| 主权项 |
1. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:
(a) causing at least one processor to execute a plurality of instructions stored in at least one memory device to enroll a plurality of real players of a plurality of gaming devices for an occurrence of a multiplayer wagering game, wherein said occurrence of the multiplayer wagering game includes a predetermined total number of game arrays and each game array includes a different combination of indicia of a set of game indicia; (b) for each enrolled real player, providing said enrolled real player with one or more of the game arrays for said occurrence of the multi-player wagering game; (c) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine whether a number of the game arrays provided to the enrolled real players is less than the total number of game arrays; (d) if the number of game arrays provided to the enrolled real players is less than the total number of game arrays, causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to enroll one or more virtual players for said occurrence of the multiplayer wagering game; (e) for each enrolled virtual player, providing said enrolled virtual player with one or more of the game arrays not provided to the enrolled real players; (f) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to randomly select game indicia from the set of game indicia; (g) for each randomly selected game indicium, for each enrolled real player and each enrolled virtual player, causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine whether said randomly selected game indicium matches any of the game indicia of the game arrays of said enrolled player; (h) cause at least one display device of the gaming device of said enrolled real player to display any said matches; (i) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine one or more of the game arrays that each include a pattern of matched game indicia that matches a game-winning pattern, wherein the game-winning pattern is determined by causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to:
(i) determine a desired statistical distribution of the randomly selected game indicia for at least one game array to match the game-winning pattern for said occurrence of the multiplayer wagering game;(ii) determine criteria for selecting the game-winning pattern for said occurrence of the multiplayer wagering game based on the number of game arrays provided to the enrolled players in said occurrence of the multiplayer wagering game such that a statistical distribution of the randomly selected game indicia for at least one enrolled player to match the game-winning pattern for said occurrence of the multi-player wagering game is approximately the same as the desired statistical distribution; and(iii) select the game-winning pattern for said occurrence of the multiplayer wagering game based on the determined criteria; (j) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to, for each enrolled real player having at least one game array including a pattern of matched game indicia that matches the game-winning pattern, determine an award for said enrolled real player, wherein said determined award causes an increase of a credit balance for said enrolled real player, and said credit balance is:
(i) increasable via:
(A) an acceptor of a physical item associated with a monetary value, and(B) a validator configured to identify the physical item, and(ii) decreasable via a cashout device configured to receive an input to cause an initiation of a payout associated with the credit balance; and (k) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to, for each enrolled virtual player having at least one game array including a pattern of matched game indicia that matches the game-winning pattern, determine an award associated with said enrolled virtual player. |
