Gaming system and method of gaming

Abstract

An example method of providing a multi-stage game on a gaming machine includes, in a first stage: displaying a plurality of selectable objects on a display screen, each selectable object being associated with a symbol randomly selected from a symbol set; selecting two or more of the plurality of selectable objects to reveal the symbols associated with the selected objects and evaluating the revealed symbols to determine a first outcome; and in response to determining that the first outcome meets a continuation criterion, initiating a second stage including: selecting at least one further selectable object displayed on the display screen to reveal a corresponding number of further associated symbols and evaluating the further associated symbols to determine a second outcome; and in response to determining that second determined outcome meets a first prize winning criterion awarding a first prize, otherwise awarding a second prize of lesser value than the first prize.

1 . A method of providing a multi-stage game on a gaming machine, the method comprising:
 in a first stage:
 displaying a plurality of selectable objects on a display screen, each selectable object being associated with a symbol randomly selected from a symbol set; 
 facilitating a selection of two or more of the plurality of selectable objects to reveal the symbols associated with the selected objects and evaluating the revealed symbols to determine an outcome of the first stage; and 
 in response to determining that the outcome of the first stage meets a continuation criterion, initiating a second stage comprising: 
 facilitating a selection of at least one further selectable object displayed on the display screen to reveal a corresponding number of further associated symbols and evaluating the further associated symbols to determine an outcome of the second stage; and 
 in response to determining that second stage outcome meets a first prize winning criterion awarding a first prize, otherwise awarding a second prize of lesser value than the first prize. 
   
     
     
         2 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the symbols associated with the selectable objects are numbers and at least one of the continuation criterion and first prize winning criterion is that one of an addition, multiplication or division of the revealed numbers meets or exceeds a predefined value. 
     
     
         3 . A method as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the first stage outcome is the total sum value of the revealed numbers and wherein the continuation criterion is that the total sum value of the numbers meets or exceeds a predefined value. 
     
     
         4 . A method as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the second stage outcome is the total sum value of the numbers revealed in both the first and second stage and wherein the first prize winning criterion is that the total sum value meets or exceeds a second predefined value. 
     
     
         5 . A method as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the second predefined value is the maximum sum value of the x highest numbers in the symbol set, where x is equal to the number of objects selected in both the first and second stages. 
     
     
         6 . A method as claimed in  claim 2 , comprising the further step of modifying the symbol set after determining the first stage outcome such that at least one of the symbols associated with the symbols revealed in the first stage is replaced with a special symbol and such that the symbols associated with the objects selectable in the second stage are selected at random from the modified symbol set. 
     
     
         7 . A method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the first prize winning criterion is that one of the special symbols is revealed in the second stage outcome. 
     
     
         8 . A method as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein a value of the secondary prize is related to the total sum value of the numbers revealed by the selected objects in at least one of the first and second stage. 
     
     
         9 . A method as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the second prize comprises a plurality of prizes having distinct prize values and the total sum value dictates which of the plurality of prizes to award. 
     
     
         10 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising the step of awarding a third prize if the continuation criterion is not met. 
     
     
         11 . A method as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein a value of the third prize corresponds to the lowest prize value attainable in the second stage. 
     
     
         12 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the game is a secondary game which is triggered upon a jackpot event occurring during play of a base game. 
     
     
         13 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the selection in at least one of the first and second stages is made by a player. 
     
     
         14 . A method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the number of objects selected in at least one of the first and second stage is less than the total number of objects displayed. 
     
     
         15 . A game controller arranged to control play of a game of chance comprising a plurality of stages on a gaming apparatus, in a first of the stages the game controller being configured to:
 control a display of the gaming apparatus to display a plurality of selectable objects, each selectable object being associated with a symbol randomly selected from a symbol set;   select two or more of the plurality of selectable objects to reveal the symbols associated with the selected objects and evaluate the revealed symbols to determine an outcome of the first stage; and   in response to determining that the outcome of the first stage meets a continuation criterion, initiating a second stage whereby the game controller is further configured to:   select at least one further selectable object displayed on the display screen to reveal a corresponding number of further associated symbols and evaluate the further associated symbols to determine an outcome of the second stage; and   in response to determining that second stage outcome meets a first prize winning criterion awarding a first prize, otherwise awarding a second prize of lesser value than the first prize.   
     
     
         16 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the symbols associated with the selectable objects are numbers and at least one of the continuation criterion and first prize winning criterion is that one of an addition, multiplication or division of the revealed numbers meets or exceeds a predefined value. 
     
     
         17 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the outcome of the first stage is the total sum value of the revealed numbers and wherein the continuation criterion is that the total sum value of the numbers meets or exceeds a predefined value. 
     
     
         18 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 17 , wherein the outcome of the second stage is the total sum value of the numbers revealed in both the first and second stages and wherein the first prize winning criterion is that the total sum value meets or exceeds a second predefined value. 
     
     
         19 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the second predefined value is the maximum sum value of the x highest numbers in the symbol set, where x is equal to the number of objects selected in both the first and second stages. 
     
     
         20 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the game controller is further arranged to modify the symbol set after determining the outcome of the first stage such that at least one of the symbols associated with the symbols revealed in the first stage is replaced with a special symbol and such that the symbols associated with the objects selectable in the second stage are selected at random from the modified symbol set. 
     
     
         21 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the first prize winning criterion is that one of the special symbols is revealed in the outcome of the second stage. 
     
     
         22 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein a value of the second prize is related to the total sum value of the numbers revealed by the selected objects in at least one of the first and second stage. 
     
     
         23 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 22 , wherein the second prize comprises a plurality of prizes having distinct prize values and the total sum value dictates which of the plurality of prizes to award. 
     
     
         24 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 15 , further comprising an award module which is arranged to award a third prize if the continuation criterion is not met. 
     
     
         25 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 24 , wherein a value of the third prize corresponds to the lowest prize value attainable in the second stage. 
     
     
         26 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the game is a secondary game which is triggered upon a jackpot event occurring during play of a base game. 
     
     
         27 . A game controller as claimed in  claim 15 , further comprising an input module arranged to a player input specifying which of the objects to select in at least one of the first and second stages. 
     
     
         28 . A gaming machine having a display and a game controller programmed to control images of symbols displayed on the display, and to play a base game wherein at least one random event is caused to be displayed on the display and, if a predefined winning event occurs, the game controller causes the machine to award a prize, the game controller being further programmed to play a jackpot game in response to a jackpot trigger condition being detected during play of the base game, the jackpot game having a first stage comprising:
 displaying a plurality of selectable objects on a display screen, each selectable object being associated with a symbol randomly selected from a symbol set;   selecting two or more of the plurality of selectable objects to reveal the symbols associated with the selected objects and evaluating the revealed symbols to determine a first outcome; and   in response to determining that the first outcome meets a continuation criterion, initiating a second stage of the jackpot game comprising:   selecting at least one further selectable object displayed on the display screen to reveal a corresponding number of further associated symbols and evaluating the further associated symbols to determine a second outcome; and   in response to determining that second determined outcome meets a first prize winning criterion awarding a first prize, otherwise awarding a second prize of lesser value than the first prize.   
     
     
         29 . A computer program product comprising machine-readable program code for controlling the operation of a data processing apparatus on which the program code executes to perform a method of providing a multi-stage game on a gaming machine, the method comprising:
 in a first stage:
 displaying a plurality of selectable objects on a display screen, each selectable object being associated with a symbol randomly selected from a symbol set; 
 facilitating a selection of two or more of the plurality of selectable objects to reveal the symbols associated with the selected objects and evaluating the revealed symbols to determine an outcome of the first stage; and 
 in response to determining that the outcome of the first stage meets a continuation criterion, initiating a second stage comprising: 
 facilitating a selection of at least one further selectable object displayed on the display screen to reveal a corresponding number of further associated symbols and evaluating the further associated symbols to determine an outcome of the second stage; and 
 in response to determining that second stage outcome meets a first prize winning criterion awarding a first prize, otherwise awarding a second prize of lesser value than the first prize.