specifies the type of error that has occurred in the gaming machine. The fraud detection state 1 is fraud monitoring information (fraud detection information) detected by fraud monitoring sensors such as radio wave sensors, vibration sensors, and magnetic sensors that are installed to detect fraudulent acts against the gaming machine, and the "Board fraud 1-6 (bit 0-bit 5)" in the "Content" column specifies the type of fraud detected by the sensor. In this example, for bits 0-5, if the corresponding bit is normal, it is set to "0", and if fraud is detected (abnormal), it is set to "1". For example, as the fraud detection information, bits 0-1 (board fraud 1-2) are assigned the detection state by the radio wave sensor formed near the large prize opening 50 and the detection state by the magnetic sensor formed near the large prize opening 50, and when fraud is detected, the corresponding bit is set to "1", and the detection of fraud is notified to an external device (external unit SC) via the external connection terminal board 85.

(Game Information: Figures 50A to 50F)
The above game information will be described with reference to Figures 50A to 50F. Figures 50B to 50F representatively show game information (type information + count information) closely related to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 50A, the game status is composed of two bytes: "type information (upper byte)" and "count information (lower byte)". As shown in FIG. 50A(A), the upper 4 bits (bits 4-7) of the "type information" indicate the data type (types 1-15), and the lower 4 bits (bits 0-3) indicate the data content. For example, the type information may indicate a win at a certain winning slot, the number of times a pattern has been determined (notifying the number of times a special pattern or normal pattern has changed), a special pattern hit (notifying the occurrence of a big hit or small hit), a normal pattern hit (notifying the occurrence of a normal pattern hit (auxiliary hit)), the number of times a special device has been played (notifying the opening of a large winning slot when the device continuous operation device has not yet been activated), passage through a specific area (notifying the passage of a game ball through a specific area), external terminal board pulse output (instructing a pulse output from a dedicated unit), and performance information status notification (notifying information required for the calculation of performance information).

As shown in Figures 50B to 50F, the above "count information" includes information required to calculate the number of balls held (number of winning balls information: Figures 50B and 50C), the number of times a pattern has been determined (Figure 50D), the number of times a win has occurred (Figure 50E), and information required to calculate performance information, including information that can identify changes in the game state (see Figure 50F (e)) (information that can identify the counting section and/or non-counting section).

<(A) Count information related to the number of winning balls (data type = 1 to 8): Figures 50B to 50C>
Figure 50B (B) shows "count information relating to the number of prize balls." As shown in the figure, the count information relating to the number of prize balls is such that the upper 4 bits (bits 4 to 7) specify the number of prize balls information (1 to 15 balls), and the lower 4 bits (bits 0 to 3) specify the number of winning balls (1 ball). In this embodiment, as an example of game information (type information + count information) relating to the number of prize balls, data such as those shown in (Example 1) to (Example 6) of Figures 50B to 50C are created.

(Data type 1: Winning at the starting gate)
FIG. 50B (Example 1) shows game information when two winning balls occur in the upper starting hole 34 with three winning balls. This (Example 1) is an example of "Starting hole winning" of "Data type 1" shown in FIG. 50A. In this embodiment, since there are two starting holes, "upper starting hole 34" and "lower starting hole 35", the starting hole numbers (see the "Data number" column in FIG. 50A) are assigned to the upper starting hole 34 as "Starting hole 1" and to the lower starting hole as "Starting hole 2", and the others are left unused. Note that one piece of game information is created for each winning ball (the same applies to other cases). In this example, since there are two winning balls, two pieces of "0x1131" data are created as game information.

(Data type 2: Winning at the big prize slot due to a special electric device)
FIG. 50B (Example 2) shows game information when three winnings occur in the large winning hole 50 with 15 prize balls. This (Example 2) is an example of "Large winning hole winning by special electric device" of "Data type 2" shown in FIG. 50A, and here, it deals with winning in the large winning hole when the device continuous operation device is not operating, mainly winning in the large winning hole by "small hit". In the case of this embodiment, since only the "large winning hole 50" is provided as the large winning hole, the large winning hole 50 is assigned "1" as the large winning hole number (see the "Data number" column in FIG. 50A), and the others are unused. In this example, since the number of winnings is three, three pieces of data "0x21F1" are created as game information.

(Data type 3: Winning entry)
FIG. 50B (Example 3) shows game information when one winning occurs in the general winning port 43b with three winning balls. This (Example 3) is an example of "Winning port winning" of "Data type 3" shown in FIG. 50A. In this embodiment, since the general winning ports are "general winning ports 43a-e", the general winning ports 43a-e are assigned "1" to "5" as winning port numbers (see the "Data number" column in FIG. 50A), and the others are unused. In this example, since the number of winning balls is one, one data of "0x3231" is created as game information. In addition, among the general winning ports 43, those with the same number of winning balls may be assigned a common winning port number.

(Data type 4: Gate passage/normal gate entry)
FIG. 50C (Example 4) shows the game information when a game ball passes through the normal pattern start port 37 (0 winning balls) consisting of a passing gate once. This (Example 4) is an example of "gate passing/normal pattern operation port winning" of "Data Type 4" shown in FIG. 50A. In this embodiment, since only the "normal pattern start port 37" is provided as a passing gate, the normal pattern start port 37 is assigned "1" as the passing gate number or normal pattern operation port number (see the "Data Number" column in FIG. 50A), and the others are unused. In this example, since the number of winning balls is one, one piece of data "0x4101" is created as the game information.

(Data type 5: Winning at the starting gate due to normal electric device operation)
Figure 50C (Example 5) shows game information when one winning ball enters the lower winning slot 35 by operating a normal electric device. This (Example 5) is an example of "Starting slot winning by operating a normal electric device" of "Data Type 5" shown in Figure 50A. Here, we deal with winning at the lower starting slot 35 (starting slot 2) during a normal electric open game. In this example, since there is one winning ball, one piece of data "0x5201" is created as game information.

(Data type 6: Winning at the big prize slot due to the operation of the continuous operation device of the reel)
FIG. 50C (Example 6) shows game information when one ball enters the large prize slot 50 with 15 prize balls by the continuous operation device of the accessory. This (Example 6) is an example of "Winning the large prize slot by operation of the continuous operation device of the accessory" of "Data Type 6" shown in FIG. 50A. Here, we deal with winning the large prize slot by operation of the continuous operation device of the accessory, that is, winning the large prize slot by a "jackpot". In this example, since the number of winning balls is one, one piece of data "0x61F1" is created as game information.

<(B) Count information relating to the number of times a symbol is determined (data type = 9): FIG. 50D>
50D shows an example of "count information related to the number of times the symbols are determined". The count information related to the number of times the symbols are determined is such that the upper 4 bits (bits 4 to 7) are unused, and the lower 4 bits (bits 0 to 3) specify the number of times the symbols are determined (1 time).

As an example of count information related to the number of times a pattern is determined, FIG. 50D (Example 7) shows game information when special pattern 1 stops once, and the same figure (Example 8) shows game information when a normal pattern stops once. In this embodiment, three types of patterns are handled: special pattern 1, special pattern 2, and normal pattern 1. Therefore, as special pattern numbers or normal pattern numbers (see the "Data Number" column in FIG. 50A), special pattern 1 is assigned "1", special pattern 2 is assigned "2", and normal pattern 1 is assigned "3", and the rest are left unused. In (Example 7), special pattern 1 stops once, so data "0x9101" is created as game information. In (Example 8), a normal pattern stops once, so data "0x9301" is created as game information.

<(C) Count information related to winning (data type = 10 (hit special pattern), data type = 11 (hit normal pattern)): FIG. 50E>
50E shows an example of "count information related to hits". The count information related to hits has the upper 4 bits (bits 4 to 7) unused (fixed to 0), and the lower 4 bits (bits 0 to 3) specifying the number of hits (1).

As an example of count information related to a special symbol hit, FIG. 50E (Example 9) shows game information when a big hit occurs once, and FIG. 50E (Example 10) shows game information when a small hit occurs once. In this embodiment, two types of special symbol hits, big hit and small hit, are handled, so the big hit is assigned "1" and the small hit is assigned "2" as the special symbol hit type (see the "Data Number" column in FIG. 50A), and the rest are unused. In FIG. 50E (Example 9), a big hit (big hit game) occurs once, so the data "0xA101" is created as the game information. In FIG. 50E (Example 10), a small hit (small hit game) occurs once, so the data "0xA201" is created as the game information.

As an example of count information related to normal symbol hits, FIG. 50E (Example 11) shows game information when a single auxiliary hit (normal power open game) occurs. In this embodiment, since only one type of auxiliary hit is handled as the normal symbol hit type, the auxiliary hit is assigned a "1" as the normal symbol hit (auxiliary hit) type (see the "Data Number" column in FIG. 50A), and the rest are left unused. In the same figure (Example 11), since a single auxiliary hit occurs, data "0xB101" is created as game information. Note that the auxiliary hit is not limited to one type, and multiple types of auxiliary hits with different auxiliary hit games may be provided.

<(D) Count information (data type = 12) relating to the number of times the special feature is played (number of times the large prize opening is opened): FIG. 50F>
Figure 50F shows an example of "count information (data type = 12) relating to the number of times the special feature has been played (number of times the large prize opening has been opened)". The count information relating to the number of times the special feature has been played is such that the upper 4 bits (bits 4 to 7) are unused (fixed to 0), and the lower 4 bits (bits 0 to 3) specify the number of times the large prize opening has been opened (1 time). The special feature number relating to data type 12 (see the "Data Number" column in Figure 50A) is fixed to 1 (0, 2 to 15 are unused).

As an example of count information related to the number of times a special feature has been played (number of times the large prize opening has been opened), FIG. 50F (Example 12) shows game information when the large prize opening 50 has been opened once. When the large prize opening 50 has been opened once, as shown in the figure, the data "0xC101" is created as game information.

<(E) Count information related to performance information status notification (data type=15): FIG. 50F>
50F shows an example of "count information related to performance information status notification." This count information related to performance information status notification is used when calculating performance information, and is mainly used when determining whether an interval is a counting interval or a non-counting interval related to performance information calculation.

The count information related to the performance information status notification has the upper four bits (bits 4 to 7) unused (fixed at 0), and the lower four bits (bits 0 to 3) as shown in the figure, bit 0 (bit 0) specifies the base type (specifies low base medium, high base medium), bit 1 (bit 1) specifies whether or not a jackpot is in progress ("normal" in the figure specifies not in progress), bit 2 (bit 2) specifies the lottery status type (specifies high probability medium, low probability medium), and bit 3 is unused.

The count information related to the performance information status notification is created (updated) on the main control unit 20 side based on the current game status. The current game status can be determined appropriately based on the game status information required by the frame control unit 22 side. For example, the count information related to the performance information status notification can be created using the internal game status (YJ type), game mode (Tcode type), ON/OFF of the condition device operation flag (ON=big hit, OFF=not big hit), small hit flag (ON=small hit, OFF=not small hit), etc.

As an example of count information related to performance information status notification, "Figure 50F (Example 13)" shows game information (message information) when the current game state is a time-saving state. In this case, as shown in the figure, the type information is "data type "15", data number "1 (fixed)" (see Figure 50A)", and the upper 4 bits (bits 4 to 7) of the count information are fixed to 0, and the lower 4 bits (bits 0 to 3) are respectively 0th bit 1 (high base designation), 1st bit 0 (normal time designation), and 2nd bit 0 (low probability designation). In this case, data "0xF101" is created as the game information.

In the case of the count information related to the performance information status notification shown in FIG. 50F, the game status can be specified, for example, as follows, depending on the bit information.
(1) Chance state (with electric support + high probability state)
In the case of a special state, the 0th bit will be 1 (high base designation), the 1st bit will be 0 (normal state designation), the 2nd bit will be 1 (high probability designation), and the count information (lowest byte) will be "00000101B".
(2) Time-saving state (with electric support + low probability state)
When in the time-saving mode, the 0th bit will be 1 (high base designation), the 1st bit will be 0 (normal designation), the 2nd bit will be 0 (low probability designation), and the count information (lowest byte) will be "00000001B".
(3) Normal state (no electric support + low probability state)
In the normal state, the 0th bit is 0 (low base designation), the 1st bit is 0 (normal designation), the 2nd bit is 0 (low probability designation), and the count information (lowest byte) is "00000000B".
(4) During jackpot play When a jackpot play is in progress (in a special play state), the 0th bit becomes 0 (low base designation), the 1st bit becomes 1 (during jackpot designation), the 2nd bit becomes 0 (low probability designation), and the count information (lowest 1 byte) becomes “00000010B”.

(Regarding the designation (notification) of the micro-time-saving status)
As already explained, the micro-time-saving state according to this embodiment acts as a special time-saving state that is a "game state that belongs to the time-saving state but can realize a base value that is substantially the same as that of the normal state". For this reason, when the micro-time-saving state is specified, it is preferable to treat it as equivalent to the normal state, and the count information related to the performance information state notification is the same as that of the normal state. In addition, in this embodiment, the normal state and the micro-time-saving state are defined as the counting target section, so from this point of view, it is preferable to use the same count information as that of the normal state. For example, as shown in FIG. 50H (A), the normal state and the micro-time-saving state have the same count information.

Note that other bits (for example, one or more unused bits) may be used to create count information that can identify the slight time-saving state. As an example, as shown in FIG. 50H (b), bits 0 to 2 can be used as bit information that specifies the time-saving state in a broad sense, and bit 3 can be used as bit information that specifies the time-saving state in a narrow sense (specifying the type of time-saving state). Specifically, when bit 3 is "0", it specifies the time-saving state, and when it is "1", it specifies the slight time-saving state. It can also be specified whether the current time-saving state is a time-saving state resulting from a jackpot win (jackpot time-saving state) or a time-saving state resulting from a special time-saving win (special time-saving state).

This method of "dividing a broad gaming state into multiple different gaming states" and specifying them can also be used when specifying a gaming mode (Tcode). In other words, this is the case when multiple types of gaming modes related to the same internal gaming state (YJ) are provided. For example, this is suitable for distinguishing and specifying time-saving A to C related to the time-saving state, and hell modes A to B related to the minute time-saving state. In this embodiment, the five bits from the third bit to the seventh bit can be used to specify the internal gaming state (YJ), gaming mode (Tcode), counting target section, and winning game related to the operation/non-operation of the condition device (whether big win game or small win game).

Returning to the explanation of Figures 50A to 50F, the game information is created (updated) during a specified process in the 4 ms interrupt process and stored in a specified RAM area. Various game information can be created, for example, during the following processes. Game information related to winning (prize balls) (data type = 1 to 8: Figures 50B to 50C) can be created in the input management process (step S083). Game information related to the number of times the pattern of the normal pattern is determined (data type = 9: Figure 50D) can be created in the normal pattern management process (step S091), and game information related to the number of times the pattern of the special pattern is determined (data type 9: Figure 50D) can be created in the special pattern management process (step S093). Game information related to the number of times the pattern of the normal pattern or special pattern is determined can be created when the variable time stops (after the determined display time has elapsed). If it is a special pattern, it can be created, for example, before step S472 of the special pattern confirmation time processing (Figures 14A to 14B), that is, after the confirmed display time of the special pattern has elapsed.

In addition, game information (data type 10: Fig. 50E) related to special symbol hits (occurrence of big hit/small hit) and game information (data type 12: Fig. 50F) related to the number of times the device is played (number of times the large prize opening is opened) are created in the special electric device management process (step S095), and game information (data type 11: Fig. 50F) related to normal symbol hits (occurrence of normal power opening game) are created in the normal electric device management process (step S092).

As already explained, the count information related to the performance information status notification is created (updated) on the main control unit 20 side based on the current game state. Also, the count information related to the performance information status notification may be created (updated) when the game state changes (low base ⇔ high base) instead of being created at each transmission timing. For example, it can be created when a change in the game state occurs in processing such as step S475 (at the time of a jackpot) during the special pattern confirmation time processing (FIGS. 14A-14B) in the special pattern management processing (step S093), at the end of the time reduction in steps S482 and S486, or in the jackpot end processing (step S509) in the special electric device management processing (step S095).

In any case, various types of game information can be created (updated) during appropriate processing.

The game information related to the above-mentioned "Main Control State 1", "Main Control State 2", "Game Machine Error State", "Fraud Detection State", "Performance Information State Notification", etc. is mainly information output from the external connection terminal board 85 connected to the frame control unit 22, and this information is created, for example, in the external terminal management process (step S099) and output to an external device as an outer end signal via the external connection terminal board 85 of the frame control unit 22. Also, information related to performance information, such as the number of payouts under normal conditions, the number of outs under normal conditions, the total number of out balls, the real-time base value (the current base value), and the historical base value (the past base value stored for each number of out balls in all conditions), is created on the frame control unit 22 side, but one or more of these pieces of information may be output from the external connection terminal board 85.

(Regarding understanding of counting sections in the frame control unit 22, calculation of performance information, display processing, etc.)
Incidentally, when calculating the performance information, it is important for the frame control unit 22 to grasp the counting target interval. In the case of the first embodiment, the main control unit 20 side manages winning (prize ball) information and information that can specify the counting target interval (for example, game state determination number YJ, variation pattern allocation designation number Tcode, interval designation number SF, etc.), and controls the display of the performance information. However, in the case of this second embodiment, the display of the performance information is controlled based on the "specific message (predetermined game information)" transmitted from the main control unit 20 side and the game ball information monitored by the frame control unit 22 side (for example, the count number of actual shot balls and foul balls, etc.). The above-mentioned "specific message (specific game information)" is information necessary for calculating the performance information, and includes, for example, game information related to the number of prize balls (data types 1 to 8 (FIG. 50B to 50C) in FIG. 50A), count information related to the performance information status notification (data type 15 in FIG. 50F), etc.

Due to this relationship between the main control unit 20 and the frame control unit 22, the frame control unit 22 performs the following processes for displaying performance information:

(1) A first process (frame-side operation confirmation timer setting process) corresponding to the operation confirmation timer setting process (step S034 in FIG. 8B) This second process is preferably executed in the process at power-on, as in the first embodiment.
(2) A second process (frame-side performance display monitor process) required for calculating and displaying the performance display (including the operation check display). For example, this process includes a process equivalent to the performance display monitor tallying and dividing process described in step S043 of Fig. 8A and a process required for calculating and displaying the performance information among the processes shown in Fig. 19. The second process is configured to calculate and display the performance information based on the information included in the specific message.

(Frame side performance information monitor processing: FIG. 50G)
Here, a description will be given of the frame side performance display monitor process executed by the frame control unit 22. Fig. 50G shows a flowchart of the frame side performance display monitor process. This frame side performance display monitor process is preferably executed every time the above-mentioned "specific message" (at least count information related to performance information status notification (data type 15 in Fig. 50F)) is received.

In FIG. 50G, the frame control unit 22 (frame control CPU) first executes a RAM check process (step S881). This RAM check process is the same as the out-of-area RAM check process (step S824) in FIG. 19 in the first embodiment, and is a process for checking whether or not there is a problem with the data in the RAM area related to the performance display (checking for data corruption, etc.).

Next, the performance information message information management process is executed (step S882). In this performance information message information management process, count information related to the number of winning balls (data types 1 to 8 (see Figures 50A to 50C)) and count information related to performance information status notification (data type 15 in Figure 50F) are acquired. This information is used in the performance information calculation process (step S888) described below to calculate data required for the calculation of performance information, specifically, the number of payouts under normal conditions, the number of outs under normal conditions, the total number of out balls, the current base value (real-time base value), and various other data required for performance information.

Next, it is determined whether the operation check timer is zero (step S883). The operation check timer is set to an initial value of 5000 ms in the above-mentioned "frame-side operation check timer setting process." The timer value of the operation check timer is managed by a timer management process (not shown).

If the operation check timer is not zero (step S883: ≠ 0), an operation check process is executed (step S889). This operation check process, like the operation check process in FIG. 19 (step S833) in the first embodiment, is a process for making the settings required to execute the operation check display (periodic lighting/flashing operation) when the power is turned on, including when the power is restored after a power outage. As in the first embodiment, the operation check display is designed to be executed until the operation check timer reaches 0. Note that, like the first embodiment, the calculation process of the performance information (base value) may be configured to be executable even while the operation check display is on.

On the other hand, if the operation confirmation timer is zero (step S883: = 0), the operation confirmation display is deemed to have ended, and processing (steps S884 to S888) is carried out to cause the performance display device 99 to display performance information.

The processing of steps S884 to S886 is basically the same as that of steps S827 to S829 in FIG. 19 of the first embodiment, but in this embodiment, unlike the processing of step S828 in the first embodiment, it is determined whether the area is a counting area (specific game state) or a non-counting area (other game state) based on the count information (data type 15 in FIG. 50F) related to the performance information status notification shown in FIG. 50F (c).

(Regarding the determination process of step S885)
In this embodiment, since it is possible to control a special game state called a micro time-saving state, the count information related to the performance information state notification is devised. This will be described with reference to Figure 50H. Figure 50H shows an example of the bit pattern on the count information side.

(Specific example 1: FIG. 50H (a))
FIG. 50H (A) shows "Performance Information Status Notification Example 1" as an example of a performance information status notification. In this example, the normal state and the slight time-saving state are set as the same count information, taking into consideration that the normal state and the slight time-saving state are set as the counting target section. For example, as shown in FIG. 50H (A), a performance information status notification is common to the normal state and the slight time-saving state. In this example, when the 0th to 3rd bits are all "0" (FIG. 50H (A) (A)), a counting target section is specified, and when any of the 0th to 3rd bits is "1" (FIG. 50H (A) (B)), a non-counting target section is specified. Note that the performance information status notification in FIG. 50H (A) (B) shows an example of the time-saving state as an example of a non-counting target section.

(Specific Example 2)
FIG. 50H (B) shows "Performance Information Status Notification Example 2" as an example of the performance information status notification. This example is an example in which the time-saving state and the minute time-saving state are specified separately. As already explained, this example uses the 0th to 2nd bits for bit information specifying the time-saving state in the broad sense, and the 3rd bit for bit information specifying the time-saving state in the narrow sense (specifying the time-saving state type). When the 3rd bit is "1", it specifies the time-saving state (pure time-saving state), and when it is "0", it specifies the minute time-saving state (special time-saving state). In this example, the performance information status notification for the time-saving state (pure time-saving state) specified in FIG. 50H (B) (A) is "0xF101", and the performance information status notification for the minute time-saving state specified in FIG. 50H (B) (B) is "0xF109".

(Specific Example 3)
FIG. 50H(c) shows "Performance Information Status Notification Example 3" as an example of a performance information status notification. This example is an example of specifying a counting target section/non-counting target section using unused bits. In this example, an example is shown in which a counting target section or a non-counting target section is specified using the third bit (third bit = counting target section suitability specification bit). This example can achieve the same effect as the "section specification number SF" described in the first embodiment, and is suitable for specifying multiple game states as counting target sections or multiple game states as non-counting target sections. In this example, the performance information status notification of the counting target section specification in FIG. 50H(c)(A) is "0xF100", and the performance information status notification of the non-counting target section specification in FIG. 50H(b)(B) is "0xF108".

(Specific Example 4)
FIG. 50H (iv) shows "Performance Information Status Notification Example 4" as an example of a performance information status notification. This example illustrates an invalid performance information status notification. The contents of a performance information status notification are not always valid, and there may be rare cases where a performance information status notification becomes invalid due to some cause such as electrical noise. For example, this applies to a case where a performance information status notification specifying a non-existent game state is received (irregular case).

Figure 50H (d) shows an example of an inappropriate performance information status notification. Figure 50H (d) shows a performance information status notification that specifies the following: "The 0th bit (designating low base or high base) is '1 (high base designation)', the 1st bit (designating whether or not a jackpot is in progress) is '1 (during jackpot designation)', and the 2nd bit (designating the type of lottery state) is '1 (high probability designation)'", but a gaming state such as 'high base (state with electric support) + high probability state' during a jackpot does not exist in the gaming state of this embodiment. Other examples of inappropriate performance information status notifications include the "low probability + jackpot + low base" case where the 0th bit is "1 (high base designation)," the 1st bit is "1 (jackpot designation)," and the 2nd bit (lottery status type designation) is "0 (low probability designation)" (bit pattern is "00000011B"), and the "high probability + jackpot + low base" case where the 0th bit is "0 (low base designation)," the 1st bit is "1 (jackpot designation)," and the 2nd bit (lottery status type designation) is "1 (high probability designation)" (bit pattern is "00000110B").

When such an inappropriate performance information status notification (hereinafter also referred to as an "error performance information status notification") is received, it is impossible to determine whether the current game status is in a counting interval or a non-counting interval. Therefore, it is possible to determine that the current performance information status notification is in a counting interval and execute processing related to the performance information, but from the viewpoint that it is not desirable to recklessly calculate performance information when there is an error performance information status notification, it is also possible to determine that the current performance information status notification is in a non-counting interval and not execute processing related to the performance information. Here, "processing related to performance information" can adopt the processing forms (1) to (3) described below.

(Example 1) A counting (calculation) process of at least one specific count value is not executed, a counting process of other count values is executed, and a calculation process of performance information is not executed.
(Example 2) The counting (calculation) process of at least one specific count value is not executed, the counting process of other count values is executed, and the calculation process of performance information is executed.
(3) The calculation process of all count values and the calculation process of performance information are not executed.

To explain the base value (normal base value) according to this embodiment as a representative example, the count values used to calculate the base value are mainly "number dispensed under normal conditions" and "number out under normal conditions", and the count value used to trigger the end of this measurement is "number out in all states". In this case, in the above case (Raise 1), for example, the counting process of "number dispensed under normal conditions" and "number out under normal conditions" is not executed (not counted), the counting process of "number out in all states" is executed (counted), and the calculation process of the base value is not executed. In the above case (Raise 2), for example, the counting process of "number dispensed under normal conditions" and "number out under normal conditions" is not executed, the counting process of "number out in all states" is executed, and the calculation process of the base value is also executed. In the above case (Age 3), the counting (calculation) process is not performed for any of the "Number of items dispensed under normal conditions", "Number of items out under normal conditions", "Number of items out in all conditions", and "Base value". In particular, the above case (Age 2) is processed in the same way as when a valid performance information status notification is received that specifies a non-counting target section.

Furthermore, when an error performance information status notification is received, it is preferable not to execute the "process of outputting performance information (here, the base value) to an external device" or the "process of displaying performance information on the performance display device 99" in the above cases (1) and (3), but to execute it in the above case (2). The reasons for this are as follows.

In the above cases of (Age 1) and (Age 3), the calculation process of the base value is not performed, so there is no need to notify an external device (external notification) or notify performance information. In contrast, in the above case of (Age 2), counting process based on uncertain information is not performed (in this embodiment, counting process of "number dispensed under normal conditions" and "number out under normal conditions" is not performed), and a base value based on accurate information (base value based on "number dispensed under normal conditions" and "number out under normal conditions" counted based on a valid performance information status notification) is calculated. Therefore, even if an erroneous performance information status notification is received, highly reliable data at that time can be notified. Note that the same applies to the above cases of (Age 1) to (Age 3) where the "individual count value" and the "individual base value" are configured to be manageable.

In the above (Age 1) or (Age 2), the counting process is performed for a specific count value, but this is because there is a value (hereinafter also referred to as the "appropriate counting value") that is more appropriate to count even when an error performance information state notification is received. For example, the number of outs in all states in this embodiment is the "total number of out balls in all game states" as already explained, and is also a value to be used as a trigger for ending the current measurement. In other words, the "number of outs in all states" is a value that should be counted regardless of the current game state, and therefore, even if an error performance information state notification is received, if out ball number information exists, it is preferable to perform the counting process for the total number of out balls. In this way, even if an error performance information state notification is received instantaneously due to noise, etc., it is possible to perform the counting process for the appropriate counting value and not perform the counting process based on uncertain information for the other count values.

Of course, one or more appropriate counting values can be determined depending on the performance information adopted. For example, in a case where the ratio of the reels for a predetermined number of games (e.g., the most recent 6,000 games, or a cumulative number of games of 17,500 or more) is adopted as the performance information, the number of games is counted during all game states, and this number of games can be determined as the appropriate counting value. Therefore, in a case where the ratio of the reels and the base value described above are adopted as the performance information, two types of counting values, the number of outs in all states and the number of games, can be determined as the appropriate counting value.

In the frame control unit 22, the determination of whether or not the section is a count target section based on the contents of the performance information status notification is, for example, in the case of FIG. 50H (A), the logical product of the count information value of the 0th to 2nd bits indicated by the performance information status notification and the judgment bit pattern "00000111B" is taken, and if the result is other than "00000000B", it can be determined that the section is a "non-count target section" that is a game state other than the normal state and the minute time reduction state. In addition, the determination of whether or not the contents of the performance information status notification are an error performance information status notification (determination of whether or not the performance information status notification indicates a game state that does not exist) can also be determined from the result of the logical product. For example, if the performance information status notification is FIG. 50H (D) (in the case of an error performance information status notification), the result of the logical product is "00000111B" (designated "high probability + medium jackpot + high base"), and it can be determined that the performance information status notification is an error. The same is true for the above-mentioned "00000011B" in the case of "low probability + jackpot + low base" and "00000110B" in the case of "high probability + jackpot + low base". In more detail, a legitimate performance information status notification would be "00000000B" specifying the normal state or the slight time-saving state, or "00000001B" specifying the time-saving state (low probability + normal time designation + low base), so if the result of the logical AND is other than "00000000B" and "00000001B", it can be determined that the current performance information status notification is an erroneous performance information status notification specifying a non-existent game state. In particular, as in the case of (2) above, when an error performance information status notification is received and processing similar to that related to performance information related to a non-counting section is performed, if the result of the logical product is anything other than "00000000B", it can be determined that the section is either a non-counting section or an error performance information status notification. Therefore, as long as it is determined that the section is a counting section, there is no need to determine whether the performance information status notification is an error, which is advantageous in reducing the control burden (reducing program capacity).

(Variation 1)
If the above-mentioned invalid performance information status notification is received, the count information relating to the number of prize balls may be temporarily put on hold, and the next time a valid performance information status notification is received, the current performance information may be calculated including the count information relating to the number of prize balls that was held on hold.

(Variation 2)
In addition, by using the method of "determining that an inappropriate performance information status notification is a non-counting target section", when the main control unit 20 transmits a performance information status notification, if the current game state is a non-counting target section, an inappropriate performance information status notification may be configured to be transmitted. For example, if the current game state is a game state other than the counting target section (in this embodiment, the normal state and the minute time-saving state), a performance information status notification as shown in FIG. 50H may be configured to be transmitted. When multiple game states, such as a time-saving state or a winning game, are to be specified as non-counting target sections, one performance information status notification is sufficient, which is preferable. Conversely, when the current game state is a counting target section, an inappropriate performance information status notification may be transmitted. In this case, too, when multiple game states are to be specified as counting target sections, one performance information status notification is sufficient, which is preferable.

Returning to the explanation of step S884 in FIG. 50G, in step S884, the state determination flag is set to "00H" (step S884). As already explained, this "state determination flag" is a flag for specifying whether or not the state is a "counting target section" (a game state related to the counting target) for measuring performance information (base value).

Next, it is determined whether the current game state is a specific game state (counting target section: in this embodiment, normal state or slight time-saving state) (step S885), and if it is a specific game state (counting target section) (step S885: YES), the state determination flag is set to "5AH (ON state)" (step S886). This designates that the current section is a counting target section.

However, if the specific game state is not reached (step S885: NO), i.e., if the area is not subject to counting, nothing is done and the process proceeds to step S887. Therefore, in this case, the state determination flag is maintained at "00H", and it is specified that the area is currently not subject to counting.

Next, a performance information calculation process is executed (step S887). This performance information calculation process is a process required to calculate the base value to be displayed on the performance display 99, and includes substantially the same processing content as the performance display monitor tally division process during the processing outside the area in the main loop in FIG. 8B.

Next, a display data output management process is executed (step S888). This display data output management process includes substantially the same processing content as the display data update process of step S831 in FIG. 19, and performs processing such as creating and outputting display data for the LED (LED display data) for displaying performance information on the performance indicator 99.

The above frame-side performance information monitoring process enables confirmation display operations on the performance display device 99 and display of base values (performance information).

The program and/or work area (operation check timer) related to the "frame side operation confirmation timer setting process" and the program and/or work area (for example, a RAM area (counting information storage area) that stores data related to the calculation of performance information, such as a normal payout number storage area, a normal out number storage area, a specific ratio information storage area, and an all-state out number storage area) related to the "frame side performance display monitor process" may be provided in either the internal memory or the external memory. For example, they may be divided in the same way as in the first embodiment.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 36, the input management process (step S083) of this embodiment performs input data creation processing based on detection information from sensors and switches, fraudulent winning monitoring processing (winning invalidation processing), and the like, as in the first embodiment, but also performs processing related to the creation and setting of winning (winning ball)-related gaming information (FIGS. 50B to 50C) among the gaming information related to the gaming machine information notification message, as processing specific to the managed gaming machine.

<Input management process: FIG. 37>
The input management process of this embodiment will now be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 37, the CPU 201 first executes an input data creation process (step S191). In the input data creation process, the CPU 201 first obtains the ON/OFF state of the input port, checks whether or not a prize has been won at the prize winning slot, and creates prize winning detection data (switch input data). Specifically, for each prize winning slot, such as the upper prize winning slot sensor 34a, the lower prize winning slot sensor 35a, the normal symbol prize winning slot sensor 37a, the large prize winning slot sensor 52a, and the general prize winning slot sensor 43h, it creates prize winning detection data that can identify whether or not a prize has been won, and stores this data in a specified area of the RAM 203 (the switch input data storage area).

Next, the switch information creation process is executed based on the winning detection data (step S193). In the switch information creation process, "switch information" used in the "winning event storage process" shown in FIG. 54 described later is created (obtained) and stored in a corresponding predetermined RAM area (switch edge storage area: W_SWEDG1-5). Note that, to simplify the explanation, the number of prize balls is the same for the general winning openings 43a-e, and the general winning openings 43a-e are treated as one type of winning opening (only the winning opening number is "1", and the others are unused: see the corresponding column for type 3 in FIG. 50A).

As already mentioned with reference to Figures 50A to 50C, game information related to winning requires the creation of game information such as winning at the start port (data type 1) through winning at the large winning port by the operation of the continuous role-playing device (data type 6). Therefore, in this switch information creation process, the following switch information is acquired and stored for each winning port. Note that if there is no winning, the winning detection data is not updated, and so the bit data "00000000B" with all bits 0, indicating no winning, is stored.

(i) Switch information relating to the upper starting gate 34 If a win occurs at the upper starting gate 34, "00000001B" is stored in "W_SWEDG1" as bit data indicating the win.
(b) Switch information relating to the normal symbol start port 37 If a winning combination occurs at the normal symbol start port 37, "00000100B" is stored in "W_SWEDG3" as bit data indicating the winning combination.
(c) Switch information relating to general prize opening 43 When a prize is won at general prize opening 43, "00100000B" is stored in "W_SWEDG5" as bit data indicating the prize.

In the case of the lower starting opening 35 of the normal variable winning device 42 or the large winning opening 50 of the special variable winning device 52, as shown in Figure 50B (Example 2) and Figure 50C (Example 5) above, in order to create game information related to the operation of the device (normal electric device, special electric device), switch information is created in the following procedure.

(D) Switch information relating to the lower starting port 35)
When a win is made in the lower start port 35, it is determined whether the normal electric role is not in operation (non-normal power open game) or the normal electric role is in operation (normal power open game), and if the win occurs while the normal electric role is in operation, the bit data "00000010B" indicating the win is stored in "W_SWEDG2", and if the normal electric role is not in operation, the bit data "00000000B (treat the win as invalid)" indicating the win is stored. In other words, different switch information is stored depending on whether the normal electric role is in operation or not.
The operation/non-operation (ON/OFF state) of the normal electric device can be determined by the ON/OFF state of the "normal power operation flag". This "normal power operation flag" is a flag for determining whether or not a normal power open game is in progress, and when the flag is ON (=5AH), it indicates that a normal power open game is in progress, and when the flag is OFF (≠5AH), it indicates that a normal power open game is not in progress. In this embodiment, if a prize is won when a normal power open game is not in progress, this is treated as invalid, and "00000000B" is stored, the same as when no prize is won. However, since it is necessary to treat the game balls (remaining balls in the lower starting opening 35) that have entered just before the end of the normal power open game (just before the lower starting opening 35 is closed) as valid winning balls, a margin of time (for example, about 0.5 to 1 second) is provided for discharging the remaining balls, and the normal power operation flag is not immediately turned OFF even when the movable wing piece 47 is in the closed state, but is controlled to be ON until the margin of time has elapsed. Although not shown, the state of the normal power operation flag is managed in the normal electric device management process (step S092).
Therefore, if a game ball enters beyond this margin of time, it is treated as an illegal entry, and an error process indicating the illegal entry is performed, for example, the entry is invalidated (all bits are set to 0), and a dedicated error notification is performed for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) (lower start port illegal entry monitoring process). However, the entry may be configured to only be notified of an error without invalidating the entry. In addition, in a game state with electric support (during time reduction or during a probability change, etc.), normal electric opening games frequently occur, so all entries may be treated as valid without determining whether they are illegal entries each time. Whether or not the game is in electric support can be determined by determining the ON/OFF state of the normal electric device opening extension state flag.

(E) Switch information related to the big winning port 50 When a winning is made to the big winning port 50, it is judged whether the winning is "in a big win game" or "in a small win game", and if the winning is made during a big win game, the bit data "00001000B" indicating the winning is stored in "W_SWEDG4", and if the winning is made during a small win game, the bit data "00010000B" indicating the winning is stored in "W_SWEDG4". To judge whether the winning is made during a big win game, it is sufficient to judge the ON/OFF state (operating/not operating) of the above-mentioned role continuous operation device operation flag (the ON/OFF state of the above-mentioned condition device operation flag may be judged). Also, to judge whether the winning is made during a small win game, it is sufficient to judge the ON/OFF state of the small win game flag. In addition, if the consecutive operation flag of the role device (or the condition device operation flag) and the small win flag are in the OFF state, the winning is treated as an illegal winning, and an error process indicating that it is an illegal winning is performed, for example, the winning is invalidated (all bits are set to 0) and a special error notification is performed for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) (large winning port illegal winning monitoring process). However, the winning may be configured to only notify an error without invalidating the winning.

Once the switch information creation process (step S192) is completed, the winning event storage process shown in FIG. 38A is then executed (step S193).

<Winning Event Storage Process: FIG. 38A (FIG. 38B), FIG. 39>
FIG. 38A is a flowchart showing the details of the winning event storage process.

In FIG. 38A, the CPU 201 first obtains the switch count table (D_SWCNT) shown in FIG. 53 (step S201).

<Switch count table: FIG. 53>
An example of a switch count table is shown in Fig. 53. In reality, this switch count table defines data groups related to all switches (sensors) required for creating game information, but here data related to switches (sensors) closely related to the present invention is shown as a representative example.

Referring to FIG. 53, the switch count table defines winning determination bit data and event number data corresponding to the switch edge storage areas (W_SWEDG1-6). The "winning determination bit data" is data that can determine whether or not a winning has occurred for a winning slot and the state at the time of winning, for example, when a winning has occurred in the large winning slot 50, the latter "state at the time of winning" specifies whether the winning has occurred during a big win game or a small win game. The "event number data" is used as an identifier to specify the game information (type information + count information) related to the gaming machine information notification message, and is used in the ring buffer transmission process described later (step S155 in FIG. 41B described later, and FIG. 46A-FIG. 46B showing the details).

Next, the number of loops (the number of pieces of switch information to be judged and set in the switch count table) is set (step S202). Switch information corresponding to the number of loops is obtained (step S203). For example, in the first loop, the switch information stored in W_SWEDG1 corresponding to EVENT1 in the switch count table shown in FIG. 53 is obtained.

Next, the acquired switch information is compared with the corresponding winning determination bit (step S204). For example, in the first loop, the logical product (AND) of the bit data stored in "W_SWEDG1 (switch information corresponding to the upper start port 34)" in the switch count table shown in FIG. 53 and the winning determination bit (mask data) "00000001B (bit pattern corresponding to event number 1 (@EVENT1))" is taken, and bits other than the 0th bit are masked. In this example, if the switch information of W_SWEDG1 is "present (ON state)", the logical operation result is "00000001B" (determination result = YES), and if the corresponding switch information is "not present (OFF state)", the logical operation result is "00000000B" (determination result = NO).

If a winning decision has been made (step S204: YES), the corresponding event number is obtained (step S205). For example, in the first loop, event number 1 (EVENT1) in the switch count table shown in FIG. 53 is obtained. Then, the event number is stored in a specified RAM area (ring buffer) (step S206: ring buffer storage process), and the loop count is decremented (step S207). Details of the ring buffer storage process in step S206 will be described later with reference to FIG. 39.

Here, in the fourth and fifth loops, the bit data of "W_SWEDG4", i.e., the switch information of the large prize slot 50, is continuously subjected to judgment, and in the fourth loop, it is compared with the winning judgment bit "00001000B (bit pattern corresponding to event number 4 (@EVENT4))", and in the fifth loop, it is compared with the winning judgment bit "00010000B (bit pattern corresponding to event number 5 (@EVENT5))". In the fourth loop, it is determined whether or not it is a "large prize slot winning during a large prize game", and in the fifth loop, it is determined whether or not it is a "large prize slot winning during a small prize game". If there is a winning judgment, in the fourth loop, "event number 4" is obtained, and in the fifth loop, "event number 5" is obtained.

On the other hand, if no winning has been determined (step S204: NO), the process of steps S205 to S206 (event number storage process) is not executed, and the loop count is decremented (step S207). Therefore, if no winning has been determined, that is, if no game information to be transmitted has been generated (if no event for storing an event number has occurred), the event number storage process (ring buffer storage process) is skipped, and the event numbers are stored in the order in which they occurred.

Next, it is determined whether the number of loops is zero (step S208), and the process of steps S203 to S208 is repeated (step S208: NO processing route) until the number of loops becomes zero (until all switch information in the switch count table has been determined). If the number of loops becomes zero (step S208: NO), the winning event storage process is terminated.

(Ring buffer storage process (step S206): FIG. 39)
The ring buffer storage process (step S206) in Fig. 38A will now be described with reference to Fig. 39, which is a flow chart showing the details of the ring buffer storage process.

(About the ring buffer: Fig. 52)
In this embodiment, a "ring buffer" is used as a means for storing data related to the game information of the game machine information notification message, and the data is stored in the order of occurrence of events. This "ring buffer" will be briefly explained. FIG. 52 shows a conceptual diagram of a shift buffer and a ring buffer. As is well known, a ring buffer is a "circular buffer" that is used so that the end and the beginning of the buffer are connected, and it is a buffer that has the function of storing data sequentially from the beginning of the buffer and returning to the beginning when the end of the buffer is reached (see FIG. 52 (2)). In the case of the ring buffer shown in FIG. 52 (2), data is written to the address of the ring buffer indicated by the "save pointer (pointer for specifying the address (storage address) for writing data to the ring buffer)" and data is read from the address of the ring buffer indicated by the "load pointer (pointer for specifying the address (read address) for reading data from the ring buffer)".

Therefore, the length of the readable data, that is, the amount of data stored, is the length of "save pointer - load pointer", which in the illustrated case is 8 bytes (address 08 - address 00) before data transmission. Also, in the illustrated case, for example, if five pieces of data are transmitted without new data being written (see the illustrated post-transmission), the load pointer is incremented each time a piece of data is read and updated to address 05, while the save data remains at address 08, which was the address before the data was transmitted, since no new data has been written. Therefore, in this case, the amount of remaining data is 3 bytes.

When no data is stored in the ring buffer (for example, when the power is turned on for the first time or when the RAM is cleared), the save pointer and load pointer indicate the same address (for example, the first address (address 0) of the ring buffer is stored). In this respect, the ring buffer differs from a "shifting buffer" that reads data from the first address, clears the buffer at the first address, and shifts data from the next address to the buffer at the first address to create free space and store new data (see FIG. 52 (1)). In this embodiment, the shift buffer is used, for example, for reserved storage (steps S406 to S407 in FIG. 12). Another advantage of the ring buffer is that it does not require shift processing like the shift buffer, and processing time is relatively short.

Referring to FIG. 39, the CPU 201 first obtains the value of the save pointer (step S231). Specifically, the CPU 201 obtains the address of the ring buffer indicated by the save pointer.

Next, it is determined whether there is free space in the ring buffer (step S232).

(If there is no free space: step S232 → steps S239 to S242)
If there is no free space (step S232: NO), it is determined that the storage device is in an overflow state (full state), and a predetermined error process (steps S239 to S242) is executed. The reason for executing the error process when an overflow state occurs is as follows.

The data (event number) stored in the ring buffer is used to create game information (type information and count information) related to the gaming machine information notification message each time the 108 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 40 is executed, and when this game information is sent to the frame control unit 22, the data is cleared (see step S175 in FIG. 46A and FIG. 52 (2)). Therefore, even if data is stored, free space is secured each time the 108 ms interrupt process is executed, and theoretically, enough space is secured so that the ring buffer does not overflow as described above between the execution of the current 108 ms interrupt process and the execution of the next 108 ms interrupt process. It takes about 20 ms to detect a win, so theoretically, a maximum of about five wins can be detected within 108 ms.

However, if excessive winnings occur due to some kind of malfunction, the above-mentioned overflow state can occur. For example, the above-mentioned overflow state can occur when a fraudulent act such as the so-called "big ball cheat" is committed. "Big ball cheat" is a fraudulent act in which a game ball larger than a normal (legitimate) game ball is used to jam the game ball in the sensor (detection switch) of the winning slot, and illegal radio waves are sent out while the sensor is able to detect the game ball, causing the sensor to malfunction and generate excessive winning signals.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the above-mentioned overflow state occurs, it is assumed that an excessive winning due to fraudulent behavior has occurred, and a specified error process is executed, discarding new data without storing it in the buffer (no new data is updated and stored during the overflow state). Specifically, when an overflow state occurs, as error process, the game permission flag is cleared (step S239), a launch stop signal NS is output to the frame control unit 22 to disable the launching device 32 from launching game balls (step S240), and an error command is sent to the performance control unit 24 (steps S241 to S242). This forces the game progress process to be controlled to a stopped state. The error command sent here includes information indicating that an overflow state has occurred or an illegal winning error (excessive winning error) has occurred, and when the performance control unit 24 receives the error command, a dedicated error notification corresponding to the error information is made. An overflow state is a serious error that has a significant impact on the gaming machine in that it is highly likely to be caused by fraudulent activity (an error with a relatively high error notification priority), and it is preferable to notify the error with a single effect, but rather with a flashy notification method that uses at least two of the following effects: light effects, sound effects, image display effects, and movable object effects.

In addition, from the viewpoint that an error due to an overflow state is a "serious error," it is preferable to resolve the error at least when a "RAM clear process" is executed, rather than simply turning the gaming machine's power OFF/ON to restore the game. Specifically, it is preferable to configure the error so that it can be resolved when an in-area RAM clear process (the process route of step S025 → step S031 in FIG. 33A) is executed by turning the RAM clear switch ON, or when a setting change process is executed (the process route of step S023 → step S031 in FIG. 33A).

In addition, there are the following advantages to monitoring overflow conditions. For example, when monitoring excess winnings, a process is required to compare the number of winnings within a given time (winning count) with a threshold value (the number considered to be excess winnings), but when monitoring buffer overflow conditions, the only thing that needs to be monitored is the free space in the memory area, making such a process unnecessary and reducing the control burden. Also, when monitoring excess winnings, it is usually necessary to install a "radio sensor for monitoring fraud" near the winning slot as a measure against large ball cheating, but when monitoring buffer overflow conditions, there is no need to monitor for fraudulent radio waves, so there is no need to install a radio sensor, which leads to cost reduction and easier design.

(Modification α: Modification Related to Error Handling When an Overflow State Occurs)
The error processing related to the overflow state may be configured as follows. For example, if an overflow state occurs (step S232: NO), an error flag specifying the occurrence of an overflow state (hereinafter referred to as an "OF error flag") is set (ON state), and the ON/OFF state of the OF error flag is monitored in the subsequent error management processing (step S089). If the ON state of the OF error flag is confirmed in the error management processing (step S089), the processing of steps S239 to S242 may be performed.

In this embodiment, a ring buffer is used, but a shift buffer may be used. In this case as well, if the shift buffer storage area overflows, a predetermined error process (steps S239 to S242) can be executed.

(If there is free space: step S232 → steps S233 to S238)
On the other hand, if there is free space in the ring buffer, it is determined that the gaming operation is normal, and the processes from step S233 onwards are executed in sequence.

If there is free space in the ring buffer (step S232: YES), the acquired event number (the data acquired in step S205 in Figure 38A) is stored in the ring buffer area at the address indicated by the save pointer (step S234).

Then, the save pointer (storage destination address) is incremented to update the storage destination address in the ring buffer and specify the next storage destination address (step S235).

Next, it is determined whether the updated save pointer has exceeded the final address of the ring buffer (step S235). If it has exceeded the final address (step S235: YES), the first address of the ring buffer is obtained (step S236) and stored (memorized) in the save pointer (step S237). However, if it has not exceeded the final address (step S235: NO), it is determined that the data storage space has not reached the end of the ring buffer, and the updated address is stored in the save pointer (step S237).

Then, the number of pieces of information stocked is incremented (step S238). The number of pieces of information stocked is the number of pieces of game information currently stored ("type information/count information": see FIG. 49), and is incremented by one each time data is stored. This number of pieces of information stocked makes it possible to identify the current number of pieces of game information. This causes the process to exit the ring buffer storage process and proceed to step S207 in FIG. 38A.

(Another concrete example of creating game information: FIG. 38B)
As described above, when setting game information (event number) related to winning (winning ball), the presence or absence of winning is checked, and if there is a winning (event occurrence), game information corresponding to the game progress state is obtained and stored in the ring buffer. Similarly, for other game states, when an event occurs, the corresponding event number is obtained and stored in the ring buffer. An example is shown in FIG. 38B.

For example, in the case of "game information related to the number of times the pattern is determined" of data type 9 shown in FIG. 50D, as shown in FIG. 38B (A), after the determined display time has elapsed (step S471: YES), the event number corresponding to the special pattern that has stopped this time is obtained (step S205A). It should be noted that which special pattern has stopped can be specified by checking the state of the special pattern changing flag (determining the ON/OFF state of the special pattern 1 changing flag and the special pattern 2 changing flag). In this event number acquisition process, the special pattern changing flag is determined, and if the event acquisition target this time is special pattern 1, "event number 7 (special pattern 1 stopped once)" is obtained, and if it is special pattern 2, "event number 8 (special pattern 2 stopped once)" is obtained (for the designated contents of the event number, see the remarks column in FIG. 50D and FIG. 54). Then, the acquired event number is stored in the ring buffer (step S206), and the process from step S472 onwards is executed.

For example, in the case of "game information related to a win" of data type 10 shown in FIG. 50E, the corresponding event number can be obtained in the special electric device management process (step S095).

Specifically, if a small win is won, as shown in FIG. 38B(B), "event number 11 (small win occurs)" is obtained at the start of the small win game (step S205B), and the event number is stored in the ring buffer (step S206). Then, the setting process required to start the small win game can be performed. Also, if a big win is won, as shown in FIG. 38B(C), in the big win start process (step S505), event number 12 (big win occurs) is obtained at the start of the big win game (step S205C), and the obtained event number is stored in the ring buffer (step S206). Then, the setting process required to start the big win game can be performed.

The ring buffer storage process (step S206) for storing event numbers is a common process to reduce the control burden.

<108ms interrupt processing: Fig. 40>
Next, the 108 ms interrupt process will be described with reference to Fig. 40. Fig. 40 is a flow chart showing the details of the 108 ms interrupt process.

In FIG. 40, when a 108 ms timer interrupt occurs, the CPU 201 first determines whether the play permission flag is ON (5AH) (step S111). If the play permission flag is not ON (step S111: ≠ 5AH), the timer interrupt process ends without doing anything, and the main control main process is executed until the next 108 ms interrupt occurs.

On the other hand, if the play permission flag is ON (step S111: = 5AH), it is then determined whether the reception check start flag is ON (5AH) (step S112). This reception check start flag is a flag that specifies whether or not to execute a check process (steps S113 to S118 described later) to check whether the gaming machine information response message has been correctly received from the frame control unit 22. If the flag is ON (5AH), it specifies the execution of the check process, and if the flag is OFF (00H), it specifies not to execute the check process (skip the processes of steps S113 to S122). The reception check start flag is set to ON in step S133 (see FIG. 41A) during the message transmission process of step S123 described later. Therefore, when this determination process is executed during the first 108 ms interrupt process, the reception check start flag is OFF (step S112: ≠ 5AH), the above check process (steps S113 to S122) is skipped, and the process proceeds to the message transmission process (step S123) described below. The reason why the reception check start flag is OFF during the first 108 ms interrupt process is that the checksum of the gaming machine information response message has not been received during the first 108 ms interrupt process, so it is necessary to skip the above-mentioned check process (steps S113 to S122 shown in the figure). In this respect, the "reception check start flag" functions as a flag to identify whether or not this is the first interrupt.

If the reception check start flag is ON (step S112: = 5AH), the communication number is then acquired in a register (for example, A register) (step S113). This communication number is the communication number used when the previous gaming machine information notification message was sent. Note that when the current message is sent, the communication number sent is one that has been incremented by "+1" (see step S142 in FIG. 41A, described below).

Next, the checksum value of the gaming machine information response message excluding the communication number, "017H", is added to the acquired communication number (step S113), and it is determined whether the added value (A register <- communication number + 017H) matches the checksum value (the value of the received checksum RXSUM) (steps S115 and S116). The reason for comparing "communication number + 017H" with the received checksum RXSUM value in this way is as follows.

It would be possible to check only the reception of the gaming machine information response message (the reply from the frame control unit 22) without checking the contents one by one, but in this case, it would be impossible to check whether the contents of the gaming machine information response message are correct or not, and the transmission and reception of messages would lack accuracy. As already explained, the checksum value when the gaming information notification response message is received normally is "0x05 (message length) + 0x12 (command code) + 0x00 (gaming machine installation information receipt result) + communication serial number (any value between 0 and 255) = communication serial number (0 to 255) + 0x17 (fixed value: 017H)", that is, the checksum value excluding the communication serial number should be a fixed value of "017H (hereinafter referred to as the "normal checksum value excluding the communication serial number"). Therefore, in this embodiment, in the process of steps S113 to S116, the communication number is first obtained (step S113), and the normal fixed value "017H" is added to it (step S114). This added value is then compared to the value stored in the reception checksum RXSUM (step S115) to determine whether the game information notification response message was received correctly (whether the message was sent and received correctly), making it possible to accurately determine whether the message was received correctly by this simple method (step S116).

If the addition value (communication number + normal checksum value excluding communication number (017H)) obtained in step S114 matches the reception checksum RXSUM value (step S116: YES), it is determined that the operation is normal (the message is sent and received correctly), and the process proceeds to the message transmission process (step S123) described below. However, if the addition value does not match the checksum value (step S116: NO), it is determined that the operation is not normal, and the reception error counter is incremented by +1 (step S117). This reception error counter functions as a counter that counts the number of times (number of reception errors) that the main control unit 20 has not been able to correctly receive the gaming machine information response message.

Next, it is determined whether the reception error counter value is less than a predetermined value (here, 10 times) (step S118). In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, if the cumulative number of reception errors reaches 10 times, it is assumed that an abnormality (telegram communication error) has occurred in the transmission and reception of the game information notification and game information response (step S118: n ≥ 10), and a predetermined error process is executed. Specifically, the game permission flag is cleared (step S119), and a launch stop signal NS is output to the launch control board 28, that is, the launch control signal is turned OFF, and the launch of game balls by the launch device 32 is disabled (launch operation prohibited state) (step S120).

Then, an error command is set (step S121) and a command transmission process is performed (step S122). The error command sent here includes information indicating that a reception error has occurred, for example, error information indicating a communication line disconnection (communication line disconnection error command), and when the performance control unit 24 receives the error command, an error notification for communication line disconnection is performed by the performance means. In this case, by turning the power of the gaming machine OFF/ON, the processing at the time of power-on (FIGS. 33A and 33B) is executed again, and in consideration of the case where RAM clearing is required, it is preferable to configure the configuration so that the error can be resolved when the RAM clear processing (step S031 in FIG. 33A) is executed, rather than simply turning the power of the gaming machine OFF/ON, as in the above-mentioned illegal winning error (error related to the buffer overflow state: see steps S232, S239 to S242 in FIG. 39).

(Modification β: Modification related to error processing when reception error occurs)
As a modified example, when error processing related to reception error is executed (when the judgment result of step S118 is YES), the following configuration may be used. For example, when the reception error counter value reaches a predetermined value, at least an error flag related to the occurrence of reception error (hereinafter referred to as "communication interruption error flag") is set (ON state). In this case, a judgment process may be provided in a predetermined process (for example, error management process) during the 4 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 36 to judge whether the communication interruption error flag is set or not, and when it is judged in the judgment process that the communication interruption error flag is set, the processing of steps S119 to S122 may be performed. Also, during the 108 ms interrupt process, at least the setting of the communication interruption error flag and the clearing of the play permission flag (step S119) may be executed to substantially disable the function of the 108 ms interrupt process, and the transmission process (steps S120 to S122) of the launch stop, error command, etc. may be left to the 4 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 36. This modification can also be applied to the third embodiment described later (see steps S739 to S741 and S119 to S122 in FIG. 47).

If the cumulative number of reception errors has not reached 10 (step S118: n<10), it is determined that the previous game information notification and game information response were sent and received normally, and a message sending process (step S123) related to the creation and output process of the current game machine information notification message is executed, the 108 ms interrupt process is terminated, and the main control side main process is executed until the next 108 ms interrupt occurs.

(Modification γ: Modification of Reception Miscount)
In this embodiment, the number of reception errors (threshold) that result in an error is set to 10 times, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an appropriate number of times can be set. Also, the number of reception errors that result in an error may not be set to a predetermined number of times, and an error may be determined when the number of consecutive reception errors reaches a predetermined number (for example, 10 times). If the number of consecutive reception errors is used as a determining factor for error determination, if a reception error occurs due to some kind of malfunction and then reception is successful, it is not counted as a reception error, so that excessive error processing can be avoided. In the case of this modified example, if reception is successful before the reception error counter reaches a predetermined number of times, a reception error counter process that clears the reception error counter (for example, the process of step S123A shown by the dashed line in FIG. 40 is added: see modified example γ in the remarks column in the figure) may be provided. In addition, the same process content as that of this modified example can be applied to the third embodiment described later (for example, the process of step S123A shown by the dashed line in FIG. 40 is provided after the process of step SS741 in FIG. 47 described later).

(Message transmission process: Figs. 41A to 41B)
The above-mentioned message transmission process (step S123) will be described with reference to Fig. 41A and Fig. 41B. Fig. 41A and Fig. 41B are flow charts showing the details of the message transmission process, Fig. 41A is a flow chart showing the first half of the message transmission process, and Fig. 41B is a flow chart showing the second half of the message transmission process. This message transmission process is mainly composed of a process for transmitting the gaming machine information notification message to the frame control unit 22.

In Figures 41A and 41B, the CPU 201 first clears the reception checksum register (e.g., register C) (step S131), and then clears the reception checksum RXSUM (step S132). The value of the reception checksum register is primarily used when transmitting the checksum related to the gaming machine information notification message to the frame control unit 22 in steps S156 to S157 described below.

The purpose of clearing the reception checksum RXSUM is to prevent the reception checksum RXSUM from being determined to be normal if the transmission of the gaming machine information response message from the frame control unit 22 is interrupted, as the reception checksum RXSUM will retain its value as is. However, in this embodiment, the reception checksum RXSUM is updated to a different value each time a gaming machine information notification message is sent (because the communication serial number takes a value from 0 to 255 (because the previous checksum value is updated by +1)), so there is no need to clear the reception checksum RXSUM.

Next, the reception check start flag is set to ON (5AH) (step S133).

(Transmission of message length: steps S134 to S139)
Next, a process is executed to output information on the message length (1 byte) related to the gaming machine information notification message (steps S134 to S139). First, the "information stock number" stored in a predetermined area (information stock number storage area) of the RAM 203 is acquired in a predetermined register (here, W register) (step S134). The number of game information to be transmitted this time is specified by this information stock number.

Next, it is determined whether the number of pieces of acquired information stocked is greater than the maximum number to be transmitted (step S135). In this embodiment, the maximum number of pieces of game information that can be transmitted at one time is "5," so in the determination process of step S135, it is determined whether the number of pieces of acquired information stocked is less than 6 (5 or less).

If the number of pieces of information stocked is greater than the maximum number to be transmitted (5 pieces) (step S135: number of pieces of information stocked ≧6), the acquired number of pieces of information stocked is corrected to 5 (step S136) in order to limit the number of pieces of game information (type information, count information) to be transmitted. Specifically, "05H" is set (updated to 5 pieces) in the register that holds the number of pieces of information stocked (in this example, the W register). On the other hand, if the number of pieces of information stocked is less than 6 pieces, that is, equal to or less than the maximum number to be transmitted (5 pieces) (step S135: number of pieces of information stocked <6), the correction process of step S136 is skipped (step S136) and the process proceeds to step S137.

In the processing of step S137, the number of pieces of information stocked is doubled (step S137). Specifically, the value of the W register is transferred to the A register, and the value of the A register is doubled. The reason for "doubling the number of pieces of information stocked" is that one piece of game information (type information and count information) requires two bytes (see Figure 49), and if there are n pieces of game information, the length of the message increases by "number of pieces of information stocked x 2 bytes".

Next, "09H" is added as a predetermined value to the number of information stocks (A register) doubled in step S137 (step S138). The reason for adding "09H" is that the message length of the gaming machine information notification message requires a minimum of 9 bytes regardless of the number of game information. In more detail, the data length of each data related to the gaming machine information notification message, excluding the game information (type information and count information), is "message length (1 byte) + command code (1 byte) + communication sequence number (1 byte) + game status information (2 bytes) + error status information (1 byte) + fraud detection status information (1 byte) + number of game information (1 byte) + checksum (1 byte) = 9 bytes". Therefore, the data length of the actual gaming machine information notification message is the sum of these 9 bytes and the data length of the gaming information (number of information stocks x 2 bytes), and this sum needs to be sent to the frame control unit 22 as the message length information of the current gaming machine information notification message.

Next, the serial output process (step S139) is executed. This causes the message length information of the current gaming machine information notification message to be sent to the frame control unit 22.

(Serial output process: FIG. 42)
The details of the "serial output process" are shown in Fig. 42. As shown in Fig. 42, the serial output process is made up of an output process (step S161) for outputting information (here, the value of the A register) acquired from the transmission serial port buffer for serial transmission, and a checksum addition process (step S162) for adding the information (the value of the A register) to a reception checksum register (C register).

The above serial output process is common to step S139 as well as steps S141, S144, S146, S148, S150, S152, S154, S155 (S183 and S185 in FIG. 46B), and S157, which will be described later.

In addition, in the above serial output process, each time the checksum addition process is executed, the transmission data information (value of register A) is added to the reception checksum register, and when the serial output process (steps S183 and S185 in FIG. 46B described below) during the ring buffer transmission process in step S155 described below is executed, the value of the reception checksum register is calculated as the checksum for the current gaming machine information notification message (value obtained by adding up the message length to the gaming information). The calculated checksum value is transmitted to the frame control unit 22 as "checksum information" by the serial output process (checksum transmission process) in step S157 in FIG. 41B described below.

(Command code transmission: steps S140 to S141)
Next, a process for outputting information of the command code (1 byte) is executed (steps S140 to S141). First, a fixed value (0x02 (02H)) of the command code (command information) related to the gaming machine information notification message is set in the A register (step S140), and then the serial output process (step S141) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. This updates the reception checksum register, and transmits the command information of the current gaming machine information notification message to the frame control unit 22.

(Sending communication number: steps S142 to S144)
Next, a process for outputting the information of the communication number (1 byte) is executed (steps S142 to S144). First, the communication number is incremented (value of the communication number RAM area + 1) (step S142), and the communication number is set in the A register (step S143). Then, the serial output process (step S144) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. This updates the reception checksum register, and the communication number (sequence number) of the current gaming machine information notification message is sent to the frame control unit 22.

(Main control state 1 transmission: steps S145 to S146)
Next, a process for outputting information on the main control status 1 (1 byte) is executed (steps S145 to S146). First, the main control status 1 is set in the A register (step S145). Then, the serial output process (step S146) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. This updates the reception checksum register, and the main control status 1 of the current gaming machine information notification message is sent to the frame control unit 22.

(Main control state 2 transmission: steps S147 to S148)
Next, a process for outputting information on the main control status 2 (1 byte) is executed (steps S147 to S148). First, the main control status 2 is set in the A register (step S147). Then, the serial output process (step S148) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. This updates the reception checksum register, and the main control status 2 of the current gaming machine information notification message is sent to the frame control unit 22.

(Gaming machine error status transmission: steps S149 to S150)
Next, a process for outputting information on the gaming machine error state (1 byte) is executed (steps S149 to S150). First, the gaming machine error state is set in the A register (step S149). Then, the serial output process (step S150) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. This updates the reception checksum register, and transmits the gaming machine error state of the current gaming machine information notification message to the frame control unit 22.

(Fraud detection status transmission: steps S151 to S152)
Next, a process for outputting information on the fraud detection status (1 byte) is executed (steps S151 to S152). First, the fraud detection status is set in the A register (step S151). Then, the serial output process (step S152) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. This updates the reception checksum register, and transmits the fraud detection status of the current gaming machine information notification message to the frame control unit 22.

(Number of stocked information (number of game play information) transmission: steps S153 to S154)
Next, a process for outputting the number of game information pieces (1 byte) is executed (steps S153 to S154). First, the number of pieces of information stocked is set in the A register (step S153). Then, the serial output process (step S154) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. This updates the reception checksum register, and transmits the number of pieces of game information in the current gaming machine information notification message to the frame control unit 22. The number of pieces of information stocked is obtained from the value of the W register (see steps S134 to S137 in FIG. 41A).

Next, a ring buffer transmission process is executed (step S155). In the ring buffer transmission process, processing is performed to transmit the game information (type information and count information) stored in the ring buffer to the frame control unit 22. Details of the ring buffer transmission process will be described later with reference to Figures 46A and 46B.

(Checksum transmission: steps S156 to S157)
Next, a process for outputting the checksum (1 byte) information is executed (steps S156 to S157). First, the value of the checksum register (C register) is set in the A register (step S156). Then, the serial output process (step S157) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. As a result, the checksum of the current gaming machine information notification message is transmitted to the frame control unit 22. The value of the checksum register obtained when the serial output process of step S157 is executed is cleared at the start of the next 108 ms interrupt process (step S131 in FIG. 41A).

(Ring buffer transmission process: Figures 43A and 43B).
The ring buffer transmission process (step S155) in Fig. 41B will be described with reference to Fig. 43A and Fig. 43B. Fig. 43A and Fig. 43B are flowcharts showing the details of the ring buffer transmission process, with Fig. 43A being a flowchart showing the first half of the ring buffer transmission process and Fig. 43B being a flowchart showing the second half of the ring buffer transmission process.

Referring to Figures 43A and 43B, the CPU 201 first sets the number of loops to "5 times" (step S171). This number of loops, "5 times", is a value that specifies the maximum number of transmissions, which is 5.

Next, the value of the load pointer is obtained (step S172). Specifically, the address of the ring buffer indicated by the load pointer is obtained.

Next, the value of the ring buffer indicated by the address obtained in step S172 is obtained (step S173). The content obtained here is the above-mentioned "event number."

Then, it is determined whether the acquired ring buffer value is not zero (step S174). If the ring buffer value is zero (step S174: NO), there is no data, so the ring buffer transmission process is exited without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the acquired ring buffer value is not zero (step S174: YES), the corresponding area of the ring buffer that was read is cleared (step S175), the load point (destination address) is incremented, the destination address of the ring buffer is updated, and the next destination address is specified (step S176).

Next, it is determined whether the updated load pointer has exceeded the final address of the ring buffer (step S177). If it has exceeded the final address (step S177: YES), the first address of the ring buffer is obtained (step S178) and stored (memorized) in the load pointer (step S179). However, if it has not exceeded the final address (step S177: NO), it is determined that the data storage space has not reached the end of the ring buffer, and the updated address is stored in the load pointer (step S179).

Next, the "game information table (type information + count information table)" shown in FIG. 54 is obtained (step S180), and the game information table is referenced to obtain the command data for "type information" and "count information" corresponding to the value of the ring buffer obtained in step S173, i.e., the "event number" (step S181).

<Game Information Table (Type Information + Count Information Table): FIG. 54>
An example of a game information table is shown in Fig. 54. In the game information table shown in Fig. 54, a group of command data relating to game information (Figs. 50A to 50F) to be transmitted to the frame control unit 22 is actually defined, but here, game information closely related to the present invention is shown as a representative example.

Referring to FIG. 54, the game information table defines game information corresponding to the event number. Specifically, as shown in the figure, game information (2 bytes) data consisting of type information in the upper 1 byte and count information in the lower 1 byte is defined corresponding to event numbers 1 to 18. For example, the command data corresponding to event number 1 is "1131H", and this command data "1131H" specifies "1 of 3 prize balls enters the upper start hole 34". For example, in the case of "2 of 3 prize balls enter the upper start hole 34" in FIG. 50B (Example 1), event number 1 is stored in the ring buffer continuously or intermittently in the order of event occurrence, and by transmitting this command data "1131H" one by one, the frame control unit 22 side can understand that 3 prize balls entered the upper start hole 34 twice. Details of other event numbers are omitted to avoid duplication. The contents of the event numbers are as shown in the remarks column in the figure.

In this embodiment, when an event occurs, first an "event number (1 byte)" that can identify game information is obtained and stored in a ring buffer (1 byte area). Then, when it is necessary to transmit game information (2 bytes), game information (type information, count information) corresponding to the event number is obtained from the ring buffer and transmitted to the frame control unit 22. A processing configuration that uses such event numbers has the following advantages.

If two-byte game information (type information, count information) is created and acquired when an event occurs and stored in the ring buffer, the type information and count information must be acquired and stored in the ring buffer. In this case, however, the process of acquiring and transmitting the type information and count information becomes complicated, and each storage area in the ring buffer requires two bytes, which increases the program capacity and puts pressure on the RAM area, and increases the control burden. However, by using the event number as in this embodiment, game information can be acquired and transmitted in a simple manner, the buffer capacity can be reduced, and pressure on the RAM area can be prevented. In addition, when designing a new model, it is possible to do so with a simple task such as rewriting the game information table, and versatility can be achieved between old and new models.

(Type information transmission: steps S182 to S183)
Next, a process for outputting the command data of the type information (1 byte) is executed (steps S156 to S157). First, the type information (the upper 1 byte of command data) acquired from the game information table is set in the A register (step S182). Then, the serial output process (step S183) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. As a result, the type information of the current game machine information notification message is transmitted to the frame control unit 22.

(Count information transmission: steps S184 to S185)
Next, a process for outputting the command data of the count information (1 byte) is executed (steps S184 to S185). First, the count information (the lower byte of command data) acquired from the game information table is set in the A register (step S184). Then, the serial output process (step S185) shown in FIG. 42 is executed. As a result, the count information of the current game machine information notification message is transmitted to the frame control unit 22.

When the above type information and count information transmission process is completed, the number of pieces of information stored is then decremented (step S186), and the number of loops is decremented (step S187).

Next, it is determined whether the loop count (number of transmissions) is zero (step S188), and the processing of steps S172 to S188 is repeated until the loop count becomes zero (step S188: NO processing route). If the loop count becomes zero (step S208: YES), the ring buffer transmission processing is terminated. In this embodiment, the loop count is set to the maximum transmission count (5 times) regardless of the processing of step S171 and the number of stored information. Even if the loop count does not become zero, if the value of the buffer acquired in step S172 is zero, that is, nothing is stored, the result of the determination processing of step S174 becomes "NO", and the ring buffer transmission processing is terminated. In this way, it is not necessary to check the number of stored information each time and set the loop count according to the number of stored information, but it is sufficient to set the loop count to the maximum transmission count (5 times), which makes the design easier and reduces the control burden on the main control unit 20.

(Modification δ)
In addition, in preparation for a checksum abnormality (reception error), a process may be provided in which the contents of the gaming machine information notification message to be sent this time are stored as retransmission data in a specified area (message information save area) of the RAM 203, and in the event of a reception error, the retransmission data may be read from the message information save area and transmitted to the frame control unit 22. In this case, the same communication number will be transmitted again, so the frame control unit 22 can determine that the gaming machine information message is related to retransmission. When the frame control unit 22 receives a gaming machine information message related to retransmission, it may be configured to perform processing based on the retransmission (configured so as not to perform processing assuming that new information has been received).

In addition, at least "game information (type information + count information)" may be stored in the message information evacuation area as the retransmission data. This is because the game information is important information that affects the number of balls held and performance information. For example, if the contents of the ring buffer acquired in step S173 are not zero (if the transmission message information is stored), the contents to be transmitted this time are stored in the game information evacuation area prior to the process of clearing the ring buffer area in step S175. Then, if there is a reception error, the retransmission data is read from the game information evacuation area, and a gaming machine information notification message containing the game information (type information + count information) corresponding to the retransmission data is transmitted. In this way, it is not necessary to store all the data related to the gaming machine information message as the retransmission data, which leads to a reduction in the control burden. However, in this case, in order to prevent the frame control unit 22 side from processing it as if it had received a new gaming machine information notification message, information that can identify it as a retransmission is transmitted, so that the frame control unit 22 side can understand that it is retransmission data. Examples of information that can identify a retransmission include a command code that is a fixed value, which is a specific value for retransmission, but any information that allows the frame control unit 22 to understand that it is a retransmission will suffice. It goes without saying that this modification (modification δ) can also be similarly applied to the third embodiment described below.

[Third embodiment]
<Processing on the main control unit side: Figs. 44 to 47>
Next, referring to Figures 44 to 47, the game operation processing on the main control unit 20 side according to the third embodiment (a modified example of the second embodiment) will be described. As with the second embodiment, the third embodiment is mainly composed of an infinite loop main processing (main control side main processing) and two timer interrupt processings started by regular interrupts from the CTC. However, the third embodiment is significantly different from the second embodiment in that the timer interrupt processing is composed of a "4 ms interrupt processing (similar to the second embodiment) shown in Figure 36" and a "54 ms interrupt processing (Figure 45)" with half the interrupt time of the "108 ms interrupt processing (Figure 40)" of the second embodiment.

More specifically, in the case of the third embodiment, the process equivalent to the "108 ms interrupt process (Figure 40)" of the second embodiment is divided into multiple processes and executed. Specifically, one interrupt process is assigned to "message transmission process" and two interrupt processes are assigned to "message reception process", and message transmission and reception processes are alternated, with a gaming machine information notification message being sent to the frame control unit 22 and a gaming machine information response message being received every 108 ms. In this respect, it is the same as the second embodiment described above, in which message transmission and reception processes are executed every 108 ms.

In this third embodiment, the 4 ms interrupt process is set to have a higher priority than the 54 ms interrupt process. This is the same as the relationship between the 4 ms interrupt process and the 108 ms interrupt process described in the second embodiment. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which multiple interrupts are permitted to execute the 4 ms interrupt process with a higher priority while the 54 ms interrupt process with a lower priority is being executed. Also, the interrupt may be set to a disabled state when the 54 ms interrupt process is executed, and set to an enabled state after the process is completed. In this case, if an interrupt request for the 4 ms interrupt process occurs during the 54 ms interrupt process, the 4 ms interrupt process may be executed immediately after the 54 ms interrupt process is completed.

The third embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 44 to 47. However, to avoid duplication, descriptions of processing that is essentially the same as in the second embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

<12B. Main processing on the main control side: FIG. 44>
The main control side main processing according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 44. Fig. 44 is a flow chart showing the details of the latter half of the main control side main processing. The first half of the main control side main processing is the same as the first half of the main control side main processing shown in Fig. 33A of the second embodiment, and is therefore omitted from the illustration. In Fig. 44, the same steps as those in the main control side main processing shown in Fig. 33B of the second embodiment are given the same step numbers.

Referring to FIG. 44, the difference from the second embodiment (FIG. 33B) is that in the process of step S060A, the communication number RAM, the reception miss counter, the transmission selection counter described later, etc. are cleared as RAM areas related to transmission and reception (the transmission ring buffer, the final address RAM area indicating the final address of the ring buffer, the load pointer, the save pointer, etc. are not cleared), in the process of step S061A, the CTC setting process is executed to generate a timer interrupt periodically every 4 ms and every 54 ms, and in the infinite loop process of the game process related to the normal game progress, the process of steps S046 to S047 is not performed. Since the other processes shown in FIG. 44 are the same as the processes shown in FIG. 33B described in the second embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted to avoid duplication. Note that the process related to the processes of steps S046 to S043 (the process of acquiring the checksum data of the gaming machine information response message) is performed in the message reception process (step S702) during the 54 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 45 described later.

<54 ms interrupt processing: Fig. 45>
Next, the 54 ms interrupt process will be described with reference to Fig. 45. Fig. 45 is a flow chart showing the details of the 54 ms interrupt process.

In this embodiment, an interrupt process is executed every 54 ms, and a message transmission process for transmitting a gaming machine information notification message and a message reception process for receiving a gaming machine information response message are repeated alternately. In other words, a gaming machine information notification message is transmitted and a gaming machine information response message is received every 108 ms. In this respect, it differs from the second embodiment described above, in which a gaming machine information notification message transmission process and a gaming machine information response message reception process are performed together every 108 ms.

In FIG. 45, the CPU 201 first increments the transmission/reception selection counter (step S701). This transmission/reception selection counter is a counter for specifying whether to execute a message transmission process or a message transmission process for each 54 ms interrupt process. In this embodiment, if the least significant bit (LSB) of the transmission/reception selection counter is "1" (step S702: YES), the message transmission process (step S703) is executed, and if it is "0" (step S702: NO), the message reception process (step S704) is executed. Therefore, the message transmission process (step S703) is executed the first time.

(Message transmission process (step S703): Figs. 46A to 46B)
The above-mentioned message transmission process (step S703) will be described with reference to Fig. 46A and Fig. 46B. Fig. 46A and Fig. 46B are flow charts showing the details of the message transmission process, with Fig. 46A showing the first half of the message transmission process and Fig. 46B showing the second half of the message transmission process.

As shown in Figures 46A and 46B, the message transmission process according to this embodiment is substantially the same as the process shown in Figures 41A and 41B of the second embodiment, except that steps S132 to S133 in the message transmission process are not included. Therefore, in order to avoid duplication, the same process as that described in Figures 41A and 41B will be omitted here as appropriate.

In the case of this embodiment, as described above, the 108 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 40 of the second embodiment is divided into a message transmission process and a message reception process, and these processes are executed alternately every 54 ms interrupt process. In detail, the process equivalent to the above check process during the 108 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 40 (see steps S113 to S122 in FIG. 40) is executed in the message reception process of step S704 (see FIG. 47 described later), and the process equivalent to the message transmission process of step S123 during the same 108 ms interrupt process is executed in the message transmission process of step S703. Due to the nature of this process, there is no need to provide the reception check start flag in the second embodiment (no need to provide step S133), and there is no need for a reception checksum RXSUM related to checksum judgment (no need to provide step S132), so the processes of steps S132 to S133 shown in FIG. 41A are not provided.

(Message reception process (step S703): FIG. 47)
Next, the message receiving process (step S704) will be described with reference to Fig. 47. Fig. 47 is a flow chart showing the details of the message receiving process.

In FIG. 47, the CPU 201 first determines whether the play permission flag is ON (5AH) (step S731). If the play permission flag is not ON (step S731: ≠ 5AH), the timer interrupt process ends without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the play permission flag is ON (step S111: = 5AH), the presence or absence of received data of a "gaming machine information response message" is then determined (step S0732). As already explained, the presence or absence of received data of the gaming machine information response message is determined by checking the value of the receive buffer status. If the receive buffer status value is zero (00H), it indicates that no data has been received, and if it is between 01H and 16H, it indicates that 1 byte to 16 bytes of data have been received.

Here, the gaming machine information notification message was sent in the message sending process (step S703) of the previous 54 ms interrupt process, and the 54 ms until the current 54 ms interrupt process is executed is a sufficient time interval to receive a gaming machine information response message to that gaming machine information notification message. Therefore, the gaming machine information response message to that gaming machine information notification message should have already been received. Therefore, if there is no received data (step S732), the process proceeds to step S741 (number of reception errors determination process) described below.

On the other hand, if there is received data (step S732), the value of the receive buffer status (number of received data) is set as the loop count (step S733).

Then, the communication number is acquired in a register (for example, the W register) (step S735), and the checksum value of the gaming machine information response message excluding the communication number, "017H", is added to the acquired communication number (step S735). The processing of steps S735 to S736 is the same as the processing of steps S114 to S115 shown in FIG. 40 of the second embodiment.

Next, the received data in the receive serial port buffer continues to be loaded into a register (for example, A register) until the loop count becomes zero (step S736). Here, by utilizing the fact that the last data (5th byte) of the gaming machine information response message is a checksum (see FIG. 51), the 5-byte values of "message length (1 byte), command code (1 byte), communication serial number (1 byte), gaming information reception result (1 byte), and checksum (1 byte)" related to the gaming machine information response message are sequentially loaded into the A register. As a result, the data finally held in the A register becomes the checksum data of the gaming machine information response message received this time. Therefore, if some kind of malfunction occurs, for example, if the received data is less than 5 bytes (the loop count is less than 5 times) or if a malfunction occurs during data transmission and reception, the checksum value related to the gaming machine information response message is not correctly acquired, the judgment result of step S739 described below becomes "NO", and it is treated as a reception error.

Next, the "addition value (communication number + normal checksum value excluding communication number (017H): here, the value of the W register)" obtained in step S735 is compared with the "checksum value (here, the value of the A register)" obtained in the loop processing of steps S736 to S737, and if these values match (step S739: YES), it is determined that the operation is normal (the game information notification response message has been received correctly (the message has been sent and received correctly)), and the message reception process is exited, ending the 54 ms interrupt process.

However, if the added value does not match the checksum value (step S739: NO), it is determined that the operation is not normal and the reception error counter is incremented by +1 (step S740).

Next, it is determined whether the reception error counter value is less than a predetermined value (here, 10 times) (step S741). In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, if the cumulative number of reception errors reaches 10 times, it is assumed that an abnormality (telegram communication error) has occurred in the transmission and reception of the game information notification and game information response (step S741: n≧10), and the predetermined error processing of steps S119 to S122 is executed. This error processing has the same processing content as that of FIG. 40.

On the other hand, if the cumulative number of reception errors has not reached 10 (step S741: n<10), the message reception process is exited and the 54 ms interrupt process is terminated.

(Modification ε)
In the second embodiment, the 108 ms interrupt process is executed by a regular interrupt, and in the third embodiment, the 54 ms interrupt process is executed similarly, and in both cases, the transmission and reception of the telegram is performed in a cycle of 108 ms, but the following configuration may be adopted. For example, the number of times the 4 ms interrupt process is started (occurrences) may be counted, and when a predetermined number (for example, 26th time) is reached, the transmission and reception process of the telegram may be executed based on the number of times the 4 ms interrupt process is started (executed). When the transmission or reception process of the telegram is executed, it is preferable to execute the 4 ms interrupt process with priority, and then execute the process immediately thereafter, rather than executing the process by interrupting the 4 ms interrupt process.

(Karaage A) "Regarding the display of the number of balls held by the game ball number display device 77: Figures 55 and 56"
Here, the manner in which the game ball count display device 77 displays the number of game balls held will be described.

In this embodiment, a 3-byte game ball number storage area (3-byte game ball number storage area) is provided in the frame control RAM as a ball number count area. Therefore, the number of balls held can be counted up to 1,677,216, but due to the ball-dispensing performance of the gaming machine, it is very rare for the number of balls held to exceed hundreds of thousands during a day of business at an actual pachinko parlor, and in recent years, gaming machines equipped with so-called "safety devices" have been put into practical use from the perspective of "addiction prevention" measures. This safety device is also called a "complete function", and as one of the above-mentioned "addiction prevention" measures, it is a function that controls the game to a game execution disabled state (play stop state) in which game execution is disabled from that point on when the difference in the number of balls measured by a specified method during a certain game period (for example, during a day of business at a pachinko parlor (from power ON (power on) to power OFF (power off))) reaches the number of balls that triggers the safety device to operate.

There are various methods for measuring the difference in the number of balls, such as the so-called "MY value (MY count method)" or "net increase in number of balls." For example, when the MY value reaches "95,000 balls," the complete function is activated and the game is controlled to be in an unplayable state. A typical example of an unplayable state is when the main control unit 20 turns off the launch control signal and prohibits the launching operation by the launching device 32 (forced stop of launching). Note that if the number of balls that triggers the safety device to be activated is reached during a jackpot game, the complete function is activated after the jackpot game ends.

When the complete function is activated, it cannot be released by simply turning the power back on; it is necessary to clear the RAM (or change the settings if the machine is equipped with a setting function) to release the function. When the complete function is activated, a "complete effect" (an effect using at least one of sound, light, and image display) is executed to notify the player. If the number of balls that trigger the safety device to activate is reached during a jackpot, a "pre-complete activation effect" is executed to notify the player that the complete function will be activated soon (after the jackpot has ended).

In the above-mentioned "complete effect," for example, a text display (image display effect) such as "The maximum payout amount has been reached and the complete function has been activated. Today's play has ended" and a corresponding sound (sound effect) are output, and a predetermined light effect is executed using the decorative lamps 45 and the effect LEDs.

In addition, in the "pre-complete activation performance", a text display (image display performance) such as "The complete function will be activated shortly" and a corresponding sound (sound performance) are output, and a predetermined light performance is executed using the decorative lamps 45 and performance LEDs. Note that the pre-complete activation performance may be configured to be executable not only during a jackpot game, but also based on a predetermined notification trigger before the activation of the complete function.

The game ball count display device 77 according to this embodiment is configured to be able to display the number of balls held up to a maximum of six decimal digits (0 to 999999 balls), taking into consideration the number of game balls that can be acquired during business hours in a day at the above-mentioned pachinko parlor and the fact that the above-mentioned completion function (safety device) is installed. Note that the above-mentioned completion function can be applied not only to managed game machines, but also to any type of game machine, such as other pinball game machines (pachinko game machines), reel game machines, arrange ball game machines, and janball game machines.

Various display devices such as a 7-segment LED (7-segment display), liquid crystal display (LCD), organic electroluminescent display (OELD), and electronic paper display (EPD) can be used for the game ball count display device 77, but from the perspective of cost and reducing the control burden, a 7-segment display is used in this embodiment. The game ball count display device 77 is made up of six 7-segment LEDs, each with a unitized display section and circuit section, arranged horizontally to form a 7-segment display capable of displaying a six-digit number. For example, if the number of balls currently held is "10050", "10050" is displayed, and if the number is currently "1050", "001050" is displayed.

(Karaage B) "Problems with the display of the number of balls held by the game ball count display device"
Incidentally, when displaying the number of balls held (a numerical display related to game information) on the game ball number display device 77, for example, when displaying the number of balls held of "1050" as described above, if "001050" is displayed as described above, there is a concern that the player may find the display of the first two digits "0" annoying, or that it may be difficult to see the current number of balls held at a glance. In view of such circumstances, in the above example of "1050", it is preferable to display only "1050" without displaying the first two digits "00" (turning them off).

In this embodiment, the game ball count display device 77 displays the current number of balls held by turning off all digits (six digits in this case) higher than the highest digit that displays the number of balls held, without displaying "0". For example, if the current number of balls held is "1050", the highest digit is the fourth digit, so the fifth and sixth digits higher than that are turned off without displaying "0". In this way, when numerical information managed internally is displayed on a display device provided in the game machine (when displayed externally), the process of converting unnecessary numerical information into turn-off data or other display data and displaying it is referred to here as "unnecessary numerical value conversion and display process".

(Ball display process: FIG. 55)
Next, a description will be given of the display process (held balls display process) for the game ball count display device 77. Fig. 55 is a flowchart showing the held balls display process.

In FIG. 55, the frame control unit 22 (frame control CPU) acquires ball count information (ball count data) from the 3-byte game ball count memory area (step S1201). As already explained, the frame control unit 22 measures the number of balls held in real time and stores the measured number of balls held (current number of balls held) in a specified memory area (3-byte game ball count memory area) in the frame control RAM. For example, if the current number of balls held is "1050 balls", "0x00041A" is stored as the ball count information in the 3-byte game ball count memory area. In the following explanation of this process, we will use the current number of balls held of "1050 balls" as a representative example.

Next, the acquired ball number information (hexadecimal information) is converted to decimal information, and the converted ball number information is stored in the game ball number display buffer (decimal conversion process: step S1201). This game ball number display buffer is composed of 6 bytes, and the "1st to 6th digits of the game ball number display buffer" are reserved as a storage area capable of storing 6 digits of ball numbers. Therefore, if the current number of balls is "1050 (3-byte notation = 0x00041A)", the following ball number information is stored in the 1st to 6th digits of the game ball number display buffer, respectively.
"6th digit" Game ball count display buffer 6th digit = 0 (0x00)
"5th digit" Game ball count display buffer 5th digit = 0 (0x00)
"4th digit" Number of balls displayed in the buffer 4th digit = 1 (0x01)
"Third digit" Game ball count display buffer third digit = 0 (0x00)
"Second digit" Number of balls displayed in the buffer Second digit = 5 (0x05)
"First digit" Game ball count display buffer First digit = 0 (0x00)

Then, the number of judgments N is set to a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of digits M (N←M-1) (step S1203). In this embodiment, since the number of digits is six, the number of judgments N is set to "5". The reason for setting the number of judgments N to "number of digits - 1" will be explained later.

Next, the value of the Mth digit of the game ball count display buffer is obtained (step S1204). When passing through this process for the first time, the value of the first digit of the game ball count display buffer, that is, the value of the sixth digit of the game ball count display buffer (the sixth digit of the game ball count display buffer) is obtained. In this example (an example of the number of balls held being "1050"), the sixth digit "0" is obtained.

Next, it is determined whether the acquired value (acquired value) is "0" (step S1205).

(If the acquired value is “0”: Processing route of YES in step S1205)
If the acquired value is "0" (step S1205: YES), it is determined whether or not the number of judgments N is 0 (step S1206). Since an example is described here in which the current number of balls owned is "1050", when the processing of step S1205 is passed for the first time, the judgment result is "YES" (acquired value = 0 (sixth digit)), and since "N = 5", the judgment result of step S1206 is "NO". Therefore, in this case, the processing of the next step S1207 is executed.

In step S1207, "0x0A (0AH)" is set in the Mth digit of the game ball count display buffer (step S1207). Details will be described later, but the value set in this process is used as an offset value when obtaining specific display data from the game ball display display conversion table shown in FIG. 56 in the game ball count display data conversion process in step S1210 described later. When the offset value is "0x0A", data for turning off the light is obtained as the display data (see step S1210, FIG. 56 described later). Hereinafter, "0x0A (0AH)" set in this process is also referred to as the "light-off offset value".

Then, the current number of judgments N and the number of digits M are decremented (steps S1208 and S1209), and the process returns to step S1204. When this process is passed for the first time, "N=5" and "M=6" are used, so the subtraction processes of steps S1208 and S1209 result in "N=4" and "M=5". Therefore, when step S1204 is executed for the second time, the value of the fifth digit of the game ball count display buffer (the fifth digit of the game ball count display buffer) (here, "0") is obtained, and the processes of steps S1207 to S1209 are executed again.

(If the acquired value is not “0”, the process route is one in which the determination result in step S1205 is NO.)
If the acquired value is not "0" (step S1205: NO), the process proceeds to step S1210, where the game ball display data conversion process described below is executed. In this case, the value of the game ball number display buffer is the value obtained by the decimal conversion process, and the game ball display data conversion process described below is executed. In the example where the current number of balls is "1050", the acquired value of the fourth digit game ball number display buffer (fourth digit of the game ball number display buffer) is "1", so at the stage of "N=3" and "M=4", the loop process of steps S1205 to S1209 is exited (step S1205: NO), and the game ball display data conversion process (step S1210) is executed.

(When the acquired value is “0” and the number of determinations N is “0”, the process route is one in which the determination result in step S1206 is NO.)
If the acquired value is "0" (step S1205: YES) and the number of judgments N is "0" (step S1206: NO), the process proceeds to step S1210, and the game ball display data conversion process described later is executed. In this case, the sixth digit to the first digit are all "0", and the number of balls held is "0". If a value corresponding to "number of digits M" is set for the number of judgments N in step S1203, the process of step S1207 will be executed when the last digit is "0" (first digit of the game ball number display buffer ← 0AH), and data for turning off the LED display data will be acquired in the game ball display data conversion process described later (the contents of the display data acquisition process will be explained in step S1210, FIG. 56, described later). For this reason, a value corresponding to "number of digits M-1" is set for the number of judgments N in step S1203.

To briefly explain the above processing of steps S1204 to S1209, if the acquired value is 0, the processing of steps S1204 to S1209 is repeated until the number of judgments N becomes 0, and when the number of judgments becomes 0, the game ball display data conversion processing (step S1210) described below is executed. Specifically, if the acquired values of the 6th digit to the 2nd digit are 0, the processing of steps S1204 to S1209 is repeated until the value of the 1st digit is acquired in step S1204, and when the value of the 1st digit is acquired in step S1204, even if the value of the 1st digit is 0, the processing does not proceed to the processing of step S1270 but proceeds to the game ball display data conversion processing (step S1210) described below (when the value of the 1st digit is acquired, the number of judgments N is 0, so the judgment result of step S1206 is YES).

(Game ball display data conversion process: step S1210)
Next, the game ball display data conversion process (step S1210) will be described.

In the game ball display data conversion process, display data for the game ball count display device 77 is obtained based on the "game ball count display conversion table (D_SEGNUMTBL)" shown in FIG. 56 and the "offset value." The "offset value" here is the value stored in each of the first through sixth digits of the game ball count display buffer.

To make it easier to understand the game ball display data conversion process, we will first explain the contents of the "game ball count display conversion table" with reference to Figure 56.

In the "game ball number display conversion table", as shown in the figure, "game ball number display conversion data 0-9" and "game ball number display conversion data space (off)" are sequentially defined as display data for game ball number display device 77 (LED display data for game ball number display device 77). Specifically, with game ball number display conversion data 0 (@SEG_0) as the base address, game ball number display conversion data 1-9 (relative address values "0x01"-"0x09") and "game ball number display conversion data space (relative address value "0x0A") are defined corresponding to relative address values of "0x01"-"0x0A" (address difference from the base address is "0x01"-"0x0A"). The game ball count display conversion data 0-9 is display data (display data for displaying numbers) for displaying the Arabic numerals 0-9 on a 7-segment LED, and the game ball count display conversion data space is display data for turning off the light (display data for turning off the light).

When the processing of steps S1201 to S1209 described above is completed and the game ball display data conversion processing (step S1210) is executed, in the example where the number of balls held is "1050," the following number of balls information is stored in the first to sixth digits of the game ball number display buffer, respectively.
"6th digit" Game ball number display buffer 6th digit = A (0x0A: Offset value for turning off)
"5th digit" Game ball count display buffer 5th digit = A (0x0A: Offset value for turning off)
"4th digit" Game ball number display buffer 4th digit = 1 (0x01: offset value for display 1)
"Third digit" Game ball count display buffer third digit = 0 (0x00: offset value for display 0)
"Second digit" Game ball number display buffer Second digit = 5 (0x05: offset value for display 5)
"1st digit" Game ball count display buffer 1st digit = 0 (0x00: offset value for display 0)

If the value of the game ball number display buffer for each digit is used as an offset value when referencing the game ball number display conversion table, the display data (LED display data) for each digit will be one byte long, as follows:
"6th digit" Number of balls displayed in the buffer 6th digit = "00000000B" (off)
"5th digit" Number of balls displayed in the buffer 5th digit = "00000000B" (off)
"4th digit" Number of balls displayed in the buffer 4th digit = "00000110B" (displays the number "1")
"Third digit" Game ball count display buffer third digit = "00111111B" (displays the number "0")
"Second digit" Game ball count display buffer Second digit = "01101101B" (displays the number "5")
"1st digit" Game ball count display buffer 1st digit = "00111111B" (displays the number "0")

The display data for each digit thus obtained is set in the LED output buffer (output buffer for displaying the game ball count display device 77) provided in the frame control RAM (step S1211), and the set display data is output to the game ball count display device 77 (step S1212). If the number of balls held is "1050", the display mode of the six 7-segment segments will be "6th digit = off", "5th digit = off", "4th digit = 1", "3rd digit = 0", "2nd digit = 5", "1st digit = 0", and the display mode of the game ball count display device 77 will be "**1050" (the "*" marks are off segments).

The above process realizes a ball count display that can solve the problem described above (Karaage B). The ball count display process of this embodiment has the following features:

(1) The LED display data in the game ball number display conversion table is stored in the order of "0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, data for turning off the light."
(2) When referring to the ball number display conversion table, the offset value uses the values of the first to sixth digits of the ball number display buffer converted to decimal information as is. However, it is determined whether the first digit is "0" (steps S1204 to S1205), and if the determination result is "0" (step S1205: YES), "0x0A" (last address value) is set as the offset value (step S1207). In addition, for the last digit (last digit), the value of the first digit of the ball number display buffer converted to decimal information is used as the offset value as is (the determination result of step S1205 is NO or the determination result of step S1206 is YES).

The reasons for doing so are as follows: First, for example, if the number of balls held is "1050," if the values in the first through sixth digits of the game ball number display buffer converted to decimal information are used as offset values as is, the display will be "001050," and the original purpose of the game ball number display device 77 (the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, such as the current number of balls held being difficult to see at a glance and the cumbersome display of the top two digits "0") cannot be achieved.
Secondly, when the values of the 1st to 6th digits of the ball count display buffer converted to decimal information are used as offset values, if the display data corresponding to the reference address of the ball count display conversion table (Fig. 56) is set to obtain "light-off data", the offset values of the 6th, 5th, 3rd and 1st digits are "0x00", so "light-off data" is obtained for these digits. As a result, the number of balls held will be displayed in an incomprehensible manner, such as "**1*5*" (the "*" marks the light-off segment).

In this embodiment, a ball count display conversion table is used in which the LED display data is stored in the order of "0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, data for turning off." If you want to turn off the light, the value of the ball count display buffer is updated to an offset value that selects the data for turning off (processing route in which step S1207 is executed), and if you do not need to turn off the light, the value of the ball count display buffer is used as the offset value as is (processing route in which the result of the judgment in step S1205 is NO or the result of the judgment in step S1206 is YES). This makes it possible to realize a ball count display mode such as "**1050" (the "*" mark is the segment for turning off the light) when the number of balls held is "1050," and it is possible to provide a gaming machine that can solve the original problem described above (Karaage B).

When it is not necessary to turn off the light, the value of the game ball count display buffer is used as the offset value as is, and when it is necessary to turn off the light, the offset value for selecting data for turning off the light (light-off offset value) is used. The latter light-off offset value is set to the same value as the number of display types (types), which is an ingenious feature of the present invention (advantages of reduced control burden, ease of design, etc.). In this embodiment, the game ball count display device 77 has 10 display types, from "0 to 9," so the light-off offset value is configured to be set to "0x0A."

The game ball count display device 77 may also be configured to be able to execute an operation confirmation display when the power is turned on, similar to the performance display device 99. Unlike information such as a base value that is not directly relevant to the player, ball count information is important information for the player as he or she progresses through the game. For example, if the current number of balls held is "1050 balls" and some kind of malfunction occurs in the game ball count display device 77 (here, a 7-segment LED), the current number of balls held may not be displayed correctly. Therefore, it is preferable to perform an operation confirmation display on the game ball count display device 77 so that it is possible to check whether a malfunction has occurred. The confirmation display process for the game ball count display device 77 may be the same as the confirmation display process for the performance display device 99.

Although the above describes an example in which the unnecessary number turning off display process is applied to the numerical display (display of the number of balls held) of the game ball count display device 77, a similar display process can also be applied to the numerical display by one or more other display devices (display devices controlled by the frame control unit 22, the main control unit 20, or the performance control unit 24) provided in the gaming machine. For example, it can also be applied to numerical displays (numerical displays related to specified game information) such as "number of games executed (e.g., number of games executed since the previous jackpot or V hit, etc.)", "number of balls acquired (e.g., number of winning balls or net increase in number of balls in consecutive win mode, etc.)", and "number of consecutive wins (e.g., cumulative number of jackpots or V hits in consecutive win mode, etc.)" displayed by the liquid crystal display device 36. It can also be applied to numerical displays (numerical displays related to the game) in preview performances, such as "If you defeat the remaining XXX people, it will progress to SP Reach!" or "If you press the performance button repeatedly and reach XXX points, you will win!" (in this example, this corresponds to the numerical displays of "XXX people" and "XXX points").

The unnecessary numeric conversion display process can be applied when the internally managed numeric information (internal numeric information) is displayed on a display device provided in a gaming machine as external numeric information, and there is a difference between the internal numeric information and the display numeric information. For example, the number of balls held by the game ball count display device 77 may be displayed as internal numeric information of "001050" and as display numeric information of "1050" on the display device, or the "number of games played" on the liquid crystal display device 36 may be displayed as internal numeric information of "0700" (700th game) and as external numeric information of "700" on the display device. In addition, in the unnecessary numeric conversion display process, an example of turning off the unnecessary numeric display has been described, but depending on the display content, the type of display device, and the gameplay, there are cases where it is not necessarily necessary to turn off the display. For example, when displaying "700 games" for the "number of games played," it may be necessary to display it with a "." (dot) in front, such as ".700 games." In such a case, the display data for "." can be output to the display device instead of the off data, making it possible to display it.

(Regarding the counting of balls held)
Next, the process of clearing the balls held in the managed gaming machine 1a will be explained. In the managed gaming machine, the ball count information is electromagnetically stored and managed by the gaming machine side (external unit SC side), so there are many differences from non-circulating general gaming machines. First, the game method in the managed gaming machine 1a will be briefly explained.

When a player starts playing, he or she first inserts banknotes into the external unit SC (ball lending device). The display device (not shown) on the external unit SC then displays the balance according to the amount inserted. When the player presses the ball lending button (ball lending request switch 87) on the external unit SC, a predetermined amount (for example, 500 yen) is deducted from the balance, and the number of game balls equivalent to the predetermined amount is added to the game ball count display device 77 on the gaming machine 1a. For example, if one ball is lent out for 1 yen, 500 balls are added to the current number of balls held. The increase or decrease in the number of balls held during play has already been explained, so a detailed explanation will be omitted here.

The current balance is stored in an IC card equipped on the external unit SC (ball lending device), and when the player operates the card return button 12 (settlement operation), the IC card with the current balance stored is ejected from the external unit SC. The IC card can also store information about the number of balls held inside the gaming machine. Details will be explained later, but by operating the "counting button" described below, the balls held inside the gaming machine can be transferred to the external unit SC, and the information about the number of balls held is stored on the IC card. The balls stored on the IC card can be displayed on the display device on the external unit SC, just like the balance. By inserting the IC card with the balance and balls stored in it into the card insertion slot (not shown) of the external unit SC, it becomes possible to play according to the stored balance or number of balls.

In reality, many players would like to end their game with a "round number of balls" (the number of balls the player likes) when settling their account. For example, a player who dislikes fractional numbers would end their game with a number of balls that has no fractional numbers (for example, 1200 or 1000 balls if the current number of balls is 1207), while a player who likes double numbers would end their game with a number of balls that is a double number (for example, 777 or 999 balls).

In this embodiment, in response to the needs of players as described above, a "counting button (counting operation means: not shown)" that can be operated by the player is provided at an appropriate position on the gaming machine. This counting button is used when transferring the balls inside the gaming machine to the external unit SC (ball lending device). By operating this counting button, the balls stored inside the gaming machine (hereinafter referred to as the "internal number of balls") are transferred to the ball lending device side of the external unit SC, and this information can be stored in the IC card described above. Therefore, if the card return button 12 is operated when there are internal balls remaining, the number of balls will not be transferred to the external unit SC and will remain stored inside the gaming machine.

In addition, in this embodiment, depending on the operation mode of the counting button (for example, a short press (pressing for less than a predetermined time), a long press (pressing for a predetermined time or more), etc.), the number of balls held displayed on the game ball count display device 77, that is, the number of balls held managed on the gaming machine side (the ball count management means of the frame control unit 22), can be transferred to an external unit SC (ball lending device) by a predetermined number (for example, 1, 250, etc.).

Specifically, when the counting button is pressed for a short time (for example, less than 500 ms) (short press operation: hereafter abbreviated as "short press"), the counting process is performed to subtract one ball from the internal ball count (internal balls - 1), and the subtraction information (1) is sent to the external unit SC (1 ball settlement process). Then, the subtraction amount (1) is added to the number of balls stored on the external unit SC side (hereafter referred to as "external ball count") and stored. For example, if the internal ball count is "1251" and the external ball count is "0", pressing the counting button once will make the internal ball count 1250 (1251 - 1) and the external ball count 1 (0 + 1). Then, on the game ball count display device 77, the display is updated from "1251" before the transfer to "1250" after the transfer.

In addition, if the counting button is pressed and held for a longer time than the short press operation time (for example, 500 ms or more) (long press operation: hereafter abbreviated as "long press"), the counting process involves subtracting a predetermined number of balls (for example, up to 250) from the internal ball count, and the subtraction information (250 balls) is sent to the external unit SC, where it is added to and stored as the external ball count. For example, if the internal ball count is "1250 balls" and the external ball count is "1 ball", pressing the counting button for a long time will cause the internal ball count to become "1000 balls" (1250 balls - 250 balls) and the external ball count to become "251 balls" (1 ball + 250 balls). Then, on the game ball count display device 77, the display is updated from "1250 balls" before the transfer to "1000 balls" after the transfer. In addition, if the count button is pressed and held or if the count button is pressed continuously for a predetermined period of time or longer, the internal number of balls is automatically subtracted by a predetermined number (automatic count (automatic settlement)), and the subtraction information may be configured to be transferable to the external unit SC. The number of balls automatically subtracted may be one at a time, or multiple at a time.

In this embodiment, taking into consideration the convenience of the player, the following counting processes (Total 1) to (Total 3) are performed according to the operation mode of the counting button (in this embodiment, the time the counting button is pressed).

<(A) In the case of a short press operation>
(Total 1) When the count button is pressed for less than 500 ms (first operation time) (short press operation), the internal ball count is counted (transferred) by one. Note that if the player presses the count button repeatedly for less than 500 ms, the internal ball count can be transferred to the external unit SC one by one.

<(2) "Long press operation">
(First long press operation)
(Total 2) When the count button is pressed for 500 ms or more but less than 4000 ms (second operation time) (first long press operation), the number of balls held inside is counted by a predetermined number (for example, 250 balls). During this first long press, 250 balls are counted (transferred) at the transfer timing every predetermined time (for example, every 300 ms). In other words, the processing time (one counting operation time) required for one count (one count) is 300 ms. Note that if the number of balls held inside is less than 250, all game balls are counted.

(Second long press operation)
(Total 3) Furthermore, if the counting button is pressed for 4000 ms (third operation time) or more (second long press operation), the state becomes "full count" (automatic count (automatic settlement) state), and even if the player stops pressing the counting button, it continues to count (transfer) 250 balls at a time at the transfer timing every predetermined time (for example, every 300 ms) until the number of balls held internally becomes 0. In other words, if the first long press operation is performed for a predetermined judgment time or more (4000 ms in this embodiment), it is determined that the second long press operation is in progress, and the state is controlled to the full count state. Note that if the number of balls held internally is less than 250, all of the balls held internally are counted and the full counting is terminated.

In this embodiment, the counting process (counting operation) differs depending on the operation performed by the player on the counting button (the operation mode on the counting button).

(Conditions for the end of all counting (cancellation))
If the counting button is pressed again after the start of the total count (total counting process) before all internal balls have been counted, or if counting cannot be performed normally due to an error occurring between the gaming machine and the external unit SC (for example, a communication error between the external unit and the gaming machine, or a control error within the gaming machine), the total counting will be interrupted and terminated (total counting termination process).

The button operation mode for ending all counting may be either a short press or a long press. A different operation mode may also be the end condition. For example, the end condition may be when the count button is held ON for a predetermined time (e.g., 300 ms) (where the count button is released by holding it down), or when the count button is held ON for a predetermined time (e.g., pressed for 300 ms or more) and then turned OFF (where the count button is not released while held down, but is released after the OFF operation is detected).

In addition, if a specific error occurs, the total counting can be continued without being terminated. Examples of specific errors include errors that are less serious to the counting process, such as door open errors, ball jam errors, magnetic errors, and radio wave errors. In addition, if a specific event occurs that is not an error, the total counting can be continued without being terminated. Examples of specific events include when the above-mentioned complete function (safety device) is activated. As already explained, the complete function is a function provided to prevent addiction, and even if the complete function is activated, it does not affect the counting process itself. In this way, in this embodiment, whether or not to terminate the total counting is made different depending on the event that occurs during the total counting (for example, depending on the severity of the event that affects the counting process).

(Other) In this embodiment, the above-mentioned "total counting" can be performed depending on the operation mode of the counting button. However, a "total counting button" dedicated to total counting may be provided in addition to the counting buttons related to normal counting (the counting buttons related to counting 1 as described above in (Total 1) or counting 250 as described above in (Total 2)), and when the total counting button is pressed, a counting process similar to the above-mentioned (Total 3) may be performed. Also, a counting possibility notification means may be provided to notify whether counting is possible or not.

The counting process using the counting button is performed by the counting management means of the frame control unit 22. The counting management means is configured to be able to transfer a predetermined number of internal ball counts (ball data) to the external unit SC based on the operation mode of the counting button. The counting management means also includes a transferred ball count subtraction means that subtracts the transferred internal ball count from the current internal ball count. The frame control unit 22 also includes a first operation detection means that can detect the operation of the counting button, and the first operation detection means is configured to detect the operation mode of the counting button (short press operation, first long press operation, second long press operation, etc.). In addition, when a full counting button is provided, it includes a second detection means that can detect the operation of the full counting button. It also includes a full counting end control means that ends the full counting process based on a predetermined condition (see "Regarding the full counting end (cancellation) condition" above).

In addition, when describing examples in which a "total counting button" is provided in this specification, in order to avoid confusion with the counting button for normal counting, the counting button for normal counting may be referred to as the "normal counting button" and the counting button for total counting may be referred to as the "total counting button."

In the following, with regard to the manner in which the counting button is operated, the operation (first specified operation) relating to counting one ball as described above (total 1) will be referred to as a "short press", the operation (second specified operation) relating to counting 250 balls as described above (total 2) will be referred to as a "first long press", and the operation (third specified operation) relating to counting all balls as described above (total 3) will be referred to as a "second long press". In addition, the counting button will be described as being operated when there are not 0 balls in the player's possession at the time of counting, but when the player is at least able to count.

<Notification of figures (settlement)>
When the counting button (including the all counting buttons) is operated, a predetermined notification (a notification related to the counting (settlement) operation: hereinafter abbreviated as "counting notification") can be configured to be executed. Specifically, when a "short press" and/or a "long press" is performed, a notification can be configured to be made that a counting process based on that operation has been executed. For example, it can be configured as shown below in (Counting Report 1) to (Counting Report 4).

The counting notification means can be at least one of a sound output means (sound production means), a light generating means (light production means), a display means (image display means), and a movable means, and can be configured to execute counting notifications (counting notification sound, counting notification light, counting notification image, counting notification action, etc.) according to each means. Below, however, a representative example of a sound production type notification (counting notification sound) using a sound output means (sound production means) will be described.

In this specification, the counting notification based on the first long press (first counting notification) may be referred to as a "normal counting notification" (normal counting notification process), and the counting notification based on the second long press (second counting notification) may be referred to as a "full counting notification" (full counting notification process). The counting operation (counting process) based on the first long press may be referred to as a "normal counting" (normal counting process), and the counting operation based on the second long press may be referred to as a "full counting" (full counting process). When the "full counting button" is operated, a counting process (automatic counting process) that is substantially the same as that when the "second long press" is performed is executed, so the counting notification based on the full counting button operation is treated in the same way as the counting notification based on the second long press. In other words, the term "full counting notification" includes the counting notification based on the full counting button operation, and the term "full counting" includes the counting operation based on the full counting button operation.

(Counting Report 1) It is possible to configure the system so that a counting report is not issued in the case of a short press (first predetermined operation), but is issued in the case of a first long press (second predetermined operation). For example, in the case of a "first long press", a predetermined counting report sound is output for each count (for example, every 250 balls), but in the case of a "short press", no counting report sound is output. Note that while a counting report may be issued in the case of a "short press", it is preferable not to issue a counting report in the case of a short press, since there is little need to issue a counting report for each ball, and issuing a counting report for each ball counted may cause discomfort to the player (the same applies to (Counting Report 2) to (Counting Report 4) described below).

(Counting report 2) In the case of a short press (first predetermined operation), counting report is not executed, and in the case of a first long press (second predetermined operation) and a second long press (second predetermined operation), counting report can be executed. In this case, the "first long press" and the "second long press" may have the same counting report mode, or different counting report modes (the same applies to the configurations related to (Counting report 3) and (Counting report 4) described later). In the case of different counting report modes, it is preferable because it can notify whether counting is being performed by the first long press (normal counting) or by the second long press (full counting). Specifically, during the first long press, a normal counting report (first counting report) is issued, and then, when it is determined to be a second long press (determined to be a second long press after a long press of 4000 ms or more), it switches to a full counting report (second counting report) which is different from the normal counting report (first counting report). In addition, when different count notification modes are used, for example, the count notification time (the time for one count notification) and/or the notification mode by the performance means (at least one of the sound output means, light generation means, display means, and movable means) can be different.

(Counting Report 3) In the configuration of (Counting Report 2) or (Counting 3) described above, from the viewpoint that a "short press" and a "first long press" are counted only a predetermined number (1 or 250), a counting report may not be executed for a "short press" and a "first long press", but a counting report may be executed for a "second long press" related to the total count.

<(Counting Report 4) Counting Report for Long Press (Second and Third Predetermined Operations): FIG. 107>
Next, the count notification period (count notification time) related to a long press (first long press or second long press) will be described with reference to Fig. 107, while touching on the relationship with the operation period (count operation time) related to the counting process. Fig. 107 is an explanatory diagram (timing chart) for explaining the count notification related to a long press.

Figures 107 (a) to (c) show examples of counting notifications when counting is completed in one counting operation (for example, when there are 250 balls in the possession and all of those balls are counted), and Figures 107 (d) to (h) show examples of counting notifications when counting is completed in multiple counting operations (for example, when there are 1,250 balls in the possession and all of those balls are counted). However, in each of the notification examples shown in FIG. 107, in reality, the counting ends during the first long press, that is, the counting ends before the full count state is reached (because 250 pieces are counted every 300 ms during the first long press, and the first long press is determined to be a second long press after 4000 ms or more), but to make the explanation of the present invention easier, the cases in which the counting ends during multiple counting operations in FIG. 107 (d) to (h) will be explained as including count notifications related to full counting (second long press) unless otherwise specified.

First, referring to Figures 107 (a) to (c), an example of counting notification in a case where the counting is completed in one counting operation (here, the number of balls held is 250) will be described. Note that time t0 in Figure 107 indicates the timing when the player operates the counting button (the timing when the gaming machine detects the operation), and time t2 indicates the timing when one counting operation (counting 250 balls) is completed (period A from times t0 to t2 in the figure = one counting operation period (the execution time of one counting operation)).

Counting notification example 1 in Figure 107 (a) is an example in which the counting notification time is longer than one counting operation time (one counting operation time < counting notification time). Specifically, this is an example in which a counting notification sound is generated upon detection of a long press (triggered by the start of a counting operation), and the counting notification sound ends after the internal number of balls held (display on the game ball count display device 77) is subtracted from "250" to "0."

Counting alarm example 2 in Figure 107 (b) is an example in which the counting alarm time is approximately the same as or equal to one counting operation time (one counting operation time ≒ counting alarm time). Specifically, this is an example in which a counting alarm sound is generated when a long press is detected, and the counting alarm sound ends at the same or approximately the same timing as the internal ball count display is subtracted from "250" to "0."

Counting alarm example 3 in FIG. 107(c) is an example in which the counting alarm time is shorter than one counting operation time (one counting operation time > counting alarm time). Specifically, this is an example in which a counting alarm sound is generated when a long press is detected, and the counting alarm sound is terminated before the internal ball count display is subtracted from "250" to "0."

In the case of FIG. 107(i), since the execution time of the counting operation is longer than the execution time of the counting operation, it is possible that a new long press will be made before the current counting notification ends, causing the counting operation to be executed again. For example, the long press will be made when the player has more than 250 balls (e.g., 1,000 balls), and the counting button will be released before the number of balls reaches 0 (e.g., the counting button is released when there are 250 balls remaining), and the counting button will be pressed and held again. In this case, the counting notifications shown below in (α) to (γ) can be configured to be executable.

(α) The current count notification is terminated and a new count notification is performed. In this case, the configuration is such that duplicate count notifications cannot occur.
(β) A new count notification is performed without terminating the current count notification. In this case, the configuration allows for overlapping count notifications.
(γ) The current count notification is not terminated, but is continued over a new counting operation period. In this case, the count notification executed initially is continued over a plurality of counting operation periods.

Note that, in counting notification examples 2 and 3 in FIG. 107(b) and (c), when counting ends (including when the player releases the counting button midway and the counting operation ends), the counting notification is also ended, but the counting notification may be configured to be executable for a predetermined period of time even after counting ends (for example, see time t3 and time ta in the figure). For example, in the case of counting notification example 2 in FIG. 107(b), an example was described in which the counting notification being executed is ended at the timing of the end of the counting operation (time t2 in the figure), but this is not limited to this, and the counting notification may be continued for a predetermined period of time even after counting ends (for example, the counting notification is continued until time t3 in the figure). Similarly, in the case of counting notification example 3 in FIG. 107(c), the counting notification may be continued for a predetermined period of time after counting ends (for example, the counting notification is continued until time ta in the figure).

(Announcement of counting at the end of counting)
Also, when counting is completed, a "counting end notification" that notifies the user that counting has ended may be implemented. For example, a notification sound such as "Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock♪" may be generated three times. In addition, in Fig. 107 (a) to (c), if the counting notification is executed even after the counting operation is completed (when counting is completed = after the counting operation is completed or after the counting notification is completed), the counting end notification may be executed at the following timing:

(h1) In the case of counting notification example 1 of FIG. 107(a), after time t2 or after time t3,
(h2) In the case of counting report example 2 of FIG. 107(b), after time t2 or after time t3,
(h3) In the case of counting notification example 3 of FIG. 107(c), after time t1, or after time t2, or after time ta.

(h4) In the cases of Figure 107 (a) to (c), the balls held become 0 (counting ends) after the first counting operation, so in such cases, the first counting operation becomes the final counting operation. Therefore, in any of the cases of Figure 107 (a) to (c), the counting notification for the first counting operation may be the above-mentioned "counting end notification" (first counting end notification), or may be the "counting completion notification" (second counting end notification) described below.

(Regarding counting completion notification)
It is preferable to execute different count end notifications depending on whether the count ends before the internal ball count reaches zero or whether the count ends when the internal ball count reaches zero (the same applies to Figures 107 (d) to (h) described below). In the former case, the count has been executed but there are still balls remaining in the internal possession, so there is a stronger implication that "the count has ended," whereas in the latter case, the internal ball count has reached zero and further counting is not possible, so there is a stronger implication that "the count has completely ended," and it is preferable to distinguish between the two.

In this embodiment, therefore, when the number of balls held reaches zero as a result of counting, a "counting completion notification" can be executed to notify the player of this. For example, as shown in Figures 108 (a) to (b) below, in the case of an image display, the counting completion notification can include a "counting completion display" and/or a "warning display to prevent forgetting to remove the IC card." Of course, in addition to image display presentation, other presentation means such as sound presentation and light presentation may also be used. It is preferable to execute the counting completion notification in the following cases.

(Complete 1) Execute this when the total number of balls held by the player reaches 0.
(Complete 2) Execute when the number of balls held inside reaches 0 as a result of counting by short press, first long press, or second long press.
(Complete 3) Do not execute if the number of balls held inside becomes 0 as a result of counting by short presses, but execute if the number of balls held inside becomes 0 as a result of counting by long presses (first long press and second long press).
(Complete 4) Do not execute if the number of balls held inside becomes 0 due to a short press or the first long press, but execute if the number of balls held inside becomes 0 due to a total count.

When the number of balls held inside becomes 0 as a result of the firing operation of the firing device 32, this is not a case where the number of balls held inside becomes 0 as a result of counting, so it is preferable not to execute a count end notification or a count completion notification. When the number of balls held inside becomes 0 as a result of the firing operation of the firing device 32, a predetermined effect (a notification effect of no balls held) may be executed to notify this fact.

(When counting ends due to multiple counting operations)
Next, referring to (d) to (h) in Fig. 107, an example of counting notification in a case where the counting ends after multiple counting operations (multiple counting operations) (here, the internal number of balls held is 1250, and all of the held balls are counted) will be described. Note that periods A to E relating to the counting operations in the figure each indicate one counting operation period, and in this example, a case where the counting ends after the fifth counting operation (final counting operation = 5th) is shown.

As can be seen from the figure, counting notification example 4 in FIG. 107(d) is an example in which unit counting notifications of approximately the same time width as one counting operation time described in FIG. 107(b) above are repeatedly executed, and the start/end timing of one counting operation is synchronized with the start/end timing of one counting notification, making it possible to execute counting notifications continuously. Specifically, this is an example in which a counting notification sound is generated upon detection of a long press, and the counting notification sound ends approximately at the same timing as the end timing of one counting operation, and unit counting notifications are repeatedly executed until the end of counting. Note that the counting notification (see times t6 to t7) for the final counting operation (fifth counting operation) in this example has the same notification mode as counting notification example 2 in FIG. 107(b).

As can be seen from the figure, counting notification example 5 in FIG. 107(E) is configured to repeatedly execute unit counting notifications with a time width shorter than one counting operation time described above in FIG. 107(C). Specifically, this is an example in which a counting notification sound is generated when a long press is detected, and the counting notification sound ends before the end timing of one counting operation, and unit counting notifications are repeatedly executed until the end of counting. Note that the counting notification for the final counting operation in this example (see times t6 to ts) has the same notification mode as counting notification example 3 in FIG. 107(C).

Counting alarm example 6 in FIG. 107(f) is an example in which unit counting alarms are continuously performed over a period spanning multiple counting operations (two counting operations in this example). Specifically, a counting alarm sound is output over the "Nth (1≦N)" to "N+1th" counting operations, and the counting alarm sound ends at approximately the same timing as the end of the "N+1th" counting operation. If a further counting operation is performed, a counting alarm sound is output again over the "N+2nd" to "N+3rd" counting operations, and the counting alarm sound ends at approximately the same timing as the end of the "N+3rd" counting operation. Note that the counting alarm for the final counting operation in this example (see times t6 to t7) is the same as that in counting alarm example 2 in FIG. 107(b).

Counting alarm example 7 in FIG. 107(g) is an example in which, like counting alarm example 6 described above, unit counting alarms are continuously performed over a period spanning multiple counting operations, but differs from counting alarm example 6 in that the counting alarm is terminated before the end of the counting operation (see, for example, times t4 and t6). Specifically, a counting alarm sound is output over the "Nth (1≦N)" to "N+1th" counting operations, and the counting alarm sound is terminated before the end of the "N+1th" counting operation. If a further counting operation is performed, a counting alarm sound is output again over the "N+2th" to "N+3rd" counting operations, and the counting alarm sound is terminated at the end of the "N+3rd" counting operation. When counting ends (when the final counting operation ends), the counting notification may end at the timing of the end of the counting operation (see, for example, time t7), or may end before the end of the final counting operation (see, for example, time Ts and the dashed arrows from time t6 to Ts). In other words, the counting notification for the final counting operation in this example (see times t6 to ts) may be the same notification mode as counting notification examples 3 and 4 in FIG. 107 (b) or (c).

Counting notification example 8 in FIG. 107 (H) is an example in which a predetermined counting notification is continued for the entire period until the end of counting, unlike the counting notification examples (D) to (G) above. This example differs from the above (D) to (G) in that a new counting notification is not continuously performed after each counting operation or after multiple counting operations.

In FIG. 107, the first and second long presses are not distinguished from each other, but the count notification mode (count notification time (unit count notification time) and/or notification mode by presentation means (for example, notification mode using at least one of sound presentation, light presentation, and image display presentation)) can be different between the first and second long presses. Also, any of count notification examples 1 to 8 can be used for the count notification related to the first and/or second long presses. Note that when a player performs a second long press (full count operation), it is considered that there are many cases where there are a large number of balls in the machine, and the counting operation is performed over a relatively long period of time. Therefore, from the viewpoint of correctly notifying that the counting operation is being performed correctly each time, it is preferable to configure the count notification of FIG. 107 (d) or (e) to be executable.

(Regarding notification of counting completion at the end of multiple counting operations)
(End Report 1) Even when multiple counting operations are performed, as in Figures 107 (a) to (b) above, when the counting ends (including when the counting operation ends when the counting button is released midway), the counting notification also ends. However, the counting notification may be configured to be executable for a predetermined period of time even after the counting ends (for example, see time t8 in the figure).

(End Notification 2) Even when multiple counting operations are performed, the "counting end notification" may be configured to be executable, as in Figures 107 (a) to (b) above. For example, the counting end notification sound may be generated after the final counting operation is completed (after time t7 in the figure), or the counting end notification sound may be generated after the final counting notification is completed. Note that after the final counting notification is completed, if consideration is given to the case where the counting notification is executed even after the final counting operation is completed (the above-mentioned case of (end notification 1) = when the counting notification related to the final counting operation is executed until time t8), the counting end notification can be executed at the following timing.

(H1) In the case of counting notification example 4 of FIG. 107 (D), after time t7 or after time t8,
(H2) In the case of counting notification example 5 of FIG. 107(E), after time Ts or after time t8,
(H3) In the case of counting notification example 6 of FIG. 107(F), after time t7 or after time t8,
(H4) In the case of counting notification example 7 of FIG. 107 (G), after time t7 or after time t8 (in the case where the counting notification ends with the dashed arrow, after time ts or after time t8)
(H5) In the case of counting notification example 8 of FIG. 107 (h), after time Ts or after time t8, etc.
(H6) In the cases of Figures 107 (ii) to (iii), a predetermined counting notification may be executed at least until the final counting operation, and during or after the final counting operation which marks the end of counting, a counting end notification and/or a counting completion notification may be executed instead of the predetermined counting notification.

(Various embodiments related to counting notification)
Incidentally, in the case of configuring the device so that different counting notification modes can be executed for the "first long press" and the "second long press" (for example, see (Counting Notification 2) above), the following configuration can be adopted.

(Total count 1) An LED (LED for the count button) is built into the count button, and by changing the light emission pattern of the LED, it is possible to provide different notification patterns for the count notification based on the first long press (normal count notification) and the count notification based on the second long press (total count notification). For example, when normal counting is in progress, the LED for the count button is turned off or illuminated in a first predetermined color, and when total counting is in progress, the LED for the count button is turned on or flashes or illuminates in a color different from the first predetermined color.

(Total count 2) A vibration device (vibration means) capable of vibrating the count button is provided, and different notification modes can be used for normal counting and total counting depending on whether or not the counting button vibrates or the vibration mode. For example, "no vibration" can be used during normal counting, and "vibration" can be used during total counting. When vibrating the counting button, it may be vibrated until counting is completed, or it may be vibrated for a predetermined period of time from the start of counting.

(Total count 3) The number of balls held on the game ball count display device 77 can be displayed in different ways during normal counting and total counting. For example, the number of balls held display can be lit (normal display mode) during normal counting and can be flashing (special display mode) during total counting.

(Total count 4) When the above-mentioned "Total count button" is provided, it can be configured so that if the All Count button is operated while the normal count button is being operated (during normal counting), the operation of the All Count button is not treated as valid (total counting is not performed during normal counting (all counting operation is treated as invalid)). Note that if the All Count button is operated while the normal count button is being operated (during normal counting), the operation of the All Count button may be treated as valid. In this case, normal counting is stopped and total counting is performed as a priority. Also, with regard to counting notification, a total count notification can be executed instead of a normal count notification (normal counting notification is ended and a total count notification is executed).

(Total count 5) Regardless of whether the above-mentioned "total count button" is provided, the device may be configured to be able to execute a total count notification without executing a normal count notification. For example, if the total count button is not provided, the count notification is not executed during the first long press (normal counting), but the count notification can be executed when the second long press is performed (total counting). Also, if a total count button is provided, the total count notification can be executed when the total count button is operated to enter the total count state.

(Total 6) In this embodiment, three types of operation modes of the count button are provided: short press, first long press, and second long press. As the counting operation (counting process) according to each operation mode, counting one by one, counting 250 by one, and total counting (continuously counting 250 by one) can be performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the operation mode of the count button may be four or more. For example, when the count button is pressed for less than 500 ms, counting one by one, when the count button is pressed for 500 ms or more but less than 4000 ms, counting 250 by one, when the count button is pressed for 4000 ms or more but less than 10000 ms, counting 1000 by one, when the count button is pressed for 10000 ms or more, total counting can be performed. In this case, the total count may be 250 by one or 1000 by one.

(Total 7) In addition, in this embodiment, a configuration has been described in which counting notifications related to short presses (hereinafter referred to as "short press counting notifications") are not executed, but a configuration in which short press counting notifications can be executed may also be used. In this case, at least one of the short press counting notifications, normal counting notifications, and total counting notifications may be different notification modes. In addition, it is preferable that the short press counting notification time is the shortest.

(Total 8) The normal counting notification and/or the total counting notification may be different notification modes during play (during a game displaying changing patterns) and non-play (while waiting for customers). Also, in the case of a configuration capable of executing a short press counting notification, at least one of the short press counting notification, normal counting notification, and total counting notification may be a different notification mode.

You are free to choose to adopt one or more of the configurations listed above (total 1) to (total 8).

To summarise the above, the gaming machine according to this embodiment can be configured as follows:

The gaming machine according to this embodiment is basically equipped with a ball count management means (functional unit capable of electromagnetically recording gaming media) capable of managing the number of balls held by a player as data, and is configured to execute a counting process (e.g., counting process for each ball, counting process for every 250 balls, total counting process, etc.) based on the operation mode (e.g., short press operation, first long press operation, second long press operation, etc.) of a specific operation means (e.g., counting button, total counting button, etc.) to transfer the number of balls held according to the operation mode to an external device (e.g., external unit SC (ball lending device)), and is capable of playing games by circulating the gaming balls enclosed inside (Fig. 32 (a), Fig. 109 described below).

The system is configured to be able to execute the following basic control processes related to the number of balls held internally.

(K1) A "first held ball number subtraction process" that executes a subtraction process on the internal held ball number in response to the launching operation of the launching means (launching device 32) (based on the detection of a launched ball). Specifically, this is a process that subtracts the number of launched balls from the current internal held ball number based on the detection of a game ball by the subtraction mechanism count sensor 68, and the above-mentioned launched ball management means is responsible for this functional part.

(K2) A "second ball count subtraction process" that executes a subtraction process on the number of balls held in conjunction with the execution of a counting process. Specifically, when the counting button is operated, in conjunction with the counting process according to the manner of operation, the process subtracts the number of transferred balls (counted number) from the internal number of balls held, and the transferred ball count subtraction means performs this function. In this embodiment, the counted number (transferred number) corresponding to the short press, first long press, and second long press is subtracted. The subtraction process may be executed either after or before the transmission of information (message) regarding the internal number of balls held (transferred number) to be transferred to the external device.

(K3) "First ball count addition process" which executes an addition process on the number of balls held when a foul ball is hit. Specifically, when a foul ball is detected (when a game ball is detected by the non-ball entry passage count sensor 67), the number of foul balls is added to the current internal number of balls held, and the foul ball management means described above is responsible for this function.

(K4) "Second ball number addition process" which executes an addition process on the number of balls held when a prize ball is generated. Specifically, based on the prize ball number information contained in the gaming machine information notification message sent from the main control unit 20 (count information related to the number of prize balls: see, for example, Figures 50A to 50C, etc.), if there are prize balls, this process adds the number of prize balls to the current number of balls held.

In the present embodiment, the above steps (K1) to (K4) are executed in the main loop process (infinite loop process) on the frame control unit 22 side. This main loop process (frame control main loop process) is a periodic process (timer interrupt wait loop process) that is repeatedly executed after the power-on process is completed, just like the main loop process on the main control unit 20 side (for example, steps S40 to S045 in FIG. 8B). The frame control main loop process is also executed after the game start conditions are met.

In addition, in the frame control main loop process, the execution order of the above processes (K1) to (K4) is at least as follows:

(B1) The "first ball number subtraction process" relating to the shot balls in (K1) above is executed in priority over the "second ball number subtraction process" relating to the counting process in (K2) above. In this case, if the number of balls held becomes 0 as a result of the first ball number subtraction process in the current main loop process, the second ball number subtraction process in the same main loop process can be configured not to be executed.

(B2) After the "second ball count addition process" related to the prize balls in (K4) above, the "second ball count subtraction process" related to the counting process in (K2) above is executed.

(B3) The "first possessed ball number subtraction process" related to the shot ball in (K1) above and the "first possessed ball number addition process" related to the foul ball in (K3) above are executed in priority over the "second possessed ball number subtraction process" related to the counting process in (K2) above.

(B4) The "first possessed ball number subtraction process" relating to the shot ball in (K1) above and the "second possessed ball number addition process" relating to the prize ball in (K4) above are executed in priority over the "second possessed ball number subtraction process" relating to the counting process in (K2) above.

Here, the predetermined notification shown in FIG. 108 above ("counting completion notification" and/or "caution notification to prevent forgetting to remove the IC card") can be executed in the following cases.

(Notification 1) If the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "first number of balls held subtraction process" related to the fired ball in (K1) above, a specified presentation will not be executed, and if the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "second number of balls held subtraction process" related to the counting process in (K2) above, a specified notification will be executed.

(Report 2) In the current main loop processing, if the internal number of balls held increases due to the "first number of balls held addition process" related to foul balls in (K3) above, and the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "second number of balls held subtraction process" related to the counting process in (K2) above in the same main loop processing, a specified notification will be executed.

(Notification 3) In the current main loop processing, if the internal number of balls held increases due to the "second number of balls held addition processing" related to the prize balls in (K4) above, and the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "second number of balls held subtraction processing" related to the counting processing in (K2) above in the same main loop processing, a specified notification will be executed.

(Report 4) In the current main loop processing, even if the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "first number of balls held subtraction processing" related to the shot ball in (K1) above, the "first number of balls held addition processing" related to the foul ball in (K3) above is executed, and if the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "second number of balls held subtraction processing" related to the counting processing in (K2) above in the same main loop processing, a specified notification is executed.

(Report 5) In the current main loop processing, even if the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "first number of balls held subtraction process" related to the fired balls in (K1) above, the "second number of balls held addition process" related to the prize balls in (K4) above is executed, and if the internal number of balls held becomes 0 due to the "second number of balls held subtraction process" related to the counting process in (K2) above in the main loop processing, a specified notification is executed.

The second ball number subtraction process related to the counting process of (K2) above includes a first operation mode subtraction process that subtracts a first number (e.g., 1) from the current number of balls held when the operation mode of the operation means is a first operation mode (e.g., short press), and a second operation mode subtraction process that subtracts a second number (e.g., 250) that is greater than the first number from the current number of balls held when the operation mode of the operation means is a second operation mode (e.g., first long press). Also, it can include a third operation mode subtraction process (total counting process) that subtracts a third number from the current number of balls held when the operation mode of the operation means is a third operation mode (e.g., second long press). Also, the third number can be the same as the second number or a number greater than the second number.

The device can be configured not to issue a count notification (e.g., a count notification sound due to a short press) in conjunction with the execution of the first operation mode subtraction process (counting process related to a short press).

(Regarding the priority of counting notifications over other notifications)
Next, the notification priority (notification priority order) of the count notification with respect to other notifications will be described.

When executing a counting notification, there are cases where it is preferable to give the notification a higher priority than other specific notifications. The counting process is mainly a process of transferring the internal balls to the external unit SC, in other words, it is an important process of returning the game value remaining inside the gaming machine to the player, and if it is unclear that counting is in progress, it will cause the player to feel distrustful. From this perspective, when executing a counting notification, there are cases where it is preferable to give the notification a higher priority than other specific notifications.

Specifically, at least when a counting notification sound (notification sound by sound effects) is executed (which may include counting notifications by light, images, etc.), the notification priority can be higher than the sound effects related to specific game effects. For example, the volume of the specific game effect can be made lower than the counting notification sound (low volume state) or muted.

Here, the above-mentioned "specific game effects" include, for example, specific effects during a winning effect, effects related to game settings, and specific advance notice effects (specific effects during fluctuations). "Specific effects during winning effects" include, for example, celebration effects (celebration effects during winning) that are executed when a certain number of winning game balls or a certain number of consecutive wins is reached, such as "Over 10,000 shots!!" or "Large consecutive wins!!", and over-winning effects (over-winning sounds) that are executed when an over-winning occurs in a large winning slot. Also, "effects related to game settings" include, for example, sound effects that are issued when selecting or deciding on a game environment, such as adjusting the volume or light. Specific advance notice effects include low-expectation advance notice effects and effects that do not suggest the probability of winning (for example, explanatory effects related to game explanations). In short, the sound effects related to the game effects include a first sound effect that can be executed at a louder volume than the counting sound notification (the counting notification has a lower notification priority), and a second sound effect that can be executed at a quieter volume than the counting sound notification (the counting notification has a higher notification priority). For effects that are less important than the counting notification in terms of gameplay, it is preferable to set the notification priority low.

(Adjusting the volume of the counting alarm)
The volume of the counting notification sound can be configured to be adjustable by the player. For example, as one of the settings of the gaming environment, the volume of the counting notification sound can be configured to be adjustable within a predetermined range. For example, the volume can be configured to be adjustable in five levels, such as volume level 1 (minimum volume: 75 dB) to level 5 (maximum volume: 90 dB). As already described, the gaming environment can be configured to adjust the volume and light intensity (volume adjustment means, light intensity adjustment means), and the volume adjustment here is mainly for the sound effects (sound effects) during the game, but the volume including the counting notification sound can also be adjusted. In addition, the sound effects related to the effects and the counting notification sound can be configured to be independently adjustable in volume.

When multiple levels of volume adjustment are possible, the counting alarm sound may be configured to be output at a common volume regardless of the volume adjustment level set so that it is not affected by the volume adjustment level. In other words, the volume of the counting alarm sound may not be adjustable (it may not be subject to the volume adjustment means).

In addition, when the volume of the sound effects related to the game presentation (effects with a lower notification priority than the counting notification sound) is low during the execution of the counting notification sound, it may be configured to have a common volume regardless of the stage of volume adjustment. For example, when the game environment settings allow adjustment of the volume in five stages from volume level 1 (minimum volume: 75 dB) to level 5 (maximum volume: 90 dB), it is possible to configure to output a common volume when the counting notification sound is being executed regardless of the volume level (counting notification medium and small sound control processing). In this case, it is preferable that the volume of the small sound is the same as or smaller than the volume of the minimum volume level in the volume adjustment (e.g., 75 dB for the above-mentioned volume level 1). Note that it is not necessary to use a common volume, and different volumes may be used depending on the adjustment stage of the volume adjustment. In any case, it is sufficient that the volume of the sound effects related to the game presentation (effects with a lower notification priority than the counting notification sound) is low compared to the counting notification sound.

(Relationship between error notification and count notification)
Also, the notification priority of the error notification can be higher than that of the count notification. For example, when the count notification sound and the error notification sound overlap, the volume of the count notification sound can be set to a volume lower than the volume of the error notification sound (low volume state) or to a muted state. It is not necessary for all error notifications to have a higher notification priority than the count notification, and notification priorities can be determined according to the error type. For example, in the case of a highly serious error (e.g., a main board error, a RAM error, etc.), it is preferable to set the notification priority of the error notification higher than that of the count notification.

The notification priority of the above-mentioned complete performance can be higher than that of the counting notification. For example, if the counting notification sound and the sound effect related to the complete performance overlap, the volume of the counting notification sound can be set to a lower volume (low volume) or muted than the sound effect related to the complete performance. However, this is not limited to the above, and the notification priority of the above-mentioned complete performance can be set to a lower volume (low volume) or muted than the volume of the counting notification sound. For example, if the counting notification sound and the sound effect related to the complete performance overlap, the sound effect related to the complete performance can be set to a lower volume (low volume) or muted than the volume of the counting notification sound.

(Regarding the priority of counting completion notifications over other notifications)
Next, with reference to Fig. 108, the notification priority (notification priority order) of the above-mentioned counting completion notification with respect to other notifications will be described. Fig. 108 shows an example of a counting completion notification. (a) to (c) of Fig. 108 respectively show display modes of the liquid crystal display device 36 when the counting completion notification and a specified error occur at the same time. Here, the chronological relationship between the timing of execution of the counting completion notification and the timing of the occurrence of the error does not matter.

The notification example shown in FIG. 108(A) shows an image display related to the counting completion notification (hereinafter referred to as the "counting completion notification image"), and shows a notification mode in which a counting completion notification image (attention display) 501a including a warning to prevent forgetting to remove the IC card, such as "Counting is complete. Please be careful not to forget to remove your card", is displayed in priority over a specified error display 503 (here, multiple error displays are displayed). In other words, the case of FIG. 108(A) is an example in which the counting completion notification has a higher notification priority than the error notification.

The example of notification shown in FIG. 108(b) is an example in which the counting completion notification has a lower notification priority than the error notification. In this example, the transparency of the counting completion notification image is increased to make the error display 503 on the back side easier to see. When the error is cleared and the error display 503 is no longer displayed, the counting completion notification image 501b may be displayed with a lower transparency. The notification priority of the counting completion notification may be changed depending on the type of error. For example, for errors with a high degree of severity, the error notification may be given a higher priority than the counting completion notification as shown in FIG. 108(a), and for errors with a high degree of severity, the error notification may be given a lower priority than the counting completion notification as shown in FIG. 108(b).

The example of notification shown in FIG. 108(c) shows an example of notification in which the counting completion notification image 501c and the error display 992 are not displayed overlapping each other. In this example of notification, the counting completion notification image and the error display are not displayed overlapping each other, so both displays are always visible, which is preferable.

In FIG. 108, the relationship between the counting completion notification and the error notification is explained, but the notification priority relationship between the counting completion notification image and the image display related to the complete performance may also be as shown in FIG. 108(a) or (b). Also, as in FIG. 108(c), the counting completion notification image and the image display related to the complete performance may not be displayed overlapping each other.

The second and third embodiments described above can be configured as the following configurations (D1) to (D12). Note that the corresponding elements in the embodiments are shown in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited to these.

<Configuration (D1)>
A winning detection means for detecting a gaming ball that has entered the winning means;
A main control means (FIG. 32 (main control unit 20)) configured to be able to manage the winning ball number information based on the detection information detected by the winning detection means and controlling the game progress operation;
A sub-control means (FIG. 32 (frame control unit 22)) configured to be able to execute an increase/decrease management process for the number of game balls used for playing a game based on the prize ball number information from the main control means;
A gaming machine (FIG. 32) in which a game is played by circulating game balls enclosed therein,
The main control means
A main process (FIGS. 33A and 33B (FIG. 34)) that starts after power is turned on;
A first timer interrupt process (FIG. 36) which is started at every first predetermined time, includes a management process for managing the detection information by the winning detection means, and executes a process related to the progress of the game;
A second timer interrupt process (FIG. 40) is configured to be executed, which is started at every second predetermined time and executes a transmission process to transmit the number of winning balls information based on the detection information to the sub-control means;
The priority of the first timer interrupt process is set higher than the priority of the second timer interrupt process (FIGS. 36 and 40).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D2)>
A winning detection means for detecting a gaming ball that has entered the winning means;
A main control means (FIG. 32 (main control unit 20)) configured to be able to manage the winning ball number information based on the detection information detected by the winning detection means and controlling the game progress operation;
A sub-control means (FIG. 32 (frame control unit 22)) configured to be able to execute an increase/decrease management process for the number of game balls used for playing a game based on the prize ball number information from the main control means;
A gaming machine (FIG. 32) in which a game is played by circulating game balls enclosed therein,
The main control means
A main process (FIGS. 33A and 33B (FIG. 34)) that starts after power is turned on;
A first timer interrupt process (FIG. 36) which is started at every first predetermined time, includes a management process for managing the detection information by the winning detection means, and executes a process related to the progress of the game;
A second timer interrupt process (FIG. 40) is configured to be executed, which is started at every second predetermined time and executes a transmission process to transmit the number of winning balls information based on the detection information to the sub-control means;
The priority of the first timer interrupt process is set higher than the priority of the second timer interrupt process, and the first predetermined time is shorter than the second predetermined time (FIGS. 36 and 40).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D3)>
A winning detection means for detecting a gaming ball that has entered the winning means;
A main control means (FIG. 32 (main control unit 20)) configured to be able to manage the winning ball number information based on the detection information detected by the winning detection means and controlling the game progress operation;
A sub-control means (FIG. 32 (frame control unit 22)) configured to be able to execute an increase/decrease management process for the number of game balls used for playing a game based on the prize ball number information from the main control means;
A gaming machine (FIG. 32) in which a game is played by circulating game balls enclosed therein,
The sub-control means is
When the winning ball number information is received from the main control means, the winning ball number information is transmitted to the main control means.
The main control means
A main process (FIGS. 33A and 33B (FIG. 34)) that starts after power is turned on;
A first timer interrupt process (FIG. 36) which is started at every first predetermined time, includes a management process for managing the detection information by the winning detection means, and executes a process related to the progress of the game;
A second timer interrupt process (FIG. 45) that is started every second predetermined time is executed.
The second timer interrupt process includes:
A transmission process (S703 in FIG. 45) for transmitting the number of winning balls information based on the detection information to the sub-control means;
A receiving process (S704 in FIG. 45) for receiving the receipt result from the sub-control means,
The transmission process and the reception process are alternately executed every second predetermined time (S702 in FIG. 45).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D4)>
A specific display means (performance display device 99) capable of displaying predetermined information based on game results;
A main control means (main control unit 20) that controls game operations;
A gaming machine including a sub-control means (frame control unit 22, FIG. 50G) including a specific display control means capable of executing control related to the specific display means,
The main control means
A game state control means (FIG. 36) capable of controlling a plurality of game states;
A control information transmitting means (FIG. 40 (FIG. 45), FIG. 50F (E)) capable of transmitting specific control information including game status information capable of identifying a current game status to the sub-control means;
The specific display control means (FIG. 50G)
a measuring means for measuring the predetermined information based on the specific control information (a calculating means for calculating the predetermined information);
a predetermined information display control means for controlling the display of the predetermined information on the specific display means,
The measuring means (calculating means)
When the game status information is information that does not correspond to any of the game statuses, the predetermined information is not measured (calculated) (see (IV) of FIG. 50H),
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D5)>
A specific display means (performance display device 99) capable of displaying predetermined information based on game results;
A main control means (main control unit 20) that controls game operations;
A sub-control means (frame control unit 22) configured to be able to communicate with the main control means;
A gaming machine (control gaming machine) equipped with
The main control means
A game state control means (FIG. 36) capable of controlling a plurality of game states;
A control information transmitting means (FIG. 40 (FIG. 45), FIG. 50F (E)) capable of transmitting specific control information including game status information capable of identifying a current game status to the sub-control means;
The specific display control means (FIG. 50G)
a measuring means for measuring the predetermined information based on the specific control information (which may be a calculating means for calculating the predetermined information);
a predetermined information display control means for controlling the display of the predetermined information on the specific display means,
The measuring means (calculating means)
When the game status information is information that does not correspond to any of the game statuses, the predetermined information is not measured (calculated) (see (IV) of FIG. 50H),
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D6)>
A gaming machine that is configured to convert the number of balls held by a player into data and manage it, and to execute a counting process for transferring the number of balls held according to an operation mode of a predetermined operation means to an external device, and to play a game by cyclically using game balls shot by a shooting means,
A first ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process on the number of balls possessed in association with the launch operation of the launch means;
The second ball count subtraction process is configured to execute a subtraction process regarding the number of balls held in association with the execution of the counting process,
When the number of balls held becomes 0 as a result of the first ball number subtraction process, a predetermined notification (for example, FIG. 108) is not executed, and when the number of balls held becomes 0 as a result of the second ball number subtraction process, the predetermined notification is executed.
A gaming machine characterized by:

In the above configuration (D6),
(Rule 1) "Operation means" includes, for example, a count button. In addition, the operation means may be provided in multiple units, and may include, for example, a count button, a total count button, etc.
(Rule 2) "Operation mode" refers to an operation mode for a predetermined operating means, and includes, for example, a short press, a long press (first long press, second long press), and the like.
(Rule 3) "External device" refers to a specific management device that is provided outside the gaming machine and is configured to be able to communicate with the gaming machine, such as an external unit SC. This external unit SC is capable of mutual communication with the gaming machine and is configured to include a functional unit (ball lending device) that can electromagnetically manage the balls transferred from the gaming machine.
(Rule 4) The "predetermined notification (predetermined notification performance)" may include a "counting completion notification" that notifies the user that the counting process has been completed and/or a "warning notification to prevent forgetting to remove the IC card" (for example, Figure 108).
The above-mentioned (Control 1) to (Control 4) also apply to the configurations (D7) to (D12) described later.

<Configuration (D7)>
A gaming machine that is configured to convert the number of balls held by a player into data and manage it, and to execute a counting process for transferring the number of balls held according to an operation mode of a predetermined operation means to an external device, and to play a game by cyclically using game balls shot by a shooting means,
In a predetermined periodic process,
A first ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process on the number of balls possessed in association with the launch operation of the launch means;
In conjunction with the execution of the counting process, a second ball possession subtraction process can be executed to execute a subtraction process regarding the number of balls possessed.
The first ball number subtraction process is executed in priority to the second ball number subtraction process,
In the current periodic process, if the number of balls held becomes 0 as a result of the first number of balls held subtraction process, the second number of balls held subtraction process in the periodic process is not executed.
A gaming machine characterized by:

In the above configuration (D7),
A predetermined notification can be executed when the number of balls held becomes 0,
When the number of balls held becomes 0 by the first subtraction process, the predetermined notification is not executed.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D8)>
A gaming machine that is configured to convert the number of balls held by a player into data and manage it, and to execute a counting process for transferring the number of balls held according to an operation mode of a predetermined operation means to an external device, and to play a game by cyclically using game balls shot by a shooting means,
In a predetermined periodic process,
a ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process on the number of balls possessed in association with the execution of the counting process;
and a ball possession count addition process that performs an addition process on the number of balls possessed in response to the occurrence of a foul ball.
The ball count subtraction process is executed after the ball count addition process,
In the current periodic process, when the number of balls held is increased by the ball number addition process and the number of balls held becomes 0 by the ball number subtraction process in the periodic process, a predetermined notification is executed.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D9)>
A gaming machine that is configured to convert the number of balls held by a player into data and manage it, and to execute a counting process for transferring the number of balls held according to an operation mode of a predetermined operation means to an external device, and to play a game by cyclically using game balls shot by a shooting means,
In a predetermined periodic process,
a ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process on the number of balls possessed in association with the execution of the counting process;
When a winning ball is generated, a ball possession count addition process is executed to add up the number of balls possessed.
In the current periodic process, when the number of balls held is increased by the ball number addition process and the number of balls held becomes 0 by the ball number subtraction process in the periodic process, a predetermined notification is executed.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D10)>
A gaming machine that is configured to convert the number of balls held by a player into data and manage it, and to execute a counting process for transferring the number of balls held according to an operation mode of a predetermined operation means to an external device, and to play a game by cyclically using game balls shot by a shooting means,
In a predetermined periodic process,
A first ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process on the number of balls possessed in association with the launch operation of the launch means;
A second ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process regarding the number of balls possessed in association with the execution of the counting process;
and a ball possession count addition process that performs an addition process on the number of balls possessed in response to the occurrence of a foul ball.
The first ball count subtraction process and the ball count addition process are configured to be executed in priority to the second ball count subtraction process,
Execute the possessed number of balls addition process even if the possessed number of balls becomes 0 by the possessed number subtraction process in the current periodic process, and execute a predetermined notification when the possessed number of balls becomes 0 by the possessed number subtraction process in the current periodic process.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D11)>
A gaming machine that is configured to convert the number of balls held by a player into data and manage it, and to execute a counting process for transferring the number of balls held according to an operation mode of a predetermined operation means to an external device, and to play a game by cyclically using game balls shot by a shooting means,
In a predetermined periodic process,
A first ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process on the number of balls possessed in association with the launch operation of the launch means;
a ball possession count addition process that performs an addition process on the number of balls possessed when a winning ball is generated;
In conjunction with the execution of the counting process, a second ball possession subtraction process can be executed to execute a subtraction process regarding the number of balls possessed.
The first ball count subtraction process and the ball count addition process are configured to be executed in priority to the second ball count subtraction process,
Even if the number of balls held becomes 0 as a result of the first number of balls held subtraction process in the current periodic process, the number of balls held is added, and if the number of balls held becomes 0 as a result of the second number of balls held subtraction process in the current periodic process, a predetermined notification is executed.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (D12)>
A gaming machine that is configured to convert the number of balls held by a player into data and manage it, and to execute a counting process for transferring the number of balls held according to an operation mode of a predetermined operation means to an external device, and to play a game by cyclically using game balls shot by a shooting means,
In a predetermined periodic process,
a first ball possession subtraction process for performing a subtraction process on the number of balls possessed in association with a launch operation of the launch means;
In conjunction with the execution of the counting process, a second ball possession subtraction process can be executed to execute a subtraction process regarding the number of balls possessed.
The second ball number subtraction process is
a first operation mode subtraction process for subtracting a first number from a current number of balls held when the operation mode for the operation means is a first operation mode;
and a second operation mode subtraction process for subtracting a second number, which is greater than the first number, from the current number of balls held when the operation mode for the operation means is a second operation mode.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Regarding the stop structure of the seat for leaving the seat in the gaming machine: Fig. 109A, Fig. 109B>
(Embodiment 1 relating to the retaining structure of the seat for leaving the seat: FIG. 109A)
As another embodiment of the present invention, a structure for preventing a player from leaving the seat in a controlled gaming machine will be described.

Figure 109A shows an example of a managed gaming machine (hereinafter referred to as "managed gaming machine 1001"), which has a configuration in which a gaming board is attached to a front frame 1002 that is attached to an outer frame so that it can be opened and closed, and the gaming area faces the opening of the front frame 1002. A glass frame 1006 that supports transparent glass is provided in front of this gaming area.

Below the glass frame 1006, the front frame 1002 has a portion forming the bottom edge of the glass frame 1006 in the form of a first panel 1007. Here, this first panel 1007 is formed from a thin vertical plate (vertical panel) having a flat surface (vertical surface) facing the player and a top portion 1017 that stands upright relative to the glass surface 1003. However, this first panel 1007 can also be provided so that its upper surface forms a downward slope 1007a (see Figure 109B) that protrudes from the glass surface 1003 toward the front. The above-mentioned glass frame 1006 may be provided so that it can be opened and closed as necessary.

The front frame 1002 is provided with a second panel (front operation panel) 1008 in the form of a flat surface that protrudes continuously from the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007. A push-button type performance button 1013 (first operation means) is arranged on the panel surface (top surface) of this second panel 1008, approximately in the center in the left-right direction, protruding largely in a hemispherical shape from the top surface. In addition, a cross key 1075 (second operation means) that can be operated to input in the up, down, left and right directions is provided on the left side of the panel surface of the second panel 1008. The performance button 1013 and the cross key 1075 are operation means that have the same functions as the first performance button 13 and the directional key 75.

Also provided on the left side of the panel surface of the second panel 1008, next to the cross key 1075, are a volume adjustment button 2071 (third operating means) consisting of a triangular push button with an increment/decrement direction, and a light intensity adjustment button 2072 (fourth operating means) consisting of a triangular push button with an increment/decrement direction. To adjust the volume, the up and down keys of the volume adjustment button 2071 are operated. Operating these up and down keys increases or decreases the value indicated on the volume scale by one step at a time, allowing the user to set the desired value. To adjust the light intensity, the up and down keys of the volume adjustment button 2072 are operated. Operating these up and down keys increases or decreases the value indicated on the light intensity scale by one step at a time, allowing the user to set the desired value.

Also, on the right side of the panel surface of the second panel 1008, there are arranged side by side a game ball count display device 1009 (corresponding to game ball count display device 77) that can display the number of balls held, and a counting button 1010 for transferring the balls held to an external unit SC (ball lending device). The counting button has been described above, and when the counting button 1010 is pressed, the internal number of balls held is transferred to the external unit SC (ball lending device) one ball at a time with a short press, or 250 balls at a long press (a second long press will count the entire number).

Below the second panel 1008, on the right end side of the front frame 1002, there is a firing operation handle 2015 for operating the firing device.

As already explained, managed gaming machines are circulating pinball gaming machines in which gaming balls circulate inside the gaming table, and because the gaming medium is managed by internal data or an IC card, the gaming balls are not paid out by the gaming balls themselves. Therefore, there are no upper or lower trays for storing the gaming balls. The same is true for conventional managed reel gaming machines that do not use gaming medals, and there is no lower tray because gaming medals are not directly used for payout.

Therefore, when a player wants to leave a gaming machine temporarily or reserve a machine, they cannot leave the gaming balls or medals in the upper or lower tray, as was previously done with non-circulating gaming machines (general gaming machines). As an alternative to this, the hall provides an "Away Sheet" for each machine that indicates that the player is away, and by placing this in an appropriate location on the front side of the gaming machine or on the external unit side, it is possible to reserve the machine while the player is away.

In the case of managed reel-type gaming machines, a doorknob-plate-shaped leaving sign can be hung on the start lever as an alternative to an leaving sheet, but in the case of managed pinball gaming machines, there is no object on which to hang a doorknob-plate-shaped leaving sign, such as a small-diameter lever-shaped object. Therefore, whether it is a managed pinball gaming machine or a reel-type gaming machine, if you want to leave the machine temporarily or secure the machine, placing an leaving sheet on the front of the machine is an effective method.

However, managed pinball and reel-type gaming machines do not have enough space to stably install a seat, especially at the front of the machine, which causes issues such as the seat falling unintentionally and making it impossible to secure the machine. Also, seat sheets come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the pachinko parlor, so depending on the shape, it may not be possible to install the seat permanently, and depending on the size, it may happen that another player takes the seat without noticing the seat's presence.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the following configuration makes it possible to conveniently set up an away seat (not limited to any particular seat) to be set up while away from one's seat.

The gaming machine (front of the gaming frame) is provided with multiple installation means for allowing the installation of the leaving sheet. The first installation means is a recess consisting of a gap between the glass and the gaming frame (a gap large enough for the leaving sheet to be inserted) or a groove. The second installation means is a protrusion for leaning the leaving sheet against (a protrusion that allows the leaving sheet to be stably installed in an inclined position when the lower part of the leaving sheet is abutted against the protrusion and placed on the glass side, so that the upper part of the leaving sheet abuts against the glass).

In terms of the anteroposterior relationship, the second installation means (protrusion) is provided in front of the first installation means (gap) (towards the player). The first installation means (gap) is located behind the counting display unit or counting buttons (rear side: farther from the player), and the second installation means (protrusion) is located in front of the counting display unit or counting buttons (front side: closer to the player). When an away seat is installed in the first installation means (gap), the counting display unit or counting buttons are not hidden by the away seat, but when an away seat is installed in the second installation means (protrusion), the counting display unit or counting buttons are hidden (at least partially hidden) by the away seat.

To explain in more detail about the gaming machine in FIG. 109A, as the first installation means, a recess 2001 is formed along the glass surface 1003 on the side of the top 1017 of the first panel 1007 that contacts the glass surface 1003, as shown by the dashed line. In other words, the recess 2001 is formed downward from the lower edge of the glass frame 1006. This recess 2001 consists of a groove (the position of the bottom in the depth direction is shown by a dotted line) that runs linearly along the glass surface 1003, and the lower part of the rectangular leaving seat 2000 can be inserted into this groove.

However, since the recess 2001 of the first installation means only needs to be able to insert the lower part of the leaving sheet 2000, it does not necessarily have to be a groove formed in the top 1017 of the first panel 1007, and may be formed by a gap that occurs naturally between the first panel 1007 and the glass surface 1003. If the recess 2001 of the first installation means is formed by a gap that occurs naturally, the dotted line in the figure indicates the depth position when the lower part of the leaving sheet 2000 is inserted into this gap.

The absence sheet 2000 is made of a rectangular sheet of paper sandwiched between transparent films and laminated, with a width that is roughly half the length of the glass surface 1003 and a length that is more than 1/3 and less than 1/2 the length of the glass surface 1003. On the front of this absence sheet 2000, words such as "Away" or "15 minutes" are written.

The first panel 1007 and the second panel 1008 that protrudes like a shelf from the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 form an L-shape in cross section, and a protrusion 2002 is provided on the panel surface (upper surface) of the second panel 1008 as a second installation means, on the side closer to the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 (the bent portion of the L-shape described above).

Here, the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means is composed of a plurality of small protrusions provided at positions spaced apart in the horizontal direction along the lower edge of the first panel 1007. The plurality of small protrusions 2002 protrude upward from the surface of the second panel 1008 to a height sufficient to support the lower part of the seat 2000. Although the small protrusions 2002 are shown in the figure as having a circular or elliptical cross section, they are not limited to the form of small protrusions having a circular or elliptical cross section, and may be in the form of a plurality of short lines or steps arranged linearly. They may also be provided as continuous lines (continuous linear protrusions) in which the protrusions are arranged linearly as a continuous unit, or as discontinuous lines (discontinuous linear protrusions) in which a plurality of linear small protrusions (linear strips) are arranged linearly at equal intervals or discretely.

The recess 2001 of the first installation means is located on a first straight line (imaginary line) extending horizontally along the bottom edge of the glass window, and the protrusion (multiple small protrusions) 2002 of the second installation means is located on a second straight line (imaginary line) extending horizontally along the bottom edge of the glass window at a position spaced downward from the first straight line in the vertical direction. In other words, the recess 2001 of the first installation means and the protrusion (multiple small protrusions) 2002 of the second installation means are provided so as to have different height positions when viewed in the vertical direction (top-bottom direction). The first panel 1007 is a vertical surface, and the upper and lower edges of the first panel 1007 are in the same vertical plane. Therefore, the recess 2001 of the first installation means and the protrusion (multiple small protrusions) 2002 of the second installation means are only different in height position in the vertical direction, and are located at approximately the same front-to-back position when viewed from the reference plane in the forward direction (front-to-back direction of the stand) when one imaginary plane parallel to the glass surface is taken as the reference plane.
However, depending on how the first panel 1007 is tilted, the recess 2001 of the first installation means and the protrusion (plurality of small protrusions) 2002 of the second installation means can be arranged to be at approximately the same height when viewed in the up-down direction.

The positions of the recess 2001 of the first installation means and the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means are explained in relation to the counting display unit 1009 and the counting button 1010, the recess 2001 of the first installation means is located behind the counting display unit 1009 and the counting button 1010 (the back side: the side farther from the player), and the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means is located in front of the counting display unit 1009 and/or the counting button 1010 (the near side: the side closer to the player).

In this way, the following relationship is obtained. When the leaving sheet 2000 is installed in a manner in which its lower portion is inserted into the recess 2001 of the first installation means, the counting display unit 1009 and the counting button 1010 are not hidden by the leaving sheet 2000. When the leaving sheet 2000 is installed in a manner in which its lower portion is supported by the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 109A, all or part of the counting display unit 1009 and/or the counting button 1010 are hidden by the leaving sheet 2000. Therefore, depending on whether the lower part of the leaving sheet 2000 is installed in a form in which it is inserted into the recess 2001 of the first installation means or in a form in which it is supported by the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means, it is possible to leave the game machine without covering the counting display unit 1009 and/or the counting button 1010 with the leaving sheet 2000, or to leave the game machine with all or part of the counting display unit 1009 and/or the counting button 1010 covered by the leaving sheet 2000. In other words, a person who does not want others to see the balls he currently has or who does not want the counting button to be pressed by mistake can leave the game machine with all or part of the counting display unit 1009 and/or the counting button 1010 covered by the leaving sheet 2000 by installing the leaving sheet 2000 on the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means.

In this way, depending on whether the leaving sheet 2000 is placed on the recess 2001 of the first installation means or on the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means, it is possible to change the hiding state of the counting display unit 1009 and the counting button 1010, which makes it possible to meet the needs of people who do not want others to see their current ball holdings or who do not want the counting button to be pressed by mistake.

Similarly, in terms of positional relationship with the cross key 1075, the volume adjustment button 2071, and the light adjustment button 2072 arranged on the second panel 1008, when the leaving sheet 2000 is installed in the recess 2001 of the first installation means, none of the cross key 1075, the volume adjustment button 2071, and the light adjustment button 2072 are hidden by the leaving sheet; however, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 109A, when the leaving sheet 2000 is installed in the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means, at least one or a part of the entirety consisting of the cross key 1075, the volume adjustment button 2071, and the light adjustment button 2072 are hidden by the leaving sheet 2000. Therefore, depending on whether the leaving sheet 2000 is installed in the recess 2001 of the first installation means or in the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means, the cross key 1075, the volume adjustment button 2071, and the light amount adjustment button 2072 can be arranged so as not to be hidden by the leaving sheet 2000, or can be arranged so as to be completely or partially hidden by the leaving sheet 2000.

Therefore, for example, a person who does not want others to operate the volume adjustment button 2071 or the light adjustment button 2072 can leave the gaming machine with all or part of the volume adjustment button 2071 and the light adjustment button 2072 hidden by the leaving sheet 2000 by placing the leaving sheet 2000 on the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means.

In addition, the positions of the buttons provided on the second panel 1008 vary depending on the model, so depending on the positional relationship, the relative positional relationship between the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means and the exit seat 2000 can be configured as follows:

(a) When the leaving sheet 2000 is placed in the recess 2001 of the first installation means, the leaving sheet 2000 does not hide the volume adjustment button 2071 or the light amount adjustment button 2072. When the leaving sheet is placed in the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means, the leaving sheet 2000 hides the volume adjustment button 2071 or the light amount adjustment button 2072.
(b) When the leaving sheet 2000 is placed in the recess 2001 of the first placing means, the count display unit 1009 or the count button 1010 is not hidden by the leaving sheet 2000, but the volume adjustment button 2071 or the light amount adjustment button 2072 is hidden. When the leaving sheet 2000 is placed in the protrusion 2002 of the second placing means, the count display unit 1009 or the count button 1010 is hidden (at least partially hidden) by the leaving sheet 2000, but the volume adjustment button 2071 or the light amount adjustment button 2072 is not hidden.
(c) When the leaving sheet 2000 is placed in the recess 2001 of the first placement means, the counting display unit 1009, the counting button 1010, the volume adjustment button 2071, or the light amount adjustment button 2072 are not hidden by the leaving sheet. When the leaving sheet 2000 is placed in the protrusion 2002 of the second placement means, the counting display unit 1009, the counting button 1010, the volume adjustment button 2071, or the light amount adjustment button 2072 are hidden (at least partially hidden) by the leaving sheet 2000.

For comparison, a case where the lower part of the leaving sheet 2000 is inserted into the gap of the recess 2001 of the first installation means, and the upper part (upper edge) of the leaving sheet 2000 is placed in contact with the glass surface 1003 and leaned diagonally (almost vertically in this example) is called "Installation Example 1", and the angle between the glass surface 1003 and the leaving sheet 2000 is called the inclination angle θ1. Also, a case where the lower part (lower edge) of the leaving sheet 2000 is placed on the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means, and the upper part (upper edge) of the leaving sheet 2000 is placed in contact with the glass surface 1003 and leaned diagonally is called "Installation Example 2", and the angle between the glass surface 1003 and the leaving sheet 2000 is called the inclination angle θ2.

In this way, the inclination angle θ1 of the leaving sheet 2000 in the placement example 1 is very small, but the inclination angle θ2 of the leaving sheet 2000 in the placement example 2 is a sufficient inclination angle θ2 that makes it difficult for the leaving sheet 2000 to fall over, resulting in a relationship of "inclination angle θ1 < θ2." In other words, in the case of a thin leaving sheet 2000, it can be sufficiently held by placing it using the gap in the recess 2001 as in the placement example 1, but in the case of a thick leaving sheet 2000 that cannot use the gap in the recess 2001, it can be stably held so that the leaving sheet 2000 does not slip off by placing it using the protrusion 2002 as in the placement example 2.

When the leaving sheet 2000 is the same size, the playing area hidden by the leaving sheet 2000 through the glass is wider in the case of installation example 1, where the leaving sheet 2000 is placed almost vertically, than in the case of installation example 2, where the leaving sheet 2000 is leaned against the glass at an angle. In other words, since the leaving sheet 2000 is closer to the glass in the case of installation example 1 than in the case of installation example 2, a wider playing area is hidden. Therefore, installation example 1 is suitable when handling a relatively small and thin leaving sheet 2000.

The vertical size relationship between the first and second installation means (height relationship in the top-bottom direction) can be freely determined, and depending on the dimensions and shape (thickness, shape, size) of the leaving seat 2000 being handled, it is possible to determine the relationship such that the first installation means (gap) has a larger or deeper gap (concave) than the second installation means (protrusion), or the first installation means (gap) has a larger or smaller protrusion amount of the protrusion (convex portion) than the second installation means (protrusion).

It is also possible to freely determine the size relationship of the left-right area (range of the installation part) covered by the first installation means and the second installation means. Depending on the dimensions (thickness, shape, size) of the seating sheet 2000 being handled, it is possible to determine the relationship such that the first installation means (gap) has a larger installation area (range of the installation part) than the second installation means (protrusion), or it is possible to determine the relationship such that the first installation means (gap) has a smaller installation area (range of the installation part) than the second installation means (protrusion).

<Modification 1>
In the case of FIG. 109A , the second installation means is provided as a protrusion 2002 located on the second panel 1008 on the side closer to the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 , i.e., on the back side of the count display unit 1009 and the count button 1010 .

However, in this variant example 1, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 109A as protrusion 2003, the protrusion of the second installation means is disposed on the second panel 1008 on the side farther from the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007, i.e., closer to the position where the count display unit 1009 and count button 1010 are disposed.

In the case of Fig. 109A, there are also provided a cross key 1075, a triangular volume adjustment button 2071, a triangular light adjustment button 2072, etc., so focusing on these, the solid line protrusion 2002 in Fig. 109A is arranged further back than these buttons, and the dotted line protrusion 2003 in Fig. 109A is arranged further forward than these buttons. In the case of this protrusion 2003, as in the case of the protrusion 2002, it can also be arranged as a continuous line (continuous linear protrusion) in which the protrusion is arranged in a straight line as a continuous piece, or as a discontinuous line (discontinuous linear protrusion) in which multiple linear small protrusions (linear pieces) are arranged in a straight line.

For comparison, a case where the lower part (lower edge) of the leaving sheet 2000 is placed on the protrusion 2003 and the upper part (upper edge) of the leaving sheet 2000 is placed at an angle in contact with the glass surface 1003 is referred to as "Placement Example 3", and the angle between the glass surface 1003 and the leaving sheet 2000 is referred to as the inclination angle θ3. Since the protrusion 2003 is located farther from the lower edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 than the protrusion 2002, when the leaving sheet 2000 is supported by the protrusion 2003, the inclination angle θ3 of the leaving sheet 2000 is larger than the inclination angle θ2 in placement example 2 where the leaving sheet 2000 is supported by the protrusion 2002 and placed upright, and the relationship of inclination angle θ2<θ3 is established.

As a result, the leaving sheet 2000 is less likely to tip over in the case of installation example 3 than in the case of installation example 2. On the other hand, the area of the leaving sheet 2000 that can be seen from the front side is smaller in the case of installation example 3 than in the case of installation example 2, so the letters written on the leaving sheet 2000 are difficult to see. Therefore, the form using the protrusion 2003 of the second installation means as in installation example 3 is suitable when handling a leaving sheet 2000 of a relatively large size. This modification example 1 is suitable when handling a model in which the performance button 1013 located in the center of the second panel 1008 has a relatively small area and a small amount of protrusion, and can be considered to be a nearly flat surface of the second panel 1008.

If the amount of protrusion of the effect button 1013 in normal operation is small, it is possible to configure the effect button 1013 to function as one of the protrusions 2003. In this case, the amount of protrusion of the protrusion 2003 of the second installation means may be formed to be equal to the amount of protrusion of the effect button 1013, or may be formed to be smaller or larger than the amount of protrusion of the effect button 1013.

One problem with providing a protrusion 2003 as the second installation means is that in recent years, many models have the effect button 1013 located in the center of the second panel 1008, protruding largely from the top surface in a semi-spherical shape. The gaming machine in FIG. 109A falls into this category. Therefore, the protrusions 2003 in FIG. 109A are positioned on both sides of the effect button 1013, behind the effect button 1013. In this case, too, it is possible to configure the effect button 1013 itself to function as one of the protrusions 2003.

For example, the base of the effect button 1013 (the portion that intersects with the surface of the second panel 1008) can be configured so that the vertical (top-bottom) height position of the upper surface of its outer periphery is the same or nearly the same as the vertical (top-bottom) height position of the protrusion 2003, thereby allowing the effect button 1013 to function as one of the protrusions 2003.

<Modification 2>
In Fig. 109A, the protrusion 2002 is depicted as a small protrusion with a circular or elliptical cross section, but in order to support the lower part of the seat 2000, it is preferable to form the protrusion 2002 with a cross-sectional shape in which the surface of the small protrusion on the side of the lower edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 is flat. All or some of the small protrusions of the protrusion 2002 may be provided with a "return" with an upside-down L-shaped cross section to prevent the seat 2000 from slipping out in the direction in which the small protrusions protrude. The small protrusions may also be provided with an inclination angle, that is, inclined diagonally upward. These modified examples may also be applied to the shape of the protrusion 2004 in Fig. 109B described later.

<Modification 3>
In the above, the second installation means has been described as having only one stage of either the protrusion 2002 or the protrusion 2003, but it may have two stages in the front-rear direction. In the case of Fig. 109A, the cross key 1075, the volume control button 2071, and the light control button 2072 are also provided, so the first stage of the protrusion 2002 is located further back than these, and the second stage of the protrusion 2003 is located further forward than these.

Furthermore, the protrusion 2002 and the protrusion 2003 are not limited to being configured in two stages, but may be configured in three or more stages, i.e., "multi-stage." In other words, the protrusion of the second installation means may be configured in such a way that multiple small protrusions are installed in multiple stages from the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 toward the front side.

When the protrusions of the second installation means are configured in two or more stages in this way, it is preferable to set the relationship such that the protrusions protrude more in the stage closer to the front. This is because when attempting to install the leaving seat 2000 on one stage, if the protrusions on the stage further back are high, this may hinder easy installation of the leaving seat 2000. This modified example can also be applied to the shape of the protrusions 2004 in Figure 109B described below.

<Modification 4>
In the above, the recess 2001 is formed on the lower side from the lower edge of the glass frame as the first installation means, but a protrusion can also be used as the first installation means. For example, a portion that protrudes from the lower edge of the glass frame toward the front side in an inverted L-shaped cross section is provided. This protrusion with an inverted L-shaped cross section may be provided in multiple places in the left-right direction, or may be provided as a continuous area.

<Modification 5>
Furthermore, the protrusion 2002 of the second installation means need only protrude upward from the panel surface (top surface) of the second panel 1008 to a height sufficient to support the lower part of the leaving seat 2000, and its form and shape are not important.
For example, it may be in the form of multiple short lines arranged in a straight line, or in the form of steps formed continuously or discontinuously, or multiple (three or more) small protrusions arranged at regular intervals (orderly identical intervals or the same repeating intervals) or irregular intervals (disorderly discrete intervals) along the lower edge 1027.

<Modification 6>
In the above, the second installation means is configured by the protrusion 2002, but the second installation means may also be configured by a gap or a recess.
That is, in Figure 109A, multiple protrusions 2002 are provided along the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 as the second installation means, but instead of these protrusions 2002, a groove running along the bottom edge 1027 of the first panel 1007 can be provided, and the lower part of the leaving seat 2000 can be inserted into this groove to support the leaving seat 2000.

<Modification 7>
The above describes a configuration in which the protrusions 2002 of the second installation means are arranged in a line in the left-right direction and in one or two rows, but the protrusions 2002 of the second installation means may also be configured in a form in which a plurality of small protrusions are distributed in a planar manner in a certain order within the surface of the first panel 1007.
This modification can also be applied to the shape of a protrusion 2004 in FIG. 109B, which will be described later.

<Modification 8>
When the first installation means and the second installation means are both constructed with the same recess or the same protrusion (convex portion), it is preferable that the shapes of the recess or protrusion are different so that the player can easily notice their existence.
The protruding portion 2002 or 2003 of the second installation means may be formed to a suitable size and a decorative sticker may be attached thereto. The decorative sticker may include information regarding instructions for players.

(Embodiment 2 relating to the retaining structure of the seat for leaving the seat: FIG. 109B)
Fig. 109B shows another embodiment (embodiment 2) of the managed gaming machine 1001, and similarly to the case of Fig. 109A, the gaming board is attached to a front frame 1002 that is attached to the outer frame so as to be able to open and close, and the gaming area faces the opening of the front frame 1002, and a glass frame 1006 that supports transparent glass is provided in front of this gaming area. Below, the differences from the case of Fig. 109A will be mainly explained.

Below the glass frame 1006, the front frame 1002 has a portion that forms the bottom edge of the glass frame 1006 in the form of a first shelf 1007a that protrudes forward. The top surface of this first shelf 1007a forms a downward slope that protrudes forward from the glass surface 1003. To the right of the panel-like slope of this first shelf 1007a, a counting display section (held ball counter) 1009 for displaying the held balls and a counting button 1010 for transferring the held balls to the ball lending machine are provided side by side.

The front frame 1002 is also provided with a second shelf (operation shelf) 1008 that continues horizontally from the bottom end of the downward slope of the first shelf 1007a. This second shelf 1008 is made up of a flat section (operation panel) 1008a that protrudes forward from the bottom edge 1027 of the first shelf 1007a, a right-downward slope 1008b that rises from the flat section 1008a to the right of the center of the second shelf 1008, a flat section 1008c that continues from the bottom end of the slope of the slope 1008b, and a rear surface section 1008d that forms an operation space together with the slope 1008b and the flat section 1008c.

A push-button-type performance button 1013 is arranged on the flat portion 1008a of the second shelf portion 1008 to the right of the center of the second shelf portion 1008, protruding largely from the top surface in a cylindrical or semispherical shape. A cross key 1075 that can be operated to input in the up, down, left and right directions is also provided to the left of the flat portion 1008a of the second shelf portion. A volume adjustment button 2071 and a light intensity adjustment button 2072 are also provided on the flat portion 1008a of the second shelf portion 1008 next to the cross key 1075.

The inclined portion 1008b of the second shelf portion 1008 is provided with a firing operation handle 2015 for operating the firing device. The firing operation handle 2015 can be rotated without resistance by gripping it with a hand in the operation space formed by the inclined portion 1008b, the flat portion 1008c, and the rear surface portion 1008d. The reason for this is that the center line of the rotation axis of the firing operation handle 2015 is inclined diagonally upward to the right. The orientation of the rotation axis of the handle is an inclined axis that goes from the upper right to the lower left in a plane parallel to the glass surface. By inclining the rotation axis of the handle in this way, the orientation of the palm of the right hand when the player operates the handle becomes closer to the natural bending of the human palm, so that the player's fatigue when operating the handle can be reduced.

The orientation of the handle's rotation axis can be set to any position around the vertical center line within a range that can be called "a tilted axis going from the upper right to the lower left", and the same effect of easy operability can be obtained regardless of the position. Specifically, when the tilt axis is rotated around one vertical center line, the position when the tilt axis is in a vertical plane parallel to the glass surface is defined as the first rotation position, and the position when the tilt axis is in a vertical plane rotated 90 degrees from this first rotation position around the vertical center line is defined as the second rotation position, and the tilt axis can be set to any position determined within the range of the rotation angle between these two. And, if the orientation of the tilted rotation axis is within this range of rotation angle, the effect of easy operability that can reduce the player's fatigue when operating the handle can be obtained.

In general, for pinball and reel machines, relatively large sheets are placed inside the glass frame of the gaming machine to indicate when a machine is scheduled to open or to reserve a machine. For example, the scheduled opening sheet is placed inside the glass frame of the gaming machine to inform the customer that the machine is scheduled to open on the day or tomorrow and cannot be used until permission is given by the attendant. In addition, the machine reservation sheet (machine reservation ticket) is given to the customer, who places the machine reservation sheet on the glass frame of the gaming machine to reserve the machine. These scheduled opening sheets and machine reservation sheets are characterized by being relatively large sheets that can hide more than half of the playing area inside the glass frame, and can be effectively used on both circulating and non-circulating gaming machines.

However, due to the structure of the gaming machine, it is often difficult to securely fasten the opening sheet and machine reservation sheet within the glass frame, and there is a risk of them slipping off onto the floor. Therefore, we have devised the solution shown in Figure 109B.

In FIG. 109B, to accommodate a relatively large sheet large enough to cover the inside of the glass frame 1006, approximately triangular corner plate portions 3001 are provided at both corners on the lower side of the glass frame 1006, i.e., at the left and right corners formed by the intersection of both sides of the glass frame 1006 and the bottom side of the glass frame 1006 (first shelf portion 1007a), and an approximately triangular recess is formed between the corner plate portions 3001 and the glass surface 1003. This approximately triangular recess is formed as a recess that communicates with the gaps on both sides of the glass frame 1006 and the gap 2001 at the bottom side of the glass frame 1006.

Therefore, by inserting the bottom corner of a large sheet such as a sheet to be opened or a stand securing sheet into the approximately triangular recess formed between the corner plate portion 3001 and the glass surface 1003, it becomes possible to stably support and hold the sheet within the glass frame 1006 at three points: both side edges (gaps) of the glass frame 1006, the bottom edge (gaps) of the glass frame 1006, and the corner plate portion 3001 (recess) of the glass frame 1006.

In the case of Figure 109B, a base securing sheet 3000 (shown by a dashed line in Figure 109B) is used as a representative example of a large sheet, and the state in which this base securing sheet 3000 is stably held at two points, the bottom edge portion (gap) of the glass frame 1006 and the corner plate portion 3001 (recess) of the glass frame 1006, is illustrated by an imaginary line in the figure.

The first shelf portion 1007a, which protrudes diagonally downward from the bottom edge of the glass frame 1006, has a protrusion 2004 at the bottom end of its upper surface (downward sloping surface) that can support the leaving seat sheet 2000 and/or the platform securing sheet 3000.

Here, the protrusion 2004 is composed of a plurality of linear small protrusions (linear strips) spaced apart from each other along the lower edge of the first shelf 1007a. The plurality of small protrusions 2004 protrude upward from the panel surface (surface) of the first shelf 1007a at a height sufficient to support the lower portion of the exit seat 2000 or the platform securing seat 3000. These small protrusions 2004 are provided as discontinuous stripes (discontinuous linear protrusions) in which a plurality of linear strips are linearly arranged at equal intervals or discretely. However, the protrusions may also be continuous stripes (continuous linear protrusions) arranged linearly as a continuous piece. These small protrusions 2004 may also be small protrusions with a circular or elliptical cross section.

109B, in addition to the multiple small protrusions 2004, the performance button 1013 arranged on the flat portion 1008a of the second shelf 1008 is itself configured to function as one of the protrusions 2004. That is, the performance button 1013 has a cylindrical portion (base) that intersects with the surface of the flat portion 1008a of the second shelf 1008, and the height position (vertical position in the vertical direction) of the surface (upper side) facing the first shelf 1007a of the outer peripheral surface of this cylindrical base is determined to be the same or nearly the same as the height position (vertical position in the vertical direction) of the protrusion 2004. In other words, in FIG. 109B, the two protrusions 2004 on the left side of the first shelf 1007a, the top surface of the base of the central performance button 1013 on the second shelf 1008, and the two protrusions 2004 on the right side of the first shelf 1007a are aligned in a straight line at the same vertical height.

By making the effect button 1013 function as one of the protrusions 2004 in this way, it is possible to overcome the placement constraint that the effect button 1013 gets in the way and the protrusion 2004 cannot be placed near the effect button 1013. In other words, it is possible to realize a configuration equivalent to placing the protrusion 2004 in the left-right center of the first shelf 1007a or the second shelf 1008. Therefore, even if the leaving seat 2000 has a relatively narrow left-right width, it is possible to place the leaving seat 2000 near the center of the bottom edge of the glass frame 1006 by using the effect button 1013 and the protrusion 2004 next to it.

The protrusion 2004 of this embodiment 2 can also be modified in the manner described above for the protrusions 2002 and 2003 of embodiment 1, such as modifications 2, 3, and 7.

Regarding the inclination of the rotation axis of the operating handle, a configuration with a handle having a tilt axis for right-handed use has been shown, but a configuration with a handle having a tilt axis for left-handed use is also possible, and a configuration with both a handle having a tilt axis for right-handed use and a handle having a tilt axis for left-handed use is also possible.

[Fourth embodiment]
Next, as a fourth embodiment of the present invention, we will explain a form that prevents game balls from spilling out when an opening and closing door (for example, a door structure such as a front frame 2 or a glass door 6; hereinafter abbreviated as "front door") that can be opened and closed toward the front of the gaming machine is opened.

The explanation here is based on a "circulating" managed gaming machine (second or third embodiment) in which games are played using gaming balls sealed inside the gaming machine, but it can also be applied to a "non-circulating" general gaming machine (first embodiment).

(1) Background Art The circulation-type controlled gaming machine shown in Fig. 35(A) has many common structures with the non-circulation-type general gaming machine shown in Fig. 1. One of them is the opening and closing mechanism of the front door. For example, referring to Fig. 1, a front frame 2 is attached to the front of an outer frame 4 so as to be able to open and close, and a game board 3 is attached to the front frame 2 from the back side with its game area 3a facing the opening of the front frame 2. In addition, a glass door 6 and a front operation panel 7 are arranged above and below the front of the front frame 2, and each has a door structure that can be opened to the front side individually or together.

As already explained, the glass door 6 is provided on the front frame 2 in front of the play area 3a of the playboard 3 so that it can be opened and closed freely. Then, by inserting a key into the door unlocking key cylinder (not shown) and operating it to one side, the locked state relative to the front frame 2 can be released and the glass door 6 can be opened to the front, and by operating it to the other side, the locked state of the front frame 2 relative to the outer frame 4 can be released and opened to the front. In addition, the front frame 2 is provided with a firing device 32 on the upper left side inside the glass door 6 (see FIG. 32 (A)), which has a firing performance of about 100 shots per minute. Note that since this embodiment is a circulation-type managed game machine, an upper tray unit 8 and an upper tray 9 are not provided.

In this way, the recirculating managed gaming machine, like the non-recirculating general gaming machine, has a door structure in which the front of the front frame 2 (at least the front of the playing area 5a) is covered with a glass door 6. This type of door structure is essential to enable maintenance of the gaming machine, but there is a risk that the front frame 2 and the front door attached to it (glass door 6 and front operation panel 7) may be opened illegally. Therefore, as a safety measure, the opening and closing of these is detected by a sensor, and an error notification (door open error notification) is issued when the door is open, and the error notification is cancelled when the door is closed. In addition, the firing operation of the firing device is prohibited and cancelled in accordance with the occurrence and cancellation of the opening error.

(Problem regarding timing of door open error judgment)
However, if the point in time when the sensor signal turned ON (open)/OFF (closed) was captured and it was determined that "open/closed" occurred at that point in time, there is a risk that a door open error will occur even in response to a slight vibration of the gaming machine, or that the door will be erroneously detected as open even when it is actually closed, resulting in unnecessary door open errors. For example, a door open error may be erroneously reported if the effect button 13 is hit hard, or if the outer frame 2 or glass door 6 is shaken slightly, or a door open error may be erroneously reported due to chattering.

(Solution Example 1: Fig. 57 (a))
In view of the above problem, a method (Solution Example 1) can be considered in which a point in time delayed by a predetermined time from the ON/OFF of the sensor signal is captured, and if the sensor signal is still ON at that point in time, it is judged to be "open," and if it is still OFF, it is judged to be "closed." Specifically, this will be explained using the time chart shown in Fig. 57(A).

In this fourth embodiment, as in the second and third embodiments, the main control unit 20 and the frame control unit 22 (at least the main control unit 20) are capable of receiving a detection signal (door open signal) from the door open sensor 61. Here, the description will focus on the control process related to the door open error on the main control unit 20 side. The door open sensor 61 is, for example, a contact switch attached to the front frame 2, and has a structure that can detect the open/closed state of the front frame 2 relative to the outer frame 4 and the open/closed state of the glass door 6 relative to the front frame 2 relatively with one switch. However, a dedicated sensor or a switch shared with others can be used. Therefore, when referring to the "door open sensor 61" that detects at least the open/closed state of the glass door 6, it means that it includes a sensor form dedicated to the glass door 6, as well as a sensor form that can detect the open/closed state of the glass door 6 and the open/closed state of the front frame 2. The type of sensor can be any known sensor, regardless of whether it is a contact type or a non-contact type.

As shown in the top row (detection signal row) of Figure 57, the detection signal from this door open sensor 61 rises to ON the moment the front door (in this example, the open/closed state of the "glass door 6") is opened (time t1), and falls to OFF the moment it is closed (time t4). Note that since this example is explained using a controlled gaming machine as an example, the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 (door open signal ON (open state)/OFF (closed state)) is monitored by the input management process (step S083) of Figure 39. In the case of a general gaming machine, it is monitored by the input management process (step S083) of Figure 9.

In the case of FIG. 57 (i), the main control unit 20 captures the points (times t3 and t5) that are delayed a predetermined time (for example, 500 ms) from the ON (rising edge in the illustrated example, time t1) and OFF (falling edge in the illustrated example, time t4) of this detection signal, that is, it waits until the predetermined delay Δ has elapsed, and then judges whether the door is open/closed, i.e., whether a door open error has occurred.

That is, the main control unit 20 has a door open monitoring means for monitoring the open/closed state of the front door (here, the glass door 6) based on the ON (open)/OFF (closed) detection signal (door open signal) from the door open sensor 61. In other words, the main control unit 20 has a door open determination means for determining whether the front door is open or closed based on the detection signal from the door open sensor 61, and this door open determination means determines that the "door is open (door open)" if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is ON for a predetermined time (ON continuously for a predetermined time) (time t3), and determines that the "door is closed (door closed)" if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is OFF for a predetermined time (OFF continuously for a predetermined time) (time t5).

(When the door is detected as open)
For example, when the glass door 6 is opened at time t1 and the ON state of the detection signal from the door opening sensor 61 continues for a predetermined time, the main control unit 20 judges that the "door is open", that is, that a door opening error has occurred, sets the door opening error flag to the ON state (designates that the door is open), and sends a door opening error command to the performance control unit 24 (second stage of FIG. 57 (A)), causing a door opening error notification to be executed (time t3). In addition, when a door opening error occurs, the main control unit 20 switches the launch control signal from ON to OFF (disappears the launch permission signal ES). In other words, the launch operation of the launch device 32 is stopped by switching the content of the launch control signal for the launch device 32 from the launch permission signal ES to the launch stop signal NS (controlling from the launch permission state to the launch prohibition state).

(When the door is detected as closed)

After that, at time t4, when the glass door 6 is closed and the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 remains OFF for a predetermined period of time, the main control unit 20 determines that the "door is closed", that is, that the door open error has been cleared, sets the door open error flag to the OFF state (designates the door to be closed), and sends an error clear command to the performance control unit 24 to end the door open error notification (time t5). In addition, when the door open error is cleared, the main control unit 20 switches the launch control signal from OFF to ON (outputs the launch permission signal ES). In other words, the content of the launch control signal for the launch device 32 is switched from the launch stop signal NS to the launch permission signal ES, thereby enabling the launch operation of the launch device 32 (controlling from the launch prohibited state to the launch permitted state).

The "predetermined time" (delay time) placed before determining whether the "door is open" or "door is closed" is intended to prevent false alarms of door open errors, and here a common delay time (the same time (or it may be approximately the same time)) is adopted for both door open and door closed cases, for example a value of approximately 100 ms to 500 ms (500 ms in the illustrated example). Note that although the delay time (delay Δ) is a common delay time in this example, it may also be different for each case. For example, if the delay time until the door is determined to be open is a first predetermined time (delay Δ1) and the delay time for determining that the door is closed is a second predetermined time (delay Δ2), the first predetermined time may be < the second predetermined time, the first predetermined time > the second predetermined time, or the first predetermined time = the second predetermined time. However, from the viewpoint of preventing fraudulent activities, it is preferable to set the first predetermined time < the second predetermined time so that the door open state can be detected earlier than the door closed state (the same applies to the solution example 2 in FIG. 57 (b) described later). The same applies to the case where the first predetermined time (delay Δ1) and the second predetermined time (delay Δ2) are set when the frame control unit 22 determines whether the door is "open" or "closed."

(2) "Regarding the technical problem of the above Solution Example 1"
However, the method of delaying the judgment point for the detection signal (door open signal) from the door open sensor 61 by a predetermined time and judging that the signal is "door open" if it is ON for the predetermined time and that the signal is "door closed" if it is OFF for the predetermined time, as shown in Figure 57 (a) relating to the above-mentioned solution example 1, has the following problems.

When we look at "door opening when ON for a certain time", as shown in FIG. 57 (A), from the time when the glass door 6 is opened (time t1) to the time when the main control unit 20 recognizes that "door is open" (time t2), that is, during the "delay Δ" period that delays the judgment time by a "certain time", the main control unit 20 continues to output the launch control signal (launch permission signal ES) until it judges that there is a door opening error, so it is in a launch permission state. Therefore, if the launch handle 15 is touched carelessly during the delay Δ period until it judges that there is a door opening error, the launch device 32 will perform a launch operation, and the launched balls will fall out of the gaming machine. Depending on the structure of the gaming machine (for example, the formation position of the launch device 32, the door structure form, etc.), when either the front frame 2 or the glass door 6 is opened (including the case where the front operation panel 7 is opened if it is not integrated with the front frame 2 but is separate), the game balls may fall out of the gaming machine.

In view of the above problems, this embodiment adopts a control method (Solution Example 2) as shown in FIG. 57 (b) and aims to provide a gaming machine that can prevent game balls from spilling out when a front door such as a glass door 6 is opened.

In the following, in order to make the explanation of the present invention easier to understand, we will use as an example a case in which the game balls fall out of the gaming machine when the glass door 6 is opened, as in Figure 57 (a).

In particular, in a managed gaming machine, a predetermined number of gaming balls are circulated inside the gaming machine during play, and therefore when the door structure is opened, even during the above-mentioned period of judgment delay (delay Δ), the launch operation is not prohibited and gaming balls can be supplied to the launching device 32. Therefore, if a gaming ball is launched when the glass door 6 is opened, there is a strong concern that the gaming ball will fly out of the play area 5a and bounce into the pachinko hall. If the gaming ball bounces into the hall, problems may arise such as losing sight of the gaming ball or having to go through the trouble of searching for it.

One possible method to solve the above problem is to reduce the amount of delay Δ to zero or nearly zero, and determine that the door is open immediately when the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 turns ON (rising edge of the door open signal), and determine that the door is closed immediately when the detection signal turns OFF (falling edge of the door open signal) (immediate response determination).

In this way, with the delay Δ set to zero, the immediate response determination can follow the "disappearance of the launch permission signal ES (launch control signal OFF)" without any delay from the "opening of the glass door 6", achieving instantaneous response control. In other words, the launch operation by the launch device 32 can be stopped immediately at approximately the same timing as the opening of the glass door 6.

However, if the delay Δ is set to zero, as mentioned above, problems may occur such as unnecessary door open errors being generated, such as a false door open error being reported even in response to slight vibrations of the gaming machine.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the following solution example 2 is adopted as a method to prevent erroneous notification of a door open error and to prevent game balls from being launched with the door open and falling outside the gaming machine. Solution example 2 will be described in detail with reference to Figure 57 (b).

(3) "Summary of Solution Example 2"
In this embodiment, the "door open error judgment" and the "launch stop judgment" are judged under different conditions (judgment criteria). Specifically, the present embodiment is configured as follows (a) and (b).

(a) "Determining door opening errors"
Regarding the determination of the door open error, if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is ON for a first predetermined time (e.g., 200 ms), it is determined that the door is open (door open error) and a door open error is generated. Also, if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is OFF for a second predetermined time (e.g., 500 ms), it is determined that the "door is closed" (door open error released) and the occurrence of the door open error is released.

(b) "Decision to suspend launch"
Regarding the judgment of the firing stop, if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is ON (rising), it is judged as "door open" and the operation of the firing device 32 is immediately prohibited (controlled to the firing prohibited state). Also, if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is OFF (falling), it is judged as "door closed" and the prohibition of the operation of the firing device is immediately released (controlled to the firing permitted state).

(4) "Details of Solution Example 2"
Fig. 57(b) is a timing chart for explaining Solution Example 2. Note that, in order to avoid repetition, the description will be appropriately omitted for contents that are substantially the same as those explained in Fig. 57(a) relating to Solution Example 1 above.

In Fig. 57 (b), just like in Fig. 57 (a), a detection signal from a door open sensor 61 that detects the open/closed state of the front door (glass door 6) is input to the main control unit 20. As shown in the top row of Fig. 57, this detection signal turns ON (in the illustrated example, the rising edge of the door open signal) the moment the glass door 6 opens (time t1), and turns OFF (in the illustrated example, the falling edge of the door open signal) the moment it closes (time t4).

The main control unit 20 has a door open determination means (door open monitoring means 9) that determines whether the front door (here, the glass door 6) is open or closed based on a detection signal from the door open sensor 61. However, the door open determination means (door open monitoring means) in this example (Solution Example 2) is configured to include the following first determination means and second determination means.

(i) "First determination means (immediate response determination means)"
A first determination means (immediate response determination means) determines that the door is open when the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 switches to ON, and determines that the door is closed when the detection signal switches to OFF.
(ii) "Second determination means (slow response determination means)"
A second determination means (delay response determination means) determines that the door is open if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is ON for a first predetermined time (delay Δ1), and determines that the door is closed if the detection signal is OFF for a second predetermined time (delay Δ2). This second determination means determines that the door is open (door open error) at least after the first determination means determines that the door is open.

(a) "Regarding control of launchers"
In the first judgment means (immediate response judgment means), when the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 rises to ON (time t1), the main control unit 20 captures the time when the detection signal turns ON (time t1) without making the ON state a condition that the delay time continues (without waiting for the delay time to elapse), and immediately judges that "the door is open" at that time. Then, when it judges that "the door is open", it switches the firing control signal from ON to OFF (controls it to a firing prohibited state) and stops the firing operation of the firing device 32.

In addition, in the first determination means (immediate response determination means), when the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 falls to OFF (time t4), the main control unit 20 captures the point in time when the detection signal turns OFF (time t4) and immediately determines that "the door is closed" at that point, without making it a condition that the OFF state continues for the delay time (without waiting for the delay time to elapse). If it determines that "the door is closed", it switches the launch control signal from OFF to ON (controls it to a launch permitted state) to permit and resume the launch operation of the launch device 32.

The input management process (step S083) and error management process (step S089) in FIG. 39 (FIG. 9 for a general gaming machine) can function as the first judgment means (immediate response judgment means). For example, the input management process (step S083) during the 4 ms interrupt process shown in FIG. 39 monitors the detection signal from the door open sensor 61, so that if the door open signal ON is detected in this input management process (step S083), the launch stop flag is set to ON (launch stop designation), and the subsequent error management process (step S089) in the same interrupt process determines the setting state of the launch stop flag (ON (launch stop designation)/OFF (launch permission designation)), and if the launch control signal stop flag is ON, the launch control signal is set to OFF, and if the launch control signal stop flag is OFF, the launch control signal is set to ON.

However, from the viewpoint of reducing the control burden, it is preferable to perform the control process for prohibiting/allowing the firing operation of the firing device 32 in the input management process (step S083) without relying on the firing stop flag as described above. Specifically, the input management process (step S083) executes a process in which the firing control signal is turned OFF when the detection signal ON from the door open sensor 61 is detected, and the firing control signal is turned ON when the detection signal OFF from the door open sensor 61 is detected. In this case, only the input management process (step S083) can function as the first determination means (immediate response determination means).

In addition, in order to prevent erroneous detection of the detection signal from the door opening sensor 61, it is preferable to judge the ON/OFF of the detection signal from the door opening sensor 61 based on the detection results in at least two or more interrupt processes (input management processes). For example, if the detection results of the door opening signal in the previous and current interrupt processes are both ON, the detection signal from the door opening sensor 61 is judged to be ON, and if the detection results of the door opening signal in the previous and current interrupt processes are different, the detection signal from the door opening sensor 61 is judged to be OFF. In any case, when the door opening is detected, the launch control signal can be set to ON/OFF in an extremely short time, so that the role of the first judgment means (immediate response judgment means) can be fully exerted. For example, even if the detection signal ON/OFF from the door opening sensor 61 is judged by several interrupts, the output of the launch control signal can be stopped in an extremely short time of about 8 ms to 16 ms after the glass door 6 is opened, and the launch operation of the game ball can be stopped (prohibited). The firing capacity of the firing device 32 is approximately 100 shots per minute, so this is considered to be a reasonable time interval to determine whether or not the firing operation can be stopped immediately after the glass door 6 is opened.

(b) "Door open error detection and release"
Next, detection and release of a door open error (determination of a door open error) according to this example (Solution Example 2) will be described.

In the second judgment means (late response judgment means), the main control unit 20 detects the time when the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 continues to be ON for a first predetermined time (e.g., 200 ms) from the time when the detection signal rises to ON (time t1), that is, the time when the first delay Δ1 has elapsed (time t2), and judges that the "door is open" if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 is ON for the predetermined time (time t2). If it judges that the "door is open", it sets the door open error flag to the ON state (door is open) as a door open error has occurred, and sends a door open error command to the performance control unit 24 to notify the outside of the door open error (time t2).

In addition, in the second judgment means (late response judgment means), the main control unit 20 detects the point at which the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 remains OFF for a second predetermined time (e.g., 500 ms) from the point at which the detection signal falls to OFF (time t4), that is, the point at which the second delay Δ2 has elapsed (time t5), and judges that the "door is closed" if the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 remains OFF for the predetermined time (time t5). If it judges that the "door is closed", it sets the door open error flag to the OFF state (door is closed) assuming that the door open error has been cleared, and sends an error clear command to the performance control unit 24 to end the door open error notification (time t5).

The method of controlling the detection and release of the door open error described above is the same as in Figure 57 (A), except that the delay Δ1, which determines the timing of door open detection to determine a door open error, has been shortened from 500 ms to 200 ms. The reason for shortening it is that the shorter the delay Δ1, the more effective it is as a measure against fraudulent activity. Note that in Figure 57 (B), the delay Δ2 (times t4 to t5), which determines the timing to determine whether to release the door open error when the door is closed, is 500 ms, the same as in Figure 57 (A), but this delay Δ2 can also be set to a value longer or shorter than 500 ms.

The processing related to door opening errors has already been explained in the input management processing (step S083) and error management processing (step S089) in Figure 39 (Figure 9 in the case of a general gaming machine), and these management processing (steps S083, S089) can function as the second determination means (late response determination means) mentioned above.

(5) "Effects of Solution Example 2"
In this example (Solution Example 2), the first judgment means (instant response judgment means) judges that the door is immediately opened when the detection signal from the door opening sensor 61 turns ON, and controls the launching operation of the launching device 32 to a launch prohibited state. This makes it possible to immediately stop the launching operation of the launching device 32 without delaying the opening of the glass door 6, and prevents the launched game balls from spilling out of the gaming machine.

On the other hand, with regard to the notification of a door open error, the second determination means (delayed response determination means) is configured to detect the time when delay Δ1 has elapsed since the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 rises to ON and the time when delay Δ2 has elapsed since the detection signal falls to OFF, and to determine whether the "door is open" or "door is closed." This makes it possible to prevent a door open error from being erroneously notified, as would occur if the delay amount were set to zero.

In other words, in this embodiment, the criteria for determining whether the door is open or not are divided into two: a first criterion (immediate response judgment) for stopping the launcher, and a second criterion (delayed response judgment) for generating an error notification. The two criteria are independent and do not affect each other, and the contents of these two criteria are made different according to the purpose. According to this embodiment, for the launcher 32, an "immediate response judgment (first criterion)" is adopted, which instantly responds to the opening of the glass door 6 without delay, judges that the door is open, and stops the launch control signal (disappears the launch permission signal ES). Therefore, when the glass door 6 is opened, the launch operation of the launcher 32 is prohibited without delay after the glass door 6 is opened, and the launch balls can be prevented from spilling out.

In addition, when reporting a door open error, a "delayed response judgment (second judgment criterion)" is adopted, which does not respond immediately to the opening of the glass door 6, but waits for a delay time to elapse before determining that the door is open. This makes it possible to prevent erroneous reporting of a door open error, as occurs when the delay time is set to zero.

(Regarding monitoring of door opening errors by the frame control unit 22 and error notification processing)
As already explained, the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20 can each receive a detection signal from the door open sensor 61, and there is no exchange of information regarding "door open/door closed" (messages related to detection information from the door open sensor 61) between these control units 20, 22, and each can independently execute a predetermined error process (error process related to door open) based on the detection signal from the door open sensor 61. In short, the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20 are each independently configured to monitor "door open/door closed" (to monitor the occurrence of a door open error), and more specifically, the main control unit 20 has a "first error determination means" capable of independently determining a door open error (without coordinating with the frame control unit 22), and the frame control unit 22 has a "second error determination means" capable of independently determining a door open error (without coordinating with the main control unit 20).

When the frame control unit 22 determines that there is a door open error (door open signal OFF, a predetermined outer end signal (here, a security signal related to door opening) is sent to an external device connected to the gaming machine, but does not control the stop of the firing operation even if it detects that the door is open. Therefore, the main control unit 20 can control the firing operation responsively (immediate response control) to the ON/OFF of the detection signal from the door open sensor 61 by independently controlling the main control unit 20 without any time lag required for "notification/response" of messages between the frame control unit 22 and the frame control unit 22 regarding "permission/prohibition (stop)" of the firing operation based on "door open/door close", in other words, without coordination between the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20 (Figure 57 (b)).

(Regarding detection and release of door opening errors in the frame control unit 22)
The determination conditions for a door opening error on the frame control unit 22 side may be different from the determination conditions on the main control unit 20 side, but it is preferable that they are the same conditions. The reason is as follows.

When a door opening error occurs, the frame control unit 22 transmits a predetermined outer end signal (a security signal related to door opening) to an external device (such as a hall computer HC or a gaming machine information center) via the external connection terminal board 85 without notifying the main control unit 20, and notifies the outside that a door opening error has occurred. On the other hand, when a door opening error occurs, the main control unit 20 transmits a door opening error command to the performance control unit 24 to notify the outside that a door opening error has occurred (error notification by the performance means). In this way, the frame control unit 22 and the main control unit 20 each independently perform processing related to the door opening error notification, but if the notification timing of the door opening error is different, for example, a situation may occur in which the external device detects a door opening error but the gaming machine 1 does not notify the door opening error, which is undesirable from the perspective of fraud monitoring, etc. Also, even if the door opening error is released, it is undesirable for the release timing (error notification end timing) to be different for the same reason. Therefore, it is preferable for the frame control unit 22 to adopt the same door opening error judgment conditions (for example, see FIG. 57 (b)) as the main control unit 20. The "door opening error judgment conditions" here are at least error judgment conditions that judge the occurrence of a door opening error, and preferably error release conditions that judge the error judgment conditions and the release of the door opening error.

In either case, if the door is opened, the firing operation of the firing device 32 is stopped (time t1) before a door opening error is determined, and then, if a door opening error is determined (time t2 after delay Δ1 has elapsed), a security signal related to the door opening is output (transmitted) and a door opening error is notified by the performance means. Also, if the door is closed during a door opening error, the firing operation is resumed (time 4) before it is determined that the door opening error has been cleared, and then (time t5 after delay Δ2 has elapsed), the currently occurring door opening error is cleared.

(Variation 1)
In the above "Solution Example 2 ((B) of FIG. 57)," the main control unit 20 has been described as stopping the firing operation of the launching device 32 immediately when the first determination means (immediate response determination means) detects door opening (time t1), and immediately restarting the stopped firing operation when the door is closed (time t4). However, when the door is closed, the stopped firing operation may be restarted after waiting for a predetermined time (delay Δ3) to elapse. For example, when the second determination means (late response determination means) determines that the door open error has been released (time t5), the firing operation of the launching device 32 may be permitted and restarted. Since the game balls spill out mainly when the door structure is opened, it is effective to immediately stop the firing operation of the launching device 32 when the door is opened, but there is no particular problem in restarting the firing operation after waiting for the door open error to be released.

In addition, the above-mentioned "predetermined time (delay Δ3)" in this example can be a time different from the "second predetermined time (delay Δ2)" required for the second judgment means (late response judgment means) to judge that the door opening error has been released (delay Δ3 ≠ delay Δ2). However, it is preferable that the "predetermined time (delay Δ3)" is shorter than the "second predetermined time (delay Δ2)" (delay Δ3 < delay Δ2) or is the same (almost the same) time (delay Δ3 = delay Δ2, or delay Δ3 ≒ delay Δ2). If the delay Δ3 is longer than the delay Δ2 (delay Δ3 > delay Δ2), a problem occurs in which the firing operation is not resumed (is delayed) even though the door opening error has been released, which is not preferable. In this example, when the door is opened, the firing operation of the firing device 32 is stopped (time t1) before it is determined that a door opening error has occurred, as in the above "Solution Example 2". After that, when it is determined that a door opening error has occurred (time t2 after the delay Δ1 has elapsed), a security signal related to the door opening is output (transmitted) and a door opening error is notified by the performance means. On the other hand, when the door is closed during the door opening error, unlike the above "Solution Example 2", the firing operation is resumed after a predetermined time (delay Δ3) has elapsed. Note that the firing operation may be resumed before it is determined that the door opening error has been released (in the case of "delay Δ3<delay Δ2": in the example of FIG. 57, it is resumed between time t4<time t5) or when it is determined that the door opening error has been released (in the case of "delay Δ3=delay Δ2": in the example of FIG. 57, it is resumed at time t5).

(Variation 2)
In the fourth embodiment, the glass door 6 is used as the front door, but the present invention can be applied to one or more of the front frame 2, the glass door 6, and other door structures. The reason why the present invention can be applied to the front frame 2 is that if the front frame 2 is opened and the launch guideway of the game ball is blocked, the launch device stops at the same time as the front frame 2 is opened, and the game balls can be prevented from spilling out from the blocked part of the guideway to the back side of the front frame 2 by adopting the immediate response judgment. For example, when the front frame 2 is closed, the inlet of the grinding device arranged in the outer frame 4 is connected to the used ball recovery path provided in the front frame 2, and the outlet of the grinding device arranged in the outer frame 4 is connected to the launch guideway provided in the front frame 2 to form a continuous ball guideway (Patent Publication No. 2013-183925). In the game machine configured in this way, the door opening sensor 61 has a sensor function for detecting the open/closed state of the front frame 2, and the embodiment (Solution Example 2) described in FIG. 57 (B) is applied, and the same effect can be obtained.

(Variation 3)
In the fourth embodiment, the explanation has been given on the premise of a "controlled gaming machine" in which games are played using gaming balls sealed inside the gaming machine, but the present invention can be applied to any gaming machine, regardless of whether it is a "circulating" gaming machine or a "non-circulating" gaming machine, as long as the gaming machine has a door structure, such as a glass door 6 or an outer frame 2, that generates an error notification when opened and in which there is a possibility that the released balls will spill out when the door is opened.

For example, the non-circulating general game machine shown in FIG. 1 has a door structure such as a front frame 2 and a glass door 6, similar to the circulating managed game machine. That is, the front frame 2 is attached to one side of the outer frame 4 in the left-right direction via a hinge so that it can be opened and closed freely around a vertical axis. The front frame 2 has a game board mounting frame and a front operation panel 7 (support plate) on the top and bottom, and the game board 3 is attached to the game board mounting frame so that it can be attached and detached freely from the back side. The launch operation handle 15 is attached to the front of the front operation panel 7, and the launch device 32 is attached to the back side. As already explained in the first embodiment, these front frame 2 and glass door 6 are doors that generate an error notification when opened, and have the problem that if these doors are opened carelessly, game balls are launched from the launch device 32 and fall out of the game machine. Therefore, by applying the embodiment (Solution Example 2) explained in FIG. 57 (B) to any of these door structures, a similar effect can be obtained.

(Modification 4: Relationship between the door open state and the ball removal state)
However, there may be cases where, due to ball jamming or other reasons, it is desired to operate the ball removal unit 72 (to put the machine into a ball removal state) and remove all or some of the game balls. In order to operate the ball removal unit 72, it is necessary to open the front frame 2 and operate the ball removal switch 62 provided inside the gaming machine. In the present embodiment, the machine is controlled to a release prohibition state regardless of whether the machine is in a ball removal state or not while the door is open. However, since there may be cases where game balls that are supplied to the launching device 32 and are waiting to be released are also desired to be removed, in consideration of this point, the launching operation may not be prohibited (the launching operation may be permitted) when the machine is in a ball removal state while the door is open (the door is open and the ball removal state). In addition, the open/closed state of the glass door 6 and the open/closed state of the front frame 2 may be separately detected, and the launching operation may not be prohibited when the front frame 2 is open, and the launching operation may be prohibited when the glass door 6 is open.

(Modification 5: Relationship between Door Open State and Performance Information)
The launching operation is stopped while the door is open, but even when the launching operation is stopped, the game ball launched just before the stop may be detected as a winning ball or an out ball, so the device may be configured to be able to execute processing related to the performance information (all or part of the processing including the counting processing of the count value used to calculate the performance information, the processing of calculating the performance information, the processing of displaying the performance information, and the processing of outputting the performance information to an external device (output processing to an external device by an outer end signal)). In this case, the performance information may also reflect the game ball launched just before the launching operation is stopped. However, it is difficult to say that the ball launched when the door is opened is a game ball launched by a player during normal play, and it is more likely that the ball was launched as a result of a hall employee or the like accidentally touching the launch operation handle 15 just before the door is opened. Therefore, the processing related to the performance information may not be executed while the launching operation is stopped due to the door being opened. Specifically, "processing related to performance information" refers to counting processing of the counter values used to calculate the performance information, calculation processing of the performance information, display processing of the performance information, and external output processing of the performance information (output processing of an outer end signal to an external device), and the configuration can be such that at least one of these processes is not executed while the firing operation is stopped due to the door being open.

The fourth embodiment described above can have the following configurations (E1) to (E7). Note that the elements in parentheses correspond to the corresponding elements in the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to these.

<Configuration (E1)>
This is a configuration example applied to the front door (glass door 6).
A front frame (front frame 2) attached to an outer frame (outer frame 4) so as to be openable and closable;
A game board (game board 3) attached to the front frame;
A launching means (launching device 32) capable of launching game balls into a game area;
A launch control means (main control unit 20, launch control board 28) for controlling the launching operation of the game ball by the launch means;
A front door (glass door 6) provided on the front surface of the front frame in an openable and closable manner;
a door open detection means (door open sensor 61) capable of outputting a detection signal indicating an open/closed state of the front door in response to at least an open/closed state of the front door;
A gaming machine including an error notification execution means (main control unit 20, presentation control unit 24, presentation means) capable of executing a predetermined error notification,
The launch control means includes:
When a detection signal indicating the open state is detected, the control is immediately made to a prohibited (restricted) state in which the firing operation of the firing means is prohibited (restricted) (time t1 in FIG. 57(b)), and when a detection signal indicating the closed state is detected during the prohibited state, the control is immediately made to a permitted state in which the prohibited state is released and the firing operation of the firing means is permitted (time t4 in FIG. 57(b)).
The error notification execution means includes:
When a detection signal indicating the open state is continuously detected for a first predetermined time (time t1 to t2 in FIG. 57), the error notification (door open error notification) is executed (time t2 in FIG. 57(B)). When a detection signal indicating the closed state is continuously detected for a second predetermined time during the error notification (time t4 to t5 in FIG. 57), the error notification is terminated (time t5 in FIG. 57(B)).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (E2)>
A front frame (front frame 2) attached to an outer frame (outer frame 4) so as to be openable and closable;
A game board (game board 3) attached to the front frame;
A launching means (launching device 32) capable of launching game balls into a game area;
A launch control means (main control unit 20, launch control board 28) for controlling the launching operation of the game ball by the launch means;
A front door (glass door 6) provided on the front surface of the front frame in an openable and closable manner;
a door open detection means (door open sensor 61) capable of outputting a detection signal indicating an open/closed state of the front door in response to at least an open/closed state of the front door;
a door open determination means (main control unit 20) for determining whether the front door is open or closed based on a detection signal from the door open detection means;
An error notification execution means (main control unit 20, performance control unit 24, performance means) capable of executing a predetermined error notification;
A gaming machine comprising:
The door opening determination means
a first determination means (immediate response determination means) for determining the open state when a detection signal indicating the open state is received (when the door open signal turns ON: time t1 in FIG. 57(B)), and for determining the closed state when a detection signal indicating the closed state is received (when the door open signal turns OFF: time t4 in FIG. 57(B));
A second determination means (delayed response determination means) that determines the open state when a detection signal indicating the open state is received continuously for a first predetermined time (times t1 to t2 in FIG. 57(B)) and determines the closed state when a detection signal indicating the closed state is received continuously for a second predetermined time (times t4 to t5 in FIG. 57(B)),
The launch control means includes:
When the first determination means determines that the state is the open state, the firing means is controlled to a prohibited state in which the firing operation is prohibited (time t1 in FIG. 57(b)). When the first determination means determines that the state is the closed state, the firing means is controlled to an permitted state in which the firing operation is permitted (time t4 in FIG. 57(b)).
The error notification execution means includes:
When the second determination means determines that the door is in the open state, the error notification (door open error notification) is executed (time t2 in FIG. 57(B)). When the second determination means determines that the door is in the closed state during the error notification, the error notification is terminated (time t5 in FIG. 57(B)).
A gaming machine characterized by:

In the above "Configuration (Open 1)" or "Configuration (Open 2)," in a configuration in which the front door is a glass door 6, "a front door provided on the front surface of the front frame so as to be able to open and close" can be changed to "a front door provided on the front frame 2 so as to be able to open and close and cover the playing area of the playing board." In addition, the relationship between the first and second predetermined times may be any of "first predetermined time < second predetermined time," "first predetermined time > second predetermined time," and "first predetermined time = second predetermined time."

<Configuration (E3)>
A launching means (launching device 32) capable of launching game balls;
A firing control means (main control unit 20, firing control board 28) for controlling the firing operation of the firing means;
A door open detection means (door open sensor 61) capable of detecting an open/closed state of an open door (a door structure such as a front frame 2 or a glass door) arranged in an openable/closable manner on the gaming machine body;
An error determination means (main control unit 20) for determining whether or not a door open error has occurred based on a detection signal from the door open detection means;
An error notification execution means (main control unit 20, performance control unit 24, performance means) capable of executing an error notification related to the door opening error;
A gaming machine comprising:
The error determination means
When the detection signal indicating the open state is continuously detected for a predetermined time (time t1 to t2 in FIG. 57(B)), it is determined that the door open error has occurred (time t2 in FIG. 57(B)).
The launch control means includes:
When a detection signal indicating the open state is detected, the firing operation of the firing means is stopped (time t1 in FIG. 57(B)) before the error determination means determines that a door open error has occurred (before time t2 in FIG. 57(B)).
The gaming machine is characterized by the above.

<Configuration (E4)>
A launching means (launching device 32) capable of launching game balls;
A firing control means (main control unit 20, firing control board 28) for controlling the firing operation of the firing means;
A door open detection means (door open sensor 61) capable of detecting an open/closed state of an opening/closing door (a door structure such as a front frame 2 or a glass door) arranged in an openable/closable manner on the gaming machine body;
an external signal output means (frame control unit 22, external connection terminal board 85) capable of outputting a predetermined signal (an outer end signal relating to a door open error) to an external device (e.g., a hall computer HC, a data counter DT, a gaming machine information center, etc.) provided outside the gaming machine based on the detection of the detection signal indicating the open state;
A gaming machine comprising:
The launch control means stops the launch operation of the launch means before the external signal output means outputs the predetermined signal (see "Detection and release of door opening error in the frame control unit 22").
The gaming machine is characterized by the above.

<Configuration (E5)>
A launching means (launching device 32) capable of launching game balls;
A firing control means (main control unit 20, firing control board 28) for controlling the firing operation of the firing means;
A door open detection means (door open sensor 61) capable of detecting an open/closed state of an opening/closing door (a door structure such as a front frame 2 or a glass door) arranged in an openable/closable manner on the gaming machine body;
An error determination means (frame control unit 22) capable of determining a door opening error based on a detection signal from the door opening detection means;
A gaming machine comprising: an external signal output means (a frame control unit 22, an external connection terminal board 85) capable of outputting a predetermined signal (an outer end signal relating to a door opening error) to an external device (e.g., a hall computer HC, a data counter DT, a gaming machine information center, etc.) provided outside the gaming machine;
The error determination means
When the detection signal indicating the open state is continuously detected for a predetermined time, it is determined that the door open error has occurred (time t2 in FIG. 57).
The external signal output means is
When the error determination means determines that a door opening error has occurred, the predetermined signal is output (see "Detection and release of door opening error in the frame control unit 22").
The launch control means includes:
When a detection signal indicating the open state is detected, the firing operation of the firing means is stopped before the error determination means determines that there is a door open error (see time t1 in Figure 57 (b) "Regarding detection and release of door open error in frame control unit 22").
The gaming machine is characterized by the above.

<Configuration (E6)>
A launching means (launching device 32) capable of launching game balls;
A door open detection means (door open sensor 61) capable of detecting an open/closed state of an opening/closing door (a door structure such as a front frame 2 or a glass door) arranged in an openable/closable manner on the gaming machine body;
A winning detection means (various winning detection sensors) for detecting a gaming ball that has entered the winning means;
A main control unit (main control unit 20) configured to be able to manage winning ball number information based on the detection information detected by the winning detection unit and controlling the game operation;
A sub-control means (frame control unit 22) configured to be able to execute an increase/decrease management process for the number of game balls used for playing a game based on the prize ball number information from the main control means,
A controlled gaming machine in which a game is played by circulating game balls enclosed therein,
A detection signal from the door opening detection means is input to the main control means and the sub-control means (FIG. 32).
The main control means
a first error determination means for determining a door open error based on a detection signal from the door open detection means;
A firing control means capable of controlling the firing operation of the firing means,
The sub-control means is
A second error determination means capable of determining a door open error based on a detection signal from the door open detection means;
an external signal output means for outputting a predetermined signal (an external end signal relating to a door opening error) to an external device (e.g., a hall computer HC, a data counter DT, a gaming machine information center, etc.) provided outside the gaming machine based on a result of the determination by the second error determination means;
The first error determination means
When the detection signal indicating the open state is continuously detected for a first predetermined time, it is determined that the door open error has occurred (time t2 in FIG. 57(B)).
The launch control means includes:
When a detection signal indicating the open state is detected, the firing operation of the firing means is stopped before the error determination means determines that a door open error has occurred (time t1 in FIG. 57(B)).
The second error determination means
If the detection signal indicating the open state is continuously detected for a second predetermined time, it is determined that the door open error has occurred (time t2 in FIG. 57(B)).
The external signal output means is
When the second error determination means determines that a door opening error has occurred, the predetermined signal is output.
In the present configuration, the first predetermined time and the second predetermined time may be the same or substantially the same.

<Configuration (E7)>
A launching means capable of launching a game ball;
A door open detection means (door open sensor 61) capable of detecting an open/closed state of an opening/closing door (a door structure such as a front frame 2 or a glass door) arranged in an openable/closable manner on the gaming machine body;
An error notification means (performance means) capable of executing a door opening error notification;
A first control means (main control unit 20) that controls game operations;
A second control means (frame control unit 22) capable of communicating with the first control means;
A gaming machine comprising:
The first control means is
an error determination means capable of determining a door open error when the opening and closing door is in an open state (FIG. 57(b));
an error processing execution means (S089 in FIG. 36) for executing an error processing related to the door opening error notification when the error determination means determines that the door opening error has occurred;
and a firing stop means (FIG. 57(b)) for stopping the firing operation of the firing means when the opening and closing door is in an open state.
The second control means is
An external signal output means capable of outputting a predetermined signal to an external device provided outside the gaming machine when the opening and closing door is in an open state (see "Detection and release of door opening error in the frame control unit 22");
In the above configuration (E7), a detection signal from the door opening detection means can be input to each of the first control means and the second control means.

(Regarding the transition (operation) form of time-saving state and minute time-saving state by state)
The transition form of the time-saving state and the minute time-saving state according to the game state can be configured as follows. Here, the operation form related to the time-saving game state such as the time-saving state and the minute time-saving state, which are closely related to the present invention, will be mainly described.

For ease of explanation, the following predetermined events related to gaming will be referred to as (Name 1) to (Name 4).

(Name 1) "A-hour reduction"
The time-saving game state that is transitioned to upon winning a jackpot (including a V-hit due to a small jackpot) is called "A time-saving". Specifically, the time-saving game state that is transitioned to after the end of a jackpot game (including a V-hit game), that is, after the operation of the continuous operation device of the role is completed, is called "A time-saving". Hereinafter, when referring to a "jackpot", "V-hit" may also be included.

(Name 2) "B-hour shortening"
The time-saving state to which the player is transitioned when the ceiling is reached (the ceiling number of games is reached) (the time-saving state due to activation of the ceiling function (ceiling time-saving)) is called "B time-saving."

(Name 3) "C-hour reduction"
The time-saving game state that is entered upon winning the special time-saving lottery is called "C time-saving."

(Name 4) In addition, the number of times time was reduced or the number of times that time was slightly reduced will be referred to as the "number of times time was reduced" unless otherwise necessary.

Next, we will explain the transition patterns for the above-mentioned A time reduction, B time reduction, and C time reduction.

<About the transition form of A-hours reduction>
(A1) During normal play (low probability and no electric support), a jackpot win can trigger a transition to time-saving mode A.
(A2) If the game is in the A-time shortened mode, a jackpot win will trigger a transition to the A-time shortened mode.
(A3) If the game is in the B time-saving mode, a jackpot win will trigger a transition to the A time-saving mode.
(A4) If you are in the C time-saving mode, you can transition to the A time-saving mode if you win a jackpot.
(A5) In the case of a high probability state (high probability state or potential high probability state), a transition to A time-saving mode is possible upon winning a jackpot.
(A6) When it is possible to transition to time-saving A, it is possible to transition to a time-saving game state with a different degree of advantage (for example, a time-saving state with a different number of time-saving times) depending on the "game state at the time of winning" and/or the "type of jackpot won (in the case of a V-win, the type of small jackpot)".

<About the transition form of B time reduction (ceiling time reduction)>
(B1) When in normal mode, you can transition to time-saving mode B when you reach the ceiling.
(B2) When in the A time-saving mode, you can transition to the B time-saving mode upon reaching the ceiling.
(B3) In the case of B time reduction, when the ceiling is reached, it is not possible to transition to B time reduction (B time reduction cannot be activated continuously). Specifically, during B time reduction (ceiling time reduction), it is not possible to transition to a new B time reduction without going through a jackpot (activation of the continuous operation device of the role), (continuous activation of "B time reduction → B time reduction" is not possible). In addition, after the B time reduction ends, it is not possible to transition to a new B time reduction without going through a jackpot. For example, even if the ceiling game number is reached during B time reduction without winning a jackpot, it is not possible to transition to a new B time reduction, and after the B time reduction ends, it is not possible to transition to a new B time reduction without going through a jackpot.
(B4) In the case of C time reduction, when the ceiling is reached, it is possible to shift to B time reduction. If the ceiling is reached during C time reduction, it is possible to switch to B time reduction (control from C time reduction to B time reduction).
(B5) When the high probability is reached, it is not possible to transition to B time-saving mode upon reaching the ceiling.
(B6) In addition, when transition to the B time reduction is possible, transition to the B time reduction with a different number of time reductions (B time reduction with a different degree of advantage) may be made depending on the game state when the ceiling game (in this embodiment, the 751st spin) is reached.

<About the transition form for C-type reduced working hours>
(C1) During normal play, you can transition to C time reduction by winning the special time reduction option.
(C2) If you are in the A time-saving period, you can transition to the C time-saving period by winning the special time-saving period.
(C3) If you are in the B time-saving period, you can transition to C time-saving period by winning the special time-saving period.
(C4) If you are in the C time-saving mode, you can switch to the C time-saving mode when you win a special time-saving mode. If you win a special time-saving mode during the C time-saving mode, you can switch to a new C time-saving mode (you can update to the time-saving mode (number of time-saving modes) according to the type of special time-saving mode you won).
(C5) In the case of a high probability, it is not possible to transition to C time reduction even if a special time reduction is won.
(C6) If transition to C time-saving is possible, transition to a time-saving game state with a different degree of advantage (for example, a time-saving state with a different number of time-saving times) is possible depending on the “game state at the time of winning” and/or the “type of special time-saving that has been won.”
(C7) In the case of this embodiment, the time-saving state and the micro-time-saving state invalidate the special time-saving win (prohibits activation of special time-saving), in other words, during both the A time-saving state and the C time-saving state, transition to the C time-saving state is not possible; however, it may be configured so as to be able to transition to the C time-saving state as in the above-mentioned (C2) and (C4).

[Fifth embodiment]
Next, a control form for transition of the game state due to a big win will be described. This embodiment corresponds to a modified example of the control form for transition of the game state in the first embodiment.

As already explained, when a big win (including a small win resulting in a V hit) occurs, the game state to which the player transitions after the winning game is determined according to the "game state at the time of the win" and/or the "type of win" (see, for example, Figures 4A, 4B, 6, etc.). Here, as a modified example of the transition control form of the first embodiment, we will focus on the big win that can trigger the A time reduction and the transition control form of the game state due to that big win.

"A jackpot that can trigger the A time-saving feature" refers to a jackpot that can transition to a time-saving gaming state (hereafter referred to as a "time-saving jackpot"). This time-saving jackpot includes the following (Big 1) and (Big 2) jackpots.

(Big 1) A jackpot that transitions only to a time-saving game state. Specifically, it is a jackpot that transitions to a time-saving or micro-time-saving game state, regardless of the game state at the time of winning. For example, "jackpot D" shown in Figure 4A applies.

(Big 2) A jackpot that transitions to a time-saving game state if the game state at the time of winning is the first game state, and transitions to a game state other than the time-saving game state if the game state is a second game state different from the first game state. A jackpot that transitions to a game state other than the time-saving game state (either the normal state, the special state, or the potential state). For example, this includes "jackpot A" or "jackpot B" shown in Figure 4A. Note that jackpot C is a jackpot that transitions to the normal state (a game state other than the time-saving game state) regardless of the game state at the time of winning, and such a jackpot is excluded from time-saving jackpots (jackpots that can trigger the activation of the A time-saving game).

In this embodiment, the explanation will be centered on "time-saving jackpots," but it is possible to provide one or more jackpot types that can transition to a state other than the time-saving state (normal state, special probability state, potential probability state, etc.) depending on the "game state at the time of winning" and/or the "type of jackpot won." For example, it is possible to provide jackpots that only transition to the normal state (normal jackpots), jackpots that only transition to the special probability state or potential probability state (special probability jackpots), etc., regardless of the game state at the time of winning.

First, to facilitate understanding of this embodiment, we will explain the jackpot in the first embodiment with reference to Figure 4A.

In the case of the time-saving jackpot in the first embodiment (which includes jackpot A, jackpot B, and jackpot D), as shown in FIG. 4A, the destination game state is determined depending on whether the game state at the time of winning is "normal state", "micro-time-saving state (micro-time-saving A and micro-time-saving B)", or "time-saving state (time-saving A to time-saving C)". However, in the case of the first embodiment, the micro-time-saving state belongs to the time-saving state, and the micro-time-saving state (micro-time-saving A and micro-time-saving B) and the time-saving state (time-saving A to time-saving C) are treated as game states of the same order, so there are only two types of "game state at the time of winning", "normal state, time-saving state (micro-time-saving state)". Therefore, whether the game is won during the time-saving state or during the micro-time-saving state, the destination game state is the same. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, regardless of whether the game state at the time of winning is the time-saving state or the slight time-saving state, if it is a jackpot A, it will transition to "Slight time-saving A", if it is a jackpot B, it will transition to "Slight time-saving B", and if it is a jackpot D, it will transition to "Time-saving A" (see the jackpot A, B, and D columns in FIG. 4A).

If the transition format were to be as in the first embodiment, the "game state at the time of winning" would be limited to a maximum of two types: "normal state" and "time-saving state (slight time-saving state)". This would result in a lack of variety in jackpots and would limit the freedom of presentation during a win and the freedom of playability.

For example, in the case where the "game state at the time of winning" is two types, "normal state, time-saving state (slight time-saving state)" (number of game states at the time of winning S = 2), and the "destination game state" is six types, "normal state, slight time-saving A, slight time-saving B, time-saving A, time-saving B, time-saving C" (number of destination game states T = 6), the combination examples of jackpot types with different characteristics (types of jackpots with different destination game states depending on the game state at the time of winning) are 36 types (two game states at the time of winning, six destination game states, totaling 36 types: number of types N = TS = 62). Therefore, time-saving jackpots can be determined from 35 types excluding jackpots that transition only to the normal state.

However, in a transition format like the first embodiment, where "if a certain jackpot is won and the game state at the time of the winning is a time-saving game state, only a common game state can be transitioned to," there is a lack of variety in jackpots, and the freedom of playability is limited. In other words, the game state to which the player transitions can be appropriately determined from among the game states that the gaming machine can control according to the playability, but since the range is fixed, in order to increase the variety of jackpots, it is necessary to diversify the "game state at the time of winning."

For example, in the case of Figure 4A (an example where the game does not transition to time-saving C due to a jackpot), there are two types of "game state at the time of winning": "normal state, time-saving state (slight time-saving state)", and five types of "game state to transition to": "normal state, slight time-saving A, slight time-saving B, time-saving A, time-saving B". Example combinations of jackpot types with different characteristics are shown in Figure 58, and there are a total of 25 types (number of types N = 52) from jackpot 1 to 25. Of these, there are only 24 types of time-saving jackpots, excluding "jackpot 1", which transitions only to the normal state. Note that "jackpot 1", "jackpot 2", "jackpot 3", and "jackpot 24" in Figure 58 correspond to "jackpot C", "jackpot A", "jackpot B", and "jackpot D" shown in Figure 4A, respectively.

In this embodiment, the "game state when a win is won" is diversified to increase the variety of jackpots and improve the freedom of play. Below, examples of the game state when a win is won and examples of jackpot types are described in detail using Figures 59 and 60.

In order to simplify the explanation, when expressing the type of jackpot (the type of jackpot that transitions to different game states depending on the game state at the time of winning), it will be expressed as follows.
・"Game status type at the time of winning"&"Game status type to transition to"
For example, in the case of the first embodiment described above, it is expressed as "normal state/time-saving state"&"normal state/slight time-saving A/slight time-saving B/time-saving A/time-saving B/time-saving C," and this combination expresses the combination of game states to which the player will transition depending on the game state at the time of winning the jackpot.

In order to make it easier to compare this embodiment with the first embodiment, the game states to which the player can transition will be described as having five types: "normal state, micro-time-saving A, micro-time-saving B, time-saving A, and time-saving B." In the example of the first embodiment, the jackpot types are expressed as combinations of "normal state/time-saving state" and "normal state/micro-time-saving A/micro-time-saving B/time-saving A/time-saving B."

(Example of classification of game status when winning: FIG. 59)
The game state at the time of winning according to this embodiment can be determined as in the following Examples 1 to 7. These Examples will be described below with reference to FIG.

(Example 1: FIG. 59(a))
It can be determined by the internal game state (YJ) (Example 1). In this example, as shown in FIG. 59 (A), the game state at the time of winning can be distinguished into "slight time-saving state (YJ = 01H)" and "time-saving state (YJ = 02H)". In this respect, it is different from the above-mentioned first embodiment in which the time-saving state and the slight time-saving state are treated on the same level. In this example, it is possible to adopt the jackpot type of "normal state / slight time-saving state / time-saving state"&"normal state / slight time-saving A / slight time-saving B / time-saving A / time-saving B" (3 types of game states at the time of winning, 5 types of game states to be transferred to: number of types N = 53). Therefore, more jackpot types can be selected than in the first embodiment, the range of jackpot variations can be expanded, and the degree of freedom of playability can be improved (similar to Examples 2 to 5 described later).

(Example 2: FIG. 59 (b))
It can be determined by game mode (Tcode) (Example 2). In this example, as shown in FIG. 59 (B), since the game state at the time of winning can be handled by game mode, it is possible to determine the game state at the time of winning that is further subdivided into the internal game state YJ. In this example, the jackpot types of "normal mode/hell mode A/hell mode B/consecutive game mode A/consecutive game mode B/consecutive game mode C" and "normal state/slight time reduction A/slight time reduction B/time reduction A/time reduction B" (6 types of game states at the time of winning, 5 types of game states to transition to: number of types N=56) can be adopted.

(Example 3: FIG. 59(C))
When there are a plurality of game states belonging to a certain internal game state (YJ), at least one of the game states can be treated separately from the other game states (Example 3). For example, when there are three types of time-saving states, namely, "time-saving A, time-saving B, and time-saving C," belonging to the time-saving state (YJ), the game states at the time of winning can be "time-saving A/time-saving B/time-saving C,""time-saving A/time-saving B and time-saving C,""time-saving A and time-saving B/time-saving C,""time-saving A and time-saving C/time-saving B," and the like.

It is preferable to distinguish between multiple game states based on a certain rule, rather than distinguishing between them randomly. For example, distinguish between them based on the relationship of the advantageous degree of the game states, and treat this as the game state at the time of winning. For example, in the case of the micro-time-saving state, distinguish between "micro-time-saving A (high advantageous degree), micro-time-saving B (low advantageous degree)", and in the case of the time-saving state, distinguish between "time-saving α (time-saving B: high advantageous degree), time-saving β (time-saving A and time-saving C: low advantageous degree)", and treat this as the game state at the time of winning. In this case, as shown in FIG. 59 (C), it is possible to adopt the jackpot type of "normal state/micro-time-saving A (high micro-time-saving)/micro-time-saving B (low micro-time-saving)/time-saving α (high time-saving)/time-saving β (low time-saving)" & "normal state/micro-time-saving A/micro-time-saving B/time-saving A/time-saving B" (5 types of game states at the time of winning, 5 types of game states to transition to: number of types N = 55). In addition, in the figure, "high" at the end, such as "slightly high time saving" and "high time saving", indicates the relatively more advantageous side, while "low" at the end, such as "slightly low time saving" and "low time saving", indicates the relatively less advantageous side (the same applies to Figure 59 (e) to (g) described below).

(Regarding the relationship between the degrees of advantage between game states)
In addition, the relationship between the degrees of advantage related to the game state can basically be determined as follows: (1) to (5).

(Ex. 1) When comparing the same time-saving states, the more times the time-saving has occurred, the higher the advantage. In the case of this embodiment, the relationship is "Time-saving C (time-saving 1 time) < Time-saving A (time-saving 7 times) < Time-saving B (time-saving 100 times)." Similarly, the more times the probability and potential probability states are in play, the higher the advantage.

(Ex. 2) When comparing two micro-time-saving states of the same type, the fewer the number of micro-time-saving times, the greater the advantage. For example, in the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the fewer the number of micro-time-saving times, the fewer the number of games that reach the temporary ceiling, making it easier to transition to the normal state (heaven mode). In this respect, when comparing two micro-time-saving states of the same type, the fewer the number of micro-time-saving times, the greater the advantage. In the case of this embodiment, the relationship is "Micro-time-saving B (250 micro-time-saving times) < Micro-time-saving A (150 micro-time-saving times)."

(3) When comparing the time-saving state and the slight time-saving state, the time-saving state is more advantageous than the slight time-saving state. This is because, as already explained, the slight time-saving state is a game state that has a more unfavorable effect than the time-saving state. In the case of this embodiment, the relationship is "Slight time-saving B (250 slight time-saving times) < Slight time-saving A (150 slight time-saving times) < Time-saving C (1 time) < Time-saving A (7 times) < Time-saving B (100 times)."

(Yes 4) When comparing the sure-win state (with electric support) and the potential win state (without electric support), the sure-win state is more advantageous than the potential win state.

(Yes 5) The relationship between the advantages of the micro-time-saving state, the time-saving state, the potential state, and the probability of a bonus state is basically "micro-time-saving state < time-saving state < potential state < probability of a bonus state."

The above advantageous relationship does not necessarily have the above relationships (Yes 1) to (Yes 5) depending on the game characteristics of the gaming machine. Therefore, when comparing multiple game conditions, it is preferable to determine the advantageous relationship of each game condition depending on which game condition is relatively more advantageous (profit state, payout rate, base value, etc.) for the player. For example, when comparing one micro-time-saving state with another micro-time-saving state, if the game characteristics are such that the more micro-time-saving times the player has, the more advantageous the gamer will be, as opposed to this embodiment, the more micro-time-saving times there are. Also, for example, in the case of a game characteristics in which the potential state acts as a more advantageous state than the probability state, such as a so-called "small hit rush equipped machine," the potential state may be more advantageous than the probability state.

(Example 4: FIG. 59 (D))
The "C time reduction" and the "A time reduction" can be separately determined (Example 4). In other words, the game state at the time of winning can be determined by focusing on what winning opportunity the game state at the time of winning is based on. In this respect, it is significantly different from the above-mentioned Examples 1 to 3, in which the game state at the time of winning is determined by focusing on the game state itself. In this example, as shown in FIG. 59 (D), the "A time reduction" and the "C time reduction" are treated separately.

In this embodiment, the A time-saving type and the C time-saving type include the following game states.
(1) "A type of shortened working hours"
There are four types of A time saving types: "micro time saving A (1st A time saving), micro time saving B (2nd A time saving), time saving A (3rd A time saving), and time saving B (4th A time saving)" (see Figure 4A).
(2) "C type of reduced working hours"
There are three types of C time saving types: "micro time saving A (first C time saving), "micro time saving B (second C time saving), and "time saving C (third C time saving)" (see Figure 4C).

Therefore, in this example, the following jackpot types can be used: "Normal state/C time-saving/A time-saving" & "Normal state/slight time-saving A/slight time-saving B/time-saving A/time-saving B" (3 types of game states at the time of winning, 5 types of game states to transition to: number of types N=53).

The effect of the fourth embodiment is as follows. Since the game state to be transitioned to can be determined depending on whether the game state at the time of winning is "A time reduction" or "C time reduction", it is possible to transition to a different game state even if the game state itself at the time of winning is the same. For example, when a certain jackpot (for example, jackpot 1) is won, if the game state at the time of the winning is "micro-time reduction B related to A time reduction (micro-time reduction B transitioned by the jackpot)", it transitions to "time reduction A (time reduction number 7 times)", and if it is "micro-time reduction B related to C time reduction (micro-time reduction B transitioned by special time reduction)", it transitions to "time reduction C (time reduction number 1)". In this example, if the winning opportunity of "micro time-saving B (A time-saving) → 1 big win" is followed, the game will transition to the highly advantageous "time-saving state (time-saving A)," and if the winning opportunity of "micro time-saving B (C time-saving) → 1 big win" is followed, the game will transition to the less advantageous "time-saving state (time-saving C)." This is an innovative feature that has never been seen before.

It is not necessary to distinguish between "A time-saving type" and/or "C time-saving type" based on the relationship of advantageous degree. For example, if the A time-saving type includes multiple A time-saving types (e.g., the first A time-saving type to the αA time-saving type (2≦α)), at least one A time-saving type among the multiple A time-saving types can be treated separately from the remaining other A time-saving types. Similarly, if the C time-saving type includes multiple C time-saving types (e.g., the first C time-saving type to the αC time-saving type (2≦α)), at least one C time-saving type among the multiple C time-saving types can be treated separately from the remaining other C time-saving types.

In the case of this embodiment, as already explained, the A time-saving type includes multiple A time-saving types, namely "micro time-saving A (first A time-saving), micro time-saving B (second A time-saving), time-saving A (third A time-saving), and time-saving B (fourth A time-saving)." For example, the game state at the time of winning can be "micro time-saving A/micro time-saving B/time-saving A/time-saving B" (distinguishing between each A time-saving), "micro time-saving A and micro time-saving B/time-saving A and time-saving B" (distinguishing between micro time-saving types and between time-saving types), or "micro time-saving A and time-saving B/micro time-saving B and time-saving A" (distinguishing between specific micro time-saving types and specific time-saving types). It should be noted that the game state at the time of winning can also be distinguished for the C time-saving type in the same manner as the above-mentioned method of distinguishing between the A time-saving types.

<Examples 5 to 7 (Modifications 1 to 3 of Example 4): Figs. 59(e) to (g)>
However, rather than simply distinguishing between the A time-saving type and the C time-saving type, it is preferable to distinguish the game state at the time of winning by focusing on the advantageous degree of these, as in the above-mentioned Example 3 (a modified example of Example 4). For example, it can be configured as in the following Examples 5 to 7 (modified examples 1 to 3 of Example 4).

(Example 5 (C time-saving advantage category): Figure 59 (E))
The game state related to the C time reduction can be handled differently according to the degree of advantage (Example 5). For example, the three types of C time reductions, "micro time reduction A, micro time reduction B, and time reduction C," related to the C time reduction can be handled differently, such as "time reduction C (high advantage), micro time reduction A and micro time reduction B (low advantage)" (Example 5). In this example, the jackpot types of "normal state/high C time reduction (time reduction C)/low C time reduction (micro time reduction A and micro time reduction B)/A time reduction" and "normal state/micro time reduction A/micro time reduction B/time reduction A/time reduction B" (four types of game states at the time of winning, five types of game states to which the game is transferred: number of types N=54) can be adopted (see the "C time reduction" column in FIG. 59 (E)).
can be adopted.

(Example 6 (A time-saving advantage category): Figure 59 (F))
By the same method as in the above-mentioned Example 4, the game state related to the A time reduction can be handled in a differentiated manner according to the degree of advantage (Example 7). For example, the four types of A time reduction, namely, "micro time reduction A, micro time reduction B, time reduction A, and time reduction B" related to the A time reduction can be handled in a differentiated manner, such as "time reduction A and time reduction B (A time reduction high), micro time reduction A and micro time reduction B (A time reduction low)" (Example 6). In this example, the jackpot types of "normal state/C time reduction/A time reduction high/A time reduction low" and "normal state/micro time reduction A/micro time reduction B/time reduction A/time reduction B" (four types of game states at the time of winning, five types of game states to which the game is transferred: number of types N=54) can be adopted (see the "A time reduction" column in FIG. 59 (F)).

(Example 7 (A time reduction/C time reduction advantage classification): FIG. 59 (G))
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 59 (G), a configuration in which the above-mentioned Example 5 (time-saving category C) and Example 6 (time-saving category A) are combined can be adopted (Example 7).

For the above-mentioned Examples 3 to 7 (Examples 1 and 2 are omitted), examples are shown in Figures 60 (A) to (E). In the figures, for convenience of explanation, only three types of jackpots 1 to 3 are shown as representatives. As can be seen from Figure 60, unlike the case of the first embodiment shown in Figure 58, the time-saving game states such as the micro-time-saving state and the time-saving state are divided into multiple game states, and the variation of jackpots is increased. This significantly improves the freedom of playability. In this embodiment, various game states can be transitioned according to the internal game state type (by YJ), game mode type (by Tcode), time-saving state type, micro-time-saving state type, A time-saving type, C time-saving type, and advantage degree according to the game state. In addition, the game state at the time of winning and/or the game state to which it is transitioned can be not only a time-saving game state, but also any of the probability state and the potential state. In addition, for the probability change state and the potential probability change state, the game state at the time of winning can be classified and handled in the same way as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 59. The game state to which the player transitions can be determined as appropriate. For example, when a certain jackpot is won, if the game state at the time of winning is A high time reduction (high degree of advantage), the player transitions to "probability change state A (for example, a probability change state with 100 probability changes)," and if the game state at the time of winning is A low time reduction (low degree of advantage), the player transitions to "probability change state B (for example, a probability change state with 50 probability changes)."

Note that each of the examples described in this fifth embodiment and the jackpot types included in each example can be applied to any of the embodiments described in this specification.

Sixth Embodiment
Next, as an embodiment (sixth embodiment) of the present invention, a presentation aspect related to the above-mentioned "morning state (morning function)" will be described.

To facilitate understanding of this embodiment, first, the game transitions (presentation appearance form, game state transition form) related to the "morning state" and "non-morning state (when power is restored without clearing the RAM)" will be described. In the following, as a representative example of the gaming machine 1 according to this embodiment, a gaming machine that employs the "morning state concealment form" described in the first embodiment above, specifically, a gaming machine that employs a presentation mode (hereinafter referred to as "normal/shortened presentation mode") that provides common or substantially identical presentations at least in the normal state and the short-time-saving state, will be described. In addition, with regard to the game state in the case of backup recovery (when power is restored without clearing the RAM), it will be described as returning to the "shortened time state (hell mode)" as a game state closely related to the present invention. If the normal state is restored when the backup is restored, the game basically follows the same game transition as in the morning state.

<Game behavior depending on whether RAM is cleared or not (game behavior first thing in the morning)>
The game transitions after the RAM is cleared (see line M1 in FIG. 6) (in the morning state) and the game transitions after the backup is restored (in the non-morning state) can be broadly categorized as follows:

(1. When the RAM is cleared (internal game state = normal state, game mode = heaven mode, presentation mode = normal / micro-time saving presentation mode))
In the morning state (including the return to the normal state similar to when the RAM is cleared), the game transition will be as follows mainly depending on the winning trigger. Note that "Special time-saving C" is a special time-saving trigger for time-saving transition, and "Special time-saving A, B" are special time-saving triggers for minute time-saving transition (see FIG. 4C).

(Ra) "When special time-saving C is won: Normal"
When the special time-saving C is won, the "chance effect" (see Figs. 61 to 63) described later appears as an effect during the change of the winning game (the special time-saving winning change). Although details will be described later, the chance effect belongs to the above-mentioned "state transition notice effect" (time-saving transition notice effect), and is an effect mode that can notify the transition to the time-saving state (consecutive mode) or not (time-saving transition/non-time-saving transition) as a result of the effect. When the special time-saving C is won, the transition to the time-saving state is notified during this chance effect (true chance effect (see Fig. 61 (F1) described later). Then, after the winning game ends, the state is transitioned to the time-saving state (consecutive mode) (see line L4 in Fig. 6).

(Rb) "When special time-saving A or special time-saving B is won: Normal"
If the special time-saving A or B is won, the "chance effect" described below will be displayed, just as if the special time-saving C was won. However, the chance effect here is a "fake chance effect (see FIG. 61 (F2) described below)" that notifies the player that the time-saving effect will not be activated. After the winning game ends, the game will be switched to a slight time-saving state (hell mode) (see line L1 in FIG. 6).

(Rc) "When you win the jackpot: normal"
If a jackpot is won (in this case, since it is the morning state, jackpots A to C on the special chart 1 side are the subject of the lottery), the chance effect will not be displayed, but the reach effect will be displayed. If a jackpot is won, the game state will change according to the game state at the time of the win and the type of jackpot. If a jackpot is won in the morning state (normal state), the game state will change to the normal state (heaven mode) after the jackpot game (see lines L8 and L9 in Figure 4A and Figure 6).

(Rd) "When you win the lottery: Normal"
In the case of a miss (miss A to C), various in-fluctuating effects in the "normal/micro-time-saving effect mode" are displayed. In addition to reach effects and miss effects, the in-fluctuating effects during a miss (which may be a specific miss) can also be "chance teasing effects" (preview effects that tease whether or not a chance effect will appear) described below. However, in the case of a miss, only the chance teasing effects are displayed, and the chance effects are not displayed. In addition, in the case of a miss, the reach effect may not be executed, in which case the confirmation of a jackpot win is announced at the time the reach effect occurs.

(2. When the backup is restored (when the device is restored in a short time-saving state)
If power is restored without clearing the RAM, the game transition will mainly be as follows:

(Ba) "When you win a jackpot or miss a prize: during a slight time-saving period (special time-saving period cannot be activated)"
Various types of variable effects are displayed under the "normal/slight time-saving effect mode" according to the type of winning (special time-saving effects are treated as invalid), and the game state is changed to according to the type of winning (see the box of hell mode (slight time-saving) in Fig. 4A, Fig. 4C, Fig. 6, etc.). In the case of a backup return (here, a return in the slight time-saving state), chance-inducing effects can be displayed for one or more games after the power failure return in order to give the player a sense of expectation for the morning state.

(Bb) "When the micro-time saving state due to the micro-time saving count consumption ends"
After the micro-time-saving state (Hell mode) ends due to consumption of the micro-time-saving number of times, the game moves to the normal state (Heaven mode) (see line L2 in FIG. 6). During the normal state, the game moves in the same manner as (Ra) to (Rd) above.

If the game has a ceiling function, it will transition to the time-saving state (time-saving C) when the ceiling number of games is reached, either when the RAM is cleared or when the game is restored from a backup (see notes in Figure 6).

As mentioned above, the game transition when the RAM is cleared (morning state) and when the backup is restored (non-morning state) has been explained. Next, the above-mentioned "chance performance" will be explained using Figures 61 to 62. Figures 61 to 62 are explanatory diagrams provided to explain the contents of the chance performance, and (G) to (H) in Figures 61 and 62 show the chronological progression of the performance contents (performance scenario) of the chance performance.

<Specific examples of chance effects: Figures 61 and 62>
The "chance effect" according to the present embodiment is used as the state transition notice effect (time-saving transition notice effect). The chance effect includes a "true chance effect" that definitely notifies the time-saving transition and a "false chance effect" that definitely notifies the time-saving non-transition.

(Start of chance performance (entry performance): FIG. 61(A))
61(A) shows a state where the chance performance has started. When the chance performance starts, the decorative pattern 801 being changed is displayed small (evacuated display) as a decorative pattern 801a in the evacuated display area in the left corner of the screen, and a "entry performance 701" indicating the start of the chance performance appears. The entry performance 701 includes a predetermined background display (not shown), a "title 902" (predetermined message display) indicating that the current preview performance is a chance performance, and a "disk 901" (predetermined character display) representing an alien spaceship.

<Chance-inducing effects (real entry effects, false entry effects): Figure 63>
The above-mentioned entry effect 701 appears as part of a chance effect scenario, but in this embodiment, it is possible to use the appearance or non-appearance of the entry effect 701 to produce a "chance prompting effect" that stimulates anticipation as to whether or not the effect will develop into a chance effect. In other words, the chance prompting effect can function as an introductory effect (introductory effect) to the chance effect. First, this chance prompting effect will be explained using FIG. 63.

Figure 63 shows an example of a chance-inducing effect.

Figure 63 (A1) shows the state where the chance teaser effect has started in response to the start of the symbol variation display. When the chance teaser effect starts, first, the decorative symbol is withdrawn and displayed in the left corner of the screen, and the "DF entry effect 701a", which is a small version of the entry effect 701, appears in the center of the screen along with a background display 906a that represents a flash of light. Then, as the effect time progresses, the DF entry effect 701a is gradually enlarged in size as shown in Figures 63 (A1) to (A3), fading in toward the center of the screen (fade-in effect), as in "small size → medium size → large size" (DF entry effect 701a → DF entry effect 701b → DF entry effect 701c).

Then, as the presentation scenario progresses, in the final stage of the fade-in display, either a "true entry presentation (Fig. 64 (A4)" or a "false entry presentation (Fig. 64 (A5)" appears as a result of the chance-teasing presentation.

If it is a true entry effect, as shown in FIG. 63 (A4), finally, the entry effect 701 similar to that in FIG. 61 (A) will appear, and thereafter, the chance effect will unfold. In other words, in the case of a true entry effect, the current chance prompting effect has appeared as part of the chance effect scenario (true chance prompting effect), and the current game result is essentially a notification that a special time-saving win (specific win type) has been won. However, at this stage, it is still unknown which of the special time-saving effects A to C has been won, in other words, whether or not there will be a transition to the time-saving state (time-saving transition/no time-saving transition). The final result will be announced in the subsequent chance effect.

On the other hand, if it is a false entry effect, the DF entry effect 701c fades out and eventually disappears from the screen, resulting in a "fade-out effect 702 (FIG. 63 (A5))" appearing, and the chance teasing effect (fake chance teasing effect) ends without progressing to a chance effect. In other words, in the case of a false entry effect, it is announced that the result of the current game was a miss (no win or special time-saving). In other words, the performance stages of FIG. 63 (A1) to (A3) function as the "pre-result performance" in the chance teasing effect, and the performance stages of FIG. 63 (A4) or (A5) function as the "result performance" in the chance teasing effect.

When one or more specific special time-saving effects are won, the chance effect may be displayed without going through the chance teasing effect (without displaying the chance teasing effect). A specific special time-saving effect is, for example, a special time-saving effect with a relatively high degree of advantage, such as "special time-saving effect C" or "special time-saving effect A and C." Also, the chance teasing effect itself does not have to be provided.

<Chance effect button operation effect (player participation effect): Fig. 61 (B) to (F)>
Returning to the explanation of the chance presentation in FIG.

When the entry effect 701 shown in FIG. 61(A) ends, the button operation effect (player participation effect) shown in FIG. 61(B)-(F) appears. The button operation effect here is a so-called "command type effect" in which a mission (strategy) is presented to the player and the player is prompted to operate the button, and as a result of this effect, a "result effect" is presented that reports information about the current game result (jackpot lottery result), creating a narrative effect scenario. In this embodiment, if the presented mission is successful, "time-saving transition confirmed (special time-saving C win)" is announced, and if the mission is unsuccessful, "time-saving non-transition confirmed (special time-saving A or B win)" is announced (see FIG. 61(E)-(F) below).

(Pre-operation performance: Fig. 61 (B) to (C))
When the button operation performance starts, as shown in Fig. 61 (B), a message 905 instructing the mission "Protect the Earth from Aliens!!" is displayed, and the "Operation Instruction Performance 703" appears, depicting a confrontation between a charged particle cannon 903 (own EM-gun character) and a flying saucer 901 (enemy character: Enemy) (first half scenario of the pre-operation performance). In this mission, if the flying saucer is destroyed and the Earth is protected from the aliens, the "Mission Success" is achieved, and if the flying saucer is not destroyed, the "Mission Failed" is achieved.

When the strategy instruction performance 703 ends, the performance scenario then proceeds to Figure 61 (C), where an "attack preparation performance 705" appears, including a lock-on performance 925 depicting the aiming of the charged particle cannon 903 at the target of attack, the disk 901, a level meter 921 (energy charged state) indicating the button operation valid period (operation acceptance valid period), and an operation instruction performance 923 encouraging the operation of the performance button 13 (operation means) (second half of the pre-operation performance scenario).

(Post-operation effect: FIG. 61(D))
Then, when the player operates the effect button 13 in response to the operation instruction effect 923, or when the button operation effective period has elapsed, the "attack effect 707 (post-operation effect)" appears, which expresses the charged particle cannon 903 (own character) firing a powerful beam 903a to attack the disk 901 (enemy character) (FIG. 61(D)). The level meter 921 indicates the effect content (energy emission state) that notifies the end of the button operation effective period and the button operation invalid period (operation reception invalid period). Although not shown, the beam 903a is prepared as a strong beam, a medium beam, and a weak beam, and depending on which beam is fired, it is possible to suggest the expectation of the mission success, that is, the expectation of the current game result (time-saving transition/non-time-saving transition). Here, the appearance rates of the "weak beam, medium beam, and strong beam" are determined so that the expectation of the mission success increases in this order.

In this attack effect 707, the emitted beam 903a gradually approaches the disk 901 as the effect time passes (the progress of the effect scenario), and ends just before the beam 903a reaches the disk 901. The attack effect 707 acts as a pre-result effect before the current game result is derived, and acts as a teasing effect that can suggest (preview) the expected probability of mission success. Therefore, at this stage, it is not announced whether the disk 901 has been destroyed, and until the attack effect 707 ends (from the start of the pattern change to the end of the attack effect 707), the current game result (time-saving transition/no time-saving transition) remains unknown. In this respect, the effect process up to this attack effect 707 can be said to be an introductory effect that leads to the final result.

In addition, since the chance effect in this embodiment appears when the special time-saving feature is won, it is clear that the special time-saving feature has been won when the chance effect (true entry effect: see Figures 61 (A) and 63 (A4)) occurs, but until the attack effect 707 ends, it is unclear which special time-saving feature has been won, that is, at least whether or not there will be a transition to time-saving. Information regarding the outcome of this game is announced in the "result effects" (success/failure effects - final result effects: Figures 61 (E) - 61 (F)) described below.

<Results: Successful (FIG. 61 (E1)), Failed (FIG. 61 (E2) or (E3))>
When the attack effect 707 ends, the "success/fail effect 709 (first result effect)" shown in FIG. 61 (E1) to (E3) appears as a result effect. The branching of the effects after FIG. 61 (D) indicates that different success/fail effects 709 appear depending on the type of special time-saving that has been won, and indicates whether a "success effect (FIG. 61 (E1))" indicating a mission success or a "failure effect (FIG. 61 (E2) (E3))" indicating a mission failure will appear depending on the type of win. The result of this game is notified by the "final result effect (second result effect)" shown in FIG. 61 (F) after this success/fail effect. The success/fail effect 709 is an effect content that indirectly suggests the game result, and the game result can be guessed even at this stage, but the direct (definite) notification of the game result is left to the "final result effect". In the case of this embodiment, if the special time-saving C is not won, a "failure effect (avoidance effect)" is displayed, and if the special time-saving C is won, a "success effect (defeat effect)" is displayed.

(In the case of winning the special time-saving A or B (time-saving non-transition): Fig. 61 (E2) or (E3) → (F2))
First, with reference to Figures 61 (E2) and (E3), the above-mentioned "failure effect (avoidance effect)" related to success/failure effect 709 will be described.

If a "failure effect (avoidance effect)" occurs in the success/failure effect 709, depicting the disk 901 avoiding the emitted beam 903a (FIG. 61 (E1) or (E2)), then the "disappointment effect 713" shown in FIG. 61 (F2) appears as the final result effect (second result effect). This disappointment effect 713 notifies the player that there will definitely be no transition to the time-saving mode (that there will definitely be a transition to the micro-time-saving mode (hell mode)), in other words, that the current game result is that the special time-saving mode C was not won (that the special time-saving mode A or B was won).

However, in the disappointment effect 713, it is not announced which of the special time-saving effects A or B has been won. In this embodiment, in the failure effect (FIG. 61 (E1) (E2)) preceding the disappointment effect 713, multiple failure effects 1 and 2, namely "avoidance A effect" and "avoidance B effect", which have different appearance rates and presentation modes depending on the type of win (special time-saving A or B), are prepared, and depending on which failure effect occurs, the player is only given an element of guessing as to the game state (micro-time-saving A or micro-time-saving B) to which the game will transition after the chance effect. This is because if the game state transition with the lowest advantage (micro-time-saving B transition) becomes clear, there is a risk that the player will immediately stop playing (immediate stop after the chance effect), which will lead to a decrease in the operating rate of the gaming machine.

The relationship between the occurrence rates of avoidance A effect (failure effect 1) and avoidance B effect (failure effect 2) is as follows:
(α) When you win the special time-saving A, "Avoidance B performance < Avoidance A performance" (Avoidance A performance is likely to appear)
(β) When you win the special time-saving B, "Avoidance A performance < Avoidance B performance" (Avoidance B performance is more likely to appear)
For example, if the Avoidance A effect appears, it can be inferred that there is a high possibility that the special time-saving A has been won.

The disappointment effect 713 is intended to notify players that the mission has ultimately ended in failure, and as shown in the figure, an abduction effect is displayed, depicting the disk 903 abducting living things on Earth. Then, as the disappointment effect 713 ends, the decorative pattern corresponding to the special time-saving type that was selected (special time-saving A, B) is displayed as a stopped symbol (confirmed display) (decorative pattern 801f in the figure). This ends the current chance effect (chance effect when no time-saving transition occurs).

When the special time-saving A or special time-saving B is won, the decorative stop pattern (decorative pattern 801f in FIG. 61 (F2)) corresponding to the winning may be a different decorative stop pattern. In this case, the significance of providing the above-mentioned multiple failure effects (avoidance A effect, avoidance B effect) is diminished, so it is preferable to use a common pattern display mode in order to conceal from the performance whether the special time-saving A or B has been won. Even if a common decorative stop pattern is used, the special stop pattern can be displayed as a stop pattern corresponding to the special time-saving type that has been won. Also, the decorative stop pattern may be common to the special time-saving type, but since the special time-saving C is the winning type that triggers the transition to the time-saving state, it is preferable to use a decorative stop pattern different from the special time-saving A and special time-saving B for at least the special time-saving C.

(Reverse performance (reverse performance): FIG. 61 (F3))
In addition, even if the regretful effect 713 appears, it does not necessarily mean that the transition to the time-saving mode (consecutive win mode) will definitely not occur, and if the special time-saving mode C is internally won, the reversal effect (revival effect) 714 (FIG. 61 (F3)) will appear with a certain probability. When the reversal effect 714 appears, the congratulatory effect 710 shown in FIG. 61 (F1) described later will appear as the final result effect, and it will be announced that the transition to the time-saving mode will definitely occur.

(In the case of winning the special time-saving C (time-saving transition): Fig. 61 (E1) → (F1))
Next, with reference to FIG. 61 (E1), the above-mentioned "success effect (defeat effect)" related to the success/failure effect 709 will be described.

In the success/failure performance 709, when a "success performance (destruction performance)" occurs, which shows the emitted beam hitting and destroying the disk 901 (FIG. 61 (E1)), the "congratulatory performance 711" shown in FIG. 61 (F1) appears as the final result performance (second result performance). The congratulatory performance 711 is a performance content that notifies the player that the mission has finally been successful, and here, as shown in the figure, the words "Mission Complete" and a special character (Fujimaru-kun) are displayed, and the performance content is a flashy performance that congratulates the player. This congratulatory performance 711 notifies the player that the time-saving (consecutive mode) transition is definite, in other words, that the game result this time is "a special time-saving C win". After the congratulatory performance 711 appears, the "specific state transition pre-performance (FIG. 62)" described later appears, so the decorative pattern is still in a changing state as shown in the figure (see decorative pattern 801e). However, since the result of this game is revealed in the congratulatory effect 711, the decorative pattern corresponding to the special time-saving C winning may be temporarily stopped (shaking and fluctuating) when the congratulatory effect 711 appears or at a specified timing during its appearance.

When the moving body effect can be made to appear during the fluctuation effect (chance effect) of the special time-saving C winning game and during the fluctuation effect (reach effect) of the jackpot winning game, different moving body effects (different movement patterns) may be made to appear when the special time-saving C is won and when a jackpot is won. Also, the moving body effect may not be made to appear when the special time-saving C is won, and may be made to appear only when a jackpot is won. Also, the same moving body effect or different moving body effects may be made to appear when the special time-saving C is won in the morning state and when the special time-saving C is won in the normal re-transition state described below.

When the special time-saving C is won, the same effect as the "winning effect (winning notification effect)" that appears when a jackpot is won may be displayed. However, in order to distinguish between different winning types, it is preferable not to display the winning effect. For example, if it is a hold change notice, the rainbow-colored hold of the premium hold is not displayed (in the case of a gaming machine that does not execute premium holds, the hold change notice with the highest winning expectation level when a jackpot is won is not displayed), and if it is a changing notice effect, a winning image (such as a specific character or item, rainbow display), a winning notification sound (such as an explosion sound), or a winning light effect (such as making the LED for the effect light up in rainbow colors) is not displayed. In other words, when the special time-saving C is won, at least a high expectation notice effect can be displayed, except for the high expectation notice effect that indicates the highest expectation level when a jackpot is won.

In addition, when the special time-saving C is won, if an effect that is the same as the above-mentioned "winning effect (jackpot winning notification effect)" is to be displayed, it is preferable to make the duration of the effect different when the special time-saving C is won and when a jackpot is won. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned winning light effect (rainbow light emission), the relationship of the length of the effect is "when the special time-saving C is won (for example, 10 seconds of effect time) < when a jackpot is won (for example, 15 seconds of effect time)" or "when the special time-saving C is won (for example, 15 seconds of effect time) > when a jackpot is won (for example, 10 seconds of effect time)."

<Pre-transition effect for specific state (ending effect for chance effect): FIG. 62>
When the congratulatory effect 711 appears, the chance effect does not end even if the congratulatory effect 711 ends, and the effect scenario proceeds to Fig. 62, and then the effect before transition to a specific state (Fig. 62 (K)) appears. This effect before transition to a specific state functions as an ending effect in the chance effect. In this respect, it is significantly different from the case where the disappointing effect 711 appears as the final effect result.

Below, the specific state pre-transition performance according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 62. The specific state pre-transition performance includes the next specific information notification performance (FIG. 62 (G)) and the destination related information notification performance (FIG. 62 (H)).

(1) "Specific information notification performance (FIG. 62(G))"
The specific information notification effect is information that is not directly related to the progress of the game, but is, for example, an effect for notifying specific information having a promotional or advertising function of the manufacturer or the gaming machine industry. Representative examples of specific information include a company logo display 931 and a warning display for the game (not shown). The specific information notification effect plays a similar role to the ending effect of the winning effect in that it notifies such specific information.

Note that the warning display includes a warning display regarding prevention of sinking (first warning display) and/or a warning display regarding prevention of forgetting to remove an IC card (e.g., a prepaid card) (second warning display). When both the company logo display and the warning display are displayed, the company logo display and the warning display are displayed at different times (non-simultaneously) to avoid overlapping display (simultaneous display). For example, the warning display is not displayed while the company logo is displayed, and is displayed after the company logo display has ended.

(2) "Destination related information notification performance (FIG. 62 (H))"
The destination-related information notification effect is an effect for notifying information about a control state (hereinafter referred to as a "destination control state") to be transitioned to after the end of the current game or after a winning game. The "destination control state" means a "destination game state (game mode, internal game state)" and/or a "destination presentation mode (which may be a presentation stage belonging to the presentation mode)". Here, the time-saving state or time-saving presentation mode to be transitioned to after the chance presentation ends corresponds to the "destination control state", and information related thereto includes, for example, a message display suggesting a time-saving transition such as "Entering time-saving mode!" or "Entering consecutive win mode!", and a time-saving suggestion image suggesting a time-saving presentation mode (a presentation stage related to the time-saving presentation mode). A typical example of a presentation using the above-mentioned time-saving suggestion image is a "presentation stage selection presentation" that allows a player to select a destination presentation stage in advance using an operating means.

Such a destination-related information notification effect not only notifies information about the control state of the destination, but also plays a role similar to the ending effect of the winning effect, just like the specific information notification effect described above, at a point where it is possible to notify the player at an appropriate time that the control state of the destination will soon begin. In this embodiment, the above-mentioned performance stage selection effect is used as the destination-related information notification effect. Below, the performance stage selection effect related to this embodiment will be explained using Figure 62.

(Stage selection: FIG. 62(H))
Figure 62 (H) shows the performance stage selection performance according to this embodiment.

When the performance stage selection performance 970 starts, the "selection performance 971" shown in FIG. 62 (H1) appears first. In the selection performance 971, multiple icon images 971a-971c representing performance stages related to the time-saving performance mode (hereinafter referred to as "time-saving performance stages") are displayed, along with a message 972 prompting the player to perform a selection operation, allowing the player to select a desired performance stage by performing a selection operation using the operating means (directional key 75, performance button 13) during the button operation valid period.

In this embodiment, three time-saving stages are provided: the "Fujimaru-kun stage," the "Fujika-chan stage," and the "Alien invasion stage." In the selection effect 971, a Fujimaru-kun image 971a, a Fujika-chan image 971b, and an alien image 971c are displayed as icon images (the time-saving suggestion images) corresponding to the respective effect stages.

When the player operates the directional key 75 during the selection performance 971, each icon image is scrolled, and the selected icon image is displayed large in the center of the screen. For example, FIG. 62 (H1) shows that the Fujimaru-kun image 971a is selected, and FIG. 62 (H2) shows that the Fujika-chan image 971b is selected.

Then, when the player selects a preferred icon image and performs a confirmation operation (for example, by pressing the effect button 13), or when the button operation valid period has elapsed, a "confirmation effect 973" appears in which the confirmed icon image is highlighted (Figure 62 (H2)), and the effect stage corresponding to that icon image is determined as the effect stage to which the player will be transferred after the chance effect ends. Here, the figure shows an example in which Fujika-chan image 971b has been confirmed.

Then, when the decision effect 973 ends, the decorative pattern that is changing is displayed as stopped (confirmed) in a pattern display mode corresponding to the special time-saving C win (decorative pattern 801g in the figure). This ends the current chance effect. Here, since this is the end of the chance effect when the special time-saving C is won, the transition destination "game state (game mode), presentation mode, and presentation stage" are respectively transitioned to "time-saving C (consecutive mode C), time-saving presentation mode, and Fujika-chan stage (presentation stage determined in the presentation stage selection effect 970)". After that, presentations according to the presentation stage (background presentation, decorative pattern, hold icon, launch induction notification presentation (right hit instruction presentation), during-change presentation, pre-reading notice, etc.) are displayed. Note that during the presentation before the transition to the specific state, the decorative pattern that is changing is not displayed, but since the game result of this time has already been determined in the congratulatory presentation 711, the decorative pattern corresponding to the special time-saving C win may be displayed as temporarily stopped (shaking and changing).

When the chance performance ends and the game moves to the time-saving state (time-saving performance mode), a right-hit instruction image (right-hit instruction performance 991) with a message "right hit" is displayed large in the center of the screen as shown in FIG. 62 (X1) to inform the player that the game is in a state favorable to right-hitting. However, FIG. 62 (X1) shows the state in which the decorative pattern is stopped (the number of balls in operation reserve at the end of the chance performance was 0). Note that the right-hit instruction performance 991 is not displayed for a long period of time because of its large size, but becomes invisible when a certain end condition is met, and instead, a small-sized right-hit instruction performance 992 is displayed in a position that does not interfere with the display of other performances (FIG. 62 (X2)). The end condition of the large-sized right-hit instruction performance 991 can be, for example, the passage of a certain time (e.g., 30 seconds), the execution of a certain number of games (e.g., up to 4 games), the execution of a specific advance notice performance (e.g., reach performance), etc.

Note that, although the specific state pre-transition performance in this embodiment has been described as including a specific information notification performance (FIG. 62 (G)) and a destination related information notification performance (FIG. 62 (H)), the specific state pre-transition performance can be a specific information notification performance and/or a destination related information notification performance (the same applies to other embodiments (including modified examples)). Furthermore, it may not be limited to a specific information notification performance or a destination related information notification performance, but may also include one or more additional performances.

(Regarding the relationship between the performance before a specific state transition and the performance during a win)
Incidentally, the effect before transition to a specific state in the chance effect has a characteristic effect system as described below.

As already explained, in the pre-specific state transition performance in the chance performance, the company logo is displayed and the transition destination related information notification performance (notifying the control state related information to be transitioned to after the chance performance) appears, playing a role similar to the ending performance in the chance performance. Also, as already explained, the hit performance in the jackpot (including V hit) is composed of the opening performance, the round performance, the inter-round INT performance, the ending performance, etc., and in particular, in the ending performance, like the chance performance, the company logo is displayed and the transition destination related information notification performance (notifying the control state related information to be transitioned to after the hit play) appears.

Therefore, chance effects and winning effects have the following in common:
First, it notifies specific information and/or migration destination related information;
Second, specific information and/or transition destination related information appears before the transition of the game state;
Thirdly, the performance before transition to a specific state plays a role similar to the ending performance during a winning performance.

In this embodiment, therefore, by focusing on the above commonalities, at least some of the effects between the chance effects and the winning effects are made common. Specifically, at least some of the effects before the transition to a specific state in the chance effects and the ending effects in the winning effects are made common. By making the effects common in this way, it is possible to reduce the control burden, and in the case of the winning types "special time-saving" and "jackpot (including V-hit)," which have significantly different characteristics, it becomes possible to notify the player of the game state information of the transition destination at the appropriate time.

Hereinafter, a common effect between the effect before transition to a specific state in a chance effect and the ending effect of a winning effect (hereinafter abbreviated as "winning ending effect") will be referred to as a "common ending effect." For example, if only the company logo display 931 of the chance effect's company logo display 931 and the effect stage selection effect 970 appears in the winning ending effect, the company logo 931 corresponds to a common ending effect, and the effect stage selection effect 970 does not correspond to a common ending effect (non-common ending effect).

The common ending performance does not necessarily have to be a common (identical) performance style, and as long as the function that the performance can perform (such as notifying specific information or transition-related information) is the same, different performance styles are also included in the concept of "common ending performance". For example, if the text color of the company logo in the winning ending performance is different from the text color of the company logo display 931 in the performance before transition to a specific state, this is also included in the concept of "common ending performance" of the present invention. However, from the perspective of commonality, it is preferable that the performance style is approximately the same. For example, the text color may be different, the display size may be slightly different, or only the background display may be different.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 62 (K), the company logo display 931 and the performance stage selection performance 970 function as a common ending performance.

The stage selection effect (transition destination related information notification effect) of this embodiment appears when the special time-saving C is won, so the content of the effect is information related to time-saving C (transition destination game state). However, in this embodiment, there is no hit that triggers the transition to time-saving C in the big hit or V hit (small hit) (see Figures 4A and 4B), so the ending effect does not notify information related to time-saving C, but more accurately, information related to time-saving A or time-saving B. However, in this embodiment, there is no time-saving effect mode (including the effect stage) corresponding to each of time-saving A to time-saving C, and the transition is made to a common time-saving effect mode, so no particular problem occurs.

Even if there are presentation modes corresponding to each of the time-saving A to time-saving C, the presentation stages may be common. Even if the presentation stages for time-saving A and time-saving B are different from those for time-saving C, the icon images 971a, 971b, and 971c that function as options in the presentation stage selection presentation 970 may be replaced with icon images corresponding to the presentation stages related to time-saving A or time-saving B (for example, only the icon images are different or the types of options are different), and the point of notifying the transition destination related information (the point of having the transition destination presentation stage selected in advance) is common. It is more preferable to present a common ending presentation between the hit that triggers the transition to time-saving C and between the hit and the special time-saving C. In any case, it is possible to commonize the presentation between the winning types that are significantly different in nature, such as "special time-saving" and "big win", and this point is innovative.

(Common ending effect under certain conditions)
The common ending effect may be displayed during the winning game for all winnings (big winnings and/or small winnings (V winnings due to small winnings)), or may be displayed during the winning game for at least one specific winning. When a stage selection effect as shown in FIG. 62 (H) is adopted as the destination related information notification effect, the stage related to the destination game state may be fixed depending on the winning type. For example, there may be multiple stages but the player cannot select one, or there may be only one type of stage. In such a case, there is no point in displaying the stage selection effect, so between the winning effect and the chance effect, the specific information notification effect (company logo 931) may be the common ending effect, or the common ending effect itself may not exist.

In addition, in order to prevent the presentation from becoming monotonous, if the winning is in a specific control state, a common ending presentation (a presentation before transition to a specific state) may be displayed.
(1) If the game state at the time of winning is a specific game state,
(2) If it is the first time,
(3) When consecutive wins occur,
(4) If you win during the morning period,
(5) When the re-transition normal state described later is won, and (6) When the game state after the game state with the electric support state is ended (game state without electric support) is won, at least one of the following control states can be adopted. The same applies to the case where the special time-saving is won (however, limited to the special time-saving activation permission state). The reason for the distinction between "first hit" and "consecutive wins" is that in this embodiment, the game related to the special pattern 2 remaining reservation after the time-saving state is ended (special pattern change display game 2 in normal state) is treated as consecutive wins, and is distinguished from the special pattern change display game 1 in normal state.

(Variations of chance production and chance teasing)
Next, modified examples of chance presentations and chance promptings will be described.

(Variations of chance effects)
The chance effects can be configured as follows (Chi1) to (Chi4).

The chance effect has been described as an effect that appears when the special time-saving effect is won, but in this embodiment, the state in which the special time-saving effect is allowed to be won is the normal state. This normal state includes the morning state, as well as normal states transitioned to from other game states (hereinafter, the normal state transitioned to from other game states is also referred to as the "re-transition normal state"). In addition, the re-transition normal state according to this embodiment includes a case where the time-saving state (consecutive mode) ends and the state transitions to the normal state (normal with no time-saving), a case where the slight time-saving state (hell mode) ends and the state transitions to the normal state (normal with no slight time-saving), a case where the state transitions due to a jackpot (including a V-hit) (normal after a jackpot), and a case where the ceiling time-saving state ends and the state transitions to the normal state (normal with no ceiling time-saving). In the following modified examples (modified chance effects (Chi1) to (Chi4) below, and modified chance-inducing effects (Chi5) to (Chi7) below), at least one of "normal with no time-saving", "normal with no slight time-saving", "normal after a jackpot", and "normal with no ceiling time-saving" can be used as the re-transition normal state.

(Chi 1) The chance effect in the morning state and the chance effect in the re-transition normal state are different effects (effect contents). Examples of different effects include different characters that appear, different titles or message displays, different button operation effects (for example, different effect contents in Fig. 61 (B) to (E)), not executing a button operation effect (notifying the transition to time-saving/not transitioning to time-saving by a non-player participation type effect), and so on. In addition, considering that the effect before transition to a specific state functions as a common ending effect, it is preferable that at least the effect before transition to a specific state (Fig. 62 (K)) is a common effect between the re-transition normal state and the morning state. In addition, at least one of the morning state, normal after time-saving, normal after slight time-saving, and normal after a jackpot may be a different chance effect.

(Chi2) A chance effect is displayed only if a specific special time-saving effect is won during normal re-transition. However, since the essence of the chance effect is to be used as an effect to notify whether or not a time-saving transition has occurred, the chance effect is made to appear at least when a special time-saving effect (special time-saving C) that triggers a time-saving transition has been won. Therefore, for example, it can be configured as follows (Chi2α) to (Chi2γ).

(Chi 2α) The chance effect is displayed only when the special time-saving C is won. In this case, the special time-saving C is confirmed when the chance effect is displayed, that is, when the chance effect develops from the provocative chance effect to the chance effect.
(Chi 2β) A chance performance is displayed when a special time-saving prize with a relatively high degree of advantage is won. For example, a chance performance is displayed when either the special time-saving prize A or the special time-saving prize C is won, and the chance performance is not displayed in the case of the special time-saving prize B with the lowest degree of advantage (for example, in the case of the special time-saving prize B, the chance performance is not developed and the chance teasing performance is limited).
(Chi2γ) In the above-mentioned (Chi2α) or (Chi2β), the chance effect may be displayed without going through the teasing chance effect.
In addition, when another special time-saving feature is won, the game state transition (micro-time-saving transition) may be notified by a variation effect other than the chance effect. For example, the game state transition (micro-time-saving transition (non-time-saving transition) or the type of special time-saving feature that has been won) may be notified by a chance-inducing effect, a reach effect, a state transition notification effect, an effect exclusive to the winning of another special time-saving feature, or the like.

(Chi3) A chance effect is displayed only in the first game (first spin) of the morning state and/or normal re-transition state, and from the second game onwards, other in-flight effects are displayed to notify the player of whether or not the time-saving mode has been switched on. In addition, in a configuration in which a chance effect is displayed only in the first game as in this example, if the above-mentioned "special time-saving super high probability lottery format" and/or the above-mentioned "special chart 2 reserve 0 configuration" are adopted, the first game becomes an extremely tense game for the player, creating an interesting gameplay experience.

(About the chance presentation when you win a prize)
(H4) In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the chance effect is not displayed when the winning combination is lost, but the chance effect can be configured to be displayed when the winning combination is lost. The reason for this is as follows.

In this embodiment, if the machine returns to the micro-time-saving state when the machine returns to the backup, the special time-saving effect will not be won after the backup is returned, and no chance effects will be displayed. Specifically, chance-teasing effects may be displayed, but they will not progress to chance effects. However, if the machine were configured so that no chance effects would be displayed except when the special time-saving effect was won, it would be easy to tell whether the machine was in the morning state or the backup return state, which would make the game less interesting and would lead to a decrease in the operating rate of the gaming machine first thing in the morning. Therefore, it is important to give the player a sense of expectation of the morning state as a game behavior first thing in the morning. Therefore, it is preferable to display chance effects even when the machine loses. Therefore, the following configuration can be used.

The chance effect can be configured to appear for one or more games after returning to the backup (here, returning in the micro-time-saving state), and as a result of the chance effect, the "unfortunate effect 713" shown in FIG. 61 (F2) is displayed to artificially notify a transition to a non-time-saving state (a transition to a micro-time-saving state (a transition to hell mode)). Even if the unfortunate effect 713 is used to notify a transition to a micro-time-saving state (a transition to hell mode), it is considered that no inconsistency or discomfort in the presentation will arise, since the transition to the micro-time-saving state will still occur after the chance effect. However, since a transition to a micro-time-saving state has already been notified after the chance effect has appeared, the chance teasing effect and chance effect are not displayed again.

Also, chance teasers and/or chance effects may be displayed only when a specific miss is won (for example, when miss B or C is won). For example, miss A may result in only a chance teaser effect or no chance teaser effect at all (ending with a simple miss effect), whereas when miss B or C is won, the effect may progress to a chance effect.

When the micro-time-saving number of times in this game ends and a transition to the normal state (heaven mode) occurs, the chance effect may not be displayed (for example, another effect may be used to notify the transition to the normal state), or the final result effect of the chance effect (unfortunate effect 713) may exceptionally notify the transition to the normal state. The same configuration may also be used when the ceiling function is activated in this game and a transition to the time-saving state (ceiling time-saving) occurs.

As explained above, chance effects can be displayed for up to several games after the backup is restored, but if the period during which chance effects are permitted to be displayed is unnecessarily long, there is a risk that the significance of the chance effects (creating hopes of winning a special time-saving feature, creating hopes of a time-saving transition, etc.) will be lost. This also applies to chance-triggering effects.

The period during which the chance effect or chance teaser effect is allowed to appear can be various, such as one game only, a few games only, or ten games only after the backup is restored, but the most preferable period is one (number of games) that takes into account the probability of winning the special time-saving feature. In the case of this embodiment, the probability is approximately 1/10 (see Note 2 in FIG. 4C), so it is optimal to set the allowable period for appearance to 10 games, taking into account the so-called "probability denominator (the inverse of the probability of winning)." When the above-mentioned "special time-saving super high probability lottery format" is adopted, the probability of winning the special time-saving feature is approximately 1/1, so the allowable period for appearance is set to one game. A similar allowable period for appearance can also be set for chance teaser effects.

The appearance rate of the chance prompting effect when a win is not won and/or the appearance rate (execution probability) of the chance effect can be set appropriately (for example, it can be set to the same or approximately the same probability as the winning probability of the special time-saving effect). From the viewpoint of raising the expectation of whether the chance prompting effect content will develop into a chance effect, it is preferable that the appearance rate of the chance prompting effect is higher than that of the chance effect. During the "period until at least the special time-saving effect or winning is won during the morning state (first period)" and/or the "period of appearance allowed after backup is restored (second period)", a special morning effect (morning effect) can be displayed to raise the expectation of the morning state (a special morning effect mode can be provided). For example, during the period (first period, second period), a band image (for example, image 976 in FIG. 64(A)) displaying "Chance in progress!" or "Morning chance in progress!!" can be displayed in the background display.

(A variation of the chance stimulation performance (FIG. 63))
Next, modified examples of the chance prompting will be described. The chance prompting performance can be configured as follows (Chi5) to (Chi7).

(Chi5) At least in the normal re-transition state, the false chance-boosting effect (Fig. 63 (A5)) in the event of a miss is not displayed. Note that the normal re-transition state may be one or more specific normal re-transition states. For example, the false chance-boosting effect may not be displayed in the case of "normal after exiting from the mini time-saving mode", but may be displayed in the cases of "normal after exiting from the time-saving mode" and "normal after a jackpot".

(Chi6) At least in the morning mode, the false chance hype will not be displayed when you lose.

(Chi7) Different chance-inducing effects are displayed between the morning state and the normal re-transition state (which may be one or more specific normal re-transition states).

The present invention can employ a combination of multiple configurations from the above (H1) to (H7).

(Other Modifications)
(Variation α: Example in which no chance effect is provided)
In this embodiment, the explanation is based on the premise that the time-saving transition/non-transition is notified by the developmental type of performance such as "chance teasing performance → chance performance", but the time-saving transition/non-transition may be notified by the chance teasing performance (Fig. 63) without providing the chance performance itself. In this case, the "true entry performance" shown in Fig. 63 (A4) may have a performance function similar to that of the "celebration performance 711" in Fig. 61 (F1), and the "fake entry performance" shown in Fig. 63 (A5) may have a performance function similar to that of the "disappointment performance 713" in Fig. 61 (F2). In other words, when the time-saving transition is notified, the "true entry performance (Fig. 63 (A4))" is made to appear, and the "pre-specific state transition performance" shown in Fig. 62 (K) is made to appear. On the other hand, when the time-saving non-transition is notified, the "fake entry performance Fig. 63 (A5)" is made to appear.

In this example, the fade-in display of Fig. 63 (A1) to (A3) functions as the pre-result performance in the chance performance, and Fig. 63 (A4) or (A5) functions as the result performance (final result performance). More specifically, Fig. 63 (A1) to (A2), which corresponds to the first half of the fade-in display, is the first pre-result performance (e.g., equivalent to Fig. 61 (B) or (C)), Fig. 63 (A3), which corresponds to the second half of the fade-in display, is the second pre-result performance (e.g., equivalent to Fig. 61 (D)), and Fig. 63 (A4) or (A5) is the final result performance (e.g., equivalent to Fig. 61 (E) or (F)).

(Modification β: Modification of the appearance of the performance before transition to a specific state)
In addition, in the case where the above-mentioned specific state pre-transition effect is to be displayed during the during-variation effect or during the winning effect related to the special time-saving winning variation, it can be configured as follows.
(Special α) If a win occurs during the morning state, the performance before transition to a specific state will be displayed, whereas if a win occurs during a game state after leaving a game state accompanied by an electric support state (such as a special state, a time-saving state, or a slight time-saving state (low-advantage electric support state)), the performance before transition to a specific state will not be displayed.
(Special β) If a win occurs during the morning state, the performance before transition to a specific state will not be displayed, whereas if a win occurs during a game state after leaving a game state accompanied by an electric support state (such as a special state, a time-saving state, or a slight time-saving state (low-advantage electric support state)), the performance before transition to a specific state will be displayed.

Note that each example (including modified examples) described in this sixth embodiment can be applied to any of the embodiments described in this specification.

[Seventh embodiment]
(Regarding left-handed hit instructions)
Next, the appearance of the above-mentioned "left hit instruction effect" will be explained.

As already explained, the left-hit instruction effect is displayed when the state transitions from a right-hit favorable state to a left-hit favorable state. For example, when the time-saving state or winning game (including winning games due to a big win, small win, or V win during a winning game) in the right-hit favorable state is over and the state transitions to the normal state or the slight time-saving state in the left-hit favorable state, the left-hit instruction effect starts. However, the left-hit instruction effect does not appear forever, but ends when a predetermined end condition (for example, a predetermined time has passed) is met. However, if the left-hit instruction effect and the variable effect (especially the advance notice effect that increases the expectation of winning, such as the chance effect and the reach effect, or the advance notice effect that can notify information about the transition of the game state as a result of the effect: hereinafter abbreviated as "specific advance notice") are displayed in an unnecessary overlapping (simultaneous) manner, it may be difficult for the player to recognize important game information (for example, information about the game result, etc.). Therefore, in relation to the left-hitting instruction effect and the specific announcement, it is important that the effect content is properly notified in addition to the fact that the left-hitting is in an advantageous state.

In this embodiment, the left hit instruction effect 995 shown in FIG. 64(A) is displayed for a predetermined time "T (seconds) (0<T)" as the left hit instruction effect. The problem occurs when an activated ball is present when the state transitions to a left hit advantage state, and the game related to the activated ball is immediately started, causing the above-mentioned specific notice and the left hit instruction effect to be displayed at the same time.

When "transitioning from a right-hander advantageous state to a left-hander advantageous state," the reserved states of the activated reserved balls shown below in (Protection α) to (Protection δ) may occur. In the following, to make it easier to understand this embodiment, the "normal state" will be used as a representative example of a left-hander advantageous state, but the present invention is applicable to all game states related to left-hander advantages, including the normal state and the slight time-saving state.

(Protection α) "Case in which the special chart 1 activation reserved ball and the special chart 2 activation reserved ball do not exist at the start of the normal state" (case in which the game is not executed when transitioning to the normal state).
(Safety β) "A case in which, at the start of the normal state, there is no special chart 2 activation reserved ball, but there is a special chart 1 activation reserved ball" (a case in which the game on the special chart 1 side is executed when transitioning to the normal state).
(Guarantee γ) "A case in which a special chart 1 activation reserved ball and a special chart 2 activation reserved ball are present at the start of the normal state" (a case in which the game on the special chart 2 side is executed when the normal state is transitioned to (special chart 2 side priority variation function), and after all the special chart 2 activation reserved balls are consumed, the game on the special chart 1 side is executed).
(Second δ) "A case in which the special chart 2 activation reserved ball is present and the special chart 1 activation reserved ball is not present at the start of the normal state" (a case in which the game on the special chart 2 side is executed when the normal state is entered, and the game is not executed until a new start hole entry occurs after all the special chart 2 activation reserved balls are consumed (since it is the normal state, a new start hole entry occurs at the upper start hole 34 on the special chart 1 side).

In this embodiment, if there is a special chart 2 remaining reservation at the time of the time reduction, etc., the left hit instruction effect 995 is displayed after all of the special chart 2 remaining reservations are consumed (special chart 2 side priority fluctuation function) for gameplay reasons. This is because a win (big hit, small hit (V hit)) in the game in which the special chart 2 remaining reservation is consumed is treated as a consecutive win, and there is no point in hitting left while the special chart 2 remaining reservation is in effect (if it is not treated as a consecutive win, the left hit instruction effect 995 is displayed regardless of whether there is a special chart 2 remaining reservation). Therefore, the period in which the left hit instruction effect 995 is displayed can be particularly problematic in the above cases (guaranteed β) and (guaranteed γ) when the above specific notice (chance effect or reach effect) is displayed. In particular, in the case of the above-mentioned "special time-saving super high probability lottery form" or "special time-saving super high probability lottery form" and "special chart 2 reserve 0 configuration," the special time-saving or jackpot will be won in the first game after the transition to a left-hitting advantageous state, so this problem becomes more pronounced. Therefore, it is preferable to determine the appearance period of the left-hitting instruction effect 995 as follows. Below, using Figure 64, the preferred appearance form of the "left-hitting instruction effect" will be explained. Here, the chance effect and reach effect will be used as representative examples of specific advance notices.

Figure 64 is an explanatory diagram explaining the appearance of the left hit instruction effect.

(Chance promotion effect, chance effect: FIG. 64 (S))
FIG. 64(S) is a timing chart used to explain the appearance of the left-hit instruction effect when the chance prompting effect (FIG. 63) or the chance effect (FIG. 62) occurs. Here, an example is shown in which a special pattern 1 activation reserved ball exists when the state transitions to a left-hit favorable state, and the game related to the activation reserved ball is immediately started, and the chance prompting effect or the chance effect is appeared. That is, in FIG. 64(S), the time "t1a" is shown as the time when the left-hit instruction effect 955 and the chance prompting effect (the pattern change related to the chance prompting effect) start (almost the same start time). In addition, in the case of the reach effect shown in FIG. 64(R) described later, the time "t1b" in the figure shows the time when the left-hit instruction effect 955 and the reach effect (the reach change) start.

In order to facilitate the explanation of this embodiment, each effect and each effect period (effect time t1a-t7a, t1b-t5b) in FIG. 64 are shown in a simplified manner. Also, the length of each effect period is shown in an exaggerated manner, and the effect time of each effect can be determined as appropriate. In other words, even if the same effect time width is shown, they are not necessarily the same and may be different. For example, the congratulatory effect and the unfortunate effect shown in FIG. 64(S) are shown in the figure with the same effect time width, but the time width may be the same or different. Also, the "○" mark in the figure indicates a period in which there is no particular problem even if the left-hit instruction effect is displayed (hereinafter referred to as the "instruction effect appropriate period"), and the "×" mark indicates a period in which there is a possibility of a problem with the display of the left-hit instruction effect (hereinafter referred to as the "inappropriate instruction effect period").

The effects shown in Figure 63 (S) are as follows.
(S1) "Chance teaser" = Chance teaser effect shown in FIG. 63 (S2) "Pre-result effect" of "Chance teaser" = "Fade-in effect" shown in (A1) to (A3) of FIG. 63
(S3) "Results" of "Chance Hype" = "True Chance Hype" or "Fake Chance Hype" as shown in FIG. 63 (A4) or (A5)
(S4) "Chance Presentation""ResultPre-Presentation" = Strategy Instruction Presentation 703 to Attack Presentation 707 shown in FIG. 61 (A) to (D)
(S5) “Result effect” of “Chance effect”=Success or failure effect 709 (success effect, failure effect) to final result effect (congratulatory effect 711, disappointment effect 713) shown in FIG. 61 (E) to (F)
(S6) “ED effect during chance” = effect before transition to a specific state shown in FIG. 62 (K) (ending effect during chance effect)

Considering the situation where the left hit instruction effect 995 and the variable effect related to the game being executed at the start of the left hit advantage are displayed overlappingly (simultaneously), it is preferable to end it at least before important information for the player is notified (for example, before the result effect appears or at the same time (almost at the same time) as the effect appears). Below, a preferred embodiment is described regarding the relationship between the appearance period (appearance time) T of the left hit instruction effect 995 and the appearance period (appearance time) of a specific notice (chance teasing effect, chance effect, reach effect, etc.). In this embodiment (specific examples 1 to 7 described below), when it is referred to as "before appearance", the concept of simultaneous (almost at the same time) with the appearance is also included. In addition, when expressing the inequality "T≦t", any of "T≦t", "T<t", or "T≒t" can be used.

(Cases of opportunity-inducing and opportunity-creating)
(Specific Example 1)
With reference to Fig. 64 (S), in the case where the chance prompting effect is taken into consideration, it is preferable to end the left hit instruction effect 995 before the result effect appears. In other words, the effect before the result of the chance prompting effect is the "instruction effect appropriate period", and thereafter it is the "instruction effect inappropriate period" (see the "○" marks from t1a to t2a and the "(x)" marks from t2a to t3a in the figure). Specifically, the appearance time T of the left hit instruction effect 995 that satisfies the following (Equation 10) is determined.

"Appearance time T of left hit instruction effect 995 ≦ t2a" ... (Equation 10)
For example, if the time from the start of the chance prompting effect to the start of the result effect is 4 seconds (t1a to t2a = 4 seconds), the time T for the left hit instruction effect 995 to appear may be set to "T ≦ 4 seconds". In the case of this specific example 1, even if the chance prompting effect develops into the chance effect, the left hit instruction effect 995 will not be displayed overlappingly during the chance effect. However, since the chance prompting effect itself can function as a prompting effect (the above-mentioned introductory effect) before the development into the chance effect, the performance result of the chance effect that appears at a later stage can be said to be more important information for the player. From this perspective, the time during the chance prompting effect may be set as the appropriate period for the instruction effect. For example, the relationship may be set to satisfy (Equation 11) of the following specific example 2 and (Equation 12) of the following specific example 3.

(Specific Example 2)
"Appearance time T of left hit instruction performance 995 ≦ t3a" ... (Equation 11)
In this specific example 2, the appropriate instruction effect period is set to be during the chance provocation effect. For example, if the performance time of the chance provocation effect is 7 seconds (t1a to t3a = 7 seconds), the appearance time T of the left hit instruction effect 995 may be set to "T ≦ 7 seconds."

(Specific Example 3)
"Appearance time T of left hit instruction effect 995 ≦ "t4a" ... (Equation 12)
This specific example 3 considers a case where a chance prompting effect develops into a chance effect, and is an example in which the period before the appearance of the result effect of the chance effect (success/failure effect 709 to final result effect) is set as an appropriate instruction effect period, and the period thereafter is set as an inappropriate instruction effect period (see the "○" marks from t1a to t4a in the figure, and the "X" marks from t4a onwards). For example, if the time from the start of the chance prompting effect to the result effect of the chance effect is 12 seconds (t1a to t4a = 15 seconds), the appearance time T of the left hit instruction effect 995 may be set to "T ≦ 12 seconds".

(Specific Example 4)
As already explained, the result presentation of the chance presentation includes the first result presentation, "Success/Failure presentation 709 (Success presentation, Failure presentation)," and the subsequent second result presentation, "Final result presentation (Congratulations presentation 711, Disappointment presentation 713)." It is the final result presentation that notifies the player of the final presentation result (time-saving transition/no time-saving transition) of the chance presentation. Therefore, it can be said that this final presentation result is important information for the player. In this case, the period before the appearance of the final result presentation (second result presentation) of the chance presentation is defined as the appropriate instruction presentation period, and the period thereafter as the inappropriate instruction presentation period (see Note 2 in Figure 64). Specifically, the relationship may satisfy the following (Equation 13).
"Appearance time T of left hit instruction effect 995 ≦ "t5a" ... (Equation 13)

To summarise specific examples 1 to 4, in the case of an evolving preview effect in which the chance teasing effect develops in stages to a chance effect, with the final performance result (the current game result) being left to the chance effect in the final stage, it is preferable to determine the appearance time T during which the left hit instruction effect can end at least before the appearance of the performance result of the chance effect (for example, specific example 3 or specific example 4). The same applies to chance performance modes in which there is no chance teasing effect (the left hit instruction effect is ended before the performance result of the chance effect (the first result and/or the second result) appears).

In addition, in cases where the result of the chance prompting effect is important (for example, a case where the effect content is such that if it progresses to a later chance effect, the reliability of a specific winning type will increase dramatically), it is preferable to determine the appearance time T during which the left hit instruction effect can end at least before the appearance of the chance prompting effect result (Figures 63 (A4) and (A5)) (for example, specific example 1). In any case, with regard to the left hit instruction effect, it is preferable to end the left hit instruction effect at least before the appearance of the effect result related to the specific notice.

Also, in the case of the above modified example α (an example in which the chance effect itself is not provided), it is possible to determine a presentation time T during which the left hit instruction effect can end at least before the presentation result of the chance teasing effect (Fig. 63 (A4), (A5)) appears. For example, the left hit instruction effect can end before the first half of the fade-in display of the first pre-result effect (Fig. 63 (A1)-(A2)) appears, before the second half of the fade-in display of the second pre-result effect (Fig. 63 (A3)) appears, or before the result effect (Fig. 63 (A4) or (A5)) appears, etc.

(Case of reach performance)
Next, a case in which reach effects are taken into consideration will be described with reference to Fig. 64(R). In the case of reach effects, the method of determining the appearance time T is the same as in the case of Fig. 64(S).

As already explained, the reach performance is a performance scenario that includes "before reach (before ready-win, during ready-win teasing)", "during reach (during ready-win, during hit/miss teasing)", and "after reach (result performance; period during which the game result is finally announced)". "Before reach (tempty-win teasing before the reach state is formed)" corresponds to the chance teasing performance, "during reach" corresponds to the pre-result performance in the chance performance, and "after reach" is the performance section that corresponds to the result performance (final result performance) of the chance performance.

In more detail, before the reach, a presentation (tenpai teasing) is displayed to inspire whether or not a reach (tenpai) will be established, and as a result of this presentation, the reach is established/not established. If the reach is established, the subsequent reach presentation scenario (presentation scenario from t2b onwards) unfolds, and if the reach is not established, it ends with a simple normal fluctuation. The point that the presentation progresses to a later stage depending on the presentation result is the same as the chance teasing presentation. During the reach after the tenpai is established, for example, a presentation that stimulates the expectation of a win is developed. The point that the expectation of a win is stimulated is the same as the pre-result presentation of the chance presentation (FIGS. 61(A) to (D)). Then, after the reach, as a result of the reach presentation, information on the current game result is announced by a winning presentation or a non-winning presentation. Then, the reach presentation ends. The point that this game result information can be announced is the same as the result presentation of the chance presentation (final result presentation). A "winning effect" is an effect that notifies a winner and belongs to the category of congratulatory effects. A "non-winning effect" is an effect that notifies a winner and belongs to the category of disappointment effects.

(Specific Example 5)
"Appearance time T of left hit instruction effect 995 ≦ t2b" ... (Equation 14)
This specific example 5 is an example in which the period up until the result of the tenpai teasing, that is, before the result of whether or not a reach will be established, is determined as an appropriate period for the instruction performance, and thereafter, the period in which the instruction performance is inappropriate (see the ``○'' marks from t1b to t2b in the figure, and the ``(X)'' marks from t2b onwards).

(Specific Example 6)
"Appearance time T of left hit instruction effect 995 ≦ t3b" ... (Equation 15)
This specific example 6 is an example in which the period before the appearance of the reach performance result is defined as an appropriate period for instruction performance, and the period thereafter is defined as an inappropriate period for instruction performance (see the "○" marks from t1b to t3b in the figure, and the "X" marks from t3b onwards).

However, for the reach effect, it is preferable to adopt a reach with a relatively short change time, preferably the shortest change time (N reach). The SP reach system has a relatively long change time, and if the SP reach system (particularly "SP reach + SPSP reach") is selected as the effect when considering the appearance time T of the left hit instruction effect, the appearance time T will be unnecessarily long (the appearance time can be in minutes). As already explained, the change time of the N reach is 20 to 25 seconds, and the change time of the "SP reach + SPSP reach" is about 180 to 260 seconds. In addition, whether to consider the chance effect, reach effect, or other advance notice effect when determining the appearance time of the left hit instruction effect can be appropriately determined according to the gameplay and the contents of the effect, but it is preferable to consider the advance notice effect that is likely to appear during the left hit advantageous state (here, the normal state) (for example, the advance notice effect with the highest appearance rate).

(Specific Example 7)
In addition, when the left-hit state is shifted, the appearance time T of the left-hit instruction effect can be determined in consideration of cases in which different specific notices appear depending on the type of winning. For example, the appearance time T that satisfies both (Equation 10) and (Equation 14) can be determined in consideration of the appearance timing of the result effect of the chance stimulation effect (for example, Specific Example 1, Formula (10)) and the appearance timing of the pre-result effect of the reach effect (for example, Specific Example 5, Formula (14)).

If the duration from the start of the chance prompting effect to the end of the pre-reach effect is 4 seconds, and the duration from the end of the tenpai prompting of the reach effect (the "before reach" period shown in the figure) to the end of the reach effect is 5 seconds (t1a to t2a = 4 seconds in (S) and t1b to t2b = 5 seconds in (R)), then the appearance time T of the left hit instruction effect 995 is set to "T <= 4 seconds". In this way, it is possible to end the left hit instruction effect appropriately regardless of which of the multiple advance notice effects (here, the chance prompting effect or the reach effect) appears.

In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the large-sized left-hit instruction display 995 in FIG. 64(A) is used as the left-hit instruction display, but after the large-sized left-hit instruction display 995 is displayed for a first predetermined period of time, the small-sized left-hit instruction display 997 shown in FIG. 64(B) (a left-hit instruction display similar to an evacuation display) may be displayed for a second predetermined period of time.

As described above, it is preferable to end the left hit instruction effect before the appearance of the effect result related to the specific notice. In addition, in the case of a specific notice (such as a performance scenario in which a chance effect is executed via a chance prompting effect, or a reach effect, in which the performance result is notified in stages and the performance scenario progresses according to the result), the left hit instruction effect is ended at least before the appearance of the final result effect (a performance that definitively notifies information about the current game result and/or information about the control state of the transition destination). For example, in the case of a performance scenario such as the first performance result (e.g., chance prompting effect result), the second performance result (e.g., success/failure performance result), and the third performance result (final result performance), the left hit instruction effect can be ended before the appearance of any of the first to third performance results. Note that this seventh embodiment can of course be adopted in any of the embodiments described in this specification, and can be adopted appropriately as long as it is a gaming machine that can present a left hit instruction effect.

[Eighth embodiment]
In addition, in the morning state, it is possible to configure the hall staff to be notified in advance whether or not the game state will be shifted to an advantageous game state (time-saving shift/no time-saving shift) (Eighth embodiment). The notification in this embodiment is configured to notify not only the player but also the hall staff. This will be described in detail below.

As already explained, whether or not to perform a RAM clear operation to create a morning state as a special first thing in the morning is decided based on the business strategy of the pachinko parlor. However, even if the RAM clear operation is performed, there may be cases where business strategies require the game to start in a non-morning state (here, a slight time-saving state). For example, if a specific error occurs that cannot be resolved unless the RAM is cleared at the end of business hours, or if a player quits playing without completing the time-saving state or winning game for some reason, it is necessary to clear the RAM. If nothing is done and the power is turned on the next time business hours are held, the game will start in the default normal state (morning state) after power is restored, and a morning state unintended by the pachinko parlor may occur.

Therefore, a method for efficiently canceling the morning state is desired. The purpose of this embodiment is to provide a gaming machine that is configured to be able to notify in advance (configured to be able to notify before the game result is derived) whether or not the game will transition to a more advantageous gaming state (here, transition to time-saving/not transition to time-saving) in the morning state. Since the purpose here is not to notify the player, a special notification form such as the one described below can be adopted.

For example, if a winning entry is made into the starting hole during a RAM clear notification effect, and the winning variation (micro-time-saving winning game) is related to a winning type that triggers a micro-time-saving transition (for example, special time-saving A or B), the RAM clear notification effect being executed is changed to a special presentation mode (hereinafter abbreviated as "dedicated RAM clear notification"). On the other hand, if the variation is related to a winning type that triggers a time-saving transition (for example, special time-saving C winning variation) or a losing win, the normal presentation mode (hereinafter abbreviated as "normal RAM clear notification") remains. In other words, the configuration is such that different RAM clear notification effects are displayed depending on the winning type (specific winning type advance notification form). Note that such RAM clear notifications can be executed at the start of the game, just like when a variation-in-progression effect is displayed.

As already explained, in the RAM clear notification effect, for example, the decorative lamp 45 is lit in full red (normal light color), an alarm sound (normal alarm sound) is output from the speaker 16 when the RAM is cleared, and an effect image (normal effect image) such as "RAM is being cleared" is displayed on the liquid crystal display 36. However, in the case of a specific type of win (for example, in the case of a micro-time-saving win game), the decorative lamp 45 is lit in rainbow colors (special light color), a special alarm sound is sounded, and a special effect image such as "Winning!!" is displayed on the liquid crystal display 36.

In this way, it is possible to determine in advance whether or not a game is a micro-time-saving winning game without having to wait until the game ends, and the game can be set to the non-morning state in a time-efficient manner. The intended purpose can also be achieved by using the normal RAM clear notification effect in the case of a micro-time-saving winning game, and a special RAM clear notification effect in the case of a micro-time-saving non-winning game (a winning variation or a losing variation in the time-saving winning game).

In the above, different RAM clear notification effects are used for the micro-time-saving winning game and the micro-time-saving non-winning game (time-saving winning change or loss change), but different RAM clear notification effects may be displayed at least for the micro-time-saving winning game, the time-saving winning game (time-saving winning change), and the loss game. For example, a "first dedicated RAM clear notification effect" may be displayed for the micro-time-saving winning game, a "second dedicated RAM clear notification effect" different from the first dedicated RAM clear notification effect may be displayed for the time-saving winning game, and a "normal RAM clear notification effect" may be displayed for the loss. In this case, it is possible to identify the time-saving winning game, so if it is determined that the time-saving winning game is a winning game, the RAM clear operation can be performed quickly during that game, allowing for an efficient re-challenge to occur in the non-morning state.

This embodiment is particularly suitable for the special time-saving ultra-high probability lottery format described above. In the case of the special time-saving ultra-high probability lottery format described above, a losing variation is almost never selected, or is not selected at all, so by varying the RAM clear notification presentation depending on the type of winning, it is possible to determine in advance before the end of the current game whether it is a slight time-saving winning game or a time-saving winning game.

(Variation 1 of advance notification)
In addition, since the RAM clear notification is completed in a relatively short period of time (30 seconds in this embodiment), a specific winning type may be notified in advance using a specific notification means (presentation means). For example, a presentation LED (such as an LED built into the presentation button 13, or a specific decorative lamp 45 on the game board or frame side) or a movable device may be used, and in the case of a specific winning type, the LED may be made to emit light in a special manner or the movable device may be made to operate in a special operation pattern (such as an operation pattern different from the initialization operation). In this case, it is possible to control the state to allow advance notification for non-morning occurrence for a time longer than the RAM clear notification (30 seconds) (for example, 5 minutes).

Even if the state is normal when the machine returns to the backup, it will start in a state that is essentially the same as the morning state, but even in this case, the pachinko parlor may wish to change to a non-morning state for business reasons. Therefore, the system may be configured to notify the user that the state is normal when the machine returns to the backup. For example, the system may be configured to use the effects when the machine returns to the backup (such as the effects when the machine returns to the backup) to display "Normal state" or the like for a specified period of time so that employees can tell whether the state is normal or not. In this case, as in the above-mentioned "Variation 1 of advance notification," a specified notification means (presentation means) can be used to control the state to a state in which advance notification is permitted for the occurrence of a non-morning state for a specified period of time.

All of the above advance notifications can be performed when the game starts (when the patterns start to change). Therefore, regarding the presence or absence of a win during the advance notification permission state, the winning information for the special time-saving feature can be notified earlier than in at least the normal game state during which play is in progress (such as the game state after the advance notification permission state ends or the re-transition to the normal state), allowing pachinko hall employees to efficiently cancel the morning state (including the normal state when the backup is restored). It should be noted that at least in the morning state (the normal state after the RAM is cleared), there is no need to set a period of the advance notification permission state. This is because doing so does not cause any particular disadvantage to the player.

However, from the viewpoint of increasing the risk of gambling, there are cases where it is not desirable to configure the morning state to be easily released. In anticipation of such cases, the pachinko parlor may be configured to make it difficult to release the morning state. In this case, it is possible to configure the system so that there is no advance notification of the morning state as described above, but in order to make it more time-consuming to release the morning state, the duration of the performance during the fluctuation may be set so that at least in the morning state, the notification of whether the game is a time-saving winning game or a micro-time-saving winning game is delayed compared to other than the morning state (normal state when backing up or re-transitioning to normal state). For example, in the chance performance in the morning state, the final result performance is displayed 20 seconds after the start of the fluctuation, and in the chance performance outside the morning state, the final result performance is displayed 10 seconds, or a chance performance dedicated to the morning state is provided, and the final result of the performance (win or lose result) is displayed 120 seconds later.

Note that each example (including variations) described in this eighth embodiment can be applied to any of the embodiments described in this specification.

The present invention can have the following configurations (G1) to (G4). Note that the elements in parentheses correspond to the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these.

<Configuration (G1)>
A lottery means for executing a lottery regarding a winning prize;
A winning game execution means for executing a winning game when the winning is won;
A game control means capable of controlling a plurality of game states including a time-saving state;
A gaming machine comprising:
The time-saving state includes at least a first time-saving state and a second time-saving state different from the first time-saving state,
The game state control means includes:
When the game state at the time of the winning is the first time-saving state or the second time-saving state, the game state is shifted to a different game state.
The gaming machine is characterized by the above.

<Configuration (G2)>
A lottery means for executing a lottery regarding a winning prize;
A winning game execution means for executing a winning game when the winning is won;
A game control means capable of controlling a plurality of game states including a time-saving state;
A gaming machine comprising:
The time-saving state includes at least a first time-saving state and a second time-saving state different from the first time-saving state,
The game state control means includes:
When the game state at the time of winning is the first time-saving state and when the game state is the second time-saving state, the game state is shifted to a game state with a different number of time-saving times.
The gaming machine is characterized by the above.
In the above configuration G1 or G2, the first time-saving state or the second time-saving state is a game state in which at least the time-saving function is activated, and includes a minute time-saving state and a time-saving state (for example, time-saving A to C, minute time-saving A to B, etc.). Regarding "transition to a different game state" in configuration G1, the game state to be transitioned to can be any of the game states of normal, probability, potential probability, time-saving, and minute time-saving, as long as it is a game state in which the gaming machine can be controlled. For example, the jackpot shown in Figures 58 to 60 is an example. Also, the number of time-saving times in "transition to a game state with a different number of time-saving times" in configuration G2 is a specified number of times at which at least the game state in which the time-saving function is activated is terminated, and mainly corresponds to the number of time-saving times and the number of minute time-saving times, but the number of probability can also be adopted.

<Configuration (G3)>
A lottery means for executing a lottery;
A symbol display means for displaying a variable number of symbols and displaying a result of the lottery by the lottery means according to a stop display mode of the symbols;
A performance execution means capable of executing a performance,
A gaming machine configured to be able to execute a winning game when a specific symbol display mode is stopped and displayed on the symbol display means,
The objects to be selected by the lottery means include:
The system includes a win that is a trigger for executing the winning game, and a special time-saving that is a trigger for transitioning to a time-saving state without going through the winning game,
Specific information can be displayed during the winning performance in the winning game,
When the special time-saving is won, the specific information can be displayed during the pattern change related to the winning (for example, the chance display in FIG. 61 to FIG. 62).
The specific information display is a warning display regarding the game (such as a display regarding prevention of addiction, a display regarding forgetting to take out an IC card, etc.) and/or a company logo display (for example, the company logo display 931 in FIG. 62(G)).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Composition (G4)>
A lottery means for executing a lottery;
A symbol display means for displaying a variable number of symbols and displaying a result of the lottery by the lottery means according to a stop display mode of the symbols;
A game control means capable of controlling a game state;
A performance execution means capable of executing a performance,
A gaming machine in which a gaming area is configured to be able to be divided into a first flow path and a second flow path,
The game states include a first game state (e.g., a normal state, a slight time-saving state, a potential state, etc.: a game state accompanied by a state without electric support (including a state with substantially no electric support)) in which it is recommended to launch the game ball to the first flow-down path side (e.g., the left flow-down path 3b), and a second game state (e.g., a probability state, a time-saving state, etc.: a game state accompanied by a state with electric support) in which it is recommended to launch the game ball to the second flow-down path side (e.g., the right flow-down path 3c),
When the game state is shifted from the second game state to the first game state, a launch guidance instruction effect (for example, the left hit instruction effect 995 in FIG. 64) that instructs the launch of a game ball to the first flow path side, and a specific advance notice effect (for example, the chance stimulation effect and chance effect in FIG. 61 to FIG. 63) that performs a predetermined effect including a result effect that definitively notifies whether or not the game state will be shifted from the first game state to the second game state as an advance notice effect related to the lottery result (the final result effect in FIG. 61 (F) to the effect before the transition to a specific state in FIG. 62 (K)) can be executed.
When the launch guidance instruction performance and the specific notice performance are executed in an overlapping manner, the launch guidance instruction performance is terminated at least before the execution of the result performance (for example, FIG. 64 (S)).
The gaming machine is characterized by the above.

[Ninth embodiment]
Next, a description will be given of the performance control process on the side of the performance control unit 24 as one embodiment of the present invention.

As already explained, the performance control processing on the performance control unit 24 side in this embodiment will be explained. The processing on the performance control unit 24 side is mainly composed of a predetermined main processing (performance control side main processing: Figure 23) and a timer interrupt processing (performance control side timer interrupt processing: Figure 24) that is started by a regular interrupt from the CTC. The processing content of the "command analysis processing (step S1007)" in Figure 23 will be explained below. In the command analysis processing, as already explained, processing is executed to determine the performance content (performance scenario) of the changing performance and the pre-reading notice.

<65. Command Analysis Processing: Figs. 65 to 66>
Next, the details of the command analysis process (step S1007 in FIG. 23) will be described. The command analysis process is mainly composed of a "command analysis process for lottery (FIG. 65)" for analyzing the performance control command sent from the main control unit 20, and a "lottery process at the time of receiving a command (FIG. 66)" for determining the performance to be executed (such as the performance during fluctuation or the performance at the time of winning (preview notice)) based on the information included in the performance control command. The "command analysis process for lottery (FIG. 65)" and the "lottery process at the time of receiving a command (FIG. 66)" will be described below.

<Lottery command analysis process: FIG. 65>
First, the lottery command analysis process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

This lottery command analysis process is a process that analyzes the received performance control command and stores the analysis result (information included in the performance control command). The performance control commands to be analyzed mainly include performance control commands related to the occurrence of an activated reserved ball (reserved addition command, winning command, etc.) and performance control commands related to the start of pattern change (changing pattern designation command, decorative pattern designation command, reserved subtraction command, etc.). In other words, the lottery command analysis process stores information (mainly data related to the performance lottery) required to produce a "winning performance (pre-reading notice)" or "changing performance (performance related to the current pattern change display game)". The performance control unit 24 reads out the stored information at the necessary timing and uses it for the performance control process (performance process). The "lottery command analysis process" will be explained below using FIG. 65.

In FIG. 65, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) determines the type of the received performance control command (steps SL01, SL03, SL05, SL07, SL09, SL11, SL13, SL15, SL17) and stores the information included in the performance control command (steps SL02, SL04, SL06, SL08, SL10, SL12, SL14, SL16, SL18). Specifically, it analyzes the information included in the performance control command, converts it into data (control flags) that can be used for performance processing, and stores (sets) it in a specified memory area (control flag storage area).

The processing of steps SL01 to SL04 is related to the fluctuation pattern designation command. The processing of steps SL01 to SL02 is related to the "miss fluctuation pattern designation command (A0 (miss) series command)", and steps SL03 to SL04 are related to the "hit fluctuation pattern command (A1 (hit) series command)". The processing of steps SL01 to SL04 stores information included in the fluctuation pattern designation command (fluctuation pattern information: hereafter also referred to as "main fluctuation information"). The information stored here is mainly used for presentation processing related to the during-fluctuation presentation.

The processing of steps SL05 to SL08 is related to the decorative symbol command. The processing of steps SL05 to SL06 is related to the "decorative symbol designation command (BB command) on the special symbol 1 side", and steps SL07 to SL08 are related to the "decorative symbol designation command (BC command) on the special symbol 2 side". As already explained, the decorative symbol command is composed of data on the upper byte side that specifies the special symbol type on the variable side (variation start side) (for example, "BBH" specifies special symbol 1, "BCH" specifies special symbol 2), and data on the lower byte side that specifies the winning type (symbol lottery result: for example, see Figures 4A to 4C). The processing of steps SL05 to SL08 stores information included in this decorative symbol designation command (symbol lottery result information (winning type information): hereinafter also referred to as "main symbol information"). The information stored here is mainly used for the performance processing related to the performance during the variation.

The processing of steps SL09 to SL10 is related to the winning command. As already explained, the winning command is composed of data on the upper byte side that specifies the jackpot lottery result (win/lose lottery result and/or pattern lottery result), and data on the side that makes it possible to identify the contents of the pre-reading fluctuation pattern as pre-reading judgment information. The processing of steps SL09 to SL10 stores the information contained in this winning command (pre-reading fluctuation pattern information). The information stored here is mainly used for the performance processing related to the pre-reading notice.

The processing of steps SL11 to SL14 is related to the reserved subtraction command. The processing of steps SL11 to SL12 is related to the "reserved subtraction command on the special symbol 1 side (B0 system)", and steps SL13 to SL14 are related to the "reserved subtraction command on the special symbol 2 side (B1 system)". As already explained, the reserved subtraction command is composed of data on the upper byte side that specifies the special symbol type ("B0H" specifies special symbol 1, "B1H" specifies special symbol 2), and data on the lower byte side that makes it possible to specify the number of reserved balls in operation after subtraction (reserved subtraction information). The processing of steps SL11 to SL14 stores the information contained in this reserved subtraction command. The information stored here is mainly used for the performance processing related to the reserved subtraction (for example, the shift display during reserved subtraction, the pre-reading notice during reserved subtraction (for example, the pre-reading notice during the pattern change), etc.).

The processing of steps SL15 to SL18 shown in the figure is processing related to the reserved addition command. The processing of steps SL15 to SL18 is processing related to the "reserved addition command on the special symbol 1 side", and steps SL13 to SL14 are processing related to the "reserved addition command on the special symbol 2 side". As already explained, the reserved addition command is composed of data on the upper byte side that specifies the special symbol type and data on the lower byte side that allows the reserved addition information to be specified. The processing of steps SL15 to SL18 stores the information contained in this reserved addition command. The information stored here is mainly used for the performance processing related to the reserved addition (for example, reserved addition display, pre-reading notice during reserved addition (for example, winning time series pre-reading notice), etc.), as with the processing related to the above-mentioned winning time command (steps SL09 to SL10).

Although not shown in the figure, the lottery command analysis process includes a "command information error determination process" that determines whether there is a malfunction (error) in the command information during the lottery command analysis process. For example, if there is a malfunction between the main fluctuation information and the main symbol information (if the main fluctuation information and the main symbol information do not match, such as when the main fluctuation information is a losing fluctuation but the main symbol information is a jackpot), "error designation information (no lottery designation information)" that designates the error information is set.

When steps SL01 to SL18 are completed, the lottery command analysis is exited and the "lottery process when a command is received" shown in Figure 66 is executed.

<Lottery process when receiving a command: FIG. 66>
Fig. 66 is a flow chart showing details of the lottery process when a command is received. In the lottery process when this command is received, lottery processes for various effects are executed based on the information (control flag data) acquired in the "lottery command analysis process" in Fig. 65.

In FIG. 66, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) determines whether or not there is information acquired by the decorative pattern designation command. Specifically, it determines whether or not there is "BB series (special pattern 1 designation) information" on the special pattern 1 side or "BC series (special pattern 2 designation) information" on the special pattern 1 side (steps SA11 to SA12).

If the result of the determination in step SA11 or step SA12 is "YES", that is, if a decorative symbol designation command has been received and there is information related to the decorative symbol designation command, proceed to step SA13 and execute a lottery process at the start of the change. This lottery process at the start of the change (step SA13) is a process for determining the during-change performance (preview performance, etc.) for the current game based on information acquired by the performance control command sent from the main control unit 20 at the start of the change (mainly information here such as the change pattern designation command and the decorative symbol designation command). Specifically, it is a lottery process for determining the performance scenario (performance content) that constitutes the during-change performance. After the lottery process at the start of the change (step SA13) is completed, proceed to steps SA14 to SA15 (determination process related to reserved subtraction command information) described later. The details of the lottery at the start of the change will be described later with reference to FIG. 67.

On the other hand, if the judgment results of both steps SA11 and SA12 are "NO", that is, if the decorative pattern designation command has not been received and there is no information related to the decorative pattern designation command, the above-mentioned variation start lottery (step SA13) is skipped, and steps SA14 to SA15 (judgment process related to reserved subtraction command information) are then executed.

In steps SA14 to SA15, it is determined whether or not there is information obtained by the reserved subtraction command. Specifically, it is determined whether or not there is "B0 series (special chart 1 reserved subtraction) information" on the special chart 1 side or "B1 series (special chart 2 reserved subtraction) information" on the special chart 2 side (steps SA14 to SA15).

If the determination result of step SA14 or step SA15 is "YES", that is, if a reserved subtraction command has been received and there is information related to that reserved subtraction command, proceed to step SA16 and execute a reserved subtraction time lottery process (reserved slide lottery process). This reserved subtraction time lottery process (step SA16) is a process for determining the presentation related to the reserved subtraction. After the reserved subtraction time lottery process is completed, proceed to steps SA17 to SA18 (determination process related to reserved addition command information) described below.

On the other hand, if the results of the judgments at steps SA14 and SA15 are both "NO," that is, if the reserved subtraction command has not been received and there is no information related to the reserved subtraction command, the reserved subtraction lottery process (step SA16) is skipped, and steps SA17 to SA18 (presentation processing based on reserved addition command information (mainly processing related to the pre-reading judgment when a prize is won)) are then executed.

In steps SA17 to SA18, it is determined whether or not there is information obtained by the reserved addition command. Specifically, it is determined whether or not there is "B2 to B5 series (reserved addition of special chart 1) information" on the special chart 1 side or "B6 to B9 series (reserved addition of special chart 2) information" on the special chart 2 side (steps SA17 to SA18).

If the result of the determination in step SA17 or step SA18 is "YES", that is, if a reserved addition command has been received and there is information related to that reserved addition command, proceed to step SA19 and execute a lottery process at the time of winning (lottery process at the time of reserve addition). This lottery process at the time of winning (step SA19) is a process for determining the reserved display presentation related to winning. When the lottery process at the time of winning is completed, the lottery process at the time of command reception is exited.

On the other hand, if the determination results of both steps SA17 and SA18 are "NO," that is, if the pending addition command has not been received and there is no information related to the pending addition command, the lottery process at the time of winning (step SA19) is skipped and the lottery process at the time of receiving the command is exited.

(Lottery process at the start of fluctuation (step SA13): FIG. 67)
Next, the fluctuation start processing (step SA13) in Fig. 66 will be described. Fig. 67 is a flow chart showing the details of the fluctuation start processing (step SA13).

In FIG. 67, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) executes performance processing to determine the performance during fluctuation and/or the hold display performance when the hold is subtracted (performance related to the shift display). Specifically, as shown in the figure, it sequentially executes "variable initialization processing at the start of the lottery (step SA31)", "control part creation processing (step SA32)", "lottery start processing (step SA33)", and "variable initialization processing at the end of the lottery (step SA34)". These processes (steps SA31 to SA34) are described below.

(Lot start variable initialization process (step SA31): FIG. 68)
First, the lottery start variable initialization process (step SA31) will be described. Fig. 68 is a flow chart showing the lottery start variable initialization process in detail.

In FIG. 68, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first initializes all of the lottery reservation information (data specifying whether or not a lottery reservation is made) in the "variation lottery reservation information storage area (FIGS. 77A to 77D)" described below (step SB11). The variation lottery reservation information storage area and lottery reservation information will be described in detail in the lottery start process (step SA33) described below.

Next, the winning result contents at the start of the low probability/high probability fluctuation (effect lottery processing result for the effect during fluctuation) in the scenario data storage area are initialized (step SB12). Here, only the effect lottery processing result for the effect during fluctuation is initialized, and the effect lottery processing result for the look-ahead notice is not initialized. This is because the look-ahead notice includes effect scenarios for not only the current game but also future games.

By processing SB11 to SB12 above, the data used in the previous game (the data used when determining the variable effects related to the previous game) is initialized, and the work area required for the current game is secured. This exits the variable initialization process at the start of the lottery.

(Control Parts Creation Process (at Start of Fluctuation) (Step SA32): FIG. 69)
Next, the control part creation process (step SA32) at the start of fluctuation will be described. Fig. 69 is a flow chart showing the details of the control part creation process (at the start of fluctuation) (step SA32).

In Fig. 69, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first sets the necessary information in the offset parts memory area (Figs. 76A to 76D) to be used in the lottery at the start of fluctuation (performance lottery to determine the performance during fluctuation) (step SB21). The offset parts memory area is set (stored) with the information necessary for this performance lottery based on the control flag information (performance control information based on the fluctuation pattern designation command and decorative pattern command) created in the lottery command analysis process (Fig. 65).

The information set in the offset parts memory area includes the change pattern information (main change information) and the pattern lottery result information (main pattern information (winning type information)) determined by the main control unit 20, as well as the setting information of the above-mentioned customization function (game environment setting) managed by the performance control unit 24 (for example, customization information related to the current performance stage). The performance control unit 24 also includes a memory area (processing result related memory area shown in Figures 78A to 78I) that can store the processing results of the performance lottery obtained during the lottery start process (step SA33) described below. These memory areas can store not only the start of the change but also the time of winning (information related to the pre-reading judgment result). The information set in the offset parts memory area and the processing result related memory area is updated and used as appropriate according to the processing status.

(Offset parts storage area: Figs. 76A to 76D)
76A-76D provide an overview of the offset parts storage area discussed above.

As shown in Figures 76A to 76D, the offset parts memory area defines various memory areas necessary for effect processing (effect lottery, etc.). For example, main variation information is stored (set) in "TH_main variation" of offset part number 1.

(Main fluctuation and sub fluctuation)
97A to 97F show various main variations and sub variations according to this embodiment and their relationships. Sub variations corresponding to the same main variation number are sub variations belonging to the same main variation, but are distinguished as different sub variations. For example, sub variation numbers 15 to 17 are sub variations belonging to main variation number 15, but are distinguished as separate sub variations, sub variation numbers 15 to 17, by the performance lottery process described later (see Figs. 70, 71A to 71B, 84A to 84B, etc.).

In this embodiment, various main fluctuations are provided, and the "TH_main fluctuation" in the offset parts storage area can store information (main fluctuation number) that can identify the current main fluctuation type. Specifically, the main fluctuation number (any value between 0 and 187 shown in the "MAIN" column in the figure) is set based on the current main fluctuation type. For example, if the main fluctuation is "none_normal fluctuation 12 seconds_non-existent_1_miss" (main fluctuation number 1 in the figure), "1" is set, and if it is "none_underworld SPSP_DF notice_1_miss" (main fluctuation number 15 in the figure), "15" is set, thereby making it possible to identify the main fluctuation type related to the current game. In reality, the main variation number is not set directly to "TH_main variation". Instead, "TH_main variation" itself stores the presence or absence of main variation information (for example, presence = flag value 1, absence = flag value 0), and the main variation number is set (stored) in a specified area corresponding to "TH_main variation" (main variation number memory area (part of processing result related memory area)), and depending on the processing status, the main variation number memory area is accessed to obtain the information (similar things exist for some of the other offset part numbers).

Here, we will briefly explain the main fluctuation types and sub-fluctuation types using Figures 97A to 97F.

First, the main fluctuation types will be explained. In Figures 97A to 97F, the contents of the main fluctuations are classified into specific parts (elements) such as "(pre-fluctuation or not), (reach type), (whether a specific notice has occurred), (identifier that distinguishes between fluctuations of the same type), (whether it is a hit or a miss)" and are expressed as a combination of these parts.

The above "before change" refers to a type of change that can execute a specific effect when the current game starts. For example, a typical example is a display mode in which the decorative symbols are hidden once at the start of the game, and a specific effect (for example, a reach title notice, a stage change notice, a blackout effect, etc.) is displayed on the entire screen, and then the display of the changing decorative symbols appears. In addition, it is not limited to the display of the decorative symbols once, but it is also possible to set a long time (for example, 5 s to 15 s) between the start of the change of the decorative symbols and the transition to a high-speed change state, and use that time to perform a specific effect. In this case, the decorative symbols may be configured to be displayed in a temporary stop state (for example, swaying change) during the specific effect (after the end of the specific effect, the decorative symbols can be transitioned to a high-speed change state). In the illustration, if the main change is "before change", it is prefixed with "before change", and if it is not before change, it is prefixed with "none".

"Reach type" refers to N reach, SP reach, SPSP reach (including development type and direct hit type SPSP reach), and normal variation (non-reach variation). Variation types with "revival" attached specify the occurrence of a revival performance. "Normal reach" refers to N reach type, "SP" refers to SP reach type, and "SPSP" refers to SPSP reach type. Also, descriptions such as "△△ reach via ○○", for example, "ZERO reach via normal" (variation number 4), "climax via manga reach" (variation number 13), and "climax via underworld (variation number 14) refer to reach types that develop into other reaches via a certain reach (the "development type reach" mentioned above).

In addition, "whether or not a specific pre-notification will occur" primarily refers to whether or not the type of variation can execute special pre-notification effects that occur during a SP reach (for example, a cut-in effect or a title pre-notification effect that predicts the reach type) or effects specific to that reach (for example, a character effect in which a special character (such as a character according to the expected winning probability or a character specific to the reach) appears). If the occurrence of a specific pre-notification is not specified, "not present" is displayed, and if its occurrence is specified, the name of the effect (for example, DF pre-notification) is added.

In addition, the "identifier for distinguishing between the same type of fluctuation" is used to distinguish between Reach 1 and Reach 2 when there are N Reach 1 and N Reach 2 belonging to the same N Reach type. For example, the relationship between main fluctuation numbers 3 and 19, or the relationship between main fluctuation numbers 4 and 21.

An example of a main fluctuation will be explained below. For example, if the main fluctuation number 1 is "None_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Non-existent_1_Miss", it means that the main fluctuation is "None (no performance occurs at the start of the fluctuation), normal fluctuation 12 seconds, non-existent (no specific notice occurs), normal fluctuation 1, miss". As a variation that differs only from this main fluctuation number 1 in the presence or absence of "before the fluctuation", there is the main fluctuation number 66 "Before the fluctuation_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Non-existent_1_Miss". In other words, if the only difference between the main fluctuation number 1 and the other elements is the presence or absence of "before the fluctuation", the fluctuation time (in this example, the fluctuation time of 12 seconds) is the same, and the performance content after the specific performance is basically the same, with the only difference being whether or not a specific performance occurs at the start of the fluctuation. In addition, if it has "before the fluctuation", it may mean a fluctuation pattern to which a specified additional time has been added. For example, in the case of main fluctuation number 66, if the added time is 2 seconds, the total fluctuation time (total performance time) will be 14 seconds, but compared to main fluctuation number 1, only the added time (2 seconds) and the performance content executed during that added time are different, and the performance content related to the subsequent fluctuation time (the in-fluctuating performance related to the fluctuation time of 12 seconds) is the same performance content. This is the fluctuation pattern.

As can be seen from the figure, sub-fluctuations are classified into specific parts and expressed as combinations of each part, just like the main fluctuations described above. However, in the "Sub-fluctuation type" column, sub-fluctuations that belong to "before the fluctuation" are prefixed with "before the fluctuation", and sub-fluctuations that do not belong to "before the fluctuation" are omitted from the "none" entry (for example, "Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_1__miss_" for sub-fluctuation number 1 is written without the "before the fluctuation" entry). Also, the part corresponding to the above "(whether or not a specific notice occurs)" of the main fluctuation is determined by a performance lottery based on the information on the main fluctuation (see Figures 71A and 71B, 84A to 89B, etc., described below), so there may be cases where the performance does not necessarily occur, as the presence or absence of a specific notice, the type of specific performance, and various other performances related to the performance during the fluctuation are determined. Therefore, for ease of explanation, in the section above that corresponds to "(Whether or not a specific notice has occurred)," the type of fluctuation is listed multiple times, for example, "Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_1__miss," "Before fluctuation_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_1__miss," etc. In any case, since sub-fluctuations that correspond to the same main fluctuation number are sub-fluctuations that belong to the same main fluctuation, the basic content of the sub-fluctuation will follow the content specified by the main fluctuation.

In this embodiment, the idea of classifying by specific parts is also important in determining the content of the effects during fluctuations and pre-reading announcements. This will be described later using Figures 72, 92, 98A to 98F, etc.

For the main symbol information, a value (not shown) that can specify the current winning type is set in the "TH_main symbol" corresponding to offset part number 2. For example, in the case of the winning types shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, a value (for example, 0 to 11) corresponding to each of the 12 types, namely, big win A to C, small win A to B, special time reduction A to C, and miss A to D, is set. However, if it is not necessary to classify the winning types in detail for the performance processing, winning types of the same system may be grouped together and a corresponding value may be set. For example, values corresponding to the four types of big win, small win, special time reduction, and miss may be set. Of course, one or more winning types of the same system may be classified and a corresponding value may be set. For example, among the big wins A to D, the big wins A to C on the special chart 1 side may be classified as big win 1, and the big win D on the special chart 2 side may be classified as big win 2.

In the following, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, a gaming machine having the gameplay as shown in FIG. 100 will be used as an example for explanation. In the figure, an example is shown in which the types of winning are misses (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "misses"), non-variable jackpots (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "regular jackpots"), "time-limited jackpots", and variable jackpots.

However, FIG. 100 is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the types of winning or the number of types shown in FIG. 100. Furthermore, matters related to winning, such as the probability of winning, the rate of drawing symbols, the game state to which a player is transferred upon winning (the game state to which a player is transferred after a winning game), the number of times of special bonuses, and the number of times of time reduction are not particularly limited. Furthermore, the gameplay may be as in the first embodiment (at least the gameplay including special time reduction).

In addition, the example in FIG. 100 shows an example in which the setting values 1 to 6 each have a different probability of winning a jackpot, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the gaming machine may be of the above-mentioned "one-stage setting type" or "no setting type."

Furthermore, regarding the fluctuation pattern (main fluctuation), since the winning type is different, an example in which a fluctuation pattern different from that of the first embodiment is provided will be explained. Also, the fluctuation pattern selection process (selection of a fluctuation pattern based on the number of activated reserved balls, game status, winning type, etc.) is also basically the same as the first embodiment (for example, in the event of a jackpot, a fluctuation pattern (such as an SP reach type) with a relatively higher winning expectation is selected than in the event of a miss, and in the event of a miss, the more activated reserved balls there are, the more likely a fluctuation pattern with a relatively short fluctuation time is to be selected, etc.). Note that it is possible to appropriately determine what kind of fluctuation pattern is provided and what kind of processing content is used for the fluctuation pattern selection process depending on the gameplay.

(Game 1: Customization)
Next, the customization function according to this embodiment will be described.

The customization function of this embodiment provides three types of presentation stages that the player can select (player-selectable presentation stages): "Premium Up (Premium Up Mode)", "Seven Counter (Seven Counter Mode)", and "Revival Presentation Appearance Rate UP (High Probability of Revival Presentation Mode)". Each can be set to "ON (setting available)/OFF (not setting)". Therefore, a presentation stage can be created that combines one or more customizations according to the player's preference. Note that if all are OFF, the presentation will be in "Normal Mode (default presentation state)".

(1) In "Premium Up," the appearance rate of the winning indication (an indication that a jackpot has been won with certainty) is at least higher than in normal mode.
(2) In the "Seven Counter", the Seven Counter effect appears with a predetermined probability. The Seven Counter effect is a performance mode in which a counter display appears in a predetermined area of the liquid crystal screen at a predetermined timing during the variable effect or when an activated reserved ball occurs (when a prize is won), and after the counter display appears, it counts up for each game, and when the counter display shows "7" (for example, 7, 17, 77, etc.), if it develops into a specific reach (for example, an SP reach type (which may be one or more SP reaches)), the probability of winning increases significantly or a big win is guaranteed.
(3) In the "Increased revival effect appearance rate" mode, the appearance rate of the revival effect is at least higher than in normal mode.

The setting information for the above customization function (ON/OFF information for each mode) is also stored in the offset parts memory area and is used in the lottery process (for example, the lottery process related to the effects of steps SA13, SA16, SA19, etc. in FIG. 66).

In this embodiment, when only "Premium Up" is ON, the appearance rate of the winning effect is simply increased, but when "Premium Up" and "Revival effect appearance rate UP" are ON, the appearance rate of the winning effect is high, and the appearance rate of the revival effect is also high (premium effects + more revival effects), resulting in a performance stage where different performance contents can be obtained even with the same sub-variation, depending on the setting state of the customization function (customization state) (for example, see FIG. 101).

For the customizations that have been set, a menu item is provided in the game environment settings (game settings screen) to initialize (return to default) all of the customizations at once (see, for example, FIG. 111 (B) (H) described below). When this menu item is selected, a game settings screen is displayed asking, for example, "Do you want to initialize the customizations? YES/NO" (customization initialization selection display), and if the player selects "YES," the currently set customizations are initialized and set to "normal mode" (default display state).

Next, the main status flag is obtained (step SB22). The main status flag is data (game status information) that can identify the current game status. As already explained, the performance control unit 24 is capable of managing the current game status (internal game status YJ and/or variable pattern allocation designation number Tcode) based on specific performance control commands that contain information about the game status among the performance control commands sent from the main control unit 20 (the above-mentioned "performance control side game status management means"), and the main information flag (game status information) is managed in a manner that maintains consistency with the game status on the main control unit 20 side. The performance control unit 24 side can grasp the current game status by referring to this main status flag.

Then, it sequentially determines whether the current game state is normal (step SB23), time-saving state, or special state (step SB25), and executes the processing of step SB26 or step SB27 depending on the current game state.

If the current game state is normal (step SB23: YES), the low probability leading number (low probability sub-variation pattern lottery designation number = 0) is set as the variation number (lottery type designation information) (step SB24). The value set here (= 0) is used in step SB28 described later.

If the current game state is the time-saving state or the high probability state (step SB25: YES), the high probability leading number (high probability sub-variation pattern lottery designation number = 228) is set as the variation number (step SB26). Details of the value set here (= 228) will be explained later in step SB28.

After completing steps SB23 to SB26, it is next determined whether the variation number is "0xFFFF", which is specific information (for example, when there is a command mismatch or inability to analyze due to electrical noise, or when the above-mentioned error specification information is set) (step SB27). If the variation number is not "0xFFFF" (step SB28: ≠ 0xFFFF), lottery reservation information is set in the variation lottery reservation information storage area (Figures 77A to 77D) based on the variation number set in step SB24 or step SB26 (step SB28). Details of the lottery reservation information will be described later using Figure 73, but to make the present invention easier to understand, an overview of the lottery reservation information and the variation lottery reservation information storage area that stores that information will first be described.

(Variation lottery reservation information storage area: Figs. 77A to 77D)
77A to 77D show the above-mentioned variation lottery reservation information storage area. Note that Fig. 77A to Fig. 77D show only a part of the variation lottery reservation information storage area.

As shown in the figure, the variation lottery reservation information storage area has a storage area in which "lottery reservation information" for specifying the execution of various effect lotteries is set (see the storage area corresponding to the illustrated variation number). In the illustrated variation numbers 0 to 227 (first half of the storage area), a group of effect lottery types related to the normal state (effect lotteries related to the start of fluctuation and when a prize is won) is defined, and in the variation numbers 228 to 371 (second half of the storage area), a group of effect lottery types related to the time-saving state or the probability variable state (effect lotteries related to the start of fluctuation and when a prize is won) is defined. For example, the "[TH_001] sub-fluctuation pattern" of variation number 0 is a lottery for determining a sub-fluctuation related to the normal state based on the main fluctuation type, and the "[KH_001] high probability_sub-fluctuation pattern" of variation number 228 is a lottery for determining a sub-fluctuation related to the time-saving state or the probability variable state based on the main fluctuation type. In addition, there are many lottery reservation information storage areas that target the type of effect lottery required to determine the changing effects and pre-reading predictions (here, there are a total of 371 predictions with variation numbers 0 to 370).

The above-mentioned "lottery reservation information" refers to data (lottery type reservation information) for specifying (reserving) what type of effect lottery will be executed next time (including the next time onwards) based on the results of the current lottery process when the effect lottery for the current game is executed multiple times (specifically, when the lottery execution process (step SB40 in FIG. 70) described below is executed multiple times). The lottery reservation information is set to "lottery reservation available (lottery reservation completed)/lottery reservation not available" in a specified process, and the effect lottery specified as "lottery reservation available" will be executed (this will be described in more detail later using FIG. 73 (detailed flow of lottery reservation setting process)).

In this embodiment, the type of effect lottery to be executed first is specified in the processing of step SB28 described above. Specifically, it is as follows.

In step SB28, the following reservation information is set in the variation lottery reservation information storage area as the initial value of the lottery reservation information:

(1) "Under normal conditions"
In the process of step SB24, since the variation number is set to "0",
・ "EN_E_TH_001_SaBuHeNnDoUPaTaNn, // [TH_001] Sub-variation pattern"
will be set to "Lottery reserved (lottery reservation available)."

(2) "When in time-saving or special mode"
In the process of step SB26, since the variation number is set to "228",
・ "EN_E_KH_001_KoUKaKu_SaBuHeNnDoUPaTaNn, // [KH_001] High probability_Sub fluctuation pattern"
will be set to "Lottery reserved (lottery reservation available)."

Therefore, in the normal state, when determining the content of the in-fluctuating effects for the current game, the first (initial) effect drawing is a "[TH_001] sub-fluctuation pattern" (a drawing to determine the sub-fluctuation for the normal state), and in the time-saving or high probability state, the first effect drawing is a "[KH_001] high probability_sub-fluctuation pattern" (a drawing to determine the sub-fluctuation for the time-saving or high probability state). Then, based on the results of this drawing process, lottery reservation information is set that specifies what kind of lottery processing will be performed next time (see the lottery reservation setting process in Figure 73 described below).

Return to the explanation of step SB27. On the other hand, if the variation number is "0xFFFF" (step SB28: = 0xFFFF), it is assumed that some abnormality (error) has occurred in the presentation processing, and the control part creation process is exited without any action. In this case, it is set to "no lottery reservation", and it is assumed that an error has occurred in the presentation processing, so the presentation lottery for this game (presentation lottery to determine the in-floating presentation) is not executed (see the processing route where the result of the determination at step SB35 in FIG. 70 described below is NO), and error processing (error presentation lottery processing) is executed to execute the in-floating presentation in the event of an error (for example, executing a swaying change of the decorative pattern without generating a preview presentation, etc.).

Once the above control part creation process (at the start of fluctuation) (step SA32) is completed, the lottery start process (step SA33) is then executed.

(Lottery start process (step SA33): FIG. 70)
Next, the lottery start process (step SA33) will be described. Fig. 70 is a flowchart showing the details of the lottery start process (step SA33). In this lottery start process, a performance lottery for the current game (performance lottery at the start of variation) is executed based on the lottery reservation information (presence or absence of lottery reservation) in the variation lottery reservation information storage area.

In FIG. 70, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first clears the lottery execution count (lottery execution count ← 0) (step SB31). This lottery execution count is used to specify the performance lottery type in the variation lottery reservation information storage area (see the lottery execution count column in FIG. 77A to FIG. 77D), and is also used as judgment information to determine whether all the performance lotteries related to the current game have been completed (see step SB32 described next).

Then, the current lottery execution count number is compared with the lottery data end value to determine whether the lottery execution count number is less than the lottery data end value (step SB32). The lottery data end value is a judgment value for judging whether all the performance lotteries have ended, and specifically, it is "371", which corresponds to the lottery data end position in the variation lottery reservation information storage area shown in FIG. 77D. Note that in this embodiment, the total number of previews to be selected (all performance lottery types at the start of the fluctuation (fluctuating performance) and at the time of winning (preview preview)) are the variation numbers 0 to 370 in the variation lottery reservation information storage area. In the judgment process of step SB32, it is judged whether all the lotteries in the variation lottery reservation information storage area have ended based on the lottery execution count number.

If the lottery execution count is less than the lottery data end value (step SB32: YES), that is, if all performance lotteries have not ended, the lottery execution count is set to the variation number (step SB34). For example, when step SB34 is executed for the first time, the lottery execution count is 0, so the variation number is set to 0.

Next, it is determined whether the "variation lottery reservation information storage area (Figs. 77A to 77D)" corresponding to the specified variation number is "lottery reservation available (lottery reservation completed)" (step SB35). If it is not "lottery reservation completed" (step SB35: NO), in other words, if it is "lottery reservation not available", the lottery execution count number is incremented (lottery execution count number + 1) and processing returns to step SB32. On the other hand, if it is "lottery reservation completed" (step SB35: YES), processing proceeds to step SB36 described below.

When the determination process of step SB35 is executed for the first time (when the lottery execution count number is the initial value 0), the variation lottery reservation information storage area of the variation number 0 specified in step SB34 is referenced.
・ "EN_E_TH_001_SaBuHeNnDoUPaTaNn, // [TH_001] Sub-variation pattern"
is referred to (see FIG. 77A).

Here, in the processing of step SB28 of the control part creation process (Figure 69), if the current game state is normal, the variation lottery reservation information storage area corresponding to the above-mentioned variation number 0 is set as "lottery reserved" (see steps SB24 and SB28 of Figure 69, and Figure 77A).

On the other hand, if the current game state is the time-saving state or the probability variation state, the variation number corresponds to 228.
・ "EN_E_KH_001_KoUKaKu_SaBuHeNnDoUPaTaNn, // [KH_001] High probability_Sub fluctuation pattern"
is set as "lottery reserved" (see step SB26, step SB28 in FIG. 69, and FIG. 77C).

Therefore, when the determination process of step SB35 is executed for the first time, the process proceeds as follows:

In the normal state, the lottery reservation information corresponding to variation number 0 is "lottery reservation available (lottery reservation completed)", so the judgment result of step SB35 is "YES". In this case, the processing from step SB36 onwards, which will be described later, is executed. That is, the effect lottery for the normal state (variation numbers 0 to 227) is executed. However, in the normal state, all lottery reservation information for the effect lottery group related to the time-saving state or the probability variable state is set to "no reservation", and all of its execution is skipped.

In the case of the time-saving state or the probability variable state, the lottery reservation information for the variation number 228 is "lottery reserved", and the lottery reservation information for all the variation numbers 0 to 227 is "lottery not reserved". Therefore, until the lottery execution count number reaches 228, the judgment result of step SB35 is always "NO", and the process of "step SB32 → SB43 (lottery execution count number + 1) → SB32" is repeatedly executed. In other words, the execution of the effect lottery group related to the normal state (variation numbers 0 to 227) is skipped, and the lottery is executed for the effect lottery type group related to the time-saving state or the probability variable state (variation numbers 228 to 370). In this embodiment, the effect lottery related to the normal state, which has a relatively long stay period compared to the time-saving state or the probability variable state, is executed preferentially in the game progress. Also, in order to enrich the variety of effects during the normal state, which has a long duration, the relationship is set to "number of effect lottery types related to the normal state (number of advance notice effects) > number of effect lottery types related to the time-saving state and/or the special probability state", preventing the game from becoming monotonous (see Figures 77A to 77D). Note that in this embodiment, the relationship is set to "number of effect lottery types related to the normal state (number of advance notice effects) > number of effect lottery types related to the time-saving state and/or the special probability state", but this is not limited to this, and the relationship can be set to "number of effect lottery types related to the normal state" ≥, =, or ≤ "number of effect lottery types related to the time-saving state and/or the special probability state" depending on the game characteristics.

After that, based on the lottery execution count, it is determined whether or not the specified variation number has been reserved for lottery (lottery reservation completed, lottery reservation not completed) (see the processing of steps SB32 to SB43). If "lottery reservation completed" (lottery reservation completed), the processing of steps SB36 to SB42 described below is executed to determine the content of the performance. Then, when all the performance lotteries have been completed (step SB32: NO), the performance (changing performance) to be produced in the current game is determined. As can be seen from FIG. 70, the lottery execution count is incremented each time step SB42 or step S43 is passed, and the value is set as the variation number, so that the performance is executed in the order of the variation number, in other words, in the order of addresses in the variation lottery reservation information storage area (the order of the variation number shown in FIG. 77A to FIG. 77D). However, whether or not the performance lottery is executed is determined based on the presence or absence of a lottery reservation.

In this embodiment, the lottery for the performance that should be decided first is executed first, preventing unnecessary performance lotteries from being executed multiple times, thereby reducing the control burden. The best example of this is that when deciding the content of the current during-change performance (during-change performance scenario), a lottery for a sub-change based on the main change (the above-mentioned [TH_001] sub-change pattern) is executed first (see Figure 77A). By first deciding the sub-change that is the core of the during-change performance, it becomes possible to decide the display mode of the wide variety of accompanying preview performances and decorative patterns, thereby making the lottery process more efficient.

In the following, in order to avoid duplication of the process contents, unless otherwise specified,
・ "EN_E_TH_001_SaBuHeNnDoUPaTaNn, // [TH_001] Sub-variation pattern"
In the following, a typical example will be described in which the lottery execution counter is set to "lottery reserved". In addition, the processing contents when the lottery execution counter is at its initial value (=0) will be described first, and the processing contents when the lottery execution counter is 1 or more will be described later.

Returning to the explanation of step SB35 in FIG. 70, if the variation lottery reservation information storage area corresponding to the specified variation number is "lottery reserved" (step SB35: YES), then the "lottery table selection information" in the "variation number table" shown in FIG. 79 is obtained (step SB36).

(Variation Number Table; Figure 79)
The variation number table is shown in Fig. 79. Note that Fig. 79 shows only a part of the variation number table.

The variation number table stores table designation information (address information for designating a specific table (address designation information)) corresponding to each variation number. Specifically, as shown in "Notes" in FIG. 79, from the left, the table designation information stores "lottery table selection information (address information for the lottery table selection table (FIG. 96 described below))", "lottery flag parts information (address information for the lottery flag parts information table (FIGS. 92, 93, etc. described below))", "lottery call information (address information for the lottery call setting table (FIGS. 94A-94B, 95, etc. described below))", and "scenario setting information (address information for the scenario setting table (not shown))". This information is acquired and used depending on the processing status.

Next, it is determined whether or not the acquired lottery table selection information exists (step SB37). Here, the case where the lottery reservation information corresponding to the variation number 0 is "lottery reserved" is explained, so the lottery reservation information corresponding to the variation number 0 in the variation number table (FIG. 79) is
・"{NULL, En_lot_dt_parts000, En_lot_dt_lot000, NULL}, // [TH_001] Sub-fluctuation pattern"
From the table selection information, lottery table selection information (table designation information for lottery table selection) is acquired. Since the lottery table selection information here is "NULL" as shown in the figure, that is, "no lottery table selection information", the determination result of step SB37 is "YES", and "0" is set in the table number storage area (step SB38). Details of the case where there is lottery table selection information (≠NULL) (a case where the lottery table selection process (step SB41) described later is executed) will be described later using FIG. 74, and here, the case where there is no lottery table selection information (=NULL) will be described.

After step SB38 or the "lottery table selection process (step SB41)" described below is completed, the process proceeds to step S39. Here, a process is performed to obtain the "lottery sheet number" for the current lottery (see the sheet number table in Figures 81A to 81B described below) (step SB39). Specifically, based on the current variation number and the value in the table number storage area, the lottery sheet number for the current lottery (address information related to the lottery sheet number) is obtained from the "sheet number storage table" shown in Figure 80.

In more detail, if there is no lottery table selection information (step SB37: YES), that is, if the table number storage area becomes 0 in the processing of step SB, address information specifying the "lottery sheet number" is obtained from the sheet number storage table (Figure 80) based on the variation number (lottery execution count number).

The sheet number storage table (Fig. 80) stores address information (first address information) required to obtain the lottery sheet information in the "sheet number table" (see the remarks column in Fig. 80). However, when the lottery table selection process (step SB41) described below is executed, the target lottery sheet number is obtained using the value of the table number storage area set during the lottery table selection process (see step SD21 described below) and the variation number and the value of that table number storage area. In other words, the value of the table number storage area obtained during the lottery table selection process (step SB41) is used as an offset value when obtaining the lottery sheet number from the sheet number storage table (Fig. 80).

In the case of the variation number 0 handled in this example, as explained in the above step SB38, the result of the determination in step SB37 is YES, and the lottery table selection process (step SB41) is not executed. In this case, based on the variation number (=0), the following is performed as shown in FIG.
・"0x0000, // [TH_001] Sub-variation pattern" (corresponding to variation number 0)
is obtained.

When step SB39 is completed, the processing state transitions to the lottery execution process (step SB40) described below.

When the lottery execution process (step SB40) is completed, the lottery execution count number is incremented (step SB42), and the process returns to the judgment process of step SB32. Thereafter, the process of steps SB32 to SB41 is repeatedly executed until the lottery execution count number reaches the lottery data end value (lottery execution count number ≧ lottery data end value). If the lottery execution count number reaches the lottery data end value (step SB32: NO), the process returns to the fluctuation start time process of FIG. 67, and the lottery end time variable initialization process (step SA34, FIG. 75) described later is executed.

(Lottery execution process (step SB40): Figs. 71A to 71B)
Next, the above-mentioned "lottery execution process (step SB40)" will be described. Figures 71A and 71B are flowcharts showing the details of the lottery execution process (step SB40), with Figure 71A showing the first half of the lottery execution process and Figure 71B showing the second half of the lottery execution process.

In FIG. 71A, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first obtains a random number for a lottery from a random number generation means that generates random numbers within a predetermined range (step SC11). The random number generation means here generates random numbers within a predetermined range (for example, random number range = 0 to 19999) in a software manner.

Next, a random number value correction process is performed to correct the obtained random number value for the lottery (step SC12). In this embodiment, the correction process involves dividing the obtained random number by a specific value, and setting the remainder as the "practical random number value" (the random number value actually used in the lottery) (lottery random number value division process).

In this embodiment, the random number value for lottery obtained from the random number generation means is divided by the maximum value of the allocation value (judgment value) used in the lottery process (performance lottery) (for example, the maximum value of the allocation value (judgment value) in the allocation data table (Figures 84A to 89B described below) = 10,000), and the remainder is set as the practical random number value (hereinafter simply referred to as "random number value") to be used in the actual lottery, so that the relationship of "practical random number value < maximum allocation value" is always satisfied. The reason for doing so is as follows.

Whether or not a lottery item has been won is determined by whether or not the acquired random number value is less than the allocation value assigned to each lottery item (see steps SC27 to SC31 in FIG. 71B described below). However, if a malfunction (abnormality) occurs that causes the acquired lottery random number to be greater than the allocation value, the lottery cannot be executed correctly, it will be unclear which lottery item has been won, and it may become impossible to execute the performance itself. On the other hand, if the remainder when the acquired random number value is divided by the allocation value is used, the relationship of "random number value < allocation value" is always satisfied, even if there is a malfunction in the acquired random number value, and the performance lottery itself can be executed without any problems.

In addition, because the jackpot lottery and jackpot game control are performed by the main control unit 20, even if the performance that should have been selected is not executed due to a malfunction of the random number value for the performance lottery on the performance control unit 24 side, the jackpot win itself is not invalidated, and even if something seems odd about the performance, it is thought that no particular problem will arise.

In this embodiment, the practical random number value is the lottery random number value 0-19999 obtained from the random number generation means divided by a specific value (maximum allocation value) of 10000, but the method of correction is not particularly limited as long as the random number correction process satisfies the relationship of "practical random number value < maximum allocation value." However, when there are multiple items to be selected, it is preferable to correct the lottery random number value taking into account the relationship with these allocation values.

In addition, in this embodiment, a random number value is obtained each time the lottery execution process (step SB40) is executed (see the processing route in FIG. 70 where the determination result in step SB32 is YES → the lottery execution process in SB40 is executed). In other words, neither the random number value obtained in the current lottery (step SC11) nor the practical random number value obtained by correcting that random number value (steps SC12 to SC13) will be used in the next lottery, and a new practical random number value will be set by the processing in steps SC11 to SC13 for the next lottery. This prevents the same random number value from being selected, meaning that the practical random number value is variable rather than fixed each time a lottery is executed, further ensuring randomness.

In addition, multiple random number generation means may be provided (e.g., different random number generation methods, different ranges of random numbers to be generated, etc.) so that random numbers can be obtained from different random number generation means for each lottery or for some lotteries. For example, random number generation means corresponding to a variation number (lottery execution count number) or lottery sheet number may be provided.

The random number generator may be configured to obtain random numbers from different random number generators depending on the type of preview performance. For example, the random number may be different between a variation performance and a pre-reading preview, or it may be different depending on the group of performances that make up the preview performance (for example, different between a lottery for the performance content belonging to a pre-reach preview and a lottery for the performance content belonging to a pre-reach preview), or it may be different depending on the type of win (for example, different between a jackpot and a miss), or it may be different depending on the main variation type or sub-variation type. When the random number is different depending on the main variation type or sub-variation type, it may be different depending on the type of variation pattern, for example, between a normal variation and a reach variation, or between an SP reach type and an N reach type. In other words, it may be different depending on the expected probability of winning the preview performance. It may also be different between a preview performance that includes a sure win preview (premium preview) or a high expectation preview, and other preview performances.

Next, based on the lottery sheet number to be used in this lottery, lottery sheet information is obtained from the "Sheet Number Table (Figures 81A to 81B)" (step SC14).

(Sheet number table: Fig. 81A to Fig. 81B)
The sheet number table is shown in Figures 81A and 81B, which show only a part of the sheet number table.

The sheet number table stores "lottery sheet information" corresponding to each lottery sheet number. Specifically, as shown in the remarks column of FIG. 81B, the following data is stored:
(a) "En_lot_dt_off***" is designation information for the "offset data table" (address information relating to the offset data table (offset data table designation information)).
(b) "En_lot_dt_sht***" is information specifying the "sorting data table" (address information regarding the sorting data table address (sorting table data specification information)).

Therefore, based on the lottery sheet information specified by "En_lot_dt_off***" and "En_lot_dt_sht***", the desired "offset data table" and "allocation data table" are obtained. Note that the above "offset data table" and "allocation data table" include multiple tables required for performing various lottery processes. Examples include the multiple offset data tables shown in Figures 82A to 82D and the multiple allocation data tables shown in Figures 84A to 89B.

(Offset data table: Figs. 82A to 82C)
The offset data table is shown in Figures 82A to 82C, which show an example of the offset data table used in the lottery process.

As shown in the figure, the offset data table defines part determination count information and offset part numbers (see Figures 76A to 76D).

Here, the case where the lottery sheet number acquired this time is 0 is explained, so the lottery sheet number 0 in the sheet number table shown in FIG. 81A is
・"{En_lot_dt_off000, En_lot_dt_sht000}, // [TH_001] Sub-fluctuation pattern T1"
The lottery sheet information is acquired (step SC14).

The offset data table specified by this lottery sheet information is
"En_lot_dt_off000", specifically, as shown in FIG. 82A,
・"Offset data 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation pattern T1)"
Therefore, "1" (a value corresponding to the "number of parts" shown in the figure) is obtained as the part determination count information from this offset data table (step SC15).

Then, it is determined whether the acquired part judgment count information is 0 (step SC16), and the process branches to the next (α) or (β) depending on the result of the determination.

(α) "Processing route when it is determined in the determination process of step SC16 that the part determination count information is not 0" (determination result of step SC16 is YES → processing route of steps SC17 to SC24)
(β) “Processing route when it is determined in the determination process of step SC16 that the part determination count information is 0” (the determination result of step SC16 is NO → processing route that transitions to step SC25 of FIG. 71B)

For ease of explanation, the following will be explained separately for the case where the processing route (α) is followed and the case where the processing route (β) is followed.

(When the part judgment count information is not 0 (step SC16: YES): processing route of steps SC17 to SC24)
First, a process route when the part judgment count information is not 0 (step SC16: YES) will be described.

If the part judgment count information is not 0 (step SC16: YES), the part judgment count information is decremented (step SC17).

Next, the offset part number in the offset data table is obtained (step SC18). When "Offset Data 000 ([TH_001] Sub-variation Pattern T1)" shown in Figure 82A is referenced, "1" is obtained as the offset part number. Note that offset part number 1 is the value corresponding to "(TH_Main Variation)" in the offset part storage area (see Figure 76A).

Then, based on the obtained offset part number, the value of the offset part storage area is obtained (step SC19).

Next, based on the offset part number, the maximum value of the offset parts is obtained from the offset part number table shown in FIG. 83 (step SC20).

(Offset parts number table: Figure 83)
The offset parts number table is shown in Fig. 83. Note that Fig. 83 shows only a part of the offset parts number table.

The offset part count table specifies the maximum offset part value for each offset part number, as shown in the notes column.

For example, if the offset part number acquired in step SC18 is 1, then in the offset part number table,
・"0x00BC, //TH_Main fluctuation"
The value "0X00BC" specified by is acquired as the offset part maximum value. As already explained, the main fluctuation means the fluctuation pattern (main fluctuation) determined by the main control unit 20, and in this example (main fluctuation related to the normal state (YJ=00)), the number of types is 188 (including no fluctuation during abnormality), and the maximum value of the offset parts is the same value as this number of types (0X00BC = offset part maximum value = number of main fluctuation types) (see the "main fluctuation" column in Figures 97A to 97F).

Next, it is determined whether the value in the offset parts storage area is equal to or greater than the maximum value of the offset parts (step SC21). If the value in the offset parts storage area is not equal to or greater than the maximum value of the offset parts (step SC21: YES), the process skips step SC22 and proceeds to step SC23. On the other hand, if the value in the offset parts storage area is equal to or greater than the maximum value of the offset parts (step SC21: YES), it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, the offset parts storage area is cleared (offset parts storage area ← 0) (step SC22), and the process proceeds to step SC23.

In the processing of step SC23, a predetermined calculation process of the selection offset value is executed based on the acquired value of the offset parts storage area and the maximum value of the offset parts, and the calculation result is set in the selection offset value storage area (step SC23).

Next, a predetermined calculation process (such as an addition process) is performed on the previous value of the selection offset value storage area and the current selection offset value, and the calculation result is set in the selection offset value storage area (step SC24). The value of the selection offset value storage area calculated in the processes of steps SC23 to SC24 above is obtained and used at the necessary timing when performing the lottery process using the allocation data table (for example, Figures 84A to 89B described below) in the process related to the performance lottery in Figure 71B described below (steps SC27 to SC31: preview variation lottery process).

(Regarding the value finally set in the selection offset value storage area)
Here, we will explain the value that is finally set in the selection offset value memory area when steps SC16 to SC24 are executed one or more times (the value that is set in the selection offset value memory area in step SC24 when the part judgment count information N = 0).

Here, we will take as an example a representative case where the initial value of the part judgment count information N acquired in step SC15 is 3 (N=3). In addition, when the part judgment count information N is 2, 1, or 0 when step SC24 is executed, that is, when step SC24 is executed for the first, second, or third (final) time, the value of the offset part storage area of the offset part number acquired in step SC19 and the maximum value of the offset part acquired in step SC20 are defined as follows:

(1) When the part determination count information is 2, the maximum value of the offset part to be acquired is A, and the value of the offset part storage area is α.
(2) When the part determination count information is 1, the maximum value of the offset part to be acquired is B, and the value of the offset part storage area is β.
(3) When the part judgment count information is 0, the maximum value of the offset parts acquired is Γ, and the value of the offset parts storage area is γ.

<(Red 1) When Step SC24 is Executed for the First Time (Part Determination Count Information 2)>
When step SC24 is executed for the first time, the calculated value in step SC24 (the value to be set in the selection offset value storage area) is calculated by the following formula (111).
(Equation 111)
"Initial value of maximum offset part value" x "Value of offset part storage area acquired this time" + "Previous offset value for selection" = "Value calculated in step SC24 this time (first time)"

Here, in the first case, since there is no previous selection offset value, the initial value "0" is acquired as the value. Also, "1" is acquired as the initial value of the maximum value of the offset part.
Therefore, if the value of the offset parts storage area acquired for the first time is "α", the offset parts maximum value is the initial value "1", and the value of the previous selection offset value storage area is the initial value "0", so
Substituting these values into the above (Equation 111),
"Maximum offset part value 1 (initial value) × "Value α of the offset part storage area acquired this time (first time)" + "Value 0 (initial value) of the previous selection offset value storage area" = "α" (first calculated value)
It becomes.

Therefore, the value set in the selection offset value storage area in step SC24 this time (first time) will be "α". In other words, the first time, the value "α" of the offset parts storage area acquired this time (first time) will always be the value set in the selection offset value storage area as is.

The next value is stored as the "specific value" to be used next time.
"Maximum value A of the offset part acquired this time" x "Maximum value of the offset part acquired last time (initial value 1 for the first time)" = "A" (first specific value)

<(Red 2) When Step SC24 is Executed for the Second Time (Part Determination Count Information 1)>
When step SC24 is executed for the second time, the calculation value of step SC24 is calculated by the following (Equation 222).

(Equation 222)
"Previously calculated specific value" x "currently acquired value in the offset parts storage area" + "previously acquired value in the selection offset value storage area" = "currently (second time) calculated value in step SC24"

The specific value calculated last time (first specific value) is "A",
The value of the offset part storage area acquired this time is "β",
Since the previous value in the selection offset value storage area is "α",
Substituting these values into the above (Equation 222),
"Previously calculated specific value A" × "Currently acquired offset part storage area value β" + "Previously acquired selection offset value storage area value α" = "A × β + α" (second calculated value)

Therefore, the value set in the selection offset value storage area in step SC24 this time (second time) will be "A x β + α."

The next value is stored as the "specific value" to be used next time.
"Maximum value of offset parts obtained this time B" x "Previous specific value (first specific value) A" = "B x A" (second specific value)

<(Red 3) When Step SC24 is Executed for the Third (Final) Time (Part Determination Count Information 0)>
When step SC24 is executed for the third (final) time, the calculation method of step SC24 is the same as that of (Equation 222) above (similarly when 2≦N). Therefore, the following is obtained.

The specific value calculated last time (the second specific value) is "B x A".
The value of the offset part memory area acquired this time is "γ",
Since the previous value in the selection offset value storage area is "A × β + α",
Substituting these values into the above (Equation 222),
"Last calculated specific value B × A" × "Value of the offset parts memory area acquired this time γ" + "Value of the previous selection offset value memory area (A × β + α)
= "Β×A×γ＋A×β＋α" (third calculated value)

Therefore, the value set in the selection offset value storage area in step SC24 this time (final time) will be "B x A x γ + A x β + α". In this example, since this third execution of step SC24 is the final time (part determination count information = 0), this value will be retained and processing will proceed to step SC25 in Figure 71B described below (processing route where the determination result of step S16 is YES).

In this example, we have explained the case where the part determination count information N = 3, but the final value of the selection offset value memory area is calculated using the same calculation method when 3 < N (when the fourth or subsequent executions are performed).

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 71A, once the processing of step SC24 is completed, the process returns to the judgment processing of step SC16, and the processing of steps SC17 to SC24 is repeated until the part judgment count information becomes 0.

Note that in the processing of step SC15 above, an example is described in which "1" is obtained as the part determination count information from "offset data 000 ([TH_001] sub-variation pattern T1)," so the part determination count information after the first step SC24 is completed is "0." Therefore, the value calculated by the above (Equation 111) is the value that is ultimately set in the selection offset value storage area.

(When the part judgment count information is 0 (step SC16: NO): processing route proceeds to step SC25 of FIG. 71B)
Next, a process route when the part judgment count information is 0 (step SC16: NO) will be described.

If the part judgment count information is 0 (step SC16: NO), proceed to processing of step SC25 in Figure 71B.

Here, the number of variations (the number of variations of the effects related to this lottery) is obtained from the "allocation data table" (the effect lottery table used in this lottery process) specified by the lottery sheet information (obtained in the processing of step SC14), and set in the number of variations storage area (step SC25). The details are as follows.

Here, the case where the lottery sheet number acquired this time is 0 is described, so as already described, the lottery sheet number 0 shown in FIG.
・"{En_lot_dt_off000, En_lot_dt_sht000}, // [TH_001] Sub-fluctuation pattern T1"
The lottery sheet information is acquired. The allocation data table specified by this lottery sheet information is "En_lot_dt_sht000", and specifically, the lottery sheet information is acquired as shown in FIG. 84A and FIG. 84B.
・"Allocation 000 (［TH_001］Sub-fluctuation pattern T1)"
Therefore, "236 (the number of variations shown in the figure = 236)" is obtained as the variation number information from this allocation data table, and this value is set in the variation number storage area (step SC25).

Note that "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-fluctuation pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A and 84B is an example of an allocation data table (lottery table related to the performance lottery) used in this lottery process, with Figure 84A showing the first half of "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-fluctuation pattern T1)" and Figure 84B showing the second half of "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-fluctuation pattern T1)", and each showing an excerpt of "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-fluctuation pattern T1)".

The "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A and 84B is a lottery table (sub-fluctuation lottery table) for determining sub-fluctuations based on main fluctuations, and the basic configuration for the lottery is the same as the "fluctuation pattern allocation table" in Figures 26 to 27. Specifically, an allocation value (judgment value) is set for each lottery target, and winning/non-winning is determined depending on which allocation value the lottery random number belongs to. In the case of the allocation data table of this embodiment, multiple pieces of information are included, such as the lottery target (performance variation (performance content type related to the performance to be executed)), the allocation value of the lottery target (allocation value for judging the winning of the performance variation), and the number of lottery targets (number of performance variations (= number of variations)).

For example, in the case of "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-variation Pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A and 84B, the main variation type (see the columns in the figure) and the "sub-variation type" (see the rows in the figure) as a variation of the performance (performance content type (TYPE): hereafter also referred to as "preview variation") are associated and defined, and a sub-variation corresponding to the current main variation (the preview variation related to the current lottery process) is determined.

In this embodiment, a series of presentation scenarios (presentation scenarios for the presentation (changing presentation) to be executed in the current game) are determined by multiple lottery execution processes (step SB40). Specifically, each time the lottery processes (preview variation lottery processes) of steps S27 to SC31 described below are executed, a preview variation (for example, one element (presentation element) that constitutes the presentation scenario) for the presentation (changing presentation) to be executed in the current game is determined, and when all the lottery processes are completed, a series of presentation scenarios will be determined.

The number of variations (number of predicted variations) in "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" is "236", which is the same value as the number of variations of the sub-fluctuations, i.e., the number of types of sub-fluctuations (including "TH_001_No lottery" of sub-fluctuation number 0, which is selected in the event of an abnormality) (see the "Sub-fluctuation" columns in Figures 78A to 78F, and the "SUB" columns in Figures 97A to 97F, etc.).

After completing the processing of step SC25, the judgment count is then cleared (step SC26). This judgment count is primarily used to obtain allocation values from the allocation data table and to identify lottery items.

Next, the value of the variation number storage area is compared with the judgment count number to determine whether the judgment count number is less than the value of the variation number storage area (step SC27). As shown in FIG. 71B, when step SC27 is passed for the first time, the judgment count number is 0 (see the processing of steps SB26 to SB27), but this judgment count number is incremented in the following step SC31. Then, when the judgment count number is equal to or greater than the value of the variation number storage area (when it reaches the number of variations) (step SC27: NO), or until the judgment result of step SC29 described later becomes NO (winner) (when the advance notice variation to be selected for the lottery is won), the processing of steps SC27 to SC31 (the current lottery processing) is repeatedly executed (see the processing route where the judgment result of step SC27 is YES). Note that in steps S27 to SC31, as long as the lottery is performed normally, the judgment count number will not be equal to or greater than the value of the variation number storage area. Therefore, if the judgment result of step SC27 becomes NO, some abnormality has occurred in the processing. The process for determining NO in step SC27 will be described in detail below.

If the determination count number is less than the value in the number of variations storage area (step SC27: YES), an allocation value is obtained from the allocation data table based on the value in the selection offset value storage area (the value calculated in steps SC18 to SC24) and the determination count number (step SC28). The value finally calculated in SC24 in Figure 71A above is used as the value in the selection offset value storage area. The lottery items in the allocation data table are designated based on this calculated value.

In this lottery process, an example is explained in which "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A and 84B is used as the allocation data table, so for example, if the value in the selection offset value storage area is 1, the lottery target this time is specified as "None_Normal Fluctuation 12 Seconds_Non-Existent_1_Miss" as shown in Figure 84A (see the corresponding column for "No." 1 in the figure), and the allocation value corresponding to the current judgment count number is referenced. Details are as follows.

As already explained, for the current main fluctuation information, in the processing of step SB21 of the "Control Part Creation Processing (at the start of fluctuation)" in Figure 69, the main fluctuation number corresponding to the current main fluctuation is set in the "TH_Main Fluctuation" in the offset parts memory area (the memory area corresponding to offset part number 1 in Figure 76A). For example, if the main fluctuation is the above-mentioned "None_Normal Fluctuation 12 seconds_Non-existent_1_Missing" (main fluctuation number = 1: see Figures 78A, 97A, etc.), "TH_Main Fluctuation" is set to "1".

In this case, the final calculated value (the value of the selection offset value storage area when the part determination count information = 0) obtained in the processing of SC24 in Figure 71A above is as follows:

In the case of "[TH_001] Sub-variable pattern T1)" of lottery sheet number 0, as already explained, in the processing of step SC15 (Fig. 71A) above, "parts determination count information = 1" is obtained from the offset data table of Fig. 82A. Therefore, the processing route of steps SC16 to SC24 is executed only once (because in step SC17, the parts determination count information = 0 is updated, and the determination result of the next step S16 is NO).

Therefore, the final selection offset value calculated corresponds to the above case of "(Red 1) When step SC23 is executed for the first time", and the value calculated using the above (Equation 111) is set as the final selection offset value storage area value (see the processing route where step SC16 is passed with the initial value -> calculation process in steps SC18 to SC24 -> the result of the judgment in step SC16 is NO).

In other words, if the value of "TH_main variation" is "1" (the value of the offset parts memory area acquired this time), the offset parts maximum value is the initial value of "1", the value of the offset parts memory area acquired this time (first time) is "1", and the value of the previous selection offset value memory area is the initial value of "0". If these values are applied to the above (Equation 111), the final value of the selection offset value memory area will be "1", and this value will be used in the processing of step SC28.

Therefore, when the main fluctuation is main fluctuation number 1, the allocation value in the column corresponding to the value "1" in the selection offset value storage area in Figure 84A is referenced. Note that blank columns in the allocation data table, although not shown, have an allocation value of 0 (allocation value = 0).

In this embodiment, in step SB21 during the control part creation process (at the start of fluctuation) in FIG. 69, a value corresponding to the main fluctuation type (see FIGS. 78A to 78F) is set in the "TH_Main Fluctuation" (memory area corresponding to offset part number 1) in the offset parts memory area, and the value set in this "TH_Main Fluctuation" is designed to be the same as the value in the selection offset value memory area finally calculated in step SC24 (see formula 111 above). Note that the allocation data table in which the value in the selection offset value memory area corresponds to 0, specifically the case of main fluctuation number 0, is referenced when the table is unused or when an abnormality occurs (the same applies to other allocation data tables).

Returning to the explanation of step SC28, after obtaining an allocation value based on the value of the selection offset value memory area and the current judgment count number, the random number value (the random number value obtained in step S13) is compared with the obtained allocation value, and it is determined whether the random number value is less than the allocation value (step SC29).

If the random number value is not less than the allocation value (step SC29: YES), it is determined that the preview variation (performance content type (TYPE)) corresponding to the current judgment count number was not selected, and the allocation value acquired this time is subtracted from the random number value (step SC30), and the judgment count number is incremented (step SC31). Then, the process returns to step SC27, and the process from step SC27 onwards is executed again.

On the other hand, if the random number value is less than the allocation value (step SC29: NO), it is determined that the preview variation (TYPE) corresponding to the current judgment count number has been won, and the process proceeds to step SC32. Based on the current variation number and judgment count number, the lottery result (winning result) is set in the scenario data storage area as scenario data (performance data for constructing the currently varying performance scenario) (step SC32). Note that in the case of "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-variation pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A to 84B, the judgment count number (0 to 235) and the sub-variation number (0 to 235) shown in Figures 78A to 78F (or Figures 97A to 97F) are set to match.

For example, if the current main fluctuation is "None_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Non-existent_1_Miss" (selection offset value = 1), then if the distribution value of 10000 (10000 in Figure 84A) corresponding to the judgment count of 1 is obtained, then it will be a winner. In other words, if the main fluctuation is "None_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Non-existent_1_Miss", then there is a 100% chance that sub-fluctuation number 1, "Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_Normal fluctuation 12 seconds_1__Miss" (judgment count number 1 = sub-fluctuation number 1), will be a winner. Then, the result is set as the scenario data.

Also, for example, if the current main fluctuation is "None_Hades SPSP_DF Notice_1_Miss" (selection offset value = 15), the judgment count numbers 0 to 14 are non-winning (allocation value is 0), and the judgment count numbers 15 (=sub-fluctuation number 15), 16 (=sub-fluctuation number 16), and 17 (=sub-fluctuation number 17) are 1500, 1500, and 7000, respectively. In other words, of the three types of sub-fluctuations below, one of the sub-fluctuations will win with a probability of 15%, 15%, and 70%, and the result will be set as the scenario data.
(1) "Meifu SPSP_Meifu SPSP_1_Reach_Miss" (15 judgement counts)
(2) "Meifu SPSP_Meifu SPSP_1_Development_Miss" (16 judgement counts)
(3) "Meifu SPSP_Meifu SPSP_1_Deep development_Miss" (corresponding to the judgment count number 17)

In this example, each of "Medieval SPSP_Medieval SPSP_1_Reach_Miss" to "Medieval SPSP_Medieval SPSP_1_Deep Development_Miss" has the same main fluctuation type (sub-fluctuations belonging to main fluctuation number 15), but is distinguished as a different sub-fluctuation type, and different performance contents may appear during the fluctuation. In the case of "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A to 84B, the higher the judgment count number, the higher the predicted variation (sub-fluctuation type) with a higher chance of winning may be selected. For example, in the case of "Medieval SPSP_Medieval SPSP_1_Reach_Miss" to "Medieval SPSP_Medieval SPSP_1_Inner_Development_Miss", which correspond to judgment counts of 15 to 17, the sub-variations (pre-announcement performances with high chances of winning) with the highest chances of winning are "Medieval SPSP_Medieval SPSP_1_Reach_Miss", "Medieval SPSP_Medieval SPSP_1_Development_Miss", and "Medieval SPSP_Medieval SPSP_1_Inner_Development_Miss", in that order.

<How to proceed if a malfunction (abnormality) occurs in the lottery process>
As long as the lottery process (steps SC27 to SC31) is performed normally, the judgment count will not exceed the value in the number of variations storage area (the number of lottery judgments will not exceed the number of variations. For example, in the case of "allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-variable pattern T1)", the number of lottery judgments is 236 times), and one of the preview variations in the allocation data table will be selected. The preview variation corresponding to the judgment count 0 (default (in the case of FIG. 84A, "TYPE 0 (no lottery)")) is mainly defined as an "error preview variation (default variation)" that is selected when an abnormality occurs, and will not be selected as long as the lottery is performed normally. The error preview variation is defined as a selectable preview variation, for example, in the case where an abnormality has already been found to have occurred (when the above-mentioned error designation information is set) before entering the current lottery process (steps SC27 to SC31).

However, there are also cases where malfunctions in the lottery process may occur, such as the following: For example, some malfunction may cause the random number value to be abnormal (for example, a random number value that cannot be selected for any of the preview variations, such as 20,000), or the judgment count to be abnormal (for example, a value that cannot be specified for any of the preview variations (a value that exceeds the number of preview variations)), or there may be a human-intentioned design error (programming error).

If such a malfunction occurs, the player will not win any of the preview variations and will exit this lottery process. For example, in the case of the lottery process using "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] sub-variable pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A to 84B, if the random number value or the judgment count number is an abnormal value, the player will not win the preview variation (TYPE 235 = 236th preview variation) corresponding to the final judgment count number (= 235) (the judgment result of step SC29 is YES), the judgment count number becomes 236 by the subsequent step SC31, the judgment result of step SC27 becomes NO, and the player will exit this lottery process. Note that the event of the judgment count number becoming 236 by the processing of step SC31 essentially means that the judgment count number exceeds the number of preview variations (number of lottery items) (the judgment count number ranges from 0 to 235, which is 236 counts, but a malfunction has occurred and the 237th count has been reached).

Taking into consideration such abnormal situations, it is preferable to configure as follows (Yasushi 1) to (Yasushi 3).

(Yasushi 1) For example, in the event of a malfunction, a process (error variation determination process) for treating a specific preview variation as a winning one is configured to be executable. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 71C, when the result of the determination in step SC27 is NO, an "error variation determination process (step SC44)" is configured to be executable. For example, the above-mentioned "error preview variation (TYPE0)" can be adopted as the specific preview variation to be treated as a winning one. In addition, when the error preview variation (TYPE0) is treated as a winning one, it is preferable to clear the judgment count (judgment count ← 0). In other words, a process is performed to rewrite (update) the current judgment count to the judgment count corresponding to the preview variation that has been treated as a winning one. The judgment count when the lottery process is exited may be used in the lottery flag parts setting process (step SC41) or lottery reservation setting process (step SC42) described later, and it is preferable to set it as the judgment count for the winning one when executing these processes.

(Yasushi 2) In addition, the following types of prediction variations may be used as specific prediction variations. For example, if there are multiple prediction variations to be selected, the prediction variation with the lowest probability of winning or the prediction variation with the highest probability of winning may be selected. In detail, when the main variation is "None_Meifu SPSP_DF Prediction_1_Miss" (selection offset value = 15), among the multiple sub-variations (judgment counts 15, 16, 17) related to the selection target, "Meifu SPSP_Meifu SPSP_1_Reach_Miss" (sub-variation corresponding to judgment count number 15), which has a relatively low probability of winning, may be treated as the winning variation. In addition, when the main variation is "None_Normal variation 12 seconds_Non-existent_1_Miss" (selection offset value = 1), only one type of sub-variation (prediction variation), "Normal variation 12 seconds_Normal variation 12 seconds_1__Miss" (sub-variation corresponding to judgment count number 1), is selected for the selection, so this may be treated as the winning variation.

This configuration is characterized by the fact that if the main variation is received correctly, but there is some kind of malfunction, causing an abnormality in the random number value or the judgment count number, etc., it is possible to select the same preview variation as in normal times. In this configuration as well, as explained above (Yasushi 1), it is preferable to rewrite (update) the judgment count number to the one that corresponds to the preview variation that has been treated as a winning one.

(Yasushi 3) As already explained, if it is known that an abnormality has occurred before entering the current lottery process (steps SC27 to SC31), the lottery process itself may not be executed, and the error variation determination process (step SC44) may be executed directly. In this case, since it is expected that the information from the main control unit 20 has not been received correctly in the error variation determination process (step SC44), it is preferable to treat the error warning variation (default variation) as the winning variation, as described above in (Yasushi 1).

In the above (Yasushi 1) to (Yasushi 3), we have mainly described the configuration for executing processing in the event of a malfunction (abnormality) in the error variation determination process (step SC44), but the configuration in (Yasushi 4) below may also be adopted.

(Error scenario rewrite process)
(Yasushi 4) In the above (Yasushi 1) to (Yasushi 3), the processing contents considering the case where none of the preview variations is selected when an abnormality occurs are mainly explained, but there are also cases where an unintended preview variation is selected when an abnormality occurs. For example, a preview variation related to a winning result is selected when a loss occurs, or conversely, a preview variation related to a losing result is selected when a winning result occurs. In such a case, in the lottery processing, the unintended preview variation (hereinafter also referred to as the "win preview variation in the abnormality situation") remains selected (treated as a winning result), and the lottery processing is terminated (the judgment result of step SC29 is NO), and the processing proceeds to step SC32, and the result is set as the scenario data.

Taking into consideration the case where such an abnormal winning prediction variation is selected, the process for constructing the performance scenario (process for constructing the performance scenario based on the lottery result (prediction variation)) may be configured to execute a fail-safe process (error-time performance scenario rewrite process) that rewrites (corrects) the inconsistent performance content if inconsistent performance content (abnormal performance content) is detected, for example, if a performance part or performance scenario related to a winning result is detected in the case of a losing result.

For example, even if the main fluctuation information is loss fluctuation information, if a sub-fluctuation related to a win (a win sub-fluctuation) is selected, the information is rewritten to a sub-fluctuation related to a loss (a loss sub-fluctuation), or if a performance content including a winning performance is selected when a loss occurs, the information is rewritten to a performance content other than a winning performance (for example, a preview performance scenario related to a loss or a specific low-expectation preview performance scenario).

The performance scenario (performance content) for the rewrite can be determined as appropriate, either using existing performances or performances specifically for rewrites.

By providing such fail-safe processing, even if an abnormality occurs in the lottery process and an unintended preview variation is selected, the content of the selection can be corrected (amended) in the presentation scenario in subsequent processing. Furthermore, the above-mentioned "error variation determination processing (step SC44)" may be provided, and the above-mentioned "fail-safe processing" may also be provided. This allows for a double check in the event of an abnormality, making the control processing robust against fraud and bugs.

(Other measures in the event of a malfunction)
In addition, the processing related to the preview variation for treating a winning result when an abnormality occurs may be configured as follows.

(Yasushi 5) The lottery process may be terminated by assuming that the preview variation related to the final (last) lottery target on the distribution data table (the preview variation corresponding to the final judgment count number: hereinafter also referred to as the "final preview variation") has been won (the final preview variation is assumed to have been won and the process proceeds to step SC32). Even if an abnormality occurs and none of the preview variations are won, the actual lottery process itself ends with the winning judgment process for the final preview variation (step S29). This is because it is easier to exit the current lottery process once the winning judgment process for the final preview variation has ended.

For example, as shown in FIG. 71D (a modified example of FIG. 71B), a judgment process (a process for judging whether or not it is the final judgment count number) is provided in step SC46, and when it is judged that the judgment count number has reached the final judgment count number (when none of the preview variations have been selected: the judgment result of step SC46 is YES), the final judgment count number is maintained, that is, the final preview variation is considered to have been selected, and the current lottery process is terminated (final preview variation forced winning process). This configuration is suitable when the random number value is an abnormal value and the judgment count number is counted correctly, but considering that the judgment count number becomes an abnormal value (for example, when a value that does not allow any of the preview variations to be specified (a value that exceeds the number of preview variations)), it is also possible to provide an error-time preview variation determination process in FIG. 71C, and in this determination process, the final preview variation is considered to have been selected, and the current lottery process is terminated (in this case as well, the judgment count number is rewritten to the judgment count number corresponding to the final preview variation).

In this configuration, the final preview variation is treated as the winning one, so in the processing of step SC32, the scenario data related to the final preview variation is stored. For example, in the case of a lottery using "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A to 84B, the final preview variation "TH_001_Before Fluctuation_Underworld SP Resurrection_Underworld SP Resurrection_3__Win_" (see Figure 84B) is treated as the winning one, and this is stored as the lottery result (winning result). Even if an abnormality occurs, if the original main fluctuation information ("TH_Main Fluctuation" (fluctuation pattern determined by the main control unit 20)) is "Before Fluctuation_Underworld SP Resurrection_Non-existent_3_Win_" corresponding to the main fluctuation number 187, "TH_001_Before Fluctuation_Underworld SP Resurrection_Underworld SP Resurrection_3__Win_" corresponding to the final judgment count number 235 is treated as the winning one, just like in a normal lottery, so no particular problem occurs.

However, if the original main variation information is a main variation number between 1 and 184, "TH_001_Before variation_Medieval SP Resurrection_Medieval SP Resurrection_3__Win_" corresponding to the judgment count number 235 will be treated as the winning result, and problems may occur because the correct preview variation is not selected. In short, such a case is the same as the state in which an unintended preview variation (anomaly-time winning preview variation) is treated as the winning result, as in (Yasushi 4) above. Therefore, in the case of this configuration, it is preferable to configure it so that the above-mentioned fail-safe process (error-time performance scenario rewrite process) can be executed, just as when the abnormality-time winning preview variation described in (Yasushi 4) above is a winning result. Note that the type of preview variation to be determined as the final preview variation can be selected as appropriate (it may be a preview variation related to a win or a preview variation related to a loss).

(Modification)
If the above fail-safe process (error-time performance scenario rewrite process) is provided, it is effective as a countermeasure for abnormalities (errors), but there is a risk that the process will become complicated. In consideration of this point, it is also possible to simplify the process related to abnormalities (reduction of the control burden) by defining the following advance notice variation as the final advance notice variation without providing the fail-safe process.

In this example, we focus on the sub-fluctuation, which is the basis for realizing the performance during the fluctuation, and consider the case where a problem occurs in the lottery for the sub-fluctuation. Here, we will explain the case where "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A to 84B is used as a representative example for the lottery for the sub-fluctuation, but it can be applied to other allocation table data in the same way.

(Country 1) The sub-fluctuation with the longest presentation time (fluctuation time) among all sub-fluctuations can be set as the final preview variation. In the case of "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" shown in Figures 84A to 84B, "TH_001_Before Fluctuation_Hades SP Resurrection_Hades SP Resurrection_3__Hit_" is set as the final preview variation, and this hit sub-fluctuation has the longest presentation time (fluctuation time) among all sub-fluctuations (in other words, all main fluctuations) (for example, 280 seconds), and also has the lowest occurrence frequency (appearance rate).

Most of the sub-variations related to winning (hereinafter also referred to as "winning sub-variations") are set to have a longer presentation time (average presentation time) than the sub-variations related to losing (hereinafter also referred to as "losing sub-variations") (to notify the final game result through the reach presentation in the case of winning). Also, in the course of the game, there is a higher probability of winning a losing win than a winning win (losing occurs more frequently than winning). From this perspective, if a specific winning sub-variation is set as the final preview variation, for example, even if a malfunction occurs when the main variation is a losing variation, the presentation related to the final preview variation can be made to appear during the original presentation time (variation time). Therefore, it is preferable to set the winning sub-variation related to the final preview variation to the winning sub-variation with the longest variation time (presentation time) (in the case of this embodiment, the above-mentioned "TH_001_before_variation_Medieval SP Resurrection_Medieval SP Resurrection_3__Win_"). However, without being limited to this, for example, as the winning sub-fluctuation related to the final preview variation, a winning sub-fluctuation with a relatively longer fluctuation time (presentation time) than one or more specific losing fluctuations (losing sub-fluctuations) can be determined, such as the following (Sa1) to (Sa4).

(Sa1) A winning sub-fluctuation that is longer than a losing fluctuation (losing sub-fluctuation) that has the longest fluctuation time (presentation time).
(Sa2) A winning sub-fluctuation that lasts longer than a losing fluctuation (such as normal fluctuation 13s or normal fluctuation 16s in Figure 26) that has the highest occurrence frequency (for example, the average occurrence rate during the progress of the game).
(Sa3) A hit sub-fluctuation that is longer than the normal fluctuation having the longest fluctuation time (for example, the normal fluctuation 16s in Figure 26 or the normal fluctuation 16s for look-ahead notice).
(Sa4) A winning sub-fluctuation that is longer than a reach-miss fluctuation having at least the longest fluctuation time (for example, "Pseudo 3 + SP reach + SPSP reach" in Figure 26).

If a malfunction occurs during a losing variation and a winning sub-variation related to the final preview variation is selected, the performance related to that winning sub-variation will be executed for the performance, but it is preferable that the performance scenario related to that winning variation be such that a winning system (winning notification system) preview performance (for example, a performance that displays a decorative pattern or mini pattern as a winning pattern, a preview performance related to a winning notification, etc.) is not executed during the variation time of the losing variation. In this way, it is possible to prevent the player from mistakenly believing that they have won, even if a malfunction occurs.

In addition, in the case where a failure variation that generates a reach (a failure variation that has a relatively long variation time compared to a normal variation) is selected as the main variation, and a malfunction occurs in the performance selection, it is preferable that the performance scenario of the winning sub-variation related to the final preview variation is a performance scenario that is devised so as not to generate a high expectation preview, and more preferably, a performance scenario that is devised so as not to generate at least a sure-win type preview performance (at least a sure-win type preview performance is not generated within the variation time of the losing variation). In this way, it is possible to prevent players from having excessive expectations even in a situation that ultimately results in a loss. In particular, it is important to have a performance scenario that does not notify a sure-win, in order to prevent the risk of developing into a major problem between players and pachinko parlors.

In the above, an example in which a "win sub-variation" is provided in the final preview variation has been described, but a "miss sub-variation" may also be provided in the final preview variation. In this case, if a malfunction occurs in the case of a win variation and a miss sub-variation related to the final preview variation is selected, the performance related to the miss sub-variation is executed in terms of presentation, and a miss is ultimately notified (for example, the decorative pattern stops with a miss). However, since the jackpot lottery and jackpot game are controlled by the main control unit 20, even if the performance that should have been selected (the performance related to a win) is not selected due to a malfunction of the performance lottery on the performance control unit 24 side, the jackpot win itself is not invalidated, and even if a miss is notified, the player is not disadvantaged (because the game is controlled to a jackpot game after the end of this game), so no particular problem occurs.

In addition, since there is a high probability that a reach variation with a long variation time (especially an SP reach type) will be selected in the case of a hit, it is preferable to set a sub-variation with a relatively long presentation length (presentation time) for the final preview variation (for example, a sub-variation related to a reach variation) rather than a sub-variation with a short presentation length (for example, a sub-variation related to a normal variation with the shortest variation time), so that the presentation can continue as long as possible even if a malfunction occurs. Therefore, it is preferable to set the following (Shi1) to (Shi5) as losing sub-variations for the final preview variation.

(Si1) A sub-fluctuation related to the longest miss fluctuation among all miss fluctuations (a sub-miss fluctuation with the longest performance time (fluctuation time)).
(Si2) Sub-fluctuations related to the longest normal fluctuation among all normal fluctuations. For example, sub-fluctuations related to the normal fluctuation 16s in FIG. 26 and the normal fluctuation 16s for pre-reading notice.
(Si3) Sub-miss fluctuation related to reach fluctuation. Specifically, among reach fluctuations belonging to the N reach system or the SP reach system (including the SPSP reach system), a sub-miss fluctuation related to a specific reach fluctuation.
(Si4) A sub-fluctuation related to the longest reach miss fluctuation among all reach miss fluctuations.
(Si5) A miss sub-fluctuation that occurs with the lowest frequency.

Above, we have explained how to determine the final preview variation in the performance lottery related to the sub-fluctuation (the performance lottery based on "Allocation 000 ([TH_001] Sub-fluctuation Pattern T1)" in Figures 84A to 85B), but the final preview variation in lotteries related to various preview performances (lotteries related to preview performances such as Figures 105 and 106 described below) can be determined as follows (this may be for all of the preview performances, or at least one of them).

(S1) In a performance lottery for preview performances with different execution times, the preview performance with the longest execution time among the preview performances subject to the lottery is set as the final preview variation. As an example, the "[TH_016] Final Win/Loss Button Lottery" shown in FIG. 106 described later will be used for explanation. In the preview lottery in FIG. 106, the performance contents of TYPE1 to TYPE3 are the objects of the lottery, but if the relationship of the execution times is "TYPE1 (shortest) < TYPE2 < TYPE3 (longest)", TYPE3 is set as the final preview variation. In this case, if a malfunction occurs and the final preview variation is selected, a preview performance with a relatively long execution time can be executed. In other words, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the example in which a miss sub variation is set as the final preview variation described above (it becomes possible to keep the performance running as long as possible even if a malfunction occurs).

(S2) In a presentation lottery for a preview presentation whose presentation contents include a success pattern and a failure pattern, a preview presentation including a success pattern is set as the final preview variation. However, it is preferable that the success pattern here is one that does not notify a guaranteed jackpot, but notifies a high probability of winning. In this way, even if a problem occurs with a hit or miss and the final preview variation is selected, the player will not feel a contradiction in the presentation. Specifically, if the presentation contents of the success pattern appear with a miss, it is a case where a high probability of winning is suggested but it turns out to be a miss, and if the presentation contents of the success pattern appear with a hit, it is a case where a high probability of winning is suggested and it turns out to be a hit, but in either case there is no contradiction in the presentation, and it is possible to prevent the player from feeling uncomfortable.

The success pattern may be a presentation content that notifies the player of a sure jackpot (in the case of a preview presentation including a sure jackpot announcement), but in this case, it is preferable to devise the presentation content (presentation scenario during the change) so that the start time of the preview presentation with a success pattern and a failure pattern is later than the change time of the miss change, so that the player does not feel a contradiction in the presentation. In this case, if the start time of the preview presentation is chronologically later than the change time of the normal change that can be selected with a high probability at least in the case of a miss (a normal change with a relatively high average selection rate in the game progress among all normal changes: for example, a normal change of 13 seconds), then even if a malfunction occurs in the case of a miss, in most cases it will be possible to end the miss fluctuation before the preview presentation is executed, so that a sense of incongruity in the presentation will not occur (effective malfunction countermeasures corresponding to the frequently occurring fluctuation patterns will be possible).

In this embodiment, in the event of an abnormality, the lottery process for the preview variation is terminated, making it possible to avoid infinite loop-like processing (such as a program going out of control). In addition, by adopting the configurations (Yasushi 1) to (Yasushi 5) above, it is possible to prevent unexpected lottery processing from being executed (for example, a contradictory performance content being won).

Note that, although an example of the lottery process for sub-fluctuations based on main fluctuations has been explained above, the processing method (including processing in the event of a malfunction) and table configuration are basically the same for performance lotteries using other allocation data tables (such as those in Figures 85A to 89B, 90, 91, 105, and 106 described below). Also, the "default" in these allocation data tables indicates a warning variation for errors, but this has been omitted from Figures 105 and 106.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 71B, once step SC32 has been completed, the following steps are executed in sequence: lottery flag part setting process (step SC41), lottery reservation setting process (step SC42), and scenario setting process (step SC43). These three processes will be explained below.

(Lottery Flag Parts Setting Process (Step SC41): FIG. 72)
First, the lottery flag part setting process (step SC41) will be described. FIG. 72 is a flowchart showing the details of the lottery flag part setting process (step SC41). This lottery flag part setting process is a process for setting "lottery flag information (lottery flag value)" to be described later, which is used when determining the performance content in the next lottery process (including the next time and thereafter), based on the result obtained in the current lottery process (the result obtained by the processing in steps SC27 to SC31). Note that "next lottery process" means the lottery process (lottery process for the next preview variation) that is executed next after the current lottery process (processing including at least the lottery process for the preview variation (steps SC27 to SC31)) is executed when the current lottery start process is executed. However, the lottery execution process that is executed next after the current series of lottery processes (lottery execution process during the lottery start process in Figure 70 (step SB40, details of which are shown in Figures 71A and 71B)) is completed (step SB40 relating to "current lottery execution count number + 1") may also be treated as the next lottery process.

In FIG. 72, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first acquires the lottery flag parts information (lottery flag parts information table designation information) in the variation number table (FIG. 79) (step SE11), and determines whether or not the lottery flag parts information is present (step SE12).

Here, the case where the variation number is 0 is explained. Therefore, as already explained, the following, which corresponds to the variation number 0 in the variation number table (FIG. 79):
・"{NULL, En_lot_dt_parts000, En_lot_dt_lot000, NULL}, // [TH_001] Sub-fluctuation pattern"
The lottery flag parts information is acquired from the lottery flag parts information "En_lot_dt_parts000" as shown in the figure, and is not "NULL (no information)." Therefore, in this case, the determination result of step SE12 is "NO," and the process proceeds to step SE13.

Next, the number of lottery flag parts is obtained from the lottery flag parts information table specified by the obtained lottery flag parts information, and set in the lottery flag parts number storage area (step SE13).

Here, the number of lottery flag parts (in this example, 18, which corresponds to the maximum number of parts shown in the figure) is obtained from the lottery flag parts information table (part setting data creation ([TH_001] sub-variable pattern)) in Figure 92 specified by "En_lot_dt_parts000" obtained in step SE12 above, and this value is set in the lottery flag parts number storage area.

Then, the parts determination count is cleared (parts determination count←0) (step SG14). This parts determination count is used to specify the "lottery flag part (hereafter abbreviated as "lottery part") type" in the lottery flag parts information table, in other words, the type for which the lottery flag is to be set. The parts determination count is also used as information for determining whether or not all lottery flag information settings have been completed this time.

In the case of the lottery flag parts information table shown in Figure 92, the elements into which the contents of the sub-variations are subdivided are defined as "lottery part types" (effect lottery elements). The method of determining lottery parts is basically the same as the method of classifying "specific parts (elements)" described above using Figures 97A to 97F. Such lottery parts are important elements when determining the performance content (performance scenario), and by holding a performance lottery for these elements, the freedom of performance variation is increased, making it possible to create various in-flight performances and pre-reading announcements with different performance modes, even with the same variation pattern.

The information related to the lottery parts (lottery flag information (lottery flag value, described below)) is information (reference information) used when determining the performance content (for example, the performance content related to the currently determined sub-variation (mainly the preview performance in the during-variation performance)) in the next or subsequent lottery process. Such information is used when selecting (determining) an allocation data table (lottery table) or when selecting (lottery) a preview variation in one or more subsequent lottery processes. In more detail, the lottery flag information includes first information referenced when determining the lottery table to be used in the current lottery process from among multiple allocation data tables, and second information referenced when determining the current lottery content (performance content (preview variation)) using the determined lottery table.

For example, with regard to the content of the sub-variation, the "revival location" of offset part number 252 in FIG. 92, the "before the change" of offset part number 266, the "sub-variation" of offset part number 334, the "type of SP reach" of offset part number 331, ... the "number of pseudo consecutive wins" of offset number 310, etc. correspond to "lottery parts", and the lottery part type for which the current lottery flag is set (lottery part type for which the lottery flag is set) is specified according to the part determination count number (specified in order starting from the leftmost offset number in the figure). However, FIG. 92 only shows a portion of the lottery parts, and in reality, 18 types equivalent to the maximum number of parts (number of lottery flag parts) are determined as the lottery parts related to the current lottery result.

Then, it is determined whether the part determination count number is less than the value in the lottery flag parts number storage area (lottery flag parts number), i.e., whether all lottery flag settings have been completed (step SE15). If the part determination count number is not less than the value in the lottery flag parts number storage area (step SE15: NO), it is determined that the lottery flag parts settings have been completed, and the lottery flag parts setting process is exited.

On the other hand, if the part determination count number is less than the value in the lottery flag part number storage area (step SE15: YES), in other words, if the lottery flag has not yet been set, the following steps SE16 to SE20 are executed. First, an overview of these processes is provided, and the details of the process content are provided later (see (Asahi 1) to (Asahi 5) below).

If the lottery flag setting has not been completed (step SE15: YES), the part determination count number is incremented (step SE16), and the offset part number specified by the part determination count number is obtained from the lottery flag parts information table (Figure 92) (step SE17). For example, if the current part determination count number is 1, the "resurrection location" of offset part number 252 is obtained.

Next, based on the current part judgment count number and the judgment count number, lottery flag information (lottery flag value corresponding to the lottery part) is obtained from the lottery flag parts information table and set in the lottery flag setting value memory area (step SE18). Note that the judgment count number is the judgment count number used in the lottery process in FIG. 71B described above, specifically, the judgment count number used in the processing of step SC28 (the judgment count number before the increment in step SC31).

Next, it is determined whether the value in the lottery flag setting value storage area is a natural number (value in the lottery flag setting value storage area > 0) (step SE19). If the value in the lottery flag setting value storage area is a natural number (step SE19: YES), the value in the lottery flag setting value storage area is set in the offset part storage area (Figures 76A to 76D) corresponding to the offset part number (step SE20), and the process returns to step SE15.

On the other hand, if the value in the lottery flag setting value storage area is not a natural number (step SE19: NO), that is, if the value in the lottery flag setting value storage area is 0, the process skips step SE20 and returns to step SE15. Thereafter, the processes in steps SE15 to SE20 are repeated until the part determination count number reaches the value in the lottery flag part number storage area (lottery flag part number) (step SE15: NO).

The processing contents of steps SE16 to SE20 above are specifically explained as follows: (Asahi 1) to (Asahi 5). Here, the lottery flag parts information table "Parts setting data creation ([TH_001] sub-variable pattern)" shown in Figure 92 is referenced, so a case using this will be explained as an example.

(Asahi 1) When the lottery flag part setting process in FIG. 72 is entered and step SE16 is executed for the first time, the part determination count number is set to "1" (see steps SE14 to SE16).

(Asahi 2) Next, based on the lottery flag parts information table in Figure 92, the offset part number (lottery part) corresponding to the current part judgment count number is obtained (step SE17). In this case, since the current part judgment count number is 1, the "revival point" of offset part number 252 is obtained as the lottery part. This specifies the lottery part for which the lottery flag is set.

(Asahi 3) Next, based on the judgment count number (the judgment count number used in the lottery process in FIG. 71B above (the judgment count number used in the process of step SC28)) and the part judgment count number (here, the part judgment count number = 1), the lottery flag value (lottery flag information) is obtained from the lottery flag part information table, and the obtained value is set in the lottery flag setting value memory area (step SE18).

For example, if the current part judgment count number is 1 and the judgment count number is also 1, the "Resurrection Location" of offset part number 252 corresponding to part judgment count number 1 is obtained, and "0" corresponding to judgment count number 1 is obtained as the lottery flag value (see the "Resurrection Location" columns in Figure 92 and Figures 98A to 98F). Note that the case where the judgment count number is 1 is when, as already explained, "Normal variation 12 seconds_Normal variation 12 seconds_1__miss_" of sub-variation number 1 (corresponding to judgment count number 1) is determined as the sub-variation (see steps SC27 to SC31 above).

In this embodiment, the "revival location" is a lottery part that specifies the type of revival effect (including whether or not there is a revival effect, the timing of the revival effect, etc.), and depending on the lottery flag value, "no revival," "underworld-type reach revival (underworld-type revival)," "event-type reach revival (event-type revival)," "special-type reach revival (special-type revival)," "revival (revival effect occurrence specified)," etc. are specified.

Specifically, as shown in the "Resurrection Location" column in Figures 98A to 98F, a value between 0 and 4 is obtained as the lottery flag information depending on the sub-variation number (judgment count number). The details are as follows.

In the case of a sub-variation type related to a miss, that is, a sub-variation in which a revival effect cannot occur, the lottery flag value 0 (setting value = 0) specifying "no revival" is set. Also, even if the sub-variation is related to a win, in the case of a "sub-variation not requiring a revival effect" that does not require a revival effect to occur for the sake of the effect, "no revival" (setting value 0) is set. Examples of sub-variations that do not require revival include "normal reach hit type" (sub-variation numbers 137, 154, 188, 205, etc.) in which the jackpot pattern stops at the N reach without developing into an SP reach, "direct hit reach type" (sub-variation numbers 169, 220), "full rotation reach type" (sub-variation numbers 170, 221), and "error type" (sub-variation numbers 224, 225).

The lottery flag values 1 to 3 for the "revival point" are set primarily based on the reach type (reach performance scenario). In this embodiment, the SP reach type is broadly categorized into "underworld reach", "event reach", and "special reach", as shown in the "variation type" and "reach category" columns of Figures 99A to 99F. Note that SP1 to 5 shown in the "reach category" in the figures belong to SP reaches, and SPSP1 to 4 belong to SPSP reaches. Examples of "underworld reach", "event reach", and "special reach" are shown in (1) to (3).

(Drink 1) "Underworld Reach" (Anime Reach)
Underworld-related reaches include "Underworld Special" (SP4), "Underworld SP" (SP5), and "Underworld SPSP" (SPSP1).
(Drink 2) "Event reach" (manga (still image) reach)
Event reaches include "ZERO reach via normal" (SP1), "gravure reach" (SP2), and "manga SP reach" (SP3).
(Drinking 3) "Special reach" (live-action reach)
Special reaches include "Mangoku vs. Highball" (SPSP4).

The above "Underworld Reach", "Event Reach", and "Special Reach" types all have significantly different effects, so for the "Resurrection Location", a different lottery flag value (Underworld = 1, Event = 2, Special = 3) is assigned to each type of reach.

The lottery flag value 4 for the "Resurrection location" is a value that is set for a sub-variation that specifies 100% that a revival effect will occur, and there are sub-variation numbers 226 to 235 (revival-specifying sub-variation types) (see Figure 98F).

(Regarding processing for part determination counts 2 and above)
In this embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned "revival location" (offset part number 252), a total of 18 types of lottery parts (some of which are shown in Figure 92) are provided as lottery flag setting target types (lottery part types) related to the results of the sub-fluctuation lottery process ([TH_001] sub-fluctuation pattern), including "before fluctuation" (offset part number 266), "sub-fluctuation" (offset part number 334), "type of SP reach" (offset part number 331), ..., "pseudo-consecutive" (offset part number 390), and "number of pseudo-consecutives" (offset part number 310), and the like. Lottery flag information is set sequentially according to the part determination count numbers 2 to 18 (see the lottery flag value columns in Figures 92, 98A to 98F).

The above "before change" (offset part number 266) is a lottery part related to the designation of before change/non-change. If the lottery flag value is 0, the "sub-change type belonging to non-before change" is specified, and if the lottery flag value is 1, the "sub-change type belonging to before change" is specified.

"Sub-variation" (offset part number 334) is a lottery part that specifies the variation mode of the sub-variation, and the variation mode type is specified according to the lottery flag value (0 to 31 in this example). As shown in the "Sub-variation" column in Figures 98A to 98F, the variation mode type is a classification that focuses on the variation mode itself, rather than classifying the sub-variation type in consideration of whether it is a hit/miss, pre-variation, or non-pre-variation. For example, sub-variation numbers 1 and 57 (lottery flag value = 1), and sub-variation numbers 15, 71, 130, and 181 (lottery flag value = 15) are classified as the same type (sub-variations assigned the same lottery flag value),

The "SP reach type" (offset part number 331) is a lottery part that specifies the reach type (non-reach, N reach, SP reach, SPSP reach) of the same system (kind), and non-reach (normal fluctuation, pseudo consecutive false), N reach, SP reach, or SPSP reach is specified according to the lottery flag value (0 to 11 in this example). Specifically, as shown in Figures 99A to 99F, different lottery flag values are assigned depending on the reach classification.

For example, if the lottery flag value is 0, "non-reach" (normal fluctuation, pseudo consecutive false) is specified, and if the lottery flag value is 1, "N-reach" is specified. Also, for SP reach types, lottery flag values 3 to 11 are assigned according to the SP reach type SP1 to 5 and the SPSP reach type SPSP1 to SPSP4 (see the "SP reach type" column in Figures 98A to 98F and 99A to 99F).

Although "Direct Hit Reach" (sub-variation numbers 169, 220) are written as "Special SPSP1" (see Figures 99E, 99F), due to their special nature they are treated as non-reach and are given the same lottery flag value (=0) as normal variations. Similarly, error types (to perform shaking variations when abnormal) are given the same lottery flag value as normal variations.

The "pseudo consecutive wins" (offset part number 331) is a lottery part that specifies whether or not there is a pseudo consecutive win, and specifies whether or not there is a pseudo consecutive win (pseudo fluctuation) depending on the lottery flag value. For example, a lottery flag value of 1 specifies "pseudo consecutive wins", and a setting value of 0 specifies "no pseudo consecutive wins". There is a lottery part related to this "pseudo consecutive wins" called "pseudo consecutive win count" (offset part number 310), and the pseudo consecutive win count can be specified according to lottery flag values 0 to 3. Note that a lottery flag value of 0 specifies the pseudo consecutive win count of 0, that is, "no pseudo consecutive wins", and corresponds to the sub-fluctuation of the "pseudo consecutive wins" setting value 0 (no pseudo consecutive wins). The value specified by "pseudo consecutive win count" may be "1 main fluctuation + pseudo consecutive win count", which includes the main fluctuation and the pseudo consecutive win. In this case, a lottery flag value of 1 specifies only the main fluctuation, and lottery flag values of 2 to 4 specify "1 main fluctuation + pseudo consecutive win count 1 to 3 times".

The above-mentioned lottery parts and their lottery flag information (lottery flag value) are merely examples. For example, when specifying a specific preview performance such as a pseudo-consecutive or revival performance, lottery parts that specify more specific content may be provided. For example, lottery parts that specify normal pseudo-consecutive (pseudo-consecutive using normal decorative symbols) and special pseudo-consecutive (pseudo-consecutive using symbols dedicated to pseudo-consecutive), lottery parts that specify player participation type and non-player participation type, lottery parts that specify the type of object during a specific performance (for example, the type of character that appears, the type of movement pattern of a movable role object), and lottery parts that specify the timing of occurrence of a specific performance (for example, at the start of fluctuation, before a reach, at the time of a reach (when a reach state is formed (when a ready state is reached)), after a reach (during a reach), when a reach result is derived, etc.). Also, for reach-type games, it is possible to provide various types of lottery parts that take into consideration the content of the presentation, such as lottery parts that specify whether or not the game will develop into an SP reach, lottery parts for specifying characters that appear during the reach, and lottery parts that specify the number of reach tenpai lines (for example, whether to increase the number to multiple lines or leave it as a single line). Also, the lottery flag information can be determined appropriately depending on the content of the lottery parts.

(Asahi 4) After completing the processing of step SE18 above, it is then determined whether the value in the lottery flag setting value memory area (lottery flag value set in step SE18) is a natural number (step SE19).

If the value of the lottery flag setting value storage area is a natural number (setting value > 0), that is, if the setting value is not 0 (step SE19: YES), the value is set in the offset part storage area (Fig. 76A to 76D) corresponding to the current offset part number (lottery part type designated as the current setting target) (step SE20), and the process returns to step SE15 (step SE19: YES). However, if the setting value is 0 (step SE19: NO), step SE20 is skipped and the process returns to step SE15. Note that if the setting value is 0, the value of the offset part storage area to be set is not updated. The work area required for the current game, such as the offset part storage area, was initialized in the previous game (see the lottery end variable initialization process (step SA34) in Fig. 67 described later), and a predetermined value was set at the start of the current game (step SA32 of the above control part creation process in Fig. 69), so if the value of the lottery flag setting value storage area is 0, the value of the storage area is not updated and the setting value at the start of the current game is maintained. This also applies to the variation lottery reservation information storage area (lottery reservation information).

Here, an example is described in which the "resurrection location" (offset part number 252) in the case where the part determination count number is 1 is specified. Therefore, if the value in the lottery flag setting value storage area set in the processing of step SE18 is not 0 (step SE19: YES), the value is set to the offset part number 252 in the offset part storage area (see FIG. 76C),
・ "EN_E_FLG_HuKkaTuKaSyo, //Resurrection point"
(Step SE20). This specifies the lottery flag information for the "resurrection location."

(Asahi 5) After that, the process of steps SE15 to SE20 is repeated until the part determination count reaches the value of the lottery flag part count storage area (lottery flag part count) (step SE15: NO). For example, if the part determination count is 2, it is set to "before change", if the part determination count is 3, it is set to "sub-change", if the part determination count is 4, it is set to "SP reach type", ... if the part determination count is 17, it is set to "pseudo consecutive", if the part determination count is 18, it is set to "(pseudo number of times)", and so on.

In this embodiment, lottery flag information is set based on the results of the current lottery process, and the performance content (such as a preview performance) related to the currently determined sub-variation is determined in the next lottery process onwards. For example, in the next lottery process, a predetermined lottery is executed using the lottery flag information of the currently set "revival point," and the determined performance content is used in the subsequent lottery processes and is incorporated as one element of the performance scenario during the variation.

The lottery flag information (lottery flag value) of various lottery parts is used when determining the distribution data table and/or preview variation, and may not only be used alone, but may also be linked with multiple lottery flag information or linked with other lottery elements to execute the lottery process using multiple lottery flag information. For example, in the "[TH_004] Pattern Lottery" to be described later that is executed in the next lottery process, the lottery process is executed based on the "Main Pattern (TH_Main Pattern)" (other lottery elements: information determined by the main control unit 24) and the "Resurrection Location" (lottery flag information set based on the current lottery result) (see Figures 85A to 89B described later).

The above describes the process for determining the sub-variation, but the final performance content is determined by completing the lottery start process in FIG. 70 (specifically, until the judgment result of step SB32 in FIG. 71A becomes NO). In other words, based on the lottery flag information (lottery flag value) set this time, more detailed performance content can be determined in the next lottery process and thereafter. Note that the lottery flag information is not only used to determine the performance mode to be displayed (for example, performance A (first preview performance) that displays a fried chicken image, performance B (second preview performance) that displays a highball image, etc.), but also includes lottery flag information that specifies the high or low appearance rate of a specific preview performance (for example, the "revival location" of the lottery part (when the lottery flag value is 4, it specifies that the revival performance occurs at 100%), the "temporary pattern" (lottery flag information that affects the appearance rate of a high expectation preview performance or a low expectation preview performance), etc.).

Therefore, even if the sub-variable type determined this time is the same, the content of the effect can be different. For example, the effect can be different depending on the customization function (for example, the processing content related to the "[TH_004] symbol lottery" (lottery processing related to the lottery execution count number = 1) described below, see Figures 85A to 89B, 101, etc.), the presence or absence of a specific effect (for example, the presence or absence of a revival effect), the characters that appear during a specific preview effect are different, the pseudo consecutive effects are different (for example, the pseudo consecutive symbols are different), etc., and the freedom of variation in the effects is increased, making it possible to generate a variety of effects.

Note that even if there are no lottery parts to be set in the current lottery process, if lottery flag information for a new lottery part is set in the next lottery process or later, that lottery flag information can be used in the subsequent lottery processes. For example, part A was not a setting target in the current lottery flag part setting process, but part A will be a setting target in the next lottery flag part setting process. Since the lottery flag information is used in the next lottery process or later, a setting area for it is reserved in the offset part storage area (Figures 76A to 76D). Therefore, lottery result information that is not stored in the offset part storage area is stored as performance scenario data in step SC32 of Figure 71B, and the information will not be used in the next lottery process or later.

The lottery flag information includes information that is referenced not only for the current game, but also for the next game. For example, the lottery flag information related to the look-ahead notice in the lottery process at the time of winning (step SA19) is a typical example. For example, if the look-ahead judgment result is a miss, but the reserve change notice generates a high expectation reserve color (red reserve), a flashy effect will be displayed in the next game despite the miss, based on the information that the red reserve is occurring. Another example is when the jackpot lottery result of the current game is a "high probability jackpot," but lottery flag information is set to notify that the current game result is a "normal jackpot," and then during the jackpot game that is executed afterwards, the flag information is referenced and the win-in-time effect is used to notify that it was actually a high probability jackpot.

When the lottery flag information has been set for all lottery parts in this lottery process (step SE15: NO), the lottery flag part setting process is exited and the process returns to FIG. 71B, and then the lottery reservation setting process (step SC42) described below is executed.

(Lottery reservation setting process (step SC42): FIG. 73)
Next, the lottery reservation setting process (step SC42) will be described. FIG. 73 is a flowchart showing the details of the lottery reservation setting process (step SC42). This lottery reservation setting process is a process for setting lottery reservation information (lottery reservation/no lottery reservation) for what kind of lottery processing will be performed for the next lottery processing according to the result of the current lottery processing. Specifically, a setting process is executed for the variation lottery reservation information storage area (FIGS. 77A to 77D), and based on the result of the setting process, during the next lottery start processing of FIG. 70, it is specified whether to follow the "processing route without lottery reservation (processing route with the determination result of "NO" in step SB35)" or the "processing route with lottery reservation (processing route with the determination result of "YES" in step SB35)".

In FIG. 73, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first acquires the lottery call information (lottery call setting table specification information) in the variation number table (FIG. 79) (step SG11), and determines whether or not the lottery call information is present (step SG12).

Here, the case where the variation number is 0 is explained. Therefore, as already explained, the following, which corresponds to the variation number 0 in the variation number table (FIG. 79):
・"{NULL, En_lot_dt_parts000, En_lot_dt_lot000, NULL}, // [TH_001] Sub-fluctuation pattern"
The lottery call information here is "En_lot_dt_lot000" as shown in the figure, and is not "NULL (no information)." Therefore, in this case, the determination result of step SG12 is "NO," and the process proceeds to step SG13.

Next, the lottery call setting number is obtained from the "lottery call setting table" described below, which is specified by the obtained lottery call information, and set in the lottery call setting number memory area (step SG13).

Here, the "lottery call setting table" specified by the lottery call information (En_lot_dt_lot000) acquired in step SG12 is used. Specifically, the "lottery call setting table" shown in FIG. 94A to FIG. 94B is used.
・Create lottery call setting data (［TH_001］ sub-variable pattern)
The lottery call setting number (in this example, the illustrated maximum reservation number = 8) is obtained from the lottery call setting number storage area, and the value is set in the lottery call setting number storage area (step SG13). This lottery call setting number is the number of lottery processes (lottery reservations) to be executed from the next time onwards.

Then, the call judgment count is cleared (step SG14). This call judgment count is used to specify the lottery reservation target type (the variation number for which the lottery reservation information is set) in the variation lottery reservation information storage area (Figs. 77A to 77D). The call judgment count is also used as information to determine whether or not all the settings for the current lottery reservation information have been completed.

Then, it is determined whether the call determination count number is less than the value in the lottery call setting number storage area (lottery call setting number), that is, whether the setting of the lottery reservation information has been completed (step SG15). If the call determination count number is not less than the value in the lottery call setting number storage area (step SG15: NO), it is determined that the setting of the lottery reservation information has been completed, and the lottery reservation setting process is exited.

On the other hand, if the call determination count number is less than the value in the lottery call setting number memory area (step SG15: YES), in other words, if the lottery reservation information setting has not yet been completed, the following steps SG16 to SG20 are executed. First, an overview of these processes is provided, and the details of the process content are provided later (see (Flag 1) to (Flag 5) described below).

If the lottery reservation information setting has not been completed (step SG15: YES), the call determination count is incremented (step SG16), and the variation number specified by the call determination count is obtained from the lottery call setting table (step SG17).

Next, based on the judgment count number (the judgment count number used in the lottery process in Figure 71B above (the judgment count number used in the process of step SC28)) and the call judgment count number, lottery reservation information (a numerical value corresponding to the judgment count number shown in the figure) is obtained from the lottery call setting table (here, Figures 94A to 94B) and set in the lottery reservation information storage area (step SG18).

Next, it is determined whether the value of the lottery reservation information storage area is 1 (step SG19). If the value of the lottery reservation information storage area is 1 (step SG19: YES), the value of the lottery reservation information storage area is set to the variation lottery reservation information storage area based on the variation number (step SG20), and the process returns to step SG15. The process of step SG20 specifies what type of presentation lottery will be executed in the next lottery start process (Figure 70).

On the other hand, if the value in the lottery reservation information storage area is not 1 (step SG19: NO), that is, if the value in the lottery reservation information storage area is 0, the processing of step SG20 is skipped and the processing returns to step SG15.

After that, steps SG15 to SG20 are repeatedly executed until the call judgment count reaches the value in the lottery reservation information storage area (lottery call setting number) (step SE15: YES), and when all lottery reservation information has been set (step SG15: NO), the lottery reservation setting process is exited and the scenario setting process (step SC43) described below is executed.

The processing contents of steps SG16 to SG20 above are specifically explained as follows (Flag 1) to (Flag 5). Here, the "Lottery Call Setting Data Creation ([TH_001] Sub-Variation Pattern)" shown in Figures 94A to 94B is referenced as the lottery call setting table, so a case in which this is used will be explained as an example.

(Flag 1) When the lottery reservation setting process in FIG. 73 is entered and step SG16 is executed for the first time, the call count is set to "1" (see steps SG14 to SG16).

(Flag 2) Next, the variation number of "lottery call setting data creation ([TH_001] sub-variable pattern)" corresponding to the current call judgment count number is obtained (step SG17). Here, since the current call judgment count number is 1, variation number 1 "([TH_004] pattern lottery)" is obtained as the lottery reservation information type.

(Flag 3) Next, based on the judgment count number and the current call judgment count number (here, the call judgment count number = 1), the lottery reservation information (a value corresponding to the judgment count number) is obtained from the lottery call setting table and set in the lottery reservation information storage area (step SG18).

If the current call judgment count is 1, variation number 1 "([TH_004] pattern lottery)" is specified as the lottery reservation target type, and if the call judgment count is 2, variation number 4 "([TH_003] SP lottery)" is specified. In this manner, the variation number is specified according to the call judgment count (specified in order from the leftmost offset number in the figure). The judgment count is the judgment count used in the lottery process in FIG. 71B described above (specifically, the process of step SC28). Therefore, for example, if "the current call judgment count is 1 and the judgment count is 1", variation number 1 "([TH_004] pattern lottery)" corresponding to the current call judgment count 1 is obtained, and "1" corresponding to the judgment count is obtained as the lottery reservation information. Note that if the lottery reservation information is 0, "no lottery reservation" is specified, and if the lottery reservation information is 1, "lottery reservation completed (lottery reservation available)" is specified.

(Flag 4) Next, it is determined whether the value in the lottery reservation information storage area is 1, that is, whether "lottery reservation available (= 1)" or "lottery reservation not available (= 0)" (step SG19). If the value in the lottery reservation information storage area is 1 (step SG19: YES), that value (lottery reservation available) is set in the variation lottery reservation information storage area corresponding to the current variation number (step SG20), and the process returns to step SG15.

Here, an example of reserving “[TH_004] Design Lottery” (variation number 1) is described, so the value of the lottery reservation information storage area (set value = 1) corresponds to the variation number 1 in the variation lottery reservation information storage area.
・ "EN_E_TH_004_ZuGaRaTyuUSeNn, // [TH_004] Design lottery"
As a result, in the next lottery process, the lottery process related to the "[TH_004] symbol lottery" will be executed.

If the setting value in the lottery reservation information storage area is 0 (step SG19: NO), it is assumed that there is no lottery reservation, step SG20 is skipped, and processing returns to step SG15. Note that if the setting value is 0, the value in the variation lottery reservation information storage area to be set is not updated. The variation lottery reservation information storage area was initialized in the previous game (see the lottery end variable initialization processing (step SA34) in FIG. 67 described below), and a predetermined value was set at the start of the current game (see the above control part creation processing (at the start of variation) (step SA32) in FIG. 67, and step SB69 in FIG. 69), so if the setting value is 0, the setting value at the start of the current game is retained.

(Regarding processing for call determination counts 2 and above)
(Flag 5) After that, the processing of steps SG15 to SG20 is repeated until the call judgment count reaches the value of the lottery reservation information storage area (lottery call setting number) (step SG15: NO). For example, when the call judgment count is 2, the processing of steps SG15 to SG20 is executed to set the lottery reservation information, such as "([TH_003] SP lottery)" (lottery to determine the detailed performance content of the reach performance), ..., and when the call judgment count is 8, the processing of steps SG15 to SG20 is executed to set the lottery reservation information, such as "([TH_275] Next start background when a big win occurs)". In this example, the lottery reservation information is set for a total of eight types of variation numbers (maximum number of reservations), including the variation numbers not shown.

When the lottery reservation information has been set for all variation lottery reservation information storage areas in this lottery process (step SE15: NO), the lottery reservation setting process is exited and "scenario processing (step SC43)" is executed.

This scenario setting process (step SC43) is mainly related to the winning lottery process (step SA19) in FIG. 66, and is a common process with the process of setting the presentation scenario for the pre-reading notice (presentation lottery process for the pre-reading notice: for example, the process of setting what type of hold change notice will be executed).

Although not shown, during the scenario setting process, the presence or absence of "scenario setting information" (scenario setting information in the variation number table in FIG. 79 (see the notes column in FIG. 79)) is determined, and if there is no scenario setting information (scenario setting information = NULL), nothing is done and the scenario setting process is exited. In this embodiment, all scenario setting information for the lottery process related to the during-variation performance (variation numbers 0 to 188) is set to "NULL" (no scenario setting information). Therefore, when the lottery process related to the during-variation performance is executed, the scenario setting process (step SC43) is skipped.

In this embodiment, after the lottery reservation setting process (step SC42) is completed, the scenario setting process is not executed, the current lottery execution process (Figures 71A and 71B) is exited (end of the current lottery process), and the processing state transitions to step SB42 in Figure 71A.

<2. About the lottery process for the next lottery process (case where the lottery execution count is 1)>
Returning to the explanation of the lottery start process in Fig. 70. In the lottery process this time (the case where the lottery execution count number is 0), the lottery process related to the "[TH_001] sub-variation pattern" (the sub-variation pattern at low probability (normal state)) was mainly explained as an example. Next, the next lottery process (the case where the lottery execution count number is 1) will be explained.

When the current lottery execution process (step SB40) is completed, the lottery execution count is updated from 0 to 1 (step SB42), and the process returns to step SB32, and the second lottery process is executed. In the following, the series of lottery processes when the lottery execution count is 1 will be referred to as the "current lottery process". Note that the process contents that have already been explained will be omitted as appropriate to avoid duplication.

In this lottery process, the case where the lottery execution count is 1 is explained, so the result of the determination in step SB32 is YES, and the process proceeds to step SB34, where the current lottery execution count of 1 is set as the variation number (step SB34). The variation number specified this time is 1.

Next, it is determined whether the variation reservation information storage area (FIGS. 77A to 77D) of the specified variation number has a lottery reservation (lottery reservation completed) (step SB35).
・ "EN_E_TH_004_ZuGaRaTyuUSeNn, // [TH_004] Design lottery"
is referenced.

As already explained, in the previous lottery reservation setting process (Figure 73), variation number 1 was set to "lottery reservation available" (see steps SG17 to SG20 in the lottery reservation setting process in Figure 73). The result of the determination in step SB35 is YES, so the process proceeds to step SB36, where lottery table selection information is obtained from the variation number table in Figure 79 (step SB36).

In the case of variation number 1 used in this example,
・"{ En_lot_dt_tbl001, En_lot_dt_parts001, En_lot_dt_lot001, NULL}, // [TH_004] Design lottery"
is referenced (see the corresponding column for variation number 1 in FIG. 79). This lottery table selection information (lottery table selection table designation information) is "En_lot_dt_tbl001" as shown in the figure, and is not "NULL (no information)". Therefore, the determination result of step SB37 is "NO", and the "lottery table selection process (step SB41)" is executed. The lottery table selection table designated here is the "lottery table selection table ([TH_004] symbol selection)" shown in FIG. 96.

(Lottery Table Selection Process (Step SB41): FIG. 74)
The lottery table selection process (step SB41) will now be described with reference to a flow chart of FIG.

In FIG. 74, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first obtains the judgment count information of the lottery table selection table (step SD11). Here, the judgment count information (maximum number of parts shown = 3) is obtained from the "lottery table selection table ([TH_004] pattern lottery)" shown in FIG. 96.

Then, it is determined whether the judgment count information is 0 (step SD12). If the judgment count information is not 0 (step SD12: YES), the process of steps SD13 to SD20 described below is repeated until the judgment count information becomes 0.

If the judgment count information is not 0 (step SD12: YES), the judgment count information is decremented (step SD13), and the offset part number of the lottery table selection table (Figure 96) is obtained.

Next, the value of the offset parts storage area (Figs. 76A to 76C) corresponding to the acquired offset parts number is acquired (step SD15). Here, depending on the number of judgments information being "2 → 1 → 0" (the value of the number of judgments information after decrement in step SD13), the setting information (values of the offset parts storage area) of "(TH_Premium Up)", "(TH_Seven Counter)", and "(TH_Revival Performance Appearance Rate Up)" for offset parts numbers 3, 13, and 28 is acquired in sequence. These are setting information related to the customization function, and "1" is stored when customization is present (when set to ON), and "0" is stored when customization is not present (when set to OFF).

Next, based on the offset part number, the maximum value of the offset parts is obtained from the offset parts count table (Figure 83) (step SD17). The contents of this process are basically the same as the processing contents of step SC20 in Figure 71A above.

Therefore, here,
In the case of "TH_Premium Up" offset part number 3,
・"0x0002, //TH_Premium Up"
The maximum value of the offset part is
In the case of "TH_Seven Counter" with offset part number 13,
・"0x0002, //TH_SevenCounter"
The maximum value of the offset part is
In the case of offset part number 28 "TH_Revival performance appearance rate UP",
・"0x0002, //TH_Resurrection performance appearance rate UP"
The value specified in is acquired as the maximum value of the offset parts. Note that the setting information for each customization function of "Premium Up", "Seven Counter", and "Revival Performance Appearance Rate Up" can be specified in two types, ON/OFF (ON=1, OFF=0), so the maximum value of the offset parts is "0X0002".

Then, the process of steps SD17 to SD20 is executed, and when the process of step SD20 is completed, the process returns to the judgment process of step SC12, and the process of steps SC17 to SD20 is repeatedly executed until the judgment count information becomes 0 (until the judgment of step SD12 is NO).

The processing of steps SD17 to SD20 is basically the same as the processing of steps SC21 to SC24 in FIG. 71A above. However, in the processing of steps SD19 to SD20, a selection offset value is calculated according to the setting state of the customization function (ON/OFF setting state of "Premium Up", "Seven Counter", and "Revival Performance Appearance Rate Up"). The value finally set in the selection offset value storage area in step SD20, that is, the value set in the selection offset value storage area in step SD20 when the judgment count information is 0, is basically the same as the calculated value in "<(Red 3) When step SC24 is executed the third (final) time (part judgment count information 0)>" above (part judgment count information is read as "judgment count information" in this processing and applied mutatis mutandis).

In other words, the value finally set in the selection offset value storage area in step SD20 is
The above "Β×Α×γ＋Α×β＋α" (third calculated value)
It is calculated as follows:
"A" is the maximum value of the offset parts of "(TH_Premium Up)" = 2
"B" is the maximum value of the offset part of "(TH_Seven Counter)" = 2
"α" is the premium up setting information (ON=1, OFF=0)
"β" is the setting information of the seven counter (ON=1, OFF=0)
"γ" is the setting information of the seven counter (ON=1, OFF=0)
The following values (wing 0) to (wing 7) are calculated. Here, the setting information for "(TH_Premium Up)", "(TH_Seven Counter)" and "(TH_Revival Performance Appearance Rate Up)" is shown in this order as "ON/OFF".

(Feather 0) "OFF, OFF, OFF" (Normal mode) = 0
(Feather 1) "ON, OFF, OFF" (Premium UP) = 1
(Feather 2) "OFF, ON, OFF" (Seven Game) = 2
(Wing 3) "ON, ON, OFF" (Premium Up + Seven Games) = 3
(Feather 4) "OFF, OFF, ON" (revival appearance rate UP) = 4
(Feather 5) "ON, OFF, ON" (Sep Premiere UP + Revival Appearance Rate UP) = 5
(Feather 6) "OFF, ON, ON" (Seven games + revival appearance rate UP) = 6
(Feather 7) "ON, ON, ON" (all modes ON) = 7

Then, the process proceeds to step SD21 while retaining the value finally set in the selection offset value storage area in step SD20.

When the process proceeds to step SD21, a table number is obtained from the lottery table selection table (in this example, the "lottery table selection table ([TH_004] pattern selection)" shown in Figure 96) based on the value finally set in the selection offset value memory area in step SD20, and set in the table number memory area (step SD21).

As shown in the figure, the lottery table selection table associates the value of the selection offset value storage area (corresponding to the selection offset number shown in the figure) with the table number to be selected. Here, based on the value of the selection offset value storage area finally obtained in step SD20, one of table numbers 1 to 5 is obtained, and the obtained value is set in the table number storage area. For example, in the above cases of (wing 1) to (wing 7), table numbers 1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 5, 3, and 2 are obtained, as shown in Figure 96 or Figure 101. Note that Figure 101 shows the correspondence between the setting state of each customization function and the table number.

When the processing of step SD21 above is completed, the lottery table selection process is exited and the process proceeds to step SB39 of the lottery start process in FIG. 70.

Returning to the lottery start process in FIG. 70, in step SB39, the lottery sheet number for the current lottery is obtained from the sheet number storage table (FIG. 80) based on the value in the table number storage area.

Here, based on the value of the table number storage area set in step SD21 of the lottery table selection process (here, the value of the table number storage area = any value between 1 and 5) and the variation number, the lottery sheet number for this lottery is obtained from the sheet number storage table (Figure 80) (address information specifying the lottery sheet number is "0x0001" to "0x0005" = any one of lottery sheet numbers 1 to 5 is obtained: see the variation number 1 column in Figure 80).

Then, when the processing of step SB39 is completed, the processing state is shifted to the lottery execution processing (step SB40).

(Regarding the lottery execution process related to this lottery process (case where the lottery execution count number is 1): Fig. 71A and Fig. 71B)
When the lottery execution process (FIGS. 71A and 71B) is started, a random number value is obtained by the processes of steps SC11 to SC13 as already explained.

Next, based on the lottery sheet number used in the current lottery, lottery sheet information is obtained from the sheet number table (FIGS. 81A-81B) (step SC14). For example, if the lottery sheet number used in the current lottery is 1,
・ "{En_lot_dt_off001, En_lot_dt_sht001}, // [TH_004] Pattern lottery T1"
is acquired (see FIG. 81A). Similarly, in the case of other lottery sheet numbers 2 to 5, corresponding lottery sheet information (see “[TH_004] Symbol Lottery T2 to T5” in the figure) is acquired.

Next, part determination count information is obtained from the offset data table specified by the obtained lottery sheet information (offset data table designation information) (step SC15).

Here, according to the sheet numbers 1 to 5 used in this lottery,
・"Offset data 001 (［TH_004］Pattern lottery T1)" (En_lot_dt_off001)
・ "Offset data 002 ([TH_004] Design lottery T2)" (En_lot_dt_off002)
・ "Offset data 003 ([TH_004] Design lottery T3)" (En_lot_dt_off003)
・ "Offset data 004 ([TH_004] Design lottery T4)" (En_lot_dt_off004)
・ "Offset data 005 ([TH_004] Design lottery T5)" (En_lot_dt_off005)
Any one of the offset data tables is referenced, and part determination count information (the number of parts shown in the figure is 2) is obtained.

Next, it is determined whether the part determination count information is 0 (step SC16), and steps SC16 to SC24 are executed until it is determined in the determination process of step SC16 that the part determination count information is 0.

Here, depending on whether the part determination count information is 1 or 0 (the part determination count information after decrement in step SC17), the values of "TH_main design" of offset part number 2 and "resurrection location" of offset part number 252 are obtained, and in step SC24, where the part determination count information becomes 0, the final selection offset value is calculated, and this value is set in the selection offset value memory area.

The above "TH_Main Symbol" is set to a value (hereafter referred to as "Main Symbol Number") based on the winning type information (Main Symbol Information). For example, Main Symbol Numbers 0 to 4 are assigned to "None (unused or for error)", "Miss", "Certain jackpot", and "Normal jackpot", respectively.

For the "revival location", the value of the lottery flag (no revival = 0, underworld revival = 1, event revival = 2, special revival = 3, or revival = 4) was set in the previous lottery process (previous lottery flag part setting process (Fig. 73)). Based on these values, the final selection offset value (the value to be stored in the selection offset value storage area) is determined and used in the current lottery process (lottery based on the allocation data table shown in Figs. 85A to 89B described below). The final selection offset value is obtained as 0 to 19 based on the maximum value of the offset parts, the main pattern number, and the lottery flag value of the "revival location". In this case, since "part determination count information = 2", the final selection offset value is calculated by the above "A x β + α" (second calculation value).

After completing the processing of step SC24, proceed to step SC16. If it is determined that the part judgment count information is 0 (step SC16: NO), obtain lottery sheet information (allocation table data designation information) based on the lottery sheet number used in this lottery, obtain the number of variations information from the allocation data table designated by the lottery sheet information, and set it in the number of variations storage area (step SC25).

Here, according to the sheet numbers 1 to 5 used in this lottery, the following are shown in Figs. 85A to 89B.
・"Allocation 001 (［TH_004］Pattern Lottery T1)"(En_lot_dt_sht001)
・"Allocation 002 (［TH_004］Pattern Lottery T2)"(En_lot_dt_sht002)
・"Allocation 003 (［TH_004］Pattern Lottery T3)"(En_lot_dt_sht003)
・"Allocation 004 (［TH_004］Pattern Lottery T4)"(En_lot_dt_sht004)
・"Allocation 005 (［TH_004］Pattern Lottery T5)" (En_lot_dt_sht005)
Any one of the allocation data tables is referenced, and the variation number information (variation number information shown in the figure = 20) is acquired. Note that, for ease of explanation, hereinafter, each table of "Allocation 001 ([TH_004] Symbol Lottery T1 to Allocation 005 ([TH_004] Symbol Lottery T5)" in Figures 85A to 89B may be referred to as "Pattern Lottery T1 to Pattern Lottery T5".

The method of the lottery process in steps SC27 to SC31 (the method of lottery based on the random number for lottery) has already been described. In this lottery process, one of the illustrated TYPES 1 to 19 (combinations of "main symbol", "temporary symbol", and "revival") is determined by lottery using the distribution data table (symbol lottery T1 to T5) shown in Figures 85A to 89B. Specifically, based on the information on "(TH_main symbol)" (offset number 1) obtained from the main control unit 20 and the lottery flag information of the "revival location" (offset number 252) obtained in the previous lottery process result (see the row direction in the figure), one of the illustrated preview variations (TYPES 1 to 19) is determined as the lottery result (see the column direction in the figure). Note that the "default" corresponding to the judgment count number 0 is the above-mentioned error preview variation.

As already explained, in this lottery process, since the allocation data table is selected according to the customization function, there are TYPE types that are not included in the lottery depending on which of the allocation data tables of the pattern lottery T1 to T5 is used (the gray frame in the figure indicates the TYPE types that are not included in the lottery), and the winning probability of one or more specific TYPE types differs depending on the pattern lottery T1 to T5. For each of the pattern lottery T1 to T5, there is a relationship as shown in Figure 102 between the content determined by the lottery and the TYPE types that are included/not included in the lottery. Note that the preview variations such as "main pattern", "temporary pattern", "revival", "main win/miss", and "temporary win/miss" derived as the result of this lottery process can each function as a lottery part, but are not actually executed as part of the variable performance like the preview performance, and can function as a lottery part related to the appearance rate of a specific preview performance, for example.

The following will explain the contents of the "main pattern", "temporary pattern", "revival", "main win/lose", and "temporary win/lose" that are determined in this lottery process, while touching on the performance lottery functions (role in determining the performance contents) that these lottery parts have.

(About the "main design")
As shown in FIG. 102, the "main symbol" functions as a selection part for designating the type of symbol selection result and the presence or absence of a revival effect. In this embodiment, the selection flag information of the "main symbol" includes "miss", "probable win (probable big win + no revival effect)", "normal win (time-saving big win + no revival effect)", "probable win + revival (probable big win + revival effect)", and "normal win + revival (normal big win + revival effect)". In the selection flag part setting process of the subsequent process, the selection flag value corresponding to these is set (see the "LF" column corresponding to the "main symbol" in FIG. 103).

The "Chance hit + Revival" and "Normal hit + Revival" are selection flag information that is specified when the "Revival" part (a selection part that specifies whether or not a revival effect occurs), which is described below, is set to "Yes". The reason "Revival" information is included in the "main pattern" is that there are two cases: when it is more convenient to use the selection flag information of multiple selection parts combined (when there is no need to judge multiple selection flag information separately) and when it is more convenient to use the selection flag information of "Revival" alone to determine the effect.

The "main pattern" is also used to determine the preview performance, but is mainly used to determine the "pseudo consecutive temporary stop pattern" in pseudo consecutive performances (the combination of decorative patterns at the time of the temporary stop in the pseudo fluctuation), the "promotion temporary stop pattern" in promotion performances (the normal jackpot pattern that temporarily stops before being promoted to the special jackpot pattern), and the main pattern (decorative stop pattern) that will ultimately stop. Such temporary stop patterns and favorite patterns are determined by a lottery process for decorative patterns (decorative pattern lottery process: for example, variation number 171 ([TH_122] decorative pattern lottery_favorite to variation number 182 ([TH_253] lottery for temporary stop), etc.: see Figures 77B to 77C). Note that, for the "main pattern", if the main pattern (the pattern lottery result on the main control unit 20 side) is a normal jackpot, the favorite pattern will not stop at a special jackpot pattern, so a "special jackpot" will not be selected with the "main pattern". Note that typical examples of normal jackpot patterns include even numbers such as 222 and 888, and typical examples of special jackpot patterns include odd numbers such as 333 and 777.

In addition, even if the main symbol is a "probable jackpot," the "main symbol" such as a "normal hit" or a "normal hit + revival" may be determined in the symbol selections T1 to T5 on the performance control unit 24 side. For example, "TYPE 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13" in the symbol selections T1 to T5. In this embodiment, if the main symbol is a probable jackpot and the "main symbol" is determined to be a "normal hit," the favorite symbol is stopped at the "normal jackpot symbol" as the result of this game to announce a normal jackpot, but in the hit-in-play performance during the jackpot game executed after the end of this game, a jackpot promotion performance can be generated to announce that it was a probable jackpot. Also, in this game, when a guaranteed jackpot is announced by a promotion effect, the promotion temporary stop symbol is determined by the decorative symbol selection process (for example, variation number 180 ([TH_122] reselection), etc.), and the promotion announcement is made by stopping the guaranteed jackpot symbol from the normal jackpot symbol.

(Regarding "temporary designs")
A "temporary symbol" is a lottery part that is mainly related to (affects) the appearance rate of one or more specific preview effects. For example, it is used as one of the lottery elements when specifying the likelihood or difficulty of appearance of a high expectation preview effect (for example, an expectation rate of 50% or more (winning effects may be excluded)). A lottery part that can affect the appearance rate of a preview effect, such as this "temporary symbol," is also called a "prediction-influencing variation." Details will be described later, but this "temporary symbol" is an important lottery part in increasing the freedom of the performance during fluctuations (diversifying the performance, enriching the performance) in that it plays a role in affecting the appearance rate of the preview effect.

In this embodiment, the lottery flag information of the "temporary symbol" includes "miss", "high probability hit", "normal hit", "high probability hit + revival" (revival performance designation), "normal hit + revival" (revival performance designation), "premium up hit" (indicated as "premium up hit" in Figs. 85A to 89B), and "red or more prohibited until development" (indicated as "development prohibited" in Figs. 85A to 89B). The "miss" of the "temporary symbol" is used as lottery flag information to increase the appearance rate of a performance with a low expectation of winning as the performance content, even if the main symbol is a jackpot. Specifically, when a "miss" is determined for the "temporary symbol", it has a nature that a notice performance with a low expectation of winning is more likely to be drawn than when a "high probability hit" or a "normal hit" (at least a "normal jackpot") is determined. Also, the "premium up hit" is lottery flag information that specifies a jackpot when the premium mode is ON. Also, "prohibit red or higher until development" refers to selection flag information that specifies the prohibition of high expectation predictions (for example, predictions with a winning expectation rate of 30% or more) from occurring (prohibits the occurrence of a specific prediction effect until a specified timing) until the development when N reach develops into SP reach, when SP reach develops into SPSP reach, or when a step-up prediction develops from the first stage to a specific stage in a performance in which the winning expectation rate increases with each stage (selection flag that specifies prohibition of occurrence before a specific timing). Note that rather than prohibiting all high expectation predictions, the occurrence of one or more specific high expectation predictions may be permitted even before development (for example, "Sudden Lucky Patrol (Fig. 91)" described below).

(Regarding "Resurrection")
"Resurrection" is a lottery part that specifies whether or not a revival effect is to appear (can appear/cannot appear), and if "Resurrection" is selected, the appearance rate of the revival effect is higher than "no revival", or the occurrence will be 100%.

(About "real hit/miss" and "temporary hit/miss")
In addition, the lottery parts which classify the "main patterns" as "win/lose" are called "main win/lose", and the lottery parts which classify the "temporary patterns" as "win/lose" are called "temporary win/lose". "Main win/lose" is used when information on the main patterns is needed to determine a certain performance, and only information on win/lose is needed (for example, specific information on wins such as a special jackpot or a regular jackpot is not needed). "Temporary win/lose" is also used when information on the temporary patterns is needed, and only information on win/lose is needed.

(Regarding the lottery-like effect of the "temporary design")
Here, the performance lottery function of the "temporary symbol" will be explained with reference to Figs. 105 and 106. Fig. 105 shows a distribution data table for "[TH_016] Manga SP_Title Change Notice" (variation number 16) as an example of a notice performance, and Fig. 106 shows a distribution data table for "[TH_016] Final Win/Loss Button Lottery" (variation number 32) as another example of a notice performance. Note that Figs. 105 and 106 show the distribution data table in a simplified form to make the temporary symbol easy to understand. The notice performance in Figs. 105 and 106 is an example of a notice performance that uses a "temporary symbol" as a lottery part, and the "temporary symbol" can be used as one of the lottery elements in other lottery processes as well.

First, we will explain the case of "[TH_016] Manga SP_Title Change Notice" (variation number 16) shown in Figure 105. This case is an example of a case where a "temporary design" is used alone when drawing the notice performance.

Figure 105 shows an example of a distribution data table for the "title change notice" that appears during a manga reach (SP reach type). The likelihood of winning in this title change notice is indicated by the text color of the title display, with the likelihood of winning increasing in the order of "white text < red text < gold text < special pattern", and special patterns (for example, rainbow display) are text colors that are treated as premium (guaranteed win effect) (see Note 2 in the figure). Also, the title change notice in this example is a notice effect that appears before the development of an SPSP reach (see Note 1 in the figure).

As can be seen from the figure, when the "temporary pattern" is a "miss", a text color with a lower winning expectation than the other temporary patterns has a higher winning probability. However, in this example, when the temporary pattern is a "high probability hit + revival" or a "normal hit + revival", the winning probability is the same (almost the same) as when it is a "miss". The reason for this is that when the temporary pattern is a "high probability hit + revival" or a "normal hit + revival", the jackpot is finally announced by the revival performance, so even if a text color with a lower winning expectation is selected, the player's expectation of winning is maintained until the end. Of course, when it is a "high probability hit + revival" and/or a "normal hit + revival", a text color with a higher winning expectation than a "miss" may be set to win with a higher probability. Also, when the "temporary pattern" is a "premium up hit", the appearance rate of the "special pattern" is higher than that of other temporary patterns.

In this example, the title change announcement appears before the SPSP reach develops (including those that only reach the SP reach), so if the provisional pattern is "prohibited from turning red or higher until development," "gold letters" and "special patterns," which have a higher chance of winning than red letters, are not selected and are prohibited from occurring.

Next, we will explain the case of "[TH_016] Final Win/Loss Button Lottery" (variation number 32) shown in Figure 106. This case is an example of a case where a "temporary pattern" is used in conjunction with other lottery parts when drawing a preview effect. Here, an example is shown of the allocation data table for the "Final Win/Loss Button Notice (Win/Loss Notification Effect)" that appears in the "Hades Special Reach (Step-Up SP Reach)".

This final win/loss button announcement is a player-participation type presentation that appears after a certain announcement presentation that unfolds during a reach presentation is executed. For example, it appears when an approach presentation result (the current game result) is announced after the step-up announcement has progressed to a specified stage (such as the final stage). Specifically, the pre-operation presentation is a button operation instruction presentation that encourages button operation (in this example, a "continuous press presentation" that encourages rapid button presses, or a "single press presentation (with button vibration/without button vibration)" that encourages a single press), and the post-operation presentation is a presentation that notifies the player of a win/loss result, indicating whether or not the player has won the jackpot (a miss). Note that the post-operation presentation (win/loss announcement presentation) here includes a revival presentation that notifies the player of a miss, and then notifies the player of a jackpot.

The final winning/losing button announcement suggests the likelihood of winning based on the content of the button operation effect, with the likelihood of winning increasing in the order of "repeated presses (no button vibration) < one hit (no button vibration) < one hit (with button vibration)" (see Note 3 in the illustration). In addition, "one hit (with button vibration)" is treated as a premium effect (guaranteed winning effect) (with a higher likelihood of winning than "red").

As can be seen from the diagram, if the "temporary symbol" is a "miss," then "Continuous Hits (without vibration)," which has a lower chance of winning than other temporary symbols, has a higher chance of winning. Also, since the final winning/losing button announcement in this example is an announcement effect that occurs after the "temporary symbol" has progressed to the final step-up stage, even if the "temporary symbol" is "prohibited from turning red or higher until it progresses," the occurrence of "One Hit (with button vibration)" (premium effect) is permitted without being restricted. Therefore, "One Hit (with button vibration)" has a higher chance of appearing than other temporary symbols.

In addition, when the provisional symbols are "Special Hit + Revival" and "Normal Hit + Revival", the appearance rate of "One Hit (with button vibration)" is set to a relatively low probability in consideration of the occurrence of the revival effect.

In FIG. 105 and FIG. 106, at least one of the provisional symbols "probable hit", "probable hit + revival", "normal hit" and "normal hit + revival" may be assigned a different distribution value, or at least two of them may be assigned the same (almost the same) distribution value. Also, at least one of the provisional symbols "probable hit", "probable hit + revival", "normal hit" and "normal hit + revival" may be assigned the same (almost the same) distribution value as the provisional symbol "miss".

As can be seen from the example of the performance selection in Figures 105 and 106 above, even if the result of the current game is a jackpot (the main symbol is a jackpot), if a "miss" has been determined as the "temporary symbol", a preview performance with a low probability of winning is likely to be selected, whereas if a winning symbol has been selected as the "temporary symbol", a preview performance with a high probability of winning is likely to be selected. For example, depending on the combination of the main symbol and the temporary symbol, it is possible to develop performances with the following tendencies of (1,000) to (1,000) 6.

(1,000) When the combination of "(real symbol), (temporary symbol)" is "probable win, miss", "normal win, miss" (when "(real win, miss), (temporary win, miss)" is the "win, miss" type)
The result of this game is a "jackpot", but the performance during the fluctuation tends to be similar to a miss (a jackpot, but in terms of performance, a low expectation notice performance is likely to appear, as in a miss). For example, the substance of the performance during the fluctuation is a "SP reach performance related to a jackpot", but a performance similar to a "SP reach related to a miss" is developed, and finally, a performance during the fluctuation that notifies the jackpot by a decorative stop pattern may be developed. In short, if the expected winning probability suggested by one or more preview effects related to the during-variation effect is "special chance hit, miss," there is a strong tendency for a during-variation effect to be developed which suggests a winning probability at least equal to or less than the "special chance hit, special chance hit"("hit,hit" type) described below, and if it is "normal hit, miss," there is a strong tendency for a during-variation effect to be developed which suggests a winning probability at least equal to or less than the "normal hit, normal hit"("hit,hit" type) described below.

(1,000 2) When the combination of "(real symbol), (temporary symbol)" is "probable win, probable win", "normal win, normal win" (when "(real win/miss), (temporary win/miss)" is a "win, win" type)
In this combination, contrary to the above (1,000, 1), the tendency is strong that the performance content during the fluctuation is unlikely to appear as if it is a miss (if it is a big hit, the performance content is likely to show a high expectation notice performance). In short, if the winning expectation suggested by one or more notice performances related to the fluctuation performance is "probable hit, probable hit", the tendency is strong that the fluctuation performance suggesting the winning expectation is at least equal to or greater than the above-mentioned "probable hit, miss"("hit,miss" type), and if it is "normal hit, normal hit", the tendency is strong that the fluctuation performance suggesting the winning expectation is at least equal to or greater than the later-described "normal hit, miss"("hit,miss" type).

(Thousand 3) When the combination of "(real symbol) and (temporary symbol)" is "probable win + revival, miss", or "normal win + revival, miss" (when "(real win, miss)" and "(temporary win, miss)" are "win, miss" types)
This combination is basically the same as the above-mentioned (1,000,000). The difference is that the revival effect always occurs during the variation effect. The revival effect may always occur, or may occur with a predetermined probability by lottery.

(Thousand 4) When the combination of "(real symbol), (temporary symbol)" is "probable win + revival, probable win + revival", "normal win _ revival, normal win _ revival" (when "(real win miss), (temporary win miss)" is a "win, win" type)
This combination is basically the same as the above-mentioned (1,000 2). The difference is that the revival effect can appear during the variation effect. The revival effect may be always appeared, or may be appeared with a predetermined probability by lottery.

(Thousand 5) When the combination of "(Main pattern) and (Temporary pattern)" is "Probable hit, Premium Up hit", "Normal hit, Premium Up hit" (when "(Main hit miss), (Temporary hit miss)" is a "Hit, Hit" type)
When the "temporary symbol" includes a "premium up win", the occurrence rate of a predetermined winning effect during the varying effect is set to be at least higher than that in the normal mode (default).

(Sen 6)) When the combination of "(Main pattern), (Temporary pattern)" is "Probable win, no red or more until development", "Normal win, no red or more until development" (when "(Main win, no miss), (Temporary win, no miss)" is a "win, win" type)
If the "temporary pattern" includes "no red or higher until development", a high expectation prediction (for example, winning expectation of 40% or more) will not appear at a specified timing during the variable performance. Therefore, for example, when an SPSP reach develops, the reserved K during game execution (see Figure 5A) can suddenly change to a display mode with a high winning expectation, or a hot prediction performance can occur after the development. Even if low expectation predictions occur frequently before the development, the player can enjoy the game by expecting a win in the subsequent developments (after the development).

Although not shown in FIG. 102, when an error preview variation (default (=TYPE0)) is selected, the preview variations "Main design", "Temporary design", "Revival", "Main win/miss", and "Temporary win/miss" are each set to information such as "None (no lottery)" (see the TYPE "0" column in FIG. 103 described below).

In this embodiment, the freedom of the presentation can be increased by having a lottery part called a "temporary pattern". In the past, when there was no lottery part called a "temporary pattern", the presentation content was likely to depend on the main pattern information (jackpot lottery result information), and when the main pattern was a "miss", only pre-notification presentations with low winning expectation tended to appear. For example, even if a high-expectation SP reach type (especially an SPSP reach) appears, if the accompanying pre-notification presentation has a low winning expectation, the expectation of a jackpot is significantly lost, and the game becomes like a game of simply consuming misses. In other words, if a pre-notification presentation with a high winning expectation does not appear, the result will be that only the presentation content of not winning a jackpot will be developed, the presentation will become monotonous, giving the player a sense of boredom and procrastination, and the fun of the game will be significantly reduced. In contrast, in this embodiment, even if a pre-notification presentation with a low winning expectation appears in combination, the player can enjoy the presentation with a sense of expectation of winning until the end of the game. In addition, in this lottery process, the value of the selection offset memory area used for the symbol lottery T1 to T5 (the selection offset value finally obtained in step SC24 in FIG. 71A) is a value based on the setting information of the main symbol information "TH_main symbol" (offset number 1) and the setting information (lottery flag information) of the "resurrection point" (offset number 252) obtained in the previous lottery process result. In other words, the type of "temporary symbol" and the like is determined at least depends on the main symbol information (see FIG. 85A to FIG. 89B), so a "temporary symbol" that is a "miss" is not selected randomly. Therefore, it is possible to generate an appropriate advance notice performance that matches the expected probability of winning the game result (jackpot lottery result), and the degree of freedom in the performance can be dramatically improved. This is an innovative point that has not been seen before.

In addition, in this embodiment, the effect lottery can be performed multiple times based on the result of the previous lottery process (including the time before the previous time), and the effect content is determined. In this embodiment, the effect scenario is not simply determined by a single effect lottery, or the next lottery process is performed independently of the result of the current lottery process (not based on the result of the current lottery process) and the effect elements (effect scenario elements) determined in each lottery process are combined to construct the final effect scenario.Instead, the final effect scenario is constructed using the lottery flag information of the lottery parts related to the result of the previous or previous lottery process, which increases the freedom of the effect and makes it possible to make the effect more diverse.It can also contribute to the efficiency of the effect processing (effect lottery processing).

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 71B, if any of TYPES 1 to 19 is determined to be the winning choice by the current lottery process (lottery process based on any of pattern lotteries T1 to T5: FIG. 85A to FIG. 89B), the lottery result (winning result) is set (step SC32), and the lottery flag parts setting process (step SC41), lottery reservation setting process (step SC42), and scenario setting process (step SC43) are executed in sequence.

(Regarding the lottery flag part setting process related to the current performance lottery (case where the lottery execution count number is 1): Step SC41 in FIG. 71B, FIG. 72)
After the process of step SC32 is completed, a lottery flag part setting process (step SC41) is executed.

72, in the lottery flag part setting process, first, lottery flag part information is obtained from the variation number table (FIG. 79) (step SE11), and it is determined whether or not the lottery flag part information exists (step SE12). Here, since the case where the current variation number is 1 is described, the following, which corresponds to the variation number 1 in the variation number table (FIG. 79), is obtained:
・"{ En_lot_dt_tbl001, En_lot_dt_parts001, En_lot_dt_lot001, NULL}, // [TH_004] Design lottery"
The lottery flag parts information (lottery flag parts information table specification information) is acquired from. The lottery flag parts information here is "En_lot_dt_parts001" as shown in the figure, and is not "NULL (no information)". Therefore, the determination result of step SE12 is NO, and the process proceeds to step SE13.

In step SE13, the "lottery flag parts information table" specified by the lottery flag parts information, specifically, as shown in FIG.
・"Parts setting data creation (［TH_004］ Design lottery)"
The number of lottery flag parts (maximum number of parts shown = 5) is obtained from the lottery flag part number storage area (step SE13).

Then, the part determination count is cleared (step SE14), and it is determined whether the part determination count is less than the value of the lottery flag parts number storage area (lottery flag parts number) (step SE15). Then, steps SE15 to SE20 are executed until the part determination count reaches the value of the lottery flag parts number storage area (lottery flag parts number) (processing route when step SE15 is NO).

As already explained, in the processing of steps SE16 to SE20, based on the judgment count number (the judgment count number used in the lottery processing of FIG. 71B (the judgment count number used in the processing of step SC28)) and the part judgment count number, the lottery flag information (lottery flag value) is obtained from the lottery flag part information table (here, "Part setting data creation ([TH_004] Pattern lottery)" shown in FIG. 93) (step SE18), and the value is set in the offset part memory area corresponding to the offset number (steps SE19, SE20).

In this lottery flag parts setting process, the acquired lottery flag information (lottery flag value) is set for each of the "main symbol", "temporary symbol", "main win/miss", "temporary win/miss" and "revival" for offset numbers 250, 251, 311, 312 and 507 shown in FIG. 93. The lottery flag values set for each of the winning types (prediction variation types) "TYPE 0 to 19" based on the lottery flag parts information table in FIG. 93 are as shown in FIG. 103. Note that TYPE 0 indicates the default (prediction variation for errors).

In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 93 or Figure 103, a common value is used for the common preview variations in different lottery parts. For example, a common lottery flag value of 0 to 5 is set for "none, miss, special chance hit, normal win, special chance hit + revival, normal win + revival" in the main pattern and the temporary pattern. The reason for this is as follows.

If a dedicated lottery flag value is used for each lottery part, for example, the lottery flag value for the preview variations of the main pattern is "0 to 5" for "none, miss, special chance hit, normal hit, special chance hit + revival, normal hit + revival" and the lottery flag value for the provisional pattern is "6 to 11" for "none, miss, special chance hit, normal hit, special chance hit + revival, normal hit + revival" for "none, miss, special chance hit, normal hit, special chance hit + revival, normal hit + revival" are managed with a dedicated value. If the preview variations of the main pattern are increased (for example, if the preview variations of the main pattern are increased and the corresponding lottery flag values are set to "0 to 7"), there may be cases where the lottery flag value used for the provisional pattern must be changed (the current "6 to 11" is changed to "8 to 13"). However, if common values are used as much as possible, as in this embodiment, the change can be minimized when the preview variations are increased. It is also possible to consider setting the lottery flag value for the main pattern to "0-5" and the lottery flag value for the temporary pattern to "6-11" to allow for some leeway in the event that the preview variations of the main pattern are increased (in this example, the unused values from 6 to 9 are used as the lottery flag value when the preview variations are increased), but if managed in this way, as the number of types of lottery parts increases, larger values (such as values of 100 or more) must be assigned to the lottery flag value, which would require changing the memory size of the variables used as storage areas (lottery flag setting value storage area, offset part storage area, etc.) depending on the lottery parts (requiring the declaration of the variable type), which would also put strain on data capacity.

In any case, as in this embodiment, it is preferable to configure some or all of the different lottery parts so that a common lottery flag value can be set, or to configure the memory size of the setting value to be common (it is possible to commonize the memory size of the lottery flag setting value storage area and/or offset part storage area between different lottery parts), thereby reducing the control burden. Note that it is also preferable to devise a way to set a common value for the lottery flag values set by other lottery flag information tables (for example, FIG. 92).

Then, when the lottery flag information has been set for each offset part number (step SE15: NO), the lottery flag part setting process is exited and the lottery reservation setting process (step SC42 in FIG. 71B) is executed.

(Regarding the lottery reservation setting process related to the current performance lottery (lottery execution count number = 1 case): (Step SC42 in FIG. 71B, FIG. 73)
When the lottery flag part setting process (step SC41) is completed, the lottery reservation setting process is then executed (step SC42).

73, in the lottery reservation setting process, first, the lottery call information is obtained from the variation number table (FIG. 79) (step SG11), and the presence or absence of the lottery call information is determined (step SG12). Here, the case where the current variation number is 1 (lottery execution count number=1) is described, so
・"{ En_lot_dt_tbl001, En_lot_dt_parts001, En_lot_dt_lot001, NULL}, // [TH_004] Design lottery"
The lottery call information is acquired from the lottery call information "En_lot_dt_lot001" as shown in FIG. 79. Therefore, in this case, the lottery call information is not "NULL (no information)". Therefore, the determination result of step SG12 is "NO", and the process proceeds to step SG13.

In step SG13, the "lottery call setting table" designated by the lottery call information acquired in step SG12 is selected. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
・"Create lottery call setting data (［TH_004］ Pattern lottery)"
The lottery call setting number (maximum number of reservations shown in the figure = 2) is obtained from the lottery call setting number storage area (step SG13).

Then, the call judgment count is cleared (step SG14), and it is determined whether the call judgment count is less than the value in the lottery call setting number storage area (lottery call setting number) (step SG15). The processing of steps SG15 to SG20 is repeated until the call judgment count reaches the value in the lottery call setting number storage area (step SG15: NO).

As already explained, in steps SG16 to SG20, based on the judgment count number (the judgment count number used in the lottery processing in FIG. 71B (the judgment count number used in the processing in step SC28)) and the call judgment count number, lottery reservation information is obtained from the lottery call setting table (here, "Lottery call setting data creation ([TH_004] Pattern lottery)" shown in FIG. 95) and set in the variation lottery reservation information storage area.

Specifically, as shown in the lottery call setting table of FIG. 93, according to the current call judgment count number 1, 2,
- Variation number 2: "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus"
- Variation number 3: [TH_273] Suddenly Lucky Patrol
The lottery reservation information is set in the variation lottery reservation information storage area.

In this lottery reservation setting process, the details of whether or not reservation information is set based on the winning type (TYPE 1-19) from the above pattern lotteries T1-T5 are as shown in Figure 104. This specifies what type of performance lottery will be executed in the next lottery start process (Figure 70). Details of ``[TH_272] Reunion Bonus'' (variation number 2) and ``[TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol'' (variation number 3), which are the targets of lottery reservation, will be described later, but these are preview performances that belong to the winning performances that definitely notify of a jackpot, and are mainly used as preview performances that notify of a sure-win jackpot. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to combine these effects, and if there is a lottery reservation for "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus", then ""[TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol" is set to not have a lottery reservation, and conversely, if there is a lottery reservation for "[TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol", then ""[TH_272] Reunion Bonus" is set to not have a lottery reservation. Of course, even if the effects notify the same or similar events, if the timing of occurrence is significantly different in the performance scenario or when it is desired to liven up the performance, a lottery process that allows for combined occurrence may be performed.

When all lottery reservation information has been set, the lottery reservation setting process is exited (step SG15: NO) and the above-mentioned scenario process (step SC43) is executed. Then, when the scenario setting process (step SC43) is completed, the current series of lottery processes (lottery process related to the "[TH_004] Pattern Lottery") ends, and the process returns to the lottery start process of FIG. 70 again.

Returning to the explanation of the lottery start process in FIG. 70, when the current lottery process (step SB40) is completed, step SB42 is executed and the lottery execution count number is updated from 1 to 2 (lottery execution count number + 1). After that, the process proceeds to step SB32 and the next lottery process (lottery process when the lottery execution count number is 2) is executed. Note that the process content from the next time onwards is essentially the same, with only differences in the various tables etc. that are referenced.

In this embodiment, in the next lottery process (lottery process related to lottery execution count number 2), lottery process related to "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus" of variation number 2 is executed (if lottery reservation has been made), and in the lottery process after next (lottery process related to lottery execution count number 3), lottery process related to "[TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol" of variation number 3 is executed (if lottery reservation has been made). Then, in each lottery reservation setting process (step SC42), if new lottery reservation information is set, lottery process based on that lottery reservation information is executed.

When the lottery execution count reaches the lottery data end value and all lottery processing has ended (step SB32; NO), the lottery start processing (Figure 70) is exited and processing proceeds to the lottery end variable initialization processing (step SA34) of Figure 67.

(Regarding processing for lottery execution count 2 and onward)
In addition, when the lottery execution count is 2, the variation reservation information storage area for variation number 2 (see FIG. 77A), i.e., whether or not the "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus" has been "reserved for lottery (lottery reservation available)" is determined (step SB35), and if it is "reserved for lottery," the lottery processing for "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus" is executed (step SB35: YES processing route).

The outline of the process for the lottery for the "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus" when the lottery is "reserved" is as follows:

If the result of the determination in step SB35 is YES (lottery reservation completed), in step SB36, the variation number table for variation number 2: "{ NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL}, // [TH_272] Reunion bonus" is
is obtained.

Since all of the information defined here (lottery table selection information, lottery flag parts information, lottery call information, scenario setting information) is "NULL (no information)," the result of the determination in step SB37 is YES, and the lottery table selection process (step SB41) is not executed, and the processes in steps SB38 and SB39 are executed in sequence.

In the process of step SB39, the lottery sheet number for the current lottery is obtained. Here, the variation number 2 in the sheet number storage table (FIG. 80) is referenced, and since the address information specified here is "0x0006", the lottery sheet number 6 in the sheet number table (FIGS. 81A to 81B) is obtained.
・ "0x0006, // [TH_272] Reunion Bonus"
This is obtained and specified as the lottery sheet number for the current lottery.

Then, the lottery execution process (step SB40) is executed.

Referring to Figures 71A to 71B, when the lottery execution process (step SB40) begins, a random number for the lottery is first obtained (steps SC11 to SC13).

Next, based on the lottery sheet number to be used in this lottery (here, lottery sheet number 6), the following lottery sheet information (see sheet number 6 in FIG. 81A) is entered:
・ "{En_lot_dt_off006, En_lot_dt_sht006}, // [TH_272] Reunion Bonus T1"
Gets the offset data table specified by .

Here, the offset data table specified by "En_lot_dt_off006" is, specifically,
・"Offset Data 006 ([TH_272] Reunion Bonus T1)"("En_lot_dt_off006")
Get the.

Next, based on the obtained offset data table, the processing of steps SC16 to SC24 is executed until the part determination count information becomes 0.

If the part judgment count information becomes 0 (step SC16: NO), proceed to processing of step SC25 in Figure 71B.

Next, the allocation data table specified by the lottery sheet information, specifically, as shown in FIG.
・ "Allocation 006 [TH_272] Reunion Bonus" (En_lot_dt_sht006)
Then, a lottery process is executed based on this allocation data table (steps SC27 to SC31).

In addition, in the lottery process related to the "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus" (hereinafter abbreviated as "Reunion Bonus"), as can be seen from FIG. 90, a lottery is performed using main symbol (TH_Main Symbol) information. In other words, depending on the preview performance that is the subject of the lottery, the lottery process (performance lottery) may be performed based only on command information from the main control unit 20, without using lottery flag information.

The "reunion bonus" according to this embodiment belongs to the button operation presentation (player participation presentation), and depending on the presentation result (success presentation/failure presentation), it is announced whether the current game result is a special jackpot (success presentation) or a normal jackpot (failure presentation). In this embodiment, the reunion bonus is generated as a promotion presentation, and if the current game result is a special jackpot, a success presentation is generated and a special jackpot pattern is displayed statically, and if it is a normal jackpot, a failure presentation is generated and a normal jackpot pattern is displayed statically. Therefore, if the main pattern is a "miss", the reunion bonus itself does not appear (see the "miss" column in the figure). Note that when the reunion bonus appears, the expectation of promotion to a special jackpot increases, and if the presentation button 13 vibrates, the expectation increases further (see the allocation value in the figure).

When the lottery process for the reunion bonus is completed (step SC29: NO), the result of this lottery process (lottery result) is set in the scenario data memory area (step S32), and the lottery flag parts setting process (step SC41), lottery reservation setting process (step SC42), and scenario setting process (step SC43) are executed in sequence.

As already explained, all table designation information in the variation number table (Figure 79) referenced in this lottery is set to "NULL (no information)" (see the column corresponding to variation number 2 in Figure 79).

As a result, after step SC32 is completed, the "lottery flag part setting process (step SC41)", "lottery reservation setting process (step SC42)", and "scenario setting process (step SC43)" are not executed, and the current lottery process ends. In other words, no lottery flag information based on the results of this lottery process is set. Therefore, the results of this lottery for the "reunion bonus" will not be used in subsequent lottery processes, and no memory area for the "reunion bonus" is provided in the offset parts memory area (see Figures 76A to 76D).

Note that for performance types that do not have lottery flag information set in the offset parts memory area itself, such as the "Reunion Bonus" in this case, these are not used in other lottery processes other than those at the start of fluctuation, such as the performance lottery for when a prize is won (step SA19 in FIG. 66) or the performance lottery for when reserves are subtracted (step SA16 in FIG. 66). The lottery results themselves are stored as performance scenario data in step SC32 during the lottery execution process shown in FIG. 71B, and are used when constructing the performance scenario for the fluctuation performance related to this game.

As for the lottery processing for the next lottery execution count 3 (variation number 3) for "[TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol," all lottery sheet information is "NULL (no information)" (see the column corresponding to variation number 3 in Figure 79), so the processing method is the same as for the above-mentioned "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus."

In the case of the lottery process related to the lucky patrol, the table for variation number 3 is "{ NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL}, // [TH_273 [Sudden Lucky Pat"
is obtained (steps SB32 to SB35 in FIG. 70, FIG. 79).

And the lottery sheet information for this lottery is lottery sheet number 7, "{En_lot_dt_off007, En_lot_dt_sht007}, // [TH_273 [Sudden Lucky Pat T1"
(see the process route in which the determination result at step SB37 in FIG. 70 is YES, variation number 3 in FIG. 80 (shown as "0x0007"), the column corresponding to sheet number 7 in FIG. 81A, etc.).

The offset data table specified by this lottery sheet information is shown in FIG.
・"Offset data 007 ([TH_273] Suddenly Lucky Patrol T1)" (En_lot_dt_off007)
The allocation data table specified by the lottery sheet information is as shown in FIG.
・"Sudden Lucky Patrol 007 [TH_273]" (En_lot_dt_sht007)
Therefore, a lottery process is executed based on this allocation data table "Allocation 007 [TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol" (steps SC27 to SC31).

In the lottery process for "[TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol" (hereafter abbreviated as "Lucky Patrol"), as can be seen from FIG. 91, a lottery is executed using the lottery flag information of the "provisional symbol". This "Lucky Patrol" belongs to the winning effect, and in this embodiment, it is mainly a notice effect that notifies the player that a sure-win jackpot has been reached before the game result is derived. For example, there is no sound effect, and it is a flash-type effect in which a specific LED for the effect briefly lights up. The occurrence timings include when the game starts (when the variable display starts), a specified timing after the variable display and before the reach, when the hand is ready (when the reach state is established), a specified timing during the reach, and when the final reach result is derived (when the symbol stops). Since the Lucky Patrol is a performance that definitely notifies the player of a guaranteed jackpot, the Lucky Patrol lottery is only executed if the "main symbol" in the previous lottery process results (symbol lotteries T1 to T5 in Figures 85A to 88B) is a guaranteed jackpot, as shown in Figure 104 (see TYPES 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 in Figure 104).

Note that "TYPE 12" (when the "temporary symbol" is "prohibited from turning red or more until development") also allows the occurrence of Lucky Patrol, but as already explained, when the "temporary symbol" is "prohibited from turning red or more until development", not all high expectancy predictions are prohibited, but rather, certain prediction effects (here, Lucky Patrol) are allowed to occur. Of course, when the "temporary symbol" is "prohibited from turning red or more until development", it is also possible to prohibit pre-emptive winning effects such as Lucky Patrol. In this case, in the process of setting the lottery reservation information, the reunion bonus of TYPE 12 is set to "lottery reservation available", and the Lucky Patrol is set to "lottery reservation not available".

Incidentally, like the "Reunion Bonus" above, all table designation information in the variation number table (Figure 79) for Lucky Patrol is "NULL (no information)" (see the column corresponding to variation number 3 in Figure 79). Therefore, the processes that follow step SC32, the "lottery flag parts setting process (step SC41)", "lottery reservation setting process (step SC42)", and "scenario setting process (step SC43)", are not executed, and the current lottery process ends. In other words, no lottery flag information based on the results of this lottery process is set.

However, since the lottery flag information for Lucky Patrol may be used in the lottery for the pre-reading notice in the winning lottery process (step SA19 in FIG. 66), a dedicated memory area is provided in the offset parts memory area (see offset number 309 in FIG. 76C). In the lottery process for the current game (performance during fluctuation) (lottery process at the start of fluctuation) like Lucky Patrol, the result is not used (meaning it will not be used in the lottery process from the next time onwards) but is used in a separate lottery process (lottery process when winning or lottery process when subtracting reserved points), a dedicated memory area is provided in the offset parts memory area. In this respect, it differs from the above-mentioned "reunion bonus", which does not have a dedicated memory area in the offset parts memory area.

The above describes the lottery processing when the lottery execution count is 1 to 3, but the remaining lottery processing is essentially the same, with only differences in the table information referenced. After all lottery processing is completed (step SB32 in FIG. 70: NO), the lottery start processing is exited and the lottery start variable initialization processing (step SA34) in FIG. 67 is executed.

(Lottery End Variable Initialization Process (Step SA34): FIG. 75)
Next, the lottery start variable initialization process (step SA34) will be described. Fig. 75 is a flow chart showing the details of the lottery end variable initialization process. In the lottery end variable initialization process, the work area used in the current game is initialized (cleared) to secure the work area required for the next game.

In FIG. 75, the performance control unit 24 (CPU 241) first initializes the lottery flag information in the offset parts area as the specified work area used in the current lottery processing (step SX11), and then initializes the lottery reservation information information in the lottery reservation information storage area (step SX12). It also initializes other necessary work areas (step SX13). This ensures a work area necessary for the performance lottery processing of the variable performance for the next game. However, the work area related to the look-ahead notice is not initialized in the variable initialization processing at the start of the lottery. This is because the performance lottery processing information related to the look-ahead notice includes information that will be used in the future.

As a result, the current lottery process at the start of fluctuation is exited, and the process returns to the command reception process in FIG. 66, where steps SA14 and after of the same process are executed.

As already explained, this embodiment is innovative in that it is devised to prioritize the lottery for the effect that should be decided first, preventing unnecessary effect lotteries from being executed multiple times, thereby reducing the control burden. Below, we will explain the execution order of effect lotteries (the storage order of various effect lotteries in the variation lottery reservation information storage area), which is closely related to the present invention, while touching on the relationships between the effect lotteries.

For example, when deciding on a performance content (performance scenario) such as "if performance A is executed, performance B will not be executed," if a lottery for performance A is executed after a lottery for performance B is executed, performance B will not be executed if it is decided to execute performance A, and the lottery for performance B executed earlier will become meaningless. In contrast, if a lottery for performance A is executed first and the lottery result is that performance A will be executed, then by setting the lottery for performance B to "no lottery reservation," it will be possible to avoid executing a lottery for performance B every time, thereby making the lottery process more efficient. In this way, basically, the performance content (preview variations) such as the core preview performances are drawn by lottery first, and the detailed performance content is decided based on the lottery results.

In more detail, in cases where there is a correlation (organic correlation) between multiple effects in terms of whether or not there are lottery reservations, specifically, in cases where the lotteries for effects have a relationship in which the result of the lottery for effect A (whether or not effect A is performed or the content of the preview variation of effect A) affects whether or not effect B is performed or the content of the preview variation of effect B, the lottery for the core effect A is executed with priority.

In this embodiment, by setting lottery reservation information according to the result of the current lottery, it is possible to determine whether or not to execute lotteries for other subsequent effects, which prevents unnecessary lottery processing from being executed, thereby contributing to reducing the control burden and improving the efficiency of the effect lottery processing. Note that the order of execution of multiple effect lotteries can be configured as follows.

(01) When the winning expectation is "Performance A>Performance B", the lottery for performance A (high expectation) can be performed first, and then the lottery for performance B (low expectation) can be performed. This configuration is also suitable for cases where a performance scenario such as "Performance B will not be performed if performance A is performed" is determined, for example, when a high expectation performance or premium performance (winning performance) is performed, one or more low expectation preview performances are restricted (prohibited), and the execution of low expectation performance B is restricted when high expectation performance A is performed. In this configuration, the presence or absence of the execution of a performance with a relatively high winning expectation and the performance content (preview variation) are first selected, and depending on the result of the selection, it is possible to determine whether or not to perform a lottery for other performances (the presence or absence of lottery reservation information for the lottery for performance B is set depending on the result of the selection for performance A), thereby improving the efficiency of the performance selection process.

(02) In the case where performance A is executed first in the chronological order in the variable performance, the lottery for performance A can be executed first, and then the lottery for performance B can be executed. In other words, it is a lottery form in which the execution order of the lottery process for each performance is determined according to the "execution order of the performance" (the chronological execution order in the performance scenario). This configuration creates an organic relationship between the execution order of the performance and the execution order of the lottery process (for example, the lottery process for the performance (preview variation) can be executed in a manner synchronized with the execution order of the performance), which can contribute to the ease of designing the performance lottery process and the efficiency of the performance lottery process. For example, it is suitable for determining a performance scenario system (when performing lottery processing) that gradually produces a preview performance with a high expectation of winning as the performance time progresses. As with the above (01), it is possible to configure the presence or absence of lottery reservation information for the lottery for performance B to be set according to the lottery process result for performance A.

(03) Contrary to (02) above, it can be configured so that the lottery for effect B (which is executed later in the execution order of the effect) is executed first, and then the lottery for effect A (which is executed first in the execution order of the effect). As with (02) above, this configuration also creates an organic relationship between the execution order of the effects and the execution order of the lottery process, which can contribute to the ease of designing the effect lottery process and to the efficiency of the effect lottery process. Specifically, this is suitable for determining the content of the effect (when performing the lottery process) for the second effect (effect A) executed in the first half of the effect time (within the second effect period before the first effect period) (when performing the lottery process) so that the winning expectation of the first effect (effect B) executed in the second half of the effect time (within the first effect period) is the highest and does not become higher than that.

(04) When the effect lottery process is executed according to the execution order of the effects, as in (02) and (03) above, it can be configured as follows.

(Zero 4A) In a lottery where the execution order of the effects is a "later effect," the preview variations include effects with a high probability of winning (for example, gold, rainbow colors, special patterns, etc. (which may include effects that notify a winner)), and in a lottery where the execution order of the effects is an "early effect," the preview variations do not include such effects.

(Zero 4B) The order of performance of the performance can be configured to make it easier to select an allocation data table in which the selection rate of a preview variation (performance content) with a high expectation of winning is lower when compared to a "later performance" (an allocation data table in which allocation values are set so that the selection rate of a preview variation with a high expectation is relatively low).

The above contents of (01) to (04) may be configured to be applied in the relationship between "specific effect lotteries" (however, between at least two effect lotteries relating to the same game state) stored in the variation lottery reservation information storage area, or may be configured to be applied to all effect lotteries (however, effect lotteries relating to the same game state). When applied to all effects, the storage order of the effect lotteries in the variation lottery reservation information storage area (Figures 77A to 77D) will be stored in the order in which the effects are actually executed (or the reverse of the execution order). When applied to all effects (however, by game state), rather than storing in a manner corresponding to the order in which the effects are actually executed (or the reverse), for example, the execution order of the effects may be configured so that the effects stored in the latter half of the variation lottery reservation information storage area are executed earlier or later than the effects stored in the first half. For example, if there are "Performance A, Performance B, Performance C, Performance D" and the performances are to be executed in that order, the lottery for performance C and performance D (performances that are relatively later in the execution order) may be stored on the upstream side (the side with the relatively smaller variation number) of the variation lottery reservation information storage area, and the lottery for performance A and performance B (performances that are relatively earlier in the execution order) may be stored on the downstream side (the side with the relatively larger variation number).

The above-mentioned "specific performance lotteries" may be applied by focusing on at least two performance lotteries (for example, variation numbers 6 and 9, variation numbers 5, 6, and 7, etc.) in consideration of the execution order of the performances, the contents of the performances, and the overall performance scenario (series of performance scenarios) (in the case of this embodiment, it can be applied to at least two of the lotteries shown in Figures 77A to 77D). For example, in the case where "performance A, which is executed first (or later) in the performance execution order" and "performance B, which is executed later (or earlier) in the performance execution order" are considered as "specific performance lotteries", it is preferable to apply to performance lotteries that have a relationship (organic relationship) between performance A and performance B in the presence or absence of the above-mentioned lottery reservation between performances A and B. In addition, which of the lottery for performance A and the lottery for performance B is executed first may be appropriately determined according to the respective performance contents of performance A and performance B. For example, as already explained, in the case where "performance B is not executed when performance A is executed", the lottery for performance A may be configured to be executed first.

In addition, the number of specific performance lotteries is not limited to one pair, but may be multiple pairs (for example, "performance A and performance B" are the first group performance lotteries, and "performance C and performance D" are the second group performance lotteries). In this case, there is no correlation between the first group performance lotteries and the second group performance lotteries in terms of the execution order of the performances, whether or not there is a lottery reservation. However, if the first group performance lotteries are a group of performances that are executed earlier in the chronological order, for example, if the first group performance lotteries belong to the preview performances that are executed before the reach, and the second group performance lotteries belong to the preview performances that are executed after the reach, it is preferable that the storage order of the variation lottery reservation information storage area is determined to take into account the execution order of the performances, so that the first group performance lotteries are executed with priority over the second group performance lotteries (the lottery for "performance A and performance B" is stored so that it is executed with priority over the lottery for "performance C and performance D").

In addition, if there is a correlation between the first group performance lotteries and the second group performance lotteries in terms of whether or not a lottery reservation has been made, the above-mentioned relationships (01) to (04) can be applied. For example, in the case of (04A) above, the lottery for "Performance C and Performance D" between the second group performance lotteries (the performance group whose performance is executed later) can be configured to include performance content with a high expectation of winning as a preview variation, and the lottery for "Performance A and Performance B" between the first group performance lotteries (the performance group whose performance is executed earlier) can be configured not to include the performance content with a high expectation of winning. Similarly, for the other (01) to (03), it can be applied so that the first group performance lotteries and the second group performance lotteries have the relationships (01) to (03).

(Zero 5) In addition, when comparing the number of types of lottery parts (first number of lottery parts) obtained by the performance lottery that is stored earlier (the one with the relatively smaller variation number) with the number of types of lottery parts (second number of lottery parts) obtained by the performance lottery that is stored later (the one with the relatively larger variation number), it is preferable that the relationship be "first number of lottery parts > second number of lottery parts." This is because the more lottery parts obtained by the performance lottery that is executed earlier, the more possible they are to be used in more performance lotteries, and by using more lottery parts, it is possible to determine a wide variety of performance contents (preview variations).

(Zero 6) Also, a lottery for a preview performance that is not related to the presence or absence of a lottery reservation for other performances (a lottery result that does not affect other performance lotteries) may be configured to be executed with priority over lotteries for other preview performances. For example, the lottery results for "[TH_272] Reunion Bonus" (Figure 90) of variation number 2, "[TH_273] Sudden Lucky Patrol" (Figure 105) of variation number 3, and "[TH_011] Gravure SP_Winning or Losing Button Change Notice" (not shown) of variation number 8 are not used in other performance lotteries, so in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 77A, they are stored to be executed with priority over other preview lotteries (the storage order in the variation lottery reservation information storage area is stored upstream of lotteries for other preview performances).

(Zero 7) Also, when there is an effect that develops into a later stage, such as an SP reach, it is preferable to set it so that the lottery for the effect before the development and the lottery for the effect after the development are executed consecutively. This contributes to the ease of designing the effect lottery process and to the efficiency of the effect lottery process. For example, as in the "Gravure SP" of variation numbers 8 to 17 shown in Figure 77A (reach category "SP2": see Figure 99A, etc.), it is set so that the lottery for the effects related to the Gravure SP is executed consecutively. Note that the effect contents of the "Gravure SP" of variation numbers 8 to 17 have the following relationship.

(G1) Variation number 9, "[TH_012] Gravure SP_Tenpai Line Change", is a lottery (final tenpai line number lottery) that determines the final number of tenpai lines (for example, 4 to 7 lines). Note that the final number of tenpai lines is a preview variation that is determined according to the provisional symbol type.

(G2) Variation number 10, "[TH_105] Gravure SP_Line change scenario", is a lottery (line change scenario lottery) to determine the performance scenario (line change scenario) when forming the final number of ready lines. For example, if the final number of lines is 4, the performance of step lines CU1 to CU7 is performed to increase or not increase the number of ready lines by 1, and the final number of ready lines is displayed at the final step SU7. The line change scenario is a performance that goes through 7 steps (step lines CU1 to CU7) to display the final ready line, and is a preview variation that is determined based on the lottery result of "[TH_012] Gravure SP_Tenpai line change".

(Gu3) Variation numbers 11 to 17 are lottery entries (lottery for increasing the number of tenpai lines) regarding at what stage during the line change scenario (step lines CU1 to CU7) the number of tenpai lines will be increased.Whether or not the number of tenpai lines will be increased is a preview variation that is determined based on the results of the lottery in "[TH_105] Gravure SP_Line Change Scenario."

Therefore, the relationship between the draws for each of the "Gravure SP" effects is as follows: The draw result (final number of ready lines) for variation number 9, "[TH_012] Gravure SP_Tenpai Line Change" affects the draw for variation number 10, "[TH_105] Gravure SP_Line Change Scenario", and the draw result for variation number 10, "[TH_105] Gravure SP_Line Change Scenario" affects the draws for variation numbers 11 to 17 (the effects increasing the number of ready lines) (this is the case where each effect is related to whether or not a draw reservation has been made (there is a relationship between the above-mentioned "specific effect draws").

In the case of this "Gravure SP," variation number 9, "[TH_012] Gravure SP_Tempai Line Change," is the lottery related to the core performance, and is set to be executed with the highest priority over other lotteries (variation number 10 and variation numbers 11 to 17) (as shown in Figure 77A, the storage order of the variation lottery reservation information storage area is set to be upstream of variation numbers 10 to 17).

Note that variation number 8, "[TH_011] Gravure SP_Winning/Loss Prompt Button Change Announcement", is an effect related to the Gravure SP, but since the lottery itself is not affected by the lottery results related to other Gravure SPs, and the lottery results are not used for lotteries related to other Gravure SPs, it is exceptionally executed in priority to variation number 9, "[TH_012] Gravure SP_Tempai Line Change". This "[TH_011] Gravure SP_Winning/Loss Prompt Button Change Announcement" belongs to a player participation type effect that uses an effect button to notify the game result (final effect result of the Gravure SP), and the effect content (announcement variation) determined by this lottery is substantially the same as the effect content of "[TH_016] Final Winning/Loss Button Lottery" (variation number 32) in FIG. 106. Additionally, the preview variations for this lottery will be determined by the provisional designs listed above, just like the "[TH_016] Final Win/Loss Button Lottery."

For effects that have a relationship like the gravure SP described above, it is preferable to determine the storage order in the variation lottery reservation information storage area so that the effect lotteries are executed continuously. Examples of effects that have a similar relationship to the gravure SP include the above-mentioned underworld reach series, event reach series, and special reach series. For example, as shown in Figures 77A to 77B, the related effect lotteries are stored consecutively in the case of "Normal via ZERO reach" belonging to the event reach series, in variation numbers 5 to 7, in the case of "Manga SP reach" in variation numbers 18 to 21, in the case of "Underworld SP reach" belonging to the underworld reach series, in variation numbers 23 to 28 (Underworld SP series), and in the case of "Underworld SP SP reach" (Underworld SP reach development destination), in variation numbers 33 to 35. The same phenomenon also exists for other preview lotteries. For example, for effects related to the normal state, there are variation numbers 42-51 (favorite type preview), variation numbers 52-56 (prediction type preview), variation numbers 111-113 (post-reach button type preview), variation numbers 114-116 (reach voice (audio) type preview), and variation numbers 171-185 (decorative pattern effect). The relationship between the "Medieval SP Reach" (variation numbers 23-28) and "Medieval SPSP Reach" (variation numbers 33-35) belonging to the Medieval reach type corresponds to the relationship between the "first group of performance lotteries" and the "second group of performance lotteries". In this embodiment, as with the execution order of the effects, the performance of the "Medieval SP Reach" side before the development is executed with priority over the "Medieval SPSP Reach" side to which it will develop.

(Zero 6) Incidentally, the lottery for "preview-influencing variations" such as the above-mentioned "tentative symbols" (for example, the "[TH_004] symbol lottery") affects the occurrence rate of the preview performance and the determination of the performance content (preview variation), so it is preferable to set it so that it is executed with priority over the lottery for the preview performance (so that it comes first in the lottery execution order) in order to make the performance lottery processing more efficient.

In addition, since preview influence variations are referenced relatively frequently in other performance lotteries, it is preferable to set up lotteries relating to preview influence variations to be executed in priority over lotteries relating to preview performances. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 77A, the lottery for sub-variations, which can be said to be the basis for realizing the performance during variation (variation number 0, ``[TH_001] sub-variation pattern'') is executed first, then the lottery for preview influence variations (variation number 1, ``[TH_004] pattern lottery'') is executed, and after that, lotteries for various preview performances are executed.

However, performance lotteries that do not require reference to a specific preview influence variation (lotteries related to "preview performances and/or preview influence variations") may be configured to be executed with priority over lotteries related to that specific preview influence variation. For example, preview performances and other preview influence variations that do not require reference to the lottery results of the "[TH_004] Pattern Lottery" may be configured to be executed with priority over the "[TH_004] Pattern Lottery."

When there are multiple lotteries for forecast impact variations (hereinafter referred to as "forecast impact variation lotteries"), it is preferable to determine which forecast impact variation lottery to prioritize.

(Shadow 1) Priority is given to the preview influence variation lottery whose results are used (referenced) relatively more frequently in other performance lotteries. For example, if there is a "first preview influence variation lottery" and a "second preview influence variation lottery," and the results of the "second preview influence variation lottery" are referenced more frequently in other performance lotteries than the results of the "first preview influence variation lottery," the second preview influence variation lottery is configured to be executed with priority over the first preview influence variation lottery.

(Shadow 2) If the number of times the lottery results are referenced is the same, there is no restriction on the order in which the lotteries are executed, and it can be determined as appropriate which preview influence variation lottery is executed first.

(Shadow 3) It is preferable to configure the lottery for any preview influence variation to be executed with priority over the lottery for the preview performance.

(War 2: Variations of the customization function)
In this embodiment, the above-mentioned "Premium Up", "Seven Counter" and "Revival Performance Appearance Rate Up" are used as customization functions. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and customization functions such as (F1) to (F3) below can be used.

(F1) The above-mentioned "simple mode" can be adopted. As already explained, "simple mode" (when simple mode is ON) is a presentation state (specific preview performance appearance rate change mode) in which the appearance rate of specific preview performance is low or does not appear at all compared to normal mode.

(Ka2) A customization function (pre-reading prediction mode) for the pre-reading prediction can be adopted. In the pre-reading prediction mode, for example, when a pre-reading prediction (which may be one or more specific pre-reading predictions, or may be a full pre-reading prediction) appears, the winning expectancy of the pattern change display game for the activated reserved ball that is the target of the pre-reading prediction increases (when the pre-reading prediction mode is ON, the winning expectancy increases at least more than in normal mode).

(F3) A "winning notification mode" can be adopted in which, when an activated reserved ball occurs (even if it is an over-winning) during a pattern changing display game in progress, a specific effect (announcement effect) is generated using at least one of sound effects, light effects, image display effects, and movable body effects. In the winning notification mode, when an announcement effect occurs, the probability of winning in the pattern changing display game increases (when the winning notification mode is ON, the probability of winning is at least higher than in normal mode).

(As a customization function, modified versions of the above-mentioned pre-reading prediction mode and the winning notification mode, and the lottery process when these modified versions are provided)
In the above-mentioned look-ahead notice mode, the degree of increase in the winning expectation rate when the look-ahead notice occurs can be changed in stages. For example, 50%, 70%, 99%, etc. In the case of a customization function that can set such a plurality of stages of winning expectation rate, the setting information of the customization function is set to "0" for 50%, "1" for 70%, and "2" for 99%, and the maximum value of the offset parts is set to the number of stages, that is, when three stages of 50%, 70%, and 99% can be set, the maximum value of the offset parts can be set to "3". Then, a table number based on the setting information etc. related to the look-ahead notice mode (see FIG. 96, FIG. 101, etc.) can be obtained, and a lottery process (a pattern lottery process similar to FIG. 85A to FIG. 89B related to "Premium Up", "Seven Counter", and "Revival Performance Appearance Rate UP") can be executed.

If the winning expectation can be set in stages for the winning notification mode as well, similar to (Ka4) above, the setting information for the customization function and the maximum value of the offset parts can be determined, and a table number based on these values can be obtained, allowing the lottery process (the same pattern lottery process as in Figures 85A to 89B) to be executed.

The table numbers (table numbers shown in Figs. 96 and 101) that may be obtained when the above-mentioned look-ahead preview mode and winning time notification mode are adopted may be any of table numbers 1 to 5 related to "Premium Up", "Seven Counter", and "Increased Rate of Appearance of Revival Effects", or a dedicated table number may be provided separately. When a dedicated table number is provided, a dedicated distribution data table different from the distribution data table shown in Figs. 85A to 89B is provided to configure the lottery process to be executable, and the lottery flag parts setting process in Fig. 72 and the lottery reservation setting process in Fig. 73 may be configured to be executable in the same way as when the above-mentioned "Premium Up", "Seven Counter", and "Increased Rate of Appearance of Revival Effects" of this embodiment are provided, and the purpose of the look-ahead preview mode and winning time notification mode (gradual change in the probability of winning due to the customization function) may be achieved.

In the present invention, it is possible to determine as appropriate whether or not a customization function is provided, and if a customization function is provided, what kind of customization can be set. In other words, the gaming machine may have no customization function, or may adopt at least one customization function, such as "Premium Up," "Seven Counter," "Increased Rate of Revival Performance Appearance," "Simple Mode," "Prediction Notice Mode," and "Winning Notice Mode."

The present invention can have the following configurations (H1) to (H12). Note that the elements in parentheses correspond to the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these.

<Configuration (H1)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery (e.g., a jackpot lottery);
A performance control means (for example, a performance control unit 24) for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means includes:
A random number generating means for generating random numbers within a predetermined range;
A random number acquisition means for acquiring a value obtained by correcting the random number acquired from the random number generation means as a random number value for effect lottery (a random number value corrected by a predetermined correction process: a practical random number value);
and a performance lottery means for executing a performance lottery regarding the performance content in the performance,
The effect lottery means is configured to be able to execute the effect lottery using the effect lottery random number value,
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H2)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means is configured to execute a lottery process using predetermined reference information a plurality of times for the performance content of the performance, and to determine the performance to be executed;
The reference information includes first reference information (e.g., lottery reservation information) determined before the current lottery process (e.g., lottery process when the execution count number=N (N≧0)) is executed, and second reference information (e.g., lottery flag information) determined by the current lottery process,
The second reference information is referred to in the next (or subsequent) lottery process (for example, the lottery process when the execution count number is N+1) to determine the content of the performance.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H3)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means is configured to execute a lottery process multiple times for the performance content of the performance to determine the performance to be executed,
A lottery call setting table (e.g., FIG. 94A to FIG. 94B, FIG. 95, etc.) is provided in which reservation information regarding the execution of the lottery process is stored;
A reservation information setting process is executed to set the reservation information by referring to the lottery call setting table based on the result of the current lottery process,
In the reservation information setting process, when the reservation information has a predetermined value, the execution of the lottery process from the next time onwards is reserved (for example, FIG. 73).
The gaming machine is characterized by the above.

<Configuration (H4)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A presentation control means for controlling a presentation-based decorative pattern game including a variable display of the decorative pattern;
A gaming machine equipped with
The performance control means performs a performance process related to the decorative symbol game,
Based on the result of the winning lottery (for example, main variation information), a decorative pattern variation pattern lottery process is included for determining a variation display pattern (sub-variation) of the decorative pattern, a first notice lottery process is included for determining a first notice performance, and a second notice lottery process is included for determining a second notice performance,
Execute a first notice information setting process for setting execution information of the first notice lottery process based on the result of the decorative pattern variation pattern lottery process;
A second advance notice information setting process is configured to be able to execute the second advance notice lottery process by setting execution information of the second advance notice lottery process based on the result of the first advance notice lottery process.
A gaming machine characterized by:
The "decorative pattern change pattern lottery process" corresponds to the lottery process relating to sub-changes ("[TH_001] sub-change pattern" in Figure 77A, Figures 84A to 84B).
Also, the "first advance notice lottery process" and the "second advance notice lottery process" correspond to various lottery processes described in Figures 77A to 77D, depending on the sequence of the lottery (whether it is the current performance lottery or the next (including the next and subsequent) performance lottery). For example, they correspond to lotteries related to symbols ("TH_004" Pattern Lottery in Figure 77A, Figures 87A to 89B), lotteries related to re-formation bonuses ("TH_272" Re-formation Bonus in Figure 77A, Figure 90), lotteries related to sudden lucky patrols ("TH_273" Sudden Lucky Patrol in Figure 77A, Figure 91), etc.

<Configuration (H5)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A presentation control means for controlling a presentation-based decorative pattern game including a variable display of the decorative pattern;
A gaming machine equipped with
The performance control means performs a performance process related to the decorative symbol game,
Based on the result of the winning lottery (for example, main variable information), a decorative pattern lottery process for determining a variable display pattern of the decorative pattern and a notice lottery process for determining a notice performance to be executed based on the result of the decorative pattern lottery process are configured to be executable;
The advance notice lottery process includes at least a first advance notice lottery process, a second advance notice lottery process, and a third advance notice lottery process,
Executing an execution information setting process (for example, FIG. 73) for setting execution information for the third advance notice lottery process according to a result of the first advance notice lottery process;
execute the third advance notice lottery process after the second advance notice lottery process is completed;
A gaming machine characterized by:
The "decorative pattern change pattern lottery process" corresponds to the lottery process relating to sub-changes ("[TH_001] sub-change pattern" in Figure 77A, Figures 84A to 84B).
In addition, the "first notice lottery process,""second notice lottery process," and "third notice lottery process" correspond to the various lottery processes described in Figures 77A to 77D.

<Configuration (H6)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A presentation control means for controlling a presentation-based decorative pattern game including a variable display of the decorative pattern;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means performs a performance process related to the decorative symbol game,
A performance determination process (for example, SC27 to SC31 in FIG. 71B) that executes a plurality of lottery processes to determine a performance to be executed;
A reference information setting process (e.g., FIG. 72 ) for setting predetermined reference information (e.g., lottery flag information) required for the lottery process;
A reference information setting table (for example, FIG. 92 to FIG. 94B) is provided in which a plurality of pieces of reference information are stored;
The reference information setting process is configured to be executed by using the reference information setting table based on a result of the lottery process.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H6A)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A presentation control means for controlling a presentation-based decorative pattern game including a variable display of the decorative pattern;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means is configured to execute a plurality of lottery processes to determine a performance to be executed during the decorative symbol game,
In the current lottery process, a reference information setting process (e.g., FIG. 72) can be executed to set predetermined reference information (e.g., lottery flag information) required for the next and subsequent lottery processes.
The reference information setting process sets the reference information based on the lottery result of the current lottery process using a reference information setting table (e.g., FIGS. 92 to 94B) in which a plurality of pieces of reference information are stored (e.g., FIG. 72).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H7)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A presentation control means for controlling a presentation-based decorative pattern game including a variable display of the decorative pattern;
A gaming machine equipped with
The performance control means performs the performance processing related to the decorative symbol game,
A performance determination process (for example, SC27 to SC31 in FIG. 71B) that executes a lottery process multiple times to determine the performance to be executed;
A reference information setting process (e.g., FIG. 72 ) for setting predetermined reference information (e.g., lottery flag information) required for the lottery process;
The lottery process includes a plurality of lottery processes with different lottery objects (for example, FIGS. 84A to 91 ),
The reference information can be referenced in the plurality of lottery processes (for example, the “temporary symbol” of the lottery flag information can be referenced in the plurality of lottery processes such as FIG. 91, FIG. 105, and FIG. 106, etc.),
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H8)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A presentation control means for controlling a presentation-based decorative pattern game including a variable display of the decorative pattern;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means performs a performance process related to the decorative symbol game,
A performance determination process that executes a plurality of lottery processes to determine a performance to be executed;
A reference information setting process for setting predetermined reference information (for example, lottery flag information) required for the lottery process,
The reference information is
The information includes first reference information (e.g., selection flag information used in determining allocation table data) to be referenced when determining a selection table to be used in the current selection from among a plurality of selection tables, and second reference information (e.g., selection flag information used in determining a preview variation) to be referenced when determining the content of the current selection using the selected selection table.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H9)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A presentation control means for controlling a presentation-based decorative pattern game including a variable display of the decorative pattern;
A gaming machine equipped with
The performance control means performs a performance process related to the decorative symbol game,
A performance determination process that executes a plurality of lottery processes to determine a performance to be executed;
A reference information setting process for setting predetermined reference information required for the lottery process,
The reference information includes first reference information (for example, lottery flag information relating to the actual pattern (FIG. 93, FIG. 103)) and second reference information different from the first reference information (for example, lottery flag information relating to the provisional pattern (FIG. 93, FIG. 103)),
The device further includes a first reference information storage means for storing the first reference information and a second reference information storage means for storing the second reference information (the first reference information storage means, the second reference information storage means = for example, a lottery flag setting value storage area or an offset parts storage area),
The reference information setting process can store common values (e.g., FIG. 93 and FIG. 103) in the first reference information storage means and the second reference information storage means, respectively, as the first reference information and the second reference information.
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H10)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine equipped with
The performance control means includes:
An effect lottery means for executing an effect lottery regarding an effect to be executed;
A distribution data table (e.g., FIG. 84A to FIG. 91, FIG. 105, FIG. 106, etc.) used when the performance lottery means executes the lottery;
The allocation data table is
A plurality of performance variations (preview variations) related to the performance;
An allocation value corresponding to each of the plurality of performance variations;
A variation number that specifies the number of types of the performance variations,
The performance lottery means includes:
A counting means capable of updating a count value for identifying the performance variation;
A winning determination means (for example, steps SC27 to SC31 in FIG. 71B ) for determining whether or not a winning effect variation has been selected based on a current count value, a distribution value corresponding to the count value, and a random number value,
When it is determined that the winning has been achieved or when the count value has reached the number of variations, the performance lottery is ended (steps SC27 and SC29 in FIG. 71B ).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H11)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine equipped with
The performance control means includes:
An effect lottery means for executing an effect lottery regarding an effect to be executed;
A distribution data table used when the performance lottery means executes the lottery,
The allocation data table is
A plurality of performance variations relating to the performance;
An allocation value corresponding to each of the plurality of performance variations;
A variation number that specifies the number of types of the performance variations,
The performance lottery means includes:
A counting means capable of updating a count value for identifying the performance variation;
and a winning determination means for determining whether or not a particular effect variation has been won based on a current count value, a distribution value corresponding to the current count value, and a random number value,
If the count value exceeds the number of variations due to a malfunction, the effect variation corresponding to the final count value can be treated as a winning effect (for example, see "Processing in the event of a malfunction in the lottery process" above).
A gaming machine characterized by:

<Configuration (H12)>
A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine equipped with
The performance control means includes:
An effect lottery means for executing an effect lottery regarding an effect to be executed;
A distribution data table used when the performance lottery means executes the lottery,
The allocation data table is
A plurality of performance variations relating to the performance;
An allocation value corresponding to each of the plurality of performance variations;
A variation number that specifies the number of types of the performance variations,
The performance lottery means includes:
A counting means capable of updating a count value for identifying the performance variation;
and a winning determination means for determining whether or not a particular effect variation has been won based on a current count value, a distribution value corresponding to the current count value, and a random number value,
If the count value exceeds the number of variations due to a malfunction, a specific performance variation can be treated as a winning variation (for example, see "Processing in the event of a malfunction in the lottery process" above).
A gaming machine characterized by:

[Tenth embodiment]
<About earphone play>
In the gaming machine according to the present invention, the volume can be adjusted in the game environment settings (game settings), but depending on the set volume, even if a certain player finds the volume comfortable, it may not be appropriate for another player and may be an unpleasant volume. This may lead to noise trouble between players. In particular, in recent years, with the diversification of effects, various effect sounds are often emitted at high volumes, and in addition to the problems between players mentioned above, environmental problems related to noise emitted from pachinko parlors are becoming more prominent.

In view of the above problems, the present embodiment aims to provide a gaming machine having a configuration in which an electroacoustic transducer such as headphones or earphones can be connected to the gaming machine via a wired and/or wireless communication line. This embodiment makes it possible to solve the above-mentioned noise-related problems. The gaming machine according to the present invention is of course applicable to the gaming machines according to the embodiments described in this specification, and is also applicable to any type of gaming machine, including not only pinball gaming machines (pachinko gaming machines), but also reel-type gaming machines, arrange ball gaming machines, and jankyū gaming machines.

The gaming machine according to this embodiment will be described below. Note that in order to avoid repetition, the contents already explained in this specification will be omitted as appropriate.

In this embodiment, the electro-acoustic transducer is described by taking as an example a gaming machine that can be connected to earphones that can be connected via wired communication (cable) (hereinafter referred to as "wired earphones") or earphones that can be connected via wireless communication (hereinafter referred to as "wireless earphones").

Wired earphones use a coil to drive a diaphragm by passing an audio current through it, and can be categorized based on how they are worn: on-the-head earphones (headphones) that are worn over the head and cover the ears, and in-ear earphones that are inserted into the ear canal. Here we assume the use of earphones that connect with a phone plug and phone jack. Earphone jacks come in a variety of pole numbers, including 2 poles (monaural), 3 poles (stereo), 4 poles (microphone function), and 5 poles (noise canceling function), and any of these can be used.

In addition, there are several types of connection methods for wireless earphones, and it is up to the user to choose which wireless communication method to adopt. In this embodiment, a "Bluetooth (registered trademark)" connection method (one of the wireless communication standards) is adopted, which uses the 2.4 GHz band of ultra-high frequency waves to wirelessly connect digital devices in close range to each other. Note that Bluetooth communication is based on "one-to-one" communication, but "one-to-many" or "many-to-many" communication (multi-pairing type, dual audio type) may also be possible. Since games are usually played alone, "one-to-one" communication is preferable.

Wireless earphones are earphones that connect wirelessly instead of via a cable, but can be classified in the same way as wired earphones: on-the-head earphones (headphones) that are worn over the head and cover the ears, and in-ear earphones that are inserted into the ear canal. Currently, wireless earphones include completely wireless earphones, neckband-type earphones, left and right integrated types, single-ear types (headset types), and bone conduction types, and any of these can be used in this embodiment.

When connecting earphones by wired communication (wired connection), a connection means (earphone jack) that can be connected to the phone plug of the wired earphones is provided at an appropriate position on the gaming machine, and the sound (sound produced by the gaming machine) output from the sound production means of the gaming machine (speaker 46 in this embodiment) can be heard through the player's earphones. When connecting wireless earphones by wireless communication (wireless connection), a wireless communication unit (for example, wireless communication means (wireless communication module) using Bluetooth communication technology) is provided on the gaming machine, and the sound produced by the gaming machine can be heard through the player's earphones. The production control unit 24 can take on the function of the control unit related to the earphones. As for the main control unit 20 and the frame control unit 24 that can communicate bidirectionally with the main control unit 20, the main control unit 20 does not have a control unit related to the earphones in order to prevent cheating from outside.

(About the period during which earphones can be connected)
When earphones are connected to the gaming machine, the earphone connection period during which sound effects can be output from the earphones may be configured to be always connectable regardless of whether a game is being played or not, or may be configured to be connectable during a game or not. In addition, a predetermined earphone connection prohibition period may be set. The earphone connection prohibition period may be set to the following periods (Prohibition 1) to (Prohibition 8), for example.

(Prohibition 1) During the game (during a game where the symbols change).

(Prohibition 2) During a winning game. Note that a winning game includes a small winning game and/or a big winning game (including a V winning game), and the period during a small winning game and/or a big winning game may be designated as a period during which earphone connection is prohibited (the same applies to (Prohibition 3), (Prohibition 4), and (Prohibition 6) below).

(Prohibition 3) A specific period during winning play. The specific period may be one or more periods. For example, it may be at least one of the following periods: during a round of play, during the INT between rounds, during the start INT, and during the end INT.

(Prohibition 4) During one or more specific winning games. For example, if there are multiple winning games, including time-saving winning games 1-3 and probability-changing winning games 1-2, earphone connection can be prohibited during the winning game with the time-saving winning game. Also, among the winning games with at least one specific winning game (for example, time-saving winning games 1-2) among the winning games with the same type (in this example, time-saving winning games 1-3 and probability-changing winning games 1-2), earphone connection can be prohibited during the winning game.

(Prohibition 5) While the complete function is operating. When the complete function is activated and control is performed to a state in which game play cannot be performed, it is inconceivable that a player will connect earphones to play after the complete function is activated, so the period during which earphone connection is prohibited can be set as a period during which the complete function is activated.

(Prohibition 6) At least one of the following periods: during a pattern change display game, during a winning game, or while the complete function is in operation.

(Prohibition 7) During an error. Note that earphone connection may be prohibited during all errors, or during one or more specific errors. Examples of specific errors include highly serious errors, which are described below.

(Prohibition 8) Before the game can be started after power is turned on (until the processing at the time of powering on is completed). Note that in the case of a wired connection, it may be configured to be able to connect at all times after power is turned on, but in the case of wireless communication, since it is necessary to perform "pairing settings" for Bluetooth communication, it is preferable to not be able to connect at least until the period after the game has been controlled to a state where it is possible to start playing.

(Prohibition 9) At least one of the periods listed above in (Prohibition 1) to (Prohibition 8).

<Relationship between earphone and speaker sound output (audio output): Diagram 110>
Next, when the gaming machine and earphones are connected by wire or wirelessly, the following configurations can be used. Here, the relationship between the sound output (audio output) of the earphones and the speaker and the effects when connected will be mainly described. Note that the communication formats of the case where wired earphones are used (wired connection case) and the case where wireless earphones are used (wireless connection case) are significantly different, so here, the wired connection case and the wireless connection case will be described separately. First, the case where wired earphones are used will be described.

<Case of using wired earphones: (Connection 1), (Connection 2): Figure 110>
(Connection 1) When earphones are connected (when the gaming machine detects the connection of earphones), the gaming machine can be configured to immediately start outputting from the earphones and stop outputting from the speaker 46.

An example of output from this configuration (Connection 1) is shown in Figure 110 (A). In Figure 110 (A), time t1 is the timing when the player connects earphones (the timing when the gaming machine detects the connection of the earphones). Figure 110 (A) also shows an example where output from the speaker 46 is stopped at time t1 and output from the earphones is started (the timing when the speaker output stops and the timing when the earphone output starts are the same (almost the same) timing).

When earphones are connected, a "connection notification effect" may be executed to notify the player of the connection. For example, an image such as "Earphones have been connected. Earphone game will begin" may be displayed on a specified display means (liquid crystal display device 36) (gaming machine side connection notification effect). At this time, a sound such as "Earphone game will begin♪" (connection notification sound) may be output to the earphone side (earphone side connection notification effect). Note that "earphone game" refers to gameplay using earphones (players wearing earphones to play).

Although the above describes an example in which the gaming machine side connection notification effect and the earphone side connection notification effect are different from each other, they may have at least a part in common. For example, the gaming machine side uses the liquid crystal display device 36 and the speaker 46 to display an image of "Earphones are connected. Earphone play will begin." and output the sound of "Earphone play will begin♪", and the earphones output the same sound as that sound ("Earphone play will begin♪").

(Connection 2) Unlike the above (Connection 1), output from the earphones does not start just by connecting the earphones, but may be configured to start output from the earphones when a certain condition is met. In other words, the configuration is such that output from the earphones does not start until the certain condition is met (output from the earphones is limited until the certain condition is met), and output from the speaker 46 continues.

For example, after connecting the earphones, when the player performs a predetermined start operation (a predetermined operation for starting output from the earphones: hereinafter abbreviated as "output start operation"), output to the earphones can be configured to start. In this case, when the earphones are connected (after connecting the earphones and before the output start operation), it is preferable to execute a "start operation request effect" to prompt the player to perform the start operation as the above-mentioned connection notification effect. Specifically, a selection image for whether or not to start output from the earphones, such as "Earphones are connected. Would you like to change to earphone play? YES/NO" (YES = "start output", NO = "cancel") is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36, and the player can select whether or not to start output using the operating means (for example, effect button 13, directional key 75). When the player selects "YES" (selecting to start output), output to the earphones is configured to start.

In addition, when the player performs an output start operation (when the player selects to start output), a presentation (earphone output start presentation) may be configured to be executed to notify the player that output from the earphones will begin. For example, an image such as "Earphone game is starting" may be displayed on the liquid crystal display device 36. At this time, a sound such as "Earphone game is starting♪" may be output to the earphones. Note that if the player does not perform the output start operation for a predetermined period of time, a warning presentation requesting the start operation may be executed, such as "Earphones are connected. Please perform the start operation."

The game environment settings may also be used to allow the player to select whether or not to start output from earphones. For example, a menu item for connecting earphones (earphone setting item) may be provided as a menu item in the game environment settings, and when the player selects that item, if the earphones are connected, the above-mentioned start request effect is executed. Note that if the earphones are not connected, the earphone setting item may be made unselectable, or when the earphone setting item is selected, an effect may be executed that prompts the player to connect earphones (connection request effect) by displaying or hearing a message such as "Please connect earphones."

An example of output from this configuration (Connection 2) is shown in Figure 110 (B). In Figure 110 (B), time t1 is the timing when the player connects the earphones to the gaming machine, and time t1 to time t2 indicate the period before the player completes the output start operation. In this example, as shown, simply connecting the earphones does not stop the output from the speaker 46 (time t0 to time t2), and when the player completes the output start operation (after time t2), the output from the speaker 46 stops and output from the earphones starts (the timing when the speaker output stops and the timing when the earphone output starts upon completion of the start operation by the player are assumed to be approximately the same).

<When using wireless earphones: (Connection 3)>
Next, a case where a wireless earphone is connected will be described.

(Connection 3) In this embodiment, an example is described in which a method of connection via Bluetooth communication is adopted as the wireless connection method, so when connecting wireless earphones, the player is required to perform a specific connection operation (the so-called "pairing operation (wireless earphone connection operation)"). Therefore, output from the earphones is started on the condition that the player has performed the pairing operation.

Specifically, when a player performs a specified operation (operation to display the pairing setting screen), a "pairing setting screen" (connection setting display effect) for wirelessly connecting to the earphones is displayed as one of the effects related to the pairing operation. Then, when the player performs the pairing operation on that setting screen, the earphones and the gaming machine are connected, and output from the earphones begins and output from the speaker 46 is stopped.

The "pairing setting screen" displays a list of compatible device names (such as product names of earphones that can be connected wirelessly) detected within the detection range of the gaming machine (connectable device notification effect), and wireless connection (pairing) with the gaming machine is initiated by the player selecting the earphones (product name, etc.) he owns. If the connection is successful, the connection notification effect may display, for example, "Connection is complete. Enjoy playing with earphones," or the earphones may output a sound such as "Connection is complete♪." If pairing fails, an image such as "Pairing has failed. Please try connecting again" is displayed as an effect to encourage reconnection (reconnection request effect).

Note that, before the current player (the player currently attempting wireless connection) performs the pairing operation, there may be cases where the earphones of another player are connected (already in a paired state), but when the current player performs the pairing operation, the connection (pairing) with the other earphones is forcibly disconnected (pairing disconnection means) and connected to the current player's earphones. The timing for disconnecting the connection with the other earphones may be when a pairing setting screen is displayed (for example, when screen 101c in FIG. 111(C) and/or screen 101d in FIG. 111(D) described later are displayed), when pairing with a new earphone is successful (for example, see FIG. 111(E) described later), or when the game environment settings are returned to the default (for example, when the "Initialize" item in FIG. 111(B) described later is selected). Also, if other earphones are connected, a message may be displayed to notify the player of this, such as "There are wireless earphones already paired. Would you like to start pairing with new earphones? YES/NO" (YES = disconnect the other earphones and connect the new earphones, NO = cancel), and the player may be asked to choose which option to use.

The above pairing setting screen (connection setting display) may be configured as follows:

The pairing setting screen can be configured to be displayed in the gaming environment settings such as volume adjustment and light adjustment, and the pairing operation can be configured to be executable as one of the gaming environment setting items (for example, see FIG. 111 described later). Note that in gaming machines in which volume adjustment, light adjustment, etc. cannot be performed, a gaming environment setting dedicated to pairing (dedicated to wireless connection) can be configured to be executable.

(vs. 2) It is possible to configure the pairing setting screen to be displayed by an operation (a dedicated pairing setting screen display operation) separate from the normal gaming environment settings (volume adjustment, light adjustment, etc.), and to configure the pairing operation to be executable on that setting screen. Specifically, it is possible to configure the "first gaming environment setting (normal gaming environment setting)" for setting volume adjustment, light adjustment, etc., and the "second gaming environment setting (special gaming environment setting)" for setting up the connection of wireless earphones to be executable.

(Pair 3) Using one or more display means (for example, a so-called "sub-display") provided separately from the liquid crystal display device 36, a pairing setting screen can be displayed, and pairing operations can be performed on that setting screen. In this case, the pairing setting screen (for example, pairing setting screen 101c in FIG. 111(C) described below) may be displayed at all times, or the pairing setting screen may be displayed when a specified operation is performed by the player.

(Variation 4) If a predetermined condition is met before the pairing between the wireless earphone and the gaming machine is successful, the wireless communication related to the pairing may be stopped. The predetermined condition may be, for example, when a game with a changing symbol display is started, when an error occurs (for example, this may be a specific error such as a high-severity error described below), when a winning game is started, etc.

(Example of connection setting: FIG. 111)
A specific example (performance example and setting operation) regarding the above pairing operation (wireless earphone connection operation) will be described with reference to FIG. 111. FIG. 111 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a case where a pairing operation is performed in the above (pair 1) gaming environment setting. FIG. 111 illustrates a case where a player performs an operation (gaming environment setting operation) to display a gaming environment setting screen while waiting for customers.

Referring to FIG. 111, FIG. 111(A) illustrates an example of a screen during standby for customers (screen 101a during standby for customers). Here, as an example, a state is shown in which the decorative pattern 801 is displayed in a stopped combination of "579" (during confirmed display). In addition, in the upper left corner of screen 101a, a text image 104a (notification effect for earphone connection) saying "Earphone connection possible" is displayed to notify that it is the period during which earphone connection is possible. Such text image 104a makes it easy for players to understand that it is the period during which earphone connection is possible.

Note that while text images are used in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. It may also be an object image that resembles an effect button, or a notification image in which text or objects are accompanied by a specified effect (for example, light (glow effect or shadow effect), gradation, blur, embossing, etc.), and the effect mode may be determined as appropriate.

In addition, the text image 104a (earphone connection possible period notification display) may be displayed at all times during the earphone connection possible period, or may be hidden for a specified period even during the earphone connection possible period.

The period during which the text image 104a is not displayed will differ depending on how the period during which earphones can be connected is determined (see (Prohibitions 1) to (Prohibitions 9) above), for example, whether earphones can be connected during play and non-play, or only during non-play, but essentially it can be determined appropriately taking into consideration periods when there is little need to display the text image 104a and periods during which its display would be disruptive. For example, even if the period during which earphones can be connected is during play and non-play, if displaying the text image 104a would disrupt the variable performance, the period during which the text image 104a is not displayed can be set as the period during which it is not displayed. In particular, it is preferable to determine the following periods as the period during which the text image 104a is not displayed.

(Non-Table 1) A period during which an effect that attracts high attention from players is being executed, such as a high expectation preview effect (especially a sure win effect), a promotion effect, or a revival effect.
(Non-Table 2) The period during which an effect is being executed that alerts the player to the danger, such as a launch guidance notification effect (right hit instruction effect, left hit instruction effect).
(Non-Table 3) Error In progress. At least in the case of a highly serious error, which will be described later, it is preferable to hide the text image 104a.
(Non-Table 4) A specific period during a winning game (opening performance, ending performance, or during a round, etc.).
(Not Table 5) Period during which the complete function is active.

Returning to the explanation of Fig. 111(A), when a player performs a game environment setting operation during the customer waiting state shown in Fig. 111(A), a menu screen (game environment setting screen) 101b shown in Fig. 111(B) is displayed. The following five items for use are displayed in a row on the menu screen 101b as menu items (selection items) related to game settings.
・"Earphone settings" for pairing settings,
・"Volume/Light Settings" for adjusting volume/light intensity,
・"Customization Settings" for customization function settings,
- "Initialize" for the initialization item to return the current settings to default,
- "Back" option to exit the menu screen (game environment settings).

The menu items are not limited to the illustrated example, and can be determined as appropriate depending on the gameplay. For example, various items can be provided, such as a menu item for displaying gameplay history for a specified period of time, or a menu item for displaying a two-dimensional code required for gameplay services linked to a mobile terminal device (such as a smartphone).

Each menu item can be selected by using the directional keys 75 to move the cursor 102b (functioning as an item selection button) up or down, and when the cursor 102b is pointed to an item and the performance button 13 (functioning as a confirmation button) is pressed, that menu item is confirmed.

(Volume and light settings: Fig. 111 (C), (G))
When the menu item "Volume/Light Setting" is selected, an adjustment screen 101g is displayed on which the volume and light can be adjusted (see FIG. 111(G)). A level meter (gauge for adjusting the volume) 103a (the leftmost is minimum volume, the rightmost is maximum volume) and a level meter (gauge for adjusting the light) 103b (the leftmost is minimum light, the rightmost is maximum light) are displayed vertically on this adjustment screen 101g, and the volume (dB) or light (cd/m2) can be adjusted in stages within a predetermined range using the direction key 75 (left and right direction keys) (the "+" side in the figure increases the stage, and the "-" side decreases the stage). Here, an example is shown in which the volume and light can be adjusted in five stages (minimum level (first stage) to maximum level (fifth stage)).

In this example (Figure 111), the volume setting and the light intensity setting are common (shared) menu items and can be adjusted on the same adjustment screen 101g, but the present invention is not limited to this. The volume setting and the light intensity setting can be different menu items and can be adjusted on their own dedicated adjustment screens (the volume adjustment screen and the light intensity adjustment screen can be displayed separately). There are also no particular restrictions on the adjustment ranges for the volume and light intensity and they can be determined as appropriate.

In addition, in this embodiment, the volume is expressed in decibels (dB) as an index of the volume output from the speaker 46, but this is only one example for expressing the loudness of the sound, and other units expressing volume, such as loudness (sone) or loudness level (phon), may be used as long as they can express the volume numerically (quantitatively). Similarly, the amount of light may be expressed numerically (quantitatively), and any of these may be used, such as those based on luminous intensity (SI unit system: cd), illuminance (SI unit system: lx), luminance (SI unit system: cd/m2), luminous flux (SI unit system: lm), and luminous emittance (SI unit system: rlx), or those that take glare (dazzling, dazzling) into consideration.

In addition, in this example, the volume setting (volume adjustment) is exemplified as a combined type in which a single volume adjustment level meter 103a is used for both the earphone and the speaker 46, but this is not limiting, and a volume adjustment level meter corresponding to each of the earphone and the speaker may be provided so that they can be adjusted individually. Various embodiments regarding the volume setting (volume adjustment) of the earphone and the speaker will be described later with reference to FIG. 112.

(Customization settings: Fig. 111 (C), (H))
Furthermore, when the menu item "Customization Settings" is selected, a customization settings screen 101h is displayed which allows the customization functions to be set ON/OFF, allowing the player to set the customization functions of their choice (see FIG. 111 (H)).

Here, the three types of customization functions, "Premium Up", "Seven Counter", and "Revival Performance Appearance Rate UP", can be set ON/OFF. By using the directional keys 75 (up and down directional keys) to move the cursor to the desired customization and pressing the performance button 13, it is possible to switch between "ON" and "OFF". For example, pressing the performance button 13 with the cursor pointing to "Premium Up Mode" changes the current setting from "ON" to "OFF", and pressing the performance button 13 again changes it from "OFF" to "ON". Regarding the "ON/OFF" setting display, a white frame indicates "setting (ON)" and a gray frame indicates "not setting (OFF)". In the case of FIG. 111 (H), an example is shown where Premier Up is ON and other customizations are OFF.

Furthermore, when "Clear settings" is selected, a "Customization Initialization Selection Presentation" (not shown) is executed. In this customization initialization selection presentation, for example, a selection image such as "Do you want to initialize the customization contents? YES/NO" is displayed, and if the player selects "YES", all currently set customizations are turned OFF and normal mode (default presentation state) is set. On the other hand, if "NO" is selected, the customization initialization is canceled and the display returns to the setting screen 101h.

(Pairing settings: Fig. 111 (C) to (F))
Furthermore, when the menu item "earphone settings" is confirmed, a pairing setting screen 101c is displayed (see FIG. 111(C)). The pairing setting screen 101c includes, as menu items related to connection with wireless earphones (pairing settings), "connect earphones (item for starting connection)" (earphone connection mode) for starting pairing, "disconnect connected earphones (item for disconnecting connection)" (earphone disconnection mode) for disconnecting the currently connected wireless earphones, "about connection method (item for connection method display screen)" for displaying the pairing setting method, and "back (item for ending earphone settings)".

(Menu item: "Connect earphones")
When the menu item "Connect earphones" is selected, the gaming machine enters wireless earphone detection mode (wireless earphone detection means), and if the gaming machine detects a compatible device within the detectable range, a "list display screen 101d" is displayed as the above-mentioned connectable device notification presentation, in which the device names are listed as shown in FIG. 111 (D), and which includes an image prompting a connection request such as "Please select a device."

The list display screen 101d shows an example in which wireless earphones with device names "Nishikawaguchi_phones" and "Akabane_phones" are displayed in order of highest detection sensitivity as connectable devices. If the earphones owned by the player are "Nishikawaguchi_phones," selecting and confirming the device name will initiate a wireless connection (pairing) between the earphones and the gaming machine.

When pairing is successful, as shown in FIG. 111(E), the "Connection Completed Screen 101e" including the image "Connection completed. Enjoy playing with earphones" is displayed as the connection notification. At this time, a sound such as "Connection completed♪" is output from the earphones. Then, when the menu item "Back" is selected, the screen returns to the higher-level menu screen 101b shown in FIG. 111(B). Note that instead of returning to the menu screen 101b, the screen may return to the pairing setting screen 101c, or to the customer waiting screen 101a shown in FIG. 111(A).

When the connection completion screen 101e is displayed, earphone play will then be permitted. On the other hand, if pairing fails, a reconnection request image such as "Pairing failed. Please try connecting again" is displayed as an effect to encourage reconnection (reconnection request effect). In this case, after the reconnection request image is displayed for a while, a list of connectable devices is displayed again on the list display screen 101d.

Although not shown in the figure, in this example, if there is another device already connected before starting a new pairing, the name of that device is displayed at the top of the list display, making it possible to notify the player that a connected device exists. For example, if the connected device is named "Sinbashi_phone", an image is displayed in which the words "Sinbashi_phone Connecting!" flash (highlight), and in this state, if the current player selects and confirms the above-mentioned "Nishikawaguchi_phones" to which he or she wishes to connect, a warning such as "There is a paired wireless earphone. Would you like to start pairing with a new earphone? YES/NO" is displayed, and the current player can choose whether or not to cancel the pairing of the connected wireless earphone.

(Menu item: "Disconnect connected earphones")
In addition, when the menu item "Disconnect connected earphones" (disconnection item) is selected, the connected earphones (device) can be disconnected. This item is mainly used when the current player disconnects the connected earphones from the gaming machine.

In this example, when the player selects the "Disconnect connected earphones" option, a "disconnection effect" is executed to notify the player that the connection has been disconnected. An example of a disconnection effect is shown in FIG. 111(F). FIG. 111(F) shows an example in which, when the disconnection item is selected, a disconnection notification screen 101f is displayed that includes an image of "Connection has been disconnected," which notifies the player that the pairing has been disconnected.

In this example, when the "Disconnect connected earphones" option is selected, the connection is immediately disconnected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A "disconnect selection effect" may be executed to allow the player to select whether or not to disconnect (disconnect) the earphones. For example, a selection image such as "Disconnect earphones? YES/NO" or "Cancel pairing? YES/NO" (YES = "disconnect (disconnect)", NO = "cancel") may be displayed, and if the player selects "YES" (performs output cancellation operation), the connection is disconnected (pairing is cancelled), and if the player selects "NO", the selection is cancelled and the screen returns to the pairing setting screen 101c in FIG. 111(C).

Although not shown in the figure, if there are no connected wireless earphones (devices), an image such as "No connected devices" or "No connected earphones" is displayed. If there are no connected wireless earphones, the item for disconnecting the connection, "Disconnect connected earphones," on the pairing setting screen 101c may be made unselectable or displayed darker than other items to notify the user that there are no connected wireless earphones.

(Menu item: "Connection methods")
In addition, when the menu item "Connection Method" is selected, a connection method display screen (not shown) is displayed. Here, for beginners to earphone play, the operation method (setting procedure) for pairing setting is displayed.

When configuring for wireless connection, if the detection range of the device (wireless earphone) is made too wide, there is a risk of detecting many connectable wireless earphones, so it is preferable to keep the detection range to about 1 m (the general distance between the player and the gaming machine). However, when the wireless connection (pairing) is completed, a one-to-one communication environment is created between the gaming machine and the player's earphones, so it is preferable to expand the detection range (effective communication range) to a wide range (for example, about 10 m) so that communication with the gaming machine is not cut off even if the player moves away from the gaming machine. In addition, even if communication with the gaming machine is cut off (for example, when the player leaves his/her seat for business and goes outside the effective communication range, or when communication is cut off due to a radio wave malfunction), it is preferable to configure it so that it can be automatically connected (reconnected without performing pairing operations) as long as it is within the effective communication range. In addition, when an automatic connection (reconnection) occurs, the device may be configured to execute an effect (automatic connection notification effect) that notifies the player that the connection has resumed. Note that in recent years, when a reconnection occurs, many devices notify the player of the reconnection by a specified sound from the earphones, so the gaming machine does not have to notify the player of the reconnection.

If the earphones are disconnected for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 15 to 20 minutes), the device may be configured to automatically cancel pairing (disconnect wireless connection) and switch to output from the speaker 46. Also, in consideration of cases where it is known that the disconnection period will be long (e.g., about 60 minutes) due to a meal break or the like, an extension function may be provided to extend the pairing cancellation period. For example, the game environment settings may be configured to allow the extension function to be turned on and off.

In addition, after the wireless connection with the earphones is completed (after pairing is completed and the communication environment is in place), output from the earphones does not have to start immediately. For example, after the connection is completed, as explained in (Connection 2) above, the start request effect may prompt the player to select whether or not to start output from the earphones, and if the player selects to start output, output from the earphones may start. In this case, the form of output stop/start timing for the speaker 46 and earphones is substantially the same as connection example 2 shown in FIG. 110(B). When the start request effect is executed, in FIG. 110(B), times t1 to t2 are the period during which the player is operating to start output after pairing is completed.

In this embodiment, the setting information (pairing setting information) related to the wireless connection is not backed up. In other words, when connecting wireless earphones after power recovery, including recovery from a power outage, a new pairing operation is required. The pairing setting information may be backed up and initialized only when the RAM is cleared, but considering that such processing would increase the control burden and that the RAM clearing operation itself is not performed frequently, this embodiment is configured not to back up the pairing setting information. Note that the pairing setting information may be backed up when the power is out, and the pairing setting information may be initialized during processing when the power is turned on, regardless of whether the RAM is cleared or not.

(If the player does not perform the output start operation after the start request performance is executed, even though earphones are connected)
In addition, in the case where the above-mentioned start request performance can be executed with respect to wired or wireless connection, if the player does not perform an output start operation even though earphones are connected, the start request performance can be executed until a predetermined end condition is satisfied. For example, the following end conditions (Open 1) to (Open 7) can be set.

(Open 1) Until the connection with the earphones is lost.
(Open 2) When the complete function is activated.
(Open 3) Until a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of execution of the start request performance.

(Open 4) If a start request effect is executed while not playing (waiting for customers), the start request effect will be executed until a specified time has elapsed from the start of execution of the start request effect, or until the start of the next game, or until the end of the next game. Note that the start request effect may be executed over multiple games, not just the next game.

(Open 5) If a start request effect is executed during a game, it will continue until the current game ends. Note that it may continue to be executed over the next game and beyond (it may be configured to be executable over one or more games). In addition, the start request effect may end when a winning game begins.

(Open 6) When a customer waiting performance (demo display) has started. Note that when the demo display ends and the pre-customer waiting performance is executed again, the start request performance may be displayed again in the pre-customer waiting performance.

(Open 7) At least one of the above (Open 1) to (Open 6) can be adopted.

(A modified version of the connection notification effect).
When the above-mentioned connection notification performance is configured to be executable, the performance mode may be the same during play and during non-play, or may be different. Specifically, when the connection notification performance includes a performance by image display, the image display performance mode may be different during play and during non-play. When the connection notification performance includes a sound performance, the sound performance mode may be different during play. When the connection notification performance includes a light performance, the light performance mode may be different during play. For example, when playing, the image display range related to the connection notification performance is smaller, the notification volume is lower, and the brightness is lower, compared to when not playing.

The connection notification effect may be executed whether the player is playing or not playing, or may be executed in only one of the two cases. In order to clearly notify the player that the earphones are connected, it is preferable to output a predetermined connection notification sound at least from the earphones, regardless of whether the player is playing or not playing.

(Modification when starting output from earphones)
In the case of a wired connection, the above (Connection 1) describes a case in which output from the earphones starts immediately after the earphones are connected, and the above (Connection 2) describes a case in which output from the earphones starts when a specified start operation (output start operation) is executed, but the configuration may be such that after the earphones are connected, output from the earphones can start at any of the following timings (Open 10) to (Open 15).

In the following (Open 10) to (Open 15), in the case of (Connection 1) above, the connection is considered to be "completed" when the earphones are connected, and in the case of (Connection 2) above, the connection is considered to be "completed" when the earphones are connected and the player performs the above-mentioned output start operation. In addition, in the case of a wireless connection, the connection is considered to be "completed" when pairing is complete and the communication environment is ready, and as with the content explained in (Connection 2) above, in the case where a specific start operation (output start operation) is required, the connection is considered to be "completed" when the player performs the above-mentioned output start operation.

(Open 10) When the connection is completed during a game (during a game displaying a changing symbol), at the end of the game. Note that when the game is ended and the game is switched to a non-playing state (waiting for customers), the connection may be completed at the start of the non-playing state.
(Open 11) When the connection is completed during a game, at the start of the next game. If the game is a win, it may be at the start or end of the win game.
(Open 12) If the connection is completed during a winning game, at the end of the winning game.
(Open 13) If the connection is completed during a winning game, the start of the first game after the winning game ends.
(Open 14) When not playing a game. If the connection is completed while not playing a game, in the above (Connection 1) case, output from the earphones may start immediately, and in the above (Connection 2) case, output from the earphones may start immediately after the output start operation.
(Open Patent 15) At least one of the above (Open Patent 10) to (Open Patent 14) can be adopted.

Note that the timing of connection completion differs depending on how the earphone connection period is determined (see (Prohibition 1) to (Prohibition 9) above), so the above (Open 10) to (Open 15) can be appropriately applied and adopted depending on the earphone connection period. For example, if the earphone non-connection period is during a game (during a game displaying changing symbols), the connection will not be completed at (Open 10) or (Open 11) above, so at least one of the above (Open 12) to (Open 14) can be adopted. In addition, although the conditions for starting earphone play (starting output from the earphones (after the completion of an output start operation if such an operation is required)) differ, earphone play can be configured to end even if the conditions are not met.

<Problems with earphone gaming and solutions>
As described above, by configuring the gaming machine so that the earphones brought by the player can be connected to the gaming machine, the player can enjoy the sound effects from the gaming machine he or she is playing on without being disturbed by the sound effects from other gaming machines or surrounding noise, which makes it possible to prevent trouble between players. Also, since the gaming machine does not emit sound effects, it is possible to provide an environmentally friendly gaming machine.

However, switching all sound effects related to gaming machines to be output through earphones would result in the following problems:

If all sound effects related to gaming machines were switched to output only from earphones, sound effects that should be issued to hall staff and not to players, specifically sound effects related to error notifications (hereinafter referred to as "error sounds"), would be heard only by the players, which could cause problems such as hall staff being slow to discover gaming machines in error or cheating. Also, although they are not errors, there may be cases where it is better to notify hall staff as well as players about effects related to warning events for players (for example, launch guidance notification effects (right hit instruction effects, left hit instruction effects, etc.: hereinafter referred to as "warning event notification effects") and effects related to attention-calling events (for example, complete effects, counting effects, etc.: hereinafter referred to as "attention-calling event notification effects"). Below, a preferred embodiment that can solve these problems will be described.

Unless otherwise specified, the following explanations are based on the assumption that the gaming machine and earphones are connected via a wired or wireless connection, and the situation in which the earphones are connected to the gaming machine and sound effects can be output from the earphones (earphone sound output possible state) is referred to as "earphones connected" or "playing with earphones."

Additionally, sound effects related to effects during play are referred to as "game effect sounds." Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, when it is said that a certain sound is "output from speaker 46," it means "output from at least speaker 46," and is not limited to output only from speaker 46, but can also include output from earphones. Similarly, when it is said that a certain sound is "output from earphones," it means output from at least earphones, and is not limited to output only from earphones, but can also include output from speaker 46.

Depending on the type of error, an error may be notified by an error sound, light effects, or image display effects. However, unless otherwise specified, error notifications by light effects or image display effects will be described as being executed regardless of whether the earphones are connected or not. The following describes this embodiment.

(If an error occurs while connecting earphones)
Regarding the (ear 1) error sound, whether the earphones are connected (during earphone play) or not connected, the error sound can be output only from the speaker 46. In this case, the output from the earphones (sound (audio) output) is interrupted (control is made to a state in which earphone output is disabled) and the sound is switched to output only from the speaker 46. In addition, the error sound output from the speaker 46 may be output at a volume louder than the game performance sound (if the volume is adjustable, the currently set volume or the maximum volume level within the settable range).

(Ear 2) If an error occurs while the earphones are connected, an error sound may be output from the earphones, not just from the speaker 46, to notify the player that an error has occurred. In this case, the game effect sound output from the earphones can be muted or low volume (lower than the volume (normal volume) when there is no error. If the volume is adjustable, lower than the currently set volume).

The timing of the error sound output may be the same (approximately the same) for the earphones and the speaker 46, or different. When an error sound is output from the earphones, it may be the same as or different from the error sound from the speaker 46. When a different error sound is used, for example, when an error occurs, a warning sound such as "beep beep beep♪" (repeated until the error is resolved) is output from the speaker 46, and a sound such as "An error has occurred. Please call a store attendant♪" (repeated until the error is resolved) is output from the earphones, making it easy for the player to know that an error has occurred even when the earphones are connected.

(Ear 3) When the earphones are connected, depending on the type of error, an error sound (first error sound) may be output from at least the speaker 46 (only the speaker 46, or both the speaker 46 and the earphones), and an error sound (second error sound) may be output only from the earphones without being output from the speaker 46. In other words, it is possible to configure the system so that an error sound is output from at least the speaker 46 for one or more specific errors, and an error sound is output only from the earphones without being output from the speaker 46 for other errors.

Depending on the type and playability of the gaming machine, for example, depending on the severity of the error for that model (whether it is a major error that may hinder the progress of the game), it may be possible to determine whether the error sound is to be output from the speaker 46 or from the earphones instead of the speaker 46. Naturally, for highly serious errors, it is important to output the error sound from the speaker 46 regardless of whether the earphones are connected or not, but as described above, whether an error is treated as being highly serious depends greatly on the type and playability of the gaming machine, so it is preferable to determine appropriately whether or not to output the error sound from the speaker 46.

Typical examples of high-serious errors include, for example, errors caused by cheating detection sensors (such as vibration errors, radio wave errors, magnetic errors, etc.) and RAM clear errors, as well as errors that make it difficult or impossible to continue playing (such as errors related to the control board (main board error, RAM error), ball removal error, etc.). Although door open errors are often classified as a relatively low-serious error type, door open errors may also be treated as errors used to prevent cheating. It is preferable that error sounds related to such high-serious errors are output at least from the speaker 46. On the other hand, in the case of errors that can be resolved by the player himself, such as an upper tray full error in a general gaming machine (a non-circulating gaming machine), the error sound may be set to be output from the earphones rather than from the speaker 46. In the case of errors that are only notified by an error sound, it is preferable that the error sound is output from the speaker 46 regardless of whether the earphones are connected or not.

(Ear 4) When earphones are connected, the sound effects related to warning event notification effects (for example, firing guidance notification effects (right-hand strike instruction effects and/or left-hand strike instruction effects)) can be configured to be output at least from the earphones.

(Ear 5) When earphones are connected, the sound effects related to the alert event notification effects (for example, the effect before the completion activation, the completion effect, the completion effect, the effects related to counting (at least one of the counting notification, the end of counting notification, and the completion of counting notification)) can be configured to be output from at least the earphones. Note that at least one of the "complete effect," "pre-complete activation effect," and "effects related to counting" may be configured to be output from the earphones.

The above-mentioned warning event notification effects and attention-calling event notification effects are not error notifications, but are a form of game presentation that is executed when certain conditions are met during normal gameplay. Therefore, since there is little need to notify the outside world of these sound effects, as with errors, the sound effects may be configured to be output from the earphones while earphones are connected, and not output from the speaker 46. However, it is preferable to output at least the sound effects related to the complete effect from the speaker 46. The reasons for this are as follows.

When the complete function is activated, the machine is controlled to a state where play cannot be performed, and it is no longer possible to play the game. For this reason, it is highly necessary to notify hall personnel that the complete function has been activated. Therefore, it is preferable that at least the sound effects related to the complete effect are output from the speaker 46. Note that for other game effect sounds, output from the earphones may be allowed (continued) even while the complete function is activated, or output from the earphones may be stopped and switched to output from the speaker 46 (output may be switched to from the speaker 46 immediately after the complete function is activated).

In addition, when the activation conditions for the complete function are met but the activation of the complete function is delayed chronologically, specifically, as already explained, when the activation conditions for the complete function are met during a jackpot game (for example, when the MY value reaches "95,000 pieces" during a jackpot game), the complete function will be activated after the jackpot game ends (after the end INT time has elapsed). However, when the activation conditions for the complete function are met during a jackpot game while earphones are connected, the output may be immediately switched to the speaker 46 (the connection to the earphones is forcibly disconnected when the activation conditions for the complete function are met, without waiting for the activation of the complete function). In this case, output from the earphones may be allowed, or the output from the earphones may be stopped and only the output from the speaker 46 may be switched to.

Also, the output may be switched to the speaker 46 at a predetermined timing during jackpot play. The predetermined timing depends on the timing when the complete function activation condition is met, but may be, for example, when the start INT ends, when a round of play begins or ends, when the end INT begins, or when a predetermined time has passed after the complete function activation condition is met. In this case, too, output from the earphones may be allowed (continued), or the output from the earphones may be stopped and switched to output from the speaker 46.

(If the connection to the gaming machine is lost while earphones are connected)
Next, a case where the connection between the earphones and the gaming machine is cut off (when the wireless communication or wired communication is cut off) will be described. The main cases where the connection between the earphones and the gaming machine is cut off are as follows (Cut 1) to (Cut 4).

(Claim 1) Cases where the player intentionally disconnects the connection (for example, when stopping playing with earphones),
(Claim 2) Cases where the connection is cut off against the player's will (for example, when the cable of a wired earphone is suddenly disconnected,
(Claim 3) When the battery of wireless earphones runs out, etc.
(Clause 4) A case where the connection is forcibly disconnected due to control on the gaming machine side (for example, when an error occurs, the output from the earphone is stopped and switched to the output from the speaker 46)
There are various cases such as those mentioned above, but in this specification, "when the connection is disconnected" (when the connection between the earphones and the gaming machine is disconnected) refers to situations other than the above-mentioned (Case 4) unless otherwise specified.

If the connection between the earphones and the gaming machine is cut off during earphone play, the output may be immediately switched to the speaker 46. However, there are also cases where it is preferable to wait a certain period of time before switching to the speaker 46 output, rather than immediately switching to the speaker 46 output when the connection is cut off. In other words, when the connection is cut off, the output may be switched to the speaker 46 output based on the establishment of a specified switching condition. In particular, in the case of wireless communication, since the effective communication distance between devices is limited (the communication distance is limited by the maximum output of the radio waves on the gaming machine side or the earphone side, etc.), for example, there are cases where a player wearing earphones moves out of the communication range for a short time simply to go to the toilet or buy food and drink, and the communication is cut off. In such cases, it is not preferable to immediately switch to the speaker 46 output. In consideration of such a situation, the following conditions can be adopted as the specified switching conditions.

(Switch 1) When a predetermined time has elapsed after disconnection.
(Switch 2) If the disconnection occurs during a game in which a changing pattern is displayed, the game ends.
(Switching 3) When a specific game state is reached at the time of disconnection, the game state is terminated. The specific game state may be, for example, a normal state, a time-saving state (including a micro-time-saving state), a probability-changing state, a potential probability state, a winning game, or the like.
(Switch 4) When the complete function is activated (when the complete function is activated, the device is controlled to a state in which game play cannot be performed, so it is preferable to immediately disconnect the device).
(Switch 5) After disconnection, when the machine is not being played (for example, when a special symbol is on standby and there is no reserved memory (see S417-419 in FIG. 12)).
(Switch 6) When disconnection occurs while no game is being played, but sound effects related to the previous game are being output at that time, a predetermined condition is met (for example, when the sound effects have ended or when a predetermined time has passed since the sound effects ended).
(Switch 8) At least one of the above (Switch 1) to (Switch 8) can be adopted.

If the disconnection occurs while the game is not in progress, the output may be immediately switched to the speaker 46 instead of using the above (switch 5).

In addition, the reason why the "case where the connection is forcibly disconnected due to control on the gaming machine side" in (Clause 4) above has been excluded is that in this case, the gaming machine is mainly in a situation where a serious malfunction such as a highly serious error has occurred, and therefore when the earphone connection is disconnected, it is preferable to immediately switch to output from the speaker 46 rather than waiting for a specific switching condition to be met.

(Disconnection notification)
In addition, if the connection between the earphones and the gaming machine is disconnected while the earphones are connected, a "disconnection notification effect" can be executed to notify the user of this.

At least one of sound effects, light effects, and image display effects can be used for the disconnection notification effect. However, if the disconnection is notified by sound effects, it may be confused with the game effects related to the game being played, and since the sound effects cannot be heard from the earphones when the disconnection occurs, it is preferable to use an image display effect that is at least visually easy to understand for the disconnection notification effect, taking into consideration the fact that the player is easily aware of the disconnection because the sound effects cannot be heard from the earphones during the disconnection. In this case, it is preferable to display the disconnection notification effect in a position that does not interfere with other effects (for example, in a retreat display area such as near the corner of the LCD screen) rather than notifying the disconnection notification effect in a large scale, or to give it a lower display priority than other effects (for example, during fluctuation effects, during win effects, etc.) (for example, by increasing the transparency of the disconnection notification effect so that the advance notice effects in the background are easily understood). Furthermore, if the output is not immediately switched to the speaker 46 after disconnection, a "switching notification effect (disconnection advance notification effect)" that notifies the user in advance of the switch may be configured to be executable. For example, an image such as "The connection with the earphones has been disconnected. We will switch to speaker output shortly." may be displayed.

The disconnection notification can be configured as follows: (Cut 1) to (Cut 5).

(1) Different presentation modes can be used during play and non-play. For example, during play, the presentation mode can be an image display presentation as described above, and during non-play, the presentation mode can be an image display presentation plus sound presentation and/or light presentation. Specifically, during play, only image display such as "Earphone connection has been disconnected" is executed, and during non-play, image display such as "Earphone connection has been disconnected" and sound such as "Earphone connection has been disconnected♪" are output. In particular, during non-play, since game presentation sounds are basically not executed, it is preferable to notify that the earphones have been disconnected by a presentation mode including at least sound (sound presentation). In addition, at least one of the display range, notification volume, and notification brightness related to the disconnection notification presentation can be different during play and non-play. For example, the display range or notification volume related to the disconnection notification presentation can be configured to be relatively larger (higher) during non-play than during play.

(Cut 2) The disconnection notification effect may be configured to be executable both during play and when not playing, but taking into consideration that a game situation in which the earphones are disconnected does not affect the progress of the game itself, and that displaying the disconnection notification effect during play may interfere with other advance notice effects, etc., the disconnection notification effect may be configured to be executable at least when not playing. For example, the disconnection notification effect may not be executed when playing, but may be executed when not playing.

(Cut 3) However, in reality, many players desire to concentrate on playing games without being disturbed by surrounding noise, and in light of the fact that it is important to promptly inform the player of the fact that a disconnection has occurred, the configuration may be such that the disconnection notification effect can be executed at least when play is in progress. For example, the configuration may be such that the disconnection notification effect is not executed when not playing, but is executed when play is in progress.

(Off 4) When the complete function is activated, the machine is controlled to a state where play cannot be performed, so there is little need to execute the disconnection notification display. Therefore, when the complete function is activated, there is no need to execute the disconnection notification display.

(Cut 5) Depending on the circumstances of the cut, different cut notification effects may be executed. The cut notification effects described above are mainly cases where the player intentionally cuts the connection or the connection is cut against the player's will, so it is preferable that the notification content be a presentation mode with a passive meaning such as "The connection to the earphones has been cut." In the case of "the gaming machine forcibly cuts the connection due to control" in (Cut 4) above, it is preferable to use a presentation mode (forced cut notification effect) with a meaning that the gaming machine voluntarily cut the connection, such as "An error has occurred, so the earphones have been cut" (when the connection is cut when a specific error occurs) or "The complete function has been activated. The earphones will be cut" (when the connection is cut during the complete function).

The above switching notification effects can be configured as follows (Change 1) to (Change 4), just like the disconnection notification effects. Note that content that is essentially the same as the above (Off 1) to (Off 4) will be omitted to avoid duplication.

(Alternative 1) Different presentation styles can be used during play and non-play.
(Alternative 2) The configuration may be such that the switching notification effect can be executed at least when no game is being played.
(Alternative 3) The configuration may be such that the switching notification effect can be executed at least while a game is being played.
(Change 4) When the complete function is activated, the switching notification performance does not need to be executed.

(Modification of the disconnection selection effect)
Here, in Fig. 111, the description was given mainly on the form of canceling pairing when the item for disconnection ("Disconnect connected earphones" in Fig. 111(C)) is determined in the game environment setting (see Figs. 111(B), (C), and (F)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be configured as follows.

For example, the above-mentioned "disconnect selection effect" may be configured to be executable independently of the game environment settings. For example, when a player performs a specific operation (an operation for executing the disconnect selection effect) at any time during or outside of gameplay, a selection image for whether or not to disconnect (disconnect) the earphones, such as the already explained "Disconnect earphones? YES/NO" or "Cancel pairing? YES/NO", may be displayed, allowing the player to select whether or not to disconnect using the operating means.

With this type of disconnection selection display, the player does not have to go through the display operation of the game environment setting screen to cancel the pairing each time, and can stop playing with earphones at a time of his or her choosing. Of course, there may be gaming machines that do not have the game environment setting function as shown in FIG. 111. In this case, the disconnection selection display can be executed when the player performs an operation for executing the disconnection selection display.

Note that if the player performs an operation to execute the disconnection selection effect while the earphones are not connected, the disconnection selection effect does not have to be executed. Also, the device may be configured to execute a connection request effect that prompts the player to connect the earphones, such as "Please connect your wireless earphones," or to display an image such as "No device connected" or "No earphones connected," as described in FIG. 111. Also, the disconnection selection effect may be executed, but the "YES" option for disconnection itself may be made unselectable, or the selection image (such as the above-mentioned "Disconnect earphones? YES/NO" image) may be displayed in a darkened state to notify the player that no wireless earphones are connected.

The disconnection selection effect allows the player to choose whether or not to disconnect (disconnect) the earphones, and is therefore used exclusively when canceling pairing on gaming machines that can connect to wireless earphones. In the case of a wired connection, the player can simply remove the earphone cable from the gaming machine (earphone jack) themselves, and there is little need to execute the disconnection selection effect (of course, the disconnection selection effect may also be executed on gaming machines that can connect via wire).

The disconnection selection display in this example may be configured to be executed at any time when the player performs a specified operation, or the following conditions may be attached depending on the game situation:

(Cancellation 1) When not playing and/or when playing.
(Release 2) When a predetermined time has passed (for example, 10 seconds) after the game is no longer in progress.
(Release 3) When the game is no longer being played but sound effects related to the game played immediately before are being output, a certain condition is met (for example, when the sound effects end, or when a certain amount of time has passed since the sound effects ended).
(Release 4) At a specified timing during winning play (winning play performance) (for example, during start INT (during opening performance), during round play (during round performance), during end INT (during ending performance), etc.).
(Release 5) During a specific gaming state (for example, during a gaming state that is more advantageous than the normal state).
(Release 6) The period during which the gaming environment can be configured.
(Release 7) At least one of the above (Release 1) to (Release 6) can be adopted.

When the complete function is activated, the game is controlled to an unplayable state, but even when the complete function is activated, the game can be configured so that at least the execution of the disconnection selection effect is not restricted. Also, when the complete function is activated, the game can be configured to execute an effect that prompts the player to disconnect their earphones (disconnection request effect). For example, an image such as "The complete function has been activated. Please disconnect your earphones" can be displayed.

However, the configuration may be such that the execution of the disconnection selection effect (including the disconnection selection effect belonging to the game environment settings) is restricted when the complete function is activated. This is because the release of the game execution disabled state by the complete function requires at least a power cut (in the case of this embodiment, RAM clearing), so there is little point in executing the disconnection selection effect. However, in the case of wireless earphones (wireless connection), if the execution of the disconnection selection effect is restricted, it will be impossible to unpair while the complete function is activated. If the player is unable to unpair with the gaming machine, the connection with the gaming machine will remain maintained, which may cause a malfunction. Therefore, it is preferable to configure the device so that the connection with the earphones can be forcibly released at least when the complete function is activated.

Also in this example, if the player performs an output cancellation operation (selects "YES" in the disconnection selection display), a "disconnection completion display" as shown in FIG. 111 (F) may be executed.

Separately, if the above-mentioned "customization initialization selection effect" can be executed, when the player selects customization initialization, the connection to the earphones may also be disconnected in conjunction with the customization initialization. However, this is not limited to this, and the customization initialization may not disconnect the earphones. In this case, it is sufficient to configure it so that it can be disconnected by the connection disconnection selection effect.

(Special effects during earphone play)
Next, a special performance system during earphone play will be described. Here, a configuration that can execute different sound performances (particularly game performance sounds) during earphone play (earphones connected) and non-earphone play (earphones not connected) will be described. This example (hereinafter, this example will be referred to as the "special sound performance form") includes the following performance forms (performance α) to (performance γ).

(Performance α) In a specific performance, different sound effects are executed when earphones are connected and when they are not connected.

(Performance β) In a specific performance, a specific sound performance is executed when earphones are connected, but the sound performance is not executed when the earphones are not connected. In other words, a special game performance sound (specific sound performance when connected) is output from the earphones only when they are connected.

(Performance γ) In a specific performance, a specific sound performance is executed when the earphones are not connected, but the sound performance is not executed when the earphones are connected. In other words, a special game performance sound (specific sound performance when not connected) is output from the speaker 46 only when the earphones are not connected.

As an example of a special sound presentation form, for example, in a specific reach presentation, when earphones are not connected, the ready sound "reach ♪" is output from speaker 46 when ready (reach), but when earphones are connected, special ready sounds such as "reach ♪ it's hot!!" (a sound presentation that is partially the same when connected and when not connected) or "it's a big hit ♪" (a completely different sound presentation when connected and when not connected) are output. In this example, even when the same reach presentation (same advance notice presentation) is executed, different sound presentations are executed when earphones are connected and when earphones are not connected, and when earphones are connected, a sound presentation that suggests the likelihood of winning is executed, and when earphones are not connected, a normal sound presentation that does not suggest the likelihood of winning is executed.

In other words, the greatest feature of this example is that it is configured to notify specific information that can only be known by the player playing with earphones. This specific information can be, for example, information about the probability of winning (including winning) as described above, as well as information about setting values (suitable for gaming machines with setting functions) and information about the current gaming state (suitable for gaming machines that can conceal the internal gaming state as a creative presentation under certain conditions).

Sound effects related to special sound effect formats can be executed during fluctuation effects (preview effects), pre-reading notices, setting suggestion effects, winning effects, demo effects (demo displays), etc. The type of effect to be adopted and the type of specific information to be notified can be determined as appropriate.

When used for the effects during a win, for example, if the current game is a jackpot, the type of jackpot that was won will be kept secret during that game, and the type of jackpot that was won will be announced during the jackpot game that is subsequently played. In this case, when earphones are connected, a sound effect will be executed during the opening effect (during the start INT) that announces information (corresponding to specific information) about the type of jackpot that was won (for example, "Congratulations! This jackpot is a guaranteed jackpot!"), but when earphones are not connected, the sound effect itself will not be executed, or it can be announced later in the chronological order (for example, it can be announced during the ending effect (during the end INT)).

In addition, when used for demo performances, sounds such as manufacturer advertisements, game instructions, warning notifications, and alerts can be output from the earphones only when the earphones are connected.

(Variations of special sound effects)
As another embodiment of the special sound presentation, the following configuration can be used. Here, the following description is given on the premise that the gaming machine has a presentation means (hereinafter referred to as "vibration presentation means") that is provided with a vibration device (vibration means) capable of applying vibration to the player (operator) as one of the presentation means.

The vibration presentation means is, for example, a vibration device provided on the operating means that can be operated by the player, and produces a dynamic presentation effect by causing the operating means to vibrate. Like the clock-shaped device 80 (clock hands 82) and the flower-shaped device 90, the vibration presentation means is a type of presentation means that belongs to movable devices. The vibration presentation means can be used for various presentations, such as advance notice presentations, setting suggestion presentations, and demo presentations, and is mainly used when the vibration device is activated at a specified timing for advance notice presentations and pre-reading notices related to the variable presentations, and the vibration form is used to suggest the probability of winning or to definitively notify the winning of a jackpot. Hereinafter, the presentation using the vibration presentation means will be referred to as a "vibration presentation".

In recent years, rather than simply vibrating the operating means, some have been designed to intentionally make louder vibration sounds, or have sound-emitting components enclosed inside the operating means, giving them a sonic toy-like function, and devices that enhance the dramatic effect of the vibration have been put into practical use.

However, during earphone play, it is difficult to hear the sound effects (hereinafter referred to as "acoustic toy sounds") produced by the vibration effects, and there is a risk that the purpose of providing the vibration effects will be lost. Therefore, it is preferable to configure the earphones to be able to output sound effects that imitate acoustic toy sounds or sound effects that replace them (hereinafter referred to as "pseudo acoustic toy sounds") while the vibration effects are being executed. In this way, it becomes possible to pseudo-listen to the acoustic toy sounds that are difficult to hear during earphone play. Note that since there is no point in outputting the pseudo acoustic toy sounds from the speaker 46 when the earphones are not connected, it is preferable to emit the original acoustic toy sounds and not output the pseudo acoustic toy sounds from the speaker 46 when the earphones are not connected.

As described above, the pseudo toy acoustic sound is a presentation mode used in place of the original toy acoustic sound, but it does not necessarily have to be used for all vibration presentations. For example, in the latter half of the reach presentation, such as the vibration presentation executed when announcing the final game result (for example, the vibration presentation executed as part of the teasing presentation before the derivation of the final result presentation, or the vibration presentation executed as part of the final result presentation), or the vibration presentation executed as part of the promotion presentation or revival presentation, the pseudo toy acoustic sound can be configured to be output in the case of the vibration presentation used in the advancement presentation with a high expectation of winning, or the vibration presentation used in the promotion presentation or the winning announcement. In addition, when there are multiple vibration presentations, the pseudo toy acoustic sound can be configured to be output in the case of the vibration presentation with a relatively long presentation length (vibration time). In other words, the pseudo toy acoustic sound is configured to be output in the case of the vibration presentation with high presentation importance, and the pseudo toy acoustic sound is not configured to be output in the case of the other vibration presentations.

(Volume adjustment function and level meter display: Fig. 112)
Next, various examples of the volume adjustment function of this embodiment will be described.

In the volume setting (volume adjustment) in FIG. 111 described above, a combined type was described in which a single volume adjustment level meter 103a is used for both the earphone and the speaker 46 to enable volume adjustment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and separate level meters can be provided for the earphone and the speaker 46, and the configuration can be as follows.

(Option 1) The volume does not necessarily have to be adjustable in the game environment settings (for example, see FIG. 111). It is also possible to configure the volume setting screen (volume adjustment screen) to be displayed by an operation separate from the game environment settings (a dedicated volume setting screen display operation), and to configure the volume to be adjustable on that setting screen.

(Mode 2) The speaker 46 volume and the earphone volume can be configured to be adjustable separately (independently). For example, as shown in FIG. 112(A), a level meter 103a for adjusting the speaker volume (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "speaker level meter") and a level meter 103c for adjusting the earphone volume (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "earphone level meter") can be provided as level meters for adjusting the volume, and the speaker 46 volume and the earphone volume can be configured to be adjustable separately. FIG. 112(A) shows an example in which the speaker level meter 103a and the earphone level meter 103c are displayed on the same adjustment screen 101k.

(Tweet 3) Figure 112 (A) shows an example in which a speaker level meter and an earphone level meter are displayed on the same adjustment screen, but as shown in Figure 112 (B), for example, a speaker volume setting screen 101m and an earphone volume setting screen 101n may be configured to be displayed, and the speaker level meter 103a and earphone level meter 103c may be displayed separately.

(Tweet 3) When playing with earphones (earphones connected), the game can be configured to display only the level meter for the earphones so that the player can easily adjust the volume of the earphones.

(4) In the case of earphone play, if the speaker level meter and the earphone level meter can be displayed (either in the case of simultaneous display in FIG. 112(A) or the case of single display in FIG. 112(B)), it is preferable to highlight the earphone level meter. For example, as shown in the adjustment screen 101p in FIG. 112(C), the transmittance of the speaker level meter is increased to highlight the earphone level meter. Note that the highlighting method is not limited to this, and the earphone level meter can be highlighted by displaying it with a higher brightness than the speaker level meter, or by applying a predetermined effect display process to the earphone level meter (for example, a suitable effect image process such as light (glow effect or shadow effect), gradation, blur, embossing, etc.) (the same applies to (6) described later). Note that as long as the earphone level meter is highlighted more than the speaker level meter, the display method is not particularly limited.

(5) When playing without earphones (earphones not connected), the device can be configured to display only the speaker level meter, as opposed to the case of playing with earphones in (3) above.

(Adjustment 6) When playing without earphones (earphones not connected), the speaker level meter side can be highlighted as shown on adjustment screen 101q in Figure 112 (C), which is the opposite of the case of playing with earphones in (Adjustment 4) described above.

(Adjustment 7) When playing with earphones, only the volume of the earphones can be adjusted, and the volume of the speaker 46 can be configured to be unadjustable regardless of whether the level meter is displayed or hidden. In this case, when the output is switched from the earphones to the speaker 46, the sound is output at the volume when the earphones are connected (the volume level set just before the earphones are connected).

(Option 8) Also, unlike the above (Option 7), the volume of the speaker 46 may be adjustable even during earphone play. In this example, the volume of the speaker 46 can be adjusted even during earphone play, so that when the output is switched from the earphone to the speaker 46, the output can be at the volume appropriately adjusted by the player.

In the above (tone 7) or (tone 8), when the output is switched from the earphone to the speaker 46, it is preferable to output the volume of the speaker 46 at a predetermined volume (predetermined volume level) rather than at the volume set at that time. The reason for this is to avoid a loud output when the output is switched to the speaker 46. It is preferable that the predetermined volume is a volume level other than the maximum level. For example, the minimum volume level (first step) or a medium volume level (second to third steps) is preferable.

(Adjustment 9) When playing without earphones, the opposite of (Adjustment 7) above, where only the speaker volume can be adjusted, the earphone volume can be configured to be unadjustable regardless of whether the level meter is displayed or not.

(10) Also, unlike the above (9), the volume on the earphone side may be adjustable even during non-earphone play. In this example, the volume on the earphones can be adjusted even during non-earphone play, so when the output is switched from the speaker 46 to the earphones, the sound can be output at a volume appropriately adjusted by the player.

In the above (tone 9) or (tone 10), when output is switched from the speaker 46 to the earphones, it is preferable to output the earphones at a predetermined volume (a volume level other than the maximum level) rather than at the volume set at that time. The reason for this is to avoid a high volume being output when output is switched to the earphones. In particular, in the case of earphones, if a high volume is output when output is switched, it may cause discomfort to the player, so it is preferable that the above-mentioned predetermined volume be the minimum volume level (first stage).

(Option 11) The display modes (presentation modes) of the earphone level meter and the speaker level meter may be different. For example, as shown in FIG. 112 (D), the speaker level meter 103a may be a fan-shaped level meter, and the earphone level meter 103c may be a rectangular level meter. By making the display modes of each level meter different, it becomes easier to visually understand which level meter it is.

(Adjustment 12) In Fig. 112 (A) to (C), an example is shown in which the adjustment stages of the speaker level meter and the earphone level meter are the same (5 stages), but this is not limited to this, and they may be different adjustment stages. For example, as shown in Fig. 112 (D), the speaker level meter 103a can have 5 stages and the earphone level meter 103c can have 8 stages. This is because it is preferable to be able to fine-tune the volume of the earphones more than the speaker 46 side.

(13) In the above (12), the volume adjustment range may be the same on the earphone side and the speaker 46 side. For example, the speaker side may be adjusted in five steps in the range of "60 dB to 80 dB", and the earphone side may be adjusted in eight steps in the range of "60 dB to 80 dB".

(Tone 14) Also, instead of the same adjustment range, different adjustment ranges may be used. For example, the speaker side can be adjusted in five steps in the range of "60 dB to 90 dB," while the earphone side can be adjusted in eight steps in the range of "40 dB to 80 dB." In this case, the minimum and/or maximum volume may be the same for the speaker side and the earphone side.

(Adjustment 15) In addition, when the adjustment stage of the speaker level meter and the adjustment stage of the earphone level meter are the same (cases of Figures 112 (A) to (C)) or different (case of Figure 112 (D)), the minimum volume level and/or the maximum volume level may be the same volume level or different volumes.

(16) Furthermore, regardless of whether the speaker level meter and earphone level meter have the same adjustment steps, the volume adjustment range for one step of the level meter (the volume difference between the Nth step and the N+1th step) may be the same or different. For example, in the latter case, the volume adjustment range from the minimum level (1st step) to the second step of the speaker level meter is 10 dB, and the volume adjustment range from the minimum level (1st step) to the second step of the earphone level meter is 12 dB.

(17) At least one of the configurations described in (1) to (16) above may be adopted.

In addition, for the dual-use type described in FIG. 111, when switching from speaker 46 to earphone output or when switching from earphone to speaker 46 output, it is preferable to output at a predetermined volume rather than at the adjusted volume level, as in (tone 8) and (tone 10) above. As for the predetermined volume, it is preferable to have a volume level other than the maximum level, as in (tone 8) and (tone 10) above, and it is particularly preferable for it to be the minimum volume level (first step) when switching from earphone to speaker 46 output.

(Volume settings for gaming machines exclusively for pachinko parlors: Figure 113)
In this embodiment, a back switch (adjustment mode switching means) that can adjust at least the maximum volume (the upper limit of the total volume value that can be adjusted by the volume adjustment function in the game environment settings, etc.) in stages is provided in an appropriate location on the gaming machine. This back switch is formed on the back side of the gaming machine (in a position that cannot be operated by the player) and is provided exclusively as a "hall management volume adjustment switch" that is operated by pachinko parlor staff.

The rear switch in this embodiment is a rotary type DIP switch as shown in FIG. 113, but the type of switch is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to allow multiple levels of volume adjustment. For example, various switches such as slide type or piano type DIP switches, automatic return push switches, and position holding switches (alternate switches, push lock switches) can be used.

Figure 113 shows the configuration of the back switch of this embodiment. The back switch 71 is configured to have a housing portion 71a having multiple selection terminals therein, and an operating portion 71b that is rotatable and is used to switch the selection terminal to which the common terminal is connected. The operating portion 71b is formed with a scale of 0 to 9 indicating the selection position, and a concave arrow indicating which selection terminal it is connected to, and by rotating the operating portion 71b, it is possible to switch the setting state (adjustment mode) on the gaming machine side. The back switch 71 employs a rotary type dip switch with 10 positions, and can be freely switched to any of the adjustment modes "adjustment modes 0 to 9".

In this embodiment, the back switch 71 can be used to switch between 10 levels of "adjustment mode 0 to 9," one step at a time, and the switchable range includes the following maximum volume levels (maximum sound pressure levels):

Adjustment mode 0: "Test/Factory settings (silent = 0 dB)"
Adjustment mode 1: "Presentation setting (70 dB),
Adjustment mode 2: "Factory default power saving setting (85 dB)"
Adjustment mode 3: "First game volume low (75 dB)"
Adjustment mode 4: "Second game volume low to medium (80 dB)"
Adjustment mode 5: "Medium volume for third game (85 dB)" (same as for shipment),
Adjustment mode 6: "4th game volume medium-large (90 dB)"
Adjustment mode 7: "5th game volume high (95 dB)"
Adjustment mode 8: "First game, low volume for power saving (60 dB)"
Adjustment mode 9: "Second game/power saving volume high (80 dB)"

These 10 volume levels are the "maximum volume (limited volume)" of the total volume value, and in this embodiment, the maximum volume can be adjusted in stages (maximum volume can be limited) using the back switch 71. Note that silent in adjustment mode 0 means that no sound is output (volume zero) or an inaudible volume. Note that the minimum volume may be common to all adjustment modes except for adjustment mode 0 (because adjustment mode 0 is an exceptional setting in which the volume is set to silent), or at least one adjustment mode may be different.

The above-mentioned back switch 71 is configured to limit the maximum volume output from the earphones and speaker 46 in multiple stages. In this embodiment, when the back switch 71 is operated, the volume is limited to the maximum volume of the set adjustment mode regardless of whether the earphones are connected or not. However, this is not limited to this, and the device may be configured to maintain the maximum volume of the adjustment mode before the operation, at least while the earphones are connected, even if a new adjustment mode is set.

The display of the speaker level meter and/or earphone level meter may be configured to be changeable depending on the adjustment mode that is set. For example, when adjustment mode 0 (silent) is set, the level meter is controlled to be in a silent state regardless of the adjustment stage, so the level meter itself can be hidden, or displayed in a suppressed display mode in the normal display.

Note that "displaying in a suppressed state" refers to a display mode in which the original level meter display is emphasized by increasing the transparency or applying a specified effect processing, for example, as in the speaker level meter shown on setting screen 101p in Figure 112 (C).

The adjustable range of the level meter may be changed depending on the adjustment mode. For example, in "Adjustment mode 3 (first game volume low (75 dB))," the level meter may be adjustable up to four levels, and in "Adjustment mode 7 (fifth game volume high (95 dB))," the maximum volume of which is higher than that of the adjustment mode, the level meter may be adjustable up to five levels. In the former case of "Adjustment mode 3," the fifth level of the level meter may be controlled so that it cannot be adjusted, or the fifth level may be adjustable but the fourth and fifth levels may have the same volume (75 dB). In addition, the fifth level, which cannot be adjusted, may be displayed in the normal display mode, or the fifth level may be displayed in a state where it is suppressed by the normal display, or it may be hidden.

Hereinafter, the above-mentioned "display in a suppressed state" or "controlling so that there are stages that cannot be adjusted" will be referred to as "level meter limiting processing."

As described in FIG. 111(G) above, in the case where the speaker level meter and earphone level meter are of the combined type, the level meter limiting process may not be executed. Also, the level meter limiting process may not be executed when the earphones are connected, and the level meter limiting process may be executed when the earphones are not connected.

In addition, when the back switch 71 is operated (including when the adjustment mode is changed to another adjustment mode, or when the back switch 71 is operated but the same adjustment mode is set again), at least the earphone level meter may be displayed. For example, the earphone level meter may be displayed when the back switch 71 is operated without performing a predetermined operation such as setting the game environment.

The volume set by the back switch 71 only needs to be for at least the speaker 46 side, and the earphone side may be a fixed adjustment mode. For example, the earphone volume range (minimum volume to maximum volume) may be common to all adjustment modes. That is, the speaker side can limit the maximum volume in multiple stages with the back switch 71, but the earphone side is not limited by the back switch 71. The reason for fixing the earphone side with the back switch 71 is that, although it is preferable to configure the volume output from the speaker 46 so that its maximum value can be changed to various values taking into account issues related to the noise situation in the hall and the surrounding noise environment, such issues are not particularly taken into account for the volume output from the earphones.

In the above, the maximum volume (volume limit) set by the back switch 71 is the same for the earphone and the speaker 46, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the maximum volume may be different for the earphone and the speaker 46. For example, when adjustment mode 3 is set, the earphone side is limited to 72 dB and the speaker side is limited to 75 dB. The maximum volume (volume limit) for the earphone and the speaker 46 may be configured to be different in all adjustment modes, or may be configured to be different in at least one adjustment mode. Also, in all adjustment modes, the maximum volume for the speaker 46 may be higher or lower than the maximum volume for the earphone.

In this embodiment, the explanation has been given mainly on an example in which the liquid crystal display device 36 is used as a means for displaying various effects related to earphone connection (earphone connection related effects), but the present invention is not limited to this. Various earphone connection related effects may be displayed by one or more display means (so-called sub-display devices) provided separately from the liquid crystal display device 36 (main display device). Also, earphone connection related effects may be displayed on the main display device and the sub-display device. For example, one or more specific earphone connection related effects may be displayed on the main display device, and other earphone connection related effects may be displayed on the sub-display device. It is possible to determine as appropriate which effects are displayed on the main display device or the sub-display device. Also, when one display means (liquid crystal display device 36) is provided as in this embodiment, a dedicated display area for earphone connection related effects may be provided.

<Earphone output board>
Next, the earphone output board will be described.

The control device of the gaming machine 1 according to this embodiment has a main control unit 20 and a performance control unit 24, which is configured by connecting an earphone output board to the performance control unit 24 in addition to the board described in FIG. 3. This earphone output board is a wiring board with a wiring pattern of copper foil or the like arranged on one or both sides of a base board such as an alumina board or a resin board, on which the required electronic components are mounted to construct a specific target circuit.

There are three forms for providing an earphone output board in an amusement machine: a form in which a wired earphone output board is provided separately, a form in which a wireless earphone output board is provided separately, and a form in which both a wired earphone output board and a wireless earphone output board are provided. In any form in which an earphone output board is provided, the earphone output board is configured so that the earphone output board also functions as a sound output board (audio output board) for the speaker 46. These three forms are explained below.

<(1) Form in which a wired earphone output board is provided>
This is a configuration in which the gaming machine is provided with a board for wired earphone output and an output terminal (jack) for the wired earphone, and the plug at the end of the cord of the wired earphone is inserted into the output terminal on the gaming machine, thereby connecting the gaming machine and the wired earphone via a wired connection.

As already explained, wired earphones are assumed to be earphones that connect with a phone plug and phone jack. Also, earphone jacks can have a number of poles, such as 2 poles (monaural), 3 poles (stereo), 4 poles (microphone function), and 5 poles (noise canceling function), and any of these can be used, but here we are assuming that 3 pole (stereo) earphones will be used.

A wired earphone output board is a wiring board with wiring patterns arranged on one or both sides of a base board, on which the necessary electronic components are mounted to construct a specific circuit. In this example, a jack (female connector) as an output terminal for wired earphones is integrally provided with the base board using an L-shaped metal fitting. This wired earphone output board is then positioned so that its output terminal (jack) faces an opening in a side wall or front wall of the wooden frame of the gaming machine, and is attached to the frame member so that it is positioned along the inner surface of the side wall or front wall of the wooden frame of the gaming machine.

In this example, the output terminal (jack) for the wired earphones is provided integrally with the earphone output board, but the output terminal for the wired earphones may be provided separately from the wired earphone output board.

There are two types of wiring patterns provided on the wired earphone output board, and either of these types can be adopted.
(i) The first form of the wiring pattern provided on the wired earphone output board is a form in which a speaker audio signal pattern, which is a wiring pattern for outputting an audio signal to the speaker 46 (sound generating device 46a), and an earphone audio signal pattern, which is a wiring pattern for outputting an audio signal to the earphone side, are provided separately for the analog audio signal output from the performance control unit 24. When an audio signal is output to the wired earphone side, the earphone audio signal pattern is wired so that the audio signal reaches the output terminal (jack) for the wired earphone.

The advantage of this first embodiment is that it is possible to output different sounds (such as specific game sounds) when playing with sound output from the speaker and when playing with sound output from earphones. Also, even when playing with earphones, it is possible to output sounds (such as game sounds and error sounds) from the speaker that are different from the sounds output from the earphones.

(ii) The second form of the wiring pattern provided on the wired earphone output board is a form in which a common audio signal pattern is provided for outputting an audio signal from the performance control unit 24 to the speaker side and the earphone side for the audio signal output from the performance control unit 24. When providing a common audio signal pattern in this second form, it is desirable to configure the configuration so that a group of audio signal patterns is provided from the performance control unit 24 side, the audio signal patterns are formed to branch, and a first audio signal pattern that branches to the speaker side and a second audio signal pattern that branches to the earphone side are respectively formed as branch destinations.

In the latter second form of branching point, that is, when a group of audio signal patterns are wired from the performance control unit 24 side and the audio signal patterns are formed to branch into a first audio signal pattern that branches to the speaker side and a second audio signal pattern that branches to the earphone side, the branching point of the audio signal pattern may be provided on the performance control board (sub-control board) that constitutes the performance control unit 24 so that the audio signal pattern branches on the performance control board, or may be provided on a peripheral board connected to the performance control board so that the audio signal pattern branches on the peripheral board.

In other words, when we say "providing a common audio signal pattern for outputting audio signals from the performance control unit 24 to the speaker side and the earphone side," this includes a form in which a group of audio signal patterns is wired from the performance control unit 24 side on the performance control board (sub-control board) that constitutes the performance control unit 24, and this is passed on as a group of audio signal patterns in the wiring pattern of the wired earphone output board, and a form in which it is branched at a branch point along the way (on the performance control board, on the peripheral board, or on the wired earphone output board), and the first audio signal pattern to the speaker side and the second audio signal pattern to the earphone side are passed on on the wired earphone output board.

The above branching points may branch on one side (the surface on which the wiring pattern is located) of a board such as a performance control board, a peripheral board, or a board for wired earphone output, or may be configured to branch from a via hole (through hole) provided in the board, that is, to branch off through the via hole to the other side (back side) of the board.

The advantage of this second configuration is that it is possible to output the same sounds (such as specified game sounds and error sounds) whether playing with audio output from a speaker or earphones.

Regardless of whether the audio signal pattern form is the first or second form described above, when the performance control unit 24 controls on/off (controls whether to output/not output) audio output such as a specific game sound or a specific error sound, it may be configured to control whether to output/not output when earphone play is being performed (during earphone play), or it may control whether to output/not output when earphone play is not being performed and audio output is being performed by the speaker (during non-earphone play). By controlling in this manner, regardless of whether the hardware configuration (audio signal pattern configuration) is the first or second form, it is possible to output different audio outputs during earphone play and non-earphone play.

The wiring width of the wiring pattern can be different between the first audio signal pattern and the second audio signal pattern. For example, the first audio signal pattern can be made wider than the second audio signal pattern to be more resistant to noise. Conversely, the second audio signal pattern can be made wider than the first audio signal pattern to be more resistant to noise. In any case, the width of each wiring pattern is made different by comparing and balancing the benefit of noise countermeasures by using a wider width with the benefit of space saving on the board by using a narrower width.

<(2) Form in which a wireless earphone output substrate is provided>
This is a form in which an antenna is provided inside the gaming machine and a wireless earphone output board is provided, and the gaming machine and wireless earphone are connected wirelessly. Since the wireless earphone output board does not have an earphone jack, it is not equipped with an earphone jack, but a separate output terminal for wired earphones (wired earphone output board) may be provided to allow connection of both wired and wireless earphones.

When wireless earphones are used, the gaming machine is provided with an antenna and a wireless earphone output board with a Bluetooth communication function that transmits audio in digital format. In addition, for the Bluetooth transmission function, the wireless earphone output board is provided with a module (Bluetooth module) that integrates components such as a dedicated Bluetooth chip, power amplifier, and D/A converter into a single package.

The Bluetooth chip is a dedicated chip for carrying out the processes required for Bluetooth communication, and performs digital processes such as codec (encoding/decoding) processing, which converts analog data into digital data, compresses voice and music, and transmits it efficiently; processing related to pairing and authentication procedures for establishing communication between Bluetooth devices; data packet assembly and analysis processing, which divides the data to be transmitted into small packets, adds header information to these packets, and transmits them in an appropriate format; error control and retransmission processing to ensure data accuracy; and connection management processing, which controls the establishment, maintenance, and disconnection of connections.

In short, the Bluetooth chip controls the protocol and frequency band of Bluetooth wireless communication, and transmits digital audio data. The digital audio data from the Bluetooth chip is converted to an analog signal by a D/A converter and sent to a power amplifier, where it is amplified to an appropriate output level and then radiated (sent) as a transmission signal in the form of radio waves from the antenna.

On the other hand, the wireless earphones have a Bluetooth communication function as well as an audio processing function for receiving, processing, and playing digital audio. The audio processing function for the Bluetooth communication function of the wireless earphones receives digital audio data transmitted via Bluetooth, and in a digital signal processing circuit inside the wireless earphones, analyzes the received data and performs appropriate decoding processing. This converts the digital audio data into analog audio and sends it to the speaker unit, which is the main body of the earphones. They also have a digital signal processing function for faithfully playing back audio and providing sound effects, which allows audio effects such as equalization (sound quality adjustment), noise canceling, and reverb to be applied, improving the quality and ease of listening of the audio. A digital control circuit inside the earphones also performs audio control functions such as play, pause, track forward/backward, and volume adjustment.

There are two types of wiring patterns provided on the wireless earphone output substrate, and either of these types may be adopted.
(i) The first form of the wiring pattern of the wireless earphone output board is a form in which a speaker audio signal pattern for outputting an audio signal to the speaker 46 (sound generating device 46a) and an earphone audio signal pattern for outputting an audio signal to the Bluetooth earphone are provided separately for the analog audio signal output from the performance control unit 24. When an audio signal is output to the Bluetooth earphone, the earphone audio signal pattern is wired so that the audio signal reaches the Bluetooth module.

The advantage of the first embodiment is that it is possible to output different sounds (such as specific game sounds) when playing with sound output from the speaker and when playing with sound output from wireless earphones (here, Bluetooth earphones). Also, even when playing with wireless earphones, it is possible to output sounds (such as game sounds and error sounds) from the speaker that are different from the sounds output from the wireless earphones.

(ii) The second form of the wiring pattern of the wireless earphone output board is a form in which a common audio signal pattern is provided for outputting an analog audio signal output from the performance control unit 24 to the speaker side and the wireless earphone side. When providing a common audio signal pattern in this second form, it is desirable to configure the circuit so that a group of audio signal patterns is provided from the performance control unit 24 side, the audio signal patterns are formed to branch, and a first audio signal pattern that branches to the speaker side and a second audio signal pattern that branches to the wireless earphone side are respectively formed as branch destinations.

In the latter second form of branching point, that is, when a group of audio signal patterns are wired from the performance control unit 24 side and the audio signal patterns are formed to branch off into a first audio signal pattern that branches off to the speaker side and a second audio signal pattern that branches off to the wireless earphone side, the branching point of the audio signal pattern may be provided on the performance control board (sub-control board) so that the audio signal pattern branches off on the performance control board, or may be provided on a peripheral board connected from the performance control board by a wiring pattern or the like so that the audio signal pattern branches off on the peripheral board.

Note that when we say "providing a common audio signal pattern for outputting audio signals from the performance control unit 24 to the speaker side and the wireless earphone side," this includes a form in which a group of audio signal patterns is wired from the performance control unit 24 side on the performance control board (sub-control board) that constitutes the performance control unit 24, and this is passed on as a group of audio signal patterns in the wiring pattern of the wireless earphone output board, and a form in which it is branched at a branch point along the way (on the performance control board, on the peripheral board, or on the wireless earphone output board), and the first audio signal pattern to the speaker side and the second audio signal pattern to the wireless earphone side are passed on to the wireless earphone output board.

The branching point may be configured to branch on one side of a board such as a performance control board, a peripheral board, or a board for wireless earphone output, or may be configured to branch off from a via hole provided in the board, i.e., branch off through the via hole to the other side (back side) of the board.

The advantage of this second configuration is that it is possible to output the same sounds (such as specified game sounds and error sounds) whether the game is being played with audio output from a speaker or with earphones.

Regarding the wireless earphone output board, regardless of whether it is configured in the first or second form of audio signal pattern described above, when the performance control unit 24 controls the on/off of audio output such as specific game sounds or specific error sounds, it may be configured to control the on/off during earphone play, or to control the on/off during non-earphone play (when audio output is being performed through the speaker). By controlling in this manner, regardless of whether the audio signal pattern is configured in the first or second form, it is possible to execute different audio outputs during earphone play and non-earphone play.

Regarding the wiring width of the wiring pattern of the wireless earphone output board, the wiring width of the first audio signal pattern and the second audio signal pattern can be configured to be different. For example, the first audio signal pattern may be configured to be wider than the second audio signal pattern, thereby making the wiring pattern more resistant to noise. Conversely, the second audio signal pattern may be configured to be wider than the first audio signal pattern, thereby making the wiring pattern more resistant to noise. In any case, the width of each wiring pattern is configured to be different by comparing and balancing the benefit of noise countermeasures by using a wider width with the benefit of space saving on the board by using a narrower width.

In the case of Bluetooth earphones, the built-in secondary battery needs to be charged. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a charging facility (for example, a charging connector terminal) on the gaming machine side, or provide a wireless charging facility on the gaming machine side and a wireless charging function on the wireless earphone side.

(3) A form in which both a board for wired earphone output and a board for wireless earphone output are provided This is a form in which both a board for wired earphone output and a board for wireless earphone output are provided. This has the advantage that wired earphones and wireless earphones can be used selectively depending on the environment in which the gaming machine is installed, etc.

When providing a wired earphone output board and a wireless earphone output board, they may be provided separately as independent boards, or both may be constructed on a common base board. In a form in which a wired earphone output board and a wireless earphone output board are constructed on a common base board, when an audio signal is output to the earphones, if wired earphones are used, an audio signal pattern is wired from the performance control unit 24 to the part of the wired earphone output board where the output terminal (jack) is provided, and if wireless earphones are used, an audio signal pattern is wired from the performance control unit 24 to the part of the wireless earphone output board where a module for outputting audio via wireless communication is provided.

<Modification 1>
In addition, in the above embodiment, the signal flowing through the wiring pattern of both the wired earphone output board and the wireless earphone output board is an analog audio signal, but the configuration may also be such that the signal flowing through the wiring pattern is a digital audio signal.
In the case of a form that handles this digital audio signal, the end of the speaker audio signal pattern is connected to a D/A converter mounted on the earphone output board or a D/A converter not mounted on the earphone output board, in either case of a wired earphone output board or a wireless earphone output board, and is then connected to the speaker of the sound generating device 46a. Also, in the case of a form that handles digital audio signals, the Bluetooth module in the wireless earphone output board can directly handle digital audio signals without D/A conversion.

<Modification 2>
In the above embodiment, in both the wired earphone output board and the wireless earphone output board, a configuration has been described in which, in addition to an earphone audio signal pattern (earphone system wiring pattern) facing the earphone side, a speaker audio signal pattern (speaker system wiring pattern) facing the speaker side is provided. However, it is also possible to have a configuration that does not include a speaker system wiring pattern between the earphone system wiring pattern and the speaker system wiring pattern, that is, a configuration that only includes an earphone system wiring pattern.
In an earphone output board having only such an earphone wiring pattern, the signal flowing through the wiring pattern can be either an analog audio signal or a digital audio signal.

For example, in a wired earphone output board that has only an earphone wiring pattern, the earphone wiring pattern may be configured to handle an analog audio signal and output an audio signal from the earphone wiring pattern to the speaker 46 (sound generating device 46a), or the earphone wiring pattern may be configured to handle a digital audio signal and output the earphone wiring pattern to a D/A converter mounted on the board, or to a D/A converter not mounted on the board.

Similarly, in a wireless earphone output board that includes only an earphone wiring pattern,
(i) An earphone wiring pattern through which an analog audio signal flows may be connected to a Bluetooth module (wireless communication module) mounted on the circuit board, and the analog audio signal may be converted from analog to digital by an A/D converter built into the module before the Bluetooth communication function built into the module is activated.
(ii) It may be configured to handle an earphone wiring pattern through which a digital audio signal flows, connect it to a Bluetooth module mounted on the board, and send the digital audio signal to the Bluetooth module mounted on the board to activate the Bluetooth communication function built into the module.

<Modification 3>
In the above embodiment, a three-pole (stereo) earphone (headphone) is used as the wired earphone, and it is assumed that the sound is received by the earphone, but the microphone function can also be utilized. For example, a four-pole (microphone function) or five-pole (noise canceling) headphone with a microphone function is used, and a process (voice recognition process) that works the same as the ON operation of the effect button 13 (effect button switch 13a) is executed by voice input using this microphone function during a player participation type effect, etc., and the earphone can be configured to double as the effect button 13. For example, when the instruction effect of "Press!" is issued in the pre-operation effect during the player participation type effect, the player speaks into the microphone to execute the ON operation of the effect button 13, which is a voice recognition type effect. In this case, it is preferable to make the effect that appears different between when the earphone is connected and when it is not connected. In the above example, when the earphone is not connected, the instruction effect of "Press!" is issued, and when the earphone with a microphone function is connected, the instruction effect of "Scream!" is issued. Furthermore, during a voice recognition type performance, it is preferable that operation of the performance button 13 is not treated as invalid (button operation invalid) even when earphones are connected, but rather operation using the performance button 13 is also treated as valid.

The same applies to wireless earphones. A headset with a microphone function can be used for the wireless earphones, and voice input using this microphone function can be used to execute processing that has the same function as pressing the effect button 13 ON during player participation effects, allowing the earphones to double as the effect button 13.

In addition, when connecting earphones with a microphone function, in game environment settings, the player can select whether to execute a "normal player participation type presentation" when earphones are not connected, or to execute a "voice recognition type player participation type presentation" when earphones are connected, according to their preference, allowing for free customization.

Although various embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to each individual embodiment, and may be configured by combining multiple embodiments, and the contents described in each embodiment are not limited to only the individual embodiment. In particular, for all configurations (technical matters) understood from this specification and the drawings, as long as a control combination is possible, the present invention is not limited to only specific embodiments or specific components. In other words, for various technical matters described in the specification and drawings, as long as a combination of those is possible, a gaming machine having such a combined configuration is included in the scope of the present invention. Although it is an extreme example, a gaming machine that combines a general gaming machine according to the first embodiment and a managed gaming machine according to the second embodiment to form two types of gaming machines and allows the player to choose which gaming machine to enjoy is also an embodiment, and such a combination is included in the scope of the present invention.

In addition, while the above embodiments have been described mainly with reference to examples in which the liquid crystal display device 36 is used as image display means, the present invention is not limited to this. The performance (the performance described in this specification) may be performed using one or more display means (so-called sub-display devices) provided separately from the liquid crystal display device 36 (main display device). Furthermore, when a main display device and a sub-display device are provided, the display devices may be configured to be capable of performing a performance in which these display devices are linked. Furthermore, the term "same" also includes the meaning of "approximately the same".

In this embodiment, the main focus has been on pinball gaming machines that use gaming balls as the gaming medium, but the following terms (Use 1) to (Use 3) can be interpreted and applied appropriately depending on the type of machine.

(Use 1) Regarding “winning game” “Winning game” in relation to pinball gaming machines primarily means small winning game or big winning game (including V winning game), etc., but in relation to reel-type gaming machines, at least one of AT game (assist time game), RT game (replay time game), ART game (assist replay time game), game while a first type special feature is in operation, game while a second type special feature is in operation, or game while a normal feature is in operation can be read as “winning game” and applied.

(Use 2) Regarding "hit" A "hit" in relation to a pinball gaming machine primarily means a winning type that triggers the execution of a small hit game, a winning type that triggers the execution of a big hit, a V winning (V winning during a small hit game) that triggers the execution of a V hit game, etc., but in relation to a reel-type gaming machine, at least one of the winning type that triggers the execution of an AT game, the winning type that triggers the execution of an RT game, the winning type that triggers the execution of an ART game, the winning type that triggers the execution of a game related to the operation of a first type special device, the winning type that triggers the execution of a game related to the operation of a second type special device, or the winning type that triggers the execution of a game related to the operation of a normal device can be read as a "hit" and applied.

(3) "In play" or "in game" in relation to a reel-type gaming machine means the period during which the reel is rotating (after the lever that rotates the reel is operated, the reel starts, and until the stop button is operated and the final game result is determined). "Not in play" means the period during which the reel is completely stopped, and during this non-play period, as in this embodiment, the machine goes into standby to wait for customers after a certain period of time has elapsed, and demo displays and the like are executed.

In the above embodiment, a pinball game machine (pachinko game machine) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to pinball game machines. For example, the present invention can be applied to any type of game machine, such as a reel game machine, an arrange ball game machine, or a jankyu game machine.

The present invention is useful for gaming machines.

1 gaming machine,
2 Front frame (door),
3, 3a Game board, game area,
19 Game ball payout device,
20 Main control unit (main control board),
21 Frame external terminal board,
22 Frame control unit (frame control board),
24. Performance control unit (performance control board, liquid crystal control board)
28 launch control board,
29 Dispensing control board,
32 launchers,
34, 34a Upper starting port, upper starting port sensor 35, 35a Lower starting port, lower starting port sensor,
37, 37a normal pattern start port, normal pattern start port sensor,
38a, 38b Special symbol display device,
39a Ordinary pattern display device,
43, 43h General prize winning port, general prize winning port sensor,
50, 52a: Large prize opening, large prize opening sensor,
51a specific area sensor,
41, 41c Normal variable winning device, normal electric role solenoid,
52, 52c Special variable prize device, large prize port solenoid,
36 Liquid crystal display device,
45 decorative lamps,
46 Speaker,
49 Outlet,
61 Door open sensor,
62 ball removal switch,
63 Frame RAM clear switch,
64 Error release switch,
65 Game ball clear switch,
66 ball entry passage count sensor,
67 non-entered ball passage count sensor,
68 Subtraction mechanism count sensor,
72 ball removal unit,
73 Circulation unit,
74 polishing unit,
87 Ball loan request switch,
85 External connection terminal board,
98 RAM clear switch,
99 Performance indicators,
201, 202, 203 Main control CPU, main control ROM, main control RAM,
241, 242, 243 performance control CPU, performance control ROM, performance control RAM.

Claims (1)

A lottery means for executing a winning lottery;
A performance control means for controlling a performance related to the result of the winning lottery;
A gaming machine comprising:
The performance control means is configured to execute a lottery process using predetermined reference information a plurality of times for the performance content of the performance, and to determine the performance to be executed;
the reference information includes first reference information determined before the current lottery process is executed and second reference information determined by the current lottery process;
The second reference information is referred to in the next or subsequent lottery process, and the content of the performance is determined.
A gaming machine characterized by:

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