Method of gaming, a game controller and a gaming system

Abstract

A method of gaming in a gaming system comprising: generating a game outcome for a game round of a game having a plurality of winning outcomes associated with respective ones of a plurality of designated initial prize amounts; evaluating the game outcome to determine whether to make an award for one or more winning outcomes such that if no award is made there is a non-winning outcome; and making a contribution towards an increase of a prize amount associated with at least one of the winning outcomes in response to a non-winning game outcome, whereby an increased amount may be won in a subsequent game round.

1 . A method of gaming in a gaming system comprising:
 generating a game outcome for a game round of a game having a plurality of winning outcomes associated with respective ones of a plurality of designated initial prize amounts;   evaluating the game outcome to determine whether to make an award for one or more winning outcomes such that if no award is made there is a non-winning outcome; and   making a contribution towards an increase of a prize amount associated with at least one of the winning outcomes in response to a non-winning game outcome, whereby an increased amount may be won in a subsequent game round.   
     
     
         2 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising evaluating the game outcome based on a wager placed on the game round. 
     
     
         3 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein making a contribution towards an increase of a prize amount comprises incrementing a prize pool. 
     
     
         4 . A method as claimed in  claim 3 , comprising increasing the prize amount when the prize pool is incremented by at least a designated amount. 
     
     
         5 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising making a contribution towards an increase of a plurality of prize amounts associated with respective ones of the winning outcomes. 
     
     
         6 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising making an award of a current prize amount for each winning outcome for which an award is determined to be made. 
     
     
         7 . A method as claimed in  claim 6 , comprising allocating a new initial prize amount to each winning outcomes for which an award is made. 
     
     
         8 . A method as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the new initial prize amount is always the same for a respective winning outcomes such that the prize amount is reset to the initial prize amount. 
     
     
         9 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the prize amounts are only available to a single player. 
     
     
         10 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the game is a card game and the winning outcomes are winning hands of the card game. 
     
     
         11 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the game is a spinning reel game and the winning outcomes are winning symbol combinations. 
     
     
         12 . A method as claimed in  claim 2 , comprising initiating a game round in response to the wager. 
     
     
         13 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising dynamically updating a prize table to reflect any change to the prize amount and displaying the updated prize table on a display. 
     
     
         14 . A game controller for a gaming system, comprising:
 an outcome generator arranged to generate a game outcome for a game round of a game having a plurality of winning outcomes associated with respective ones of a plurality of designated initial prize amounts;   an outcome evaluator arranged to evaluate the game outcome to determine whether to make an award for one or more winning outcomes such that if no award is made there is a non-winning outcome; and   a contribution controller arranged to make a contribution towards an increase of a prize amount associated with at least one of the winning outcomes in response to a non-winning game outcome, whereby an increased amount may be won in a subsequent game round.   
     
     
         15 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the outcome evaluator evaluates the game outcome based on a wager placed on the game round. 
     
     
         16 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the game controller makes a contribution towards an increase of a prize amount by incrementing a prize pool. 
     
     
         17 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 16 , comprising a prize controller arranged to increase the prize amount when the prize pool is incremented by at least a designated amount. 
     
     
         18 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the contribution controller is arranged to make a contribution towards an increase of a plurality of prize amounts associated with respective ones of the winning outcomes. 
     
     
         19 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the outcome evaluator is arranged to make an award of a current prize amount for each winning outcome for which an award is determined to be made. 
     
     
         20 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 19 , comprising a prize controller arranged to increase the prize amount when the prize pool is incremented by at least a designated amount, wherein the prize controller is arranged to allocate a new initial prize amount to each winning outcomes for which an award is made. 
     
     
         21 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the new initial prize amount is always the same for a respective winning outcomes such that the prize amount is reset to the initial prize amount. 
     
     
         22 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , arranged such that the prize amounts are only available to a single player. 
     
     
         22 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the game is a card game and the winning outcomes are winning hands of the card game. 
     
     
         23 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the game is a spinning reel game and the winning outcomes are winning symbol combinations. 
     
     
         24 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , arranged to initiate a game round in response to the wager. 
     
     
         25 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 17 , wherein the prize controller dynamically updates a prize table to reflect any change to the prize amount and the game controller is arranged to control a display to display the updated prize table. 
     
     
         26 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 14 , implemented, at least in part, by a processor executing program code stored in a memory. 
     
     
         27 . A gaming system comprising:
 a display for displaying game outcomes;   a player interface operable to initiate a game round of a game having a plurality of winning outcomes associated with respective ones of a plurality of designated initial prize amounts; and   a game controller arranged to:
 generate a game outcome; 
 evaluate the game outcome to determine whether to make an award for one or more winning outcomes such that if no award is made there is a non-winning outcome; and 
 cause a contribution to be made towards an increase of a prize amount associated with at least one of the winning outcomes in response to a non-winning game outcome, whereby an increased amount may be won in a subsequent game round. 
   
     
     
         28 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game controller is arranged to evaluate the game outcome based on a wager placed on the game round. 
     
     
         29 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game controller is arranged to make a contribution towards an increase of a prize amount by incrementing a prize pool. 
     
     
         30 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein the game controller is arranged to increase the prize amount when the prize pool is incremented by at least a designated amount. 
     
     
         31 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game controller is arranged to make a contribution towards an increase of a plurality of prize amounts associated with respective ones of the winning outcomes. 
     
     
         32 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game controller is arranged to make an award of a current prize amount for each winning outcome for which an award is determined to be made. 
     
     
         33 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 32 , wherein the game controller is arranged to allocate a new initial prize amount to each winning outcomes for which an award is made. 
     
     
         34 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 33 , wherein the new initial prize amount is always the same for a respective winning outcomes such that the prize amount is reset to the initial prize amount. 
     
     
         35 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game controller is arranged to make the prize amounts are only available to a single player. 
     
     
         36 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game is a card game and the winning outcomes are winning hands of the card game. 
     
     
         37 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game is a spinning reel game and the winning outcomes are winning symbol combinations. 
     
     
         38 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 28 , wherein the game controller is arranged to initiate a game round in response to the wager. 
     
     
         39 . A gaming system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the game controller is arranged to dynamically update a prize table to reflect any change to the prize amount and displaying the updated prize table on a display. 
     
     
         40 . A gaming machine comprising:
 a display for displaying game outcomes;   a game play mechanism comprising one or more input devices operable by a player to initiate a game round of a game having a plurality of winning outcomes associated with respective ones of a plurality of designated initial prize amounts; and   a game controller comprising a processor and a memory storing program code which when executed in response to initiation of a game round, causes the game controller to:
 generate a game outcome for the game round; 
 evaluate the game outcome based on award data stored in the memory to determine whether to make an award to the player for one or more winning outcomes such that if no award is made there is a non-winning outcome; and 
 cause a contribution to be made towards an increase of a prize amount associated with at least one of the winning outcomes in response to a non-winning game outcome, whereby an increased amount may be won in a subsequent game round. 
   
     
     
         41 . A tangible computer readable medium comprising program code which when executed by a gaming system implements a method of gaming comprising:
 generating a game outcome for a game round of a game having a plurality of winning outcomes associated with respective ones of a plurality of designated initial prize amounts;   evaluating the game outcome to determine whether to make an award for one or more winning outcomes such that if no award is made there is a non-winning outcome; and   making a contribution towards an increase of a prize amount associated with at least one of the winning outcomes in response to a non-winning game outcome, whereby an increased amount may be won in a subsequent game round.