Method of gaming, a gaming system and a game controller

Abstract

A method of gaming includes: receiving an initiate play instruction from a player selected from a plurality of initiate play instructions; generating a game outcome in response to receipt of the initiate play instruction, generation of the game outcome including selecting a plurality of symbols for display in a set of display positions corresponding to a plurality of spinning reels set side by side; and evaluating the game outcome by evaluating the symbols at least two different combinations of display positions in accordance with at least one game rule, each combination consisting of one display position from each reel and the same evaluation being performed irrespective of the received initiate play instruction.

1 . A method of gaming comprising:
 receiving an initiate play instruction from a player selected from a plurality of initiate play instructions;   generating a game outcome in response to receipt of the initiate play instruction, generation of the game outcome including selecting a plurality of symbols for display in a set of display positions corresponding to a plurality of spinning reels set side by side; and   evaluating the game outcome by evaluating the symbols at least two different combinations of display positions in accordance with at least one game rule, each combination consisting of one display position from each reel and the same evaluation being performed irrespective of the received initiate play instruction.   
   
   
       2 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising determining whether the symbols at one or more of the at least two different combinations of symbol positions correspond to a winning outcome entitling the player to an award. 
   
   
       3 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising determining whether the symbols at one or more of the at least two different combinations of symbol positions correspond to a feature game trigger. 
   
   
       4 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising evaluating the symbols at the display positions to determine whether a plurality of symbols corresponds to a scattered winning outcome entitling the player to an award. 
   
   
       5 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising evaluating the symbols at the display positions to determine whether a plurality of symbols corresponds to a feature game trigger. 
   
   
       7 . A method as claimed in  claim 3 , comprising conducting any triggered feature game and evaluating the feature game to determine whether the feature game corresponds to one or more winning outcomes entitling the player to an award. 
   
   
       8 . A method as claimed in  claim 2 , comprising making an award to which the player has become entitled. 
   
   
       9 . A method as claimed in  claim 8 , comprising allowing the player to gamble any award prior to making the award and determining whether to modify the award based on the outcome of the gamble. 
   
   
       10 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein individual ones of the initiate play instructions vary from other initiate play instructions solely by a bet amount. 
   
   
       11 . A method as claimed in  claim 10  comprising determining the quantum of each award to which the player becomes entitled based on the initiate play instruction. 
   
   
       12 . A method as claimed in  claim 1  wherein each one of the at least two combinations of display positions corresponds to a win line. 
   
   
       13 . A method as claimed in  claim 1  wherein each one of the at least two combinations of display positions is derived by combining selected display positions of a plurality of reels. 
   
   
       14 . A method as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the selected display positions are derived from selected reels. 
   
   
       15 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising evaluating all symbol combinations available for the game. 
   
   
       16 . A method as claimed in  claim 15  comprising evaluating all the win lines. 
   
   
       17 . A method as claimed in  claim 15  comprising evaluating all symbol combinations derived from selection of all the reels. 
   
   
       18 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising an operator setting a number of combinations to be evaluated. 
   
   
       19 . A game controller for a gaming system, the game controller arranged to:
 receive an initiate play instruction from a player selected from a plurality of initiate play instructions;   generate a game outcome in response to receipt of the initiate play instruction, generation of the game outcome including selecting a plurality of symbols for display in a set of display positions corresponding to a plurality of spinning reels set side by side; and   evaluate the game outcome by evaluating the symbols at least two different combinations of display positions in accordance with at least one game rule, each combination consisting of one display position from each reel and the same evaluation being performed irrespective of the received initiate play instruction.   
   
   
       20 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 19 , comprising an outcome generator for generating the game outcome. 
   
   
       21 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 19 , comprising an outcome evaluator for evaluating the game outcome. 
   
   
       22 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18  constituted, at least in part, by a processor executing program code stored in a memory. 
   
   
       23 . A gaming system comprising:
 a player interface comprising:
 a display; and 
 a game play mechanism operable by the player to select one initiate play instruction from a plurality of possible initiate play instructions; and 
   a game controller arranged to:
 receive the initiate play instruction; 
 generate a game outcome in response to receipt of the initiate play instruction, generation of the game outcome including selecting a plurality of symbols for display on the display in a set of display positions corresponding to a plurality of spinning reels set side by side; and 
 evaluate the game outcome by evaluating the symbols at least two different combinations of display positions in accordance with at least one game rule, each combination consisting of one display position from each reel and the same evaluation being performed irrespective of the received initiate play instruction. 
   
   
   
       24 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 23  comprising an operator interface operable to specify a number of different combinations of display positions to be evaluated. 
   
   
       26 . A computer readable medium including a set of instructions executable on a computer, said set of instructions comprising:
 an initiate routine receiving an initiate play instruction from a player selected from a plurality of initiate play instructions;   an outcome generation routine generating a game outcome in response to receipt of the initiate play instruction, generation of the game outcome including selecting a plurality of symbols for display in a set of display positions corresponding to a plurality of spinning reels set side by side; and   an evaluation routine evaluating the game outcome by evaluating the symbols at at least two different combinations of display positions in accordance with at least one game rule, each combination consisting of one display position from each reel and the same evaluation being performed irrespective of the received initiate play instruction.