In it together
In it together
Community slot games allow gamblers to interact and share the wealth
By Jack Bulavsky
It was bound to happen. The idea of the lone gambler who keeps to himself and plays anonymously is slowly fading into the sunset. Now there is family as that lone gambler is becoming part of a growing trend on the slot floor called community games.
Community games are slot machines played by multiple players who get to know one another. These multiple-player slots are gaining popularity and making casino operators and slot manufacturers rethink that element of customer play.
Marcus Prater, senior vice president of marketing for Bally Gaming & Systems, said slot machines are more interactive and entertaining than they were 10 years ago, and community games are just another evolution of how slots are being played.
"Technology has been the driver to make the games more popular," Prater said. "In a way, wide-area progressives may have been the first type of community games. The new trend is group play where players are competing against each other, or just sharing. Games are linked and when one person goes into a bonus round, the entire bank of players benefit in some way. This creates a lot of activity and players are rooting for each other. It is said that table games have a certain camaraderie or social behavior. That social behavior is now transcending to slots and we're calling it community games."
Shared experiences
Buddy Frank, vice president of slot operations at Viejas Casino in Alpine, Calif., said most casinos near him have community games and they are extremely popular.
"Even something like Wheel of Fortune is a community game," he
said. "Here is a bank of players seated together and when the Wheel of Fortune logo appears and you hear that famous saying, it affects the mentally of all the other players on the bank. They're thinking that someone is winning and their turn is next. It's infectious. The shared winning experience is powerful when linked as a group of machines."
All levels of jackpots can be found in a group of community games that can range from six to 12 machines, although the average is usually eight. Kent Young, global general manager of marketing for Aristocrat Technologies, said players playing for a common product still invite competition.
"This is a unique social phenomenon where players actually get to know one another," he said. "I've seen players console each other if that player misses one symbol that would have won a jackpot. At the same time, players turn and congratulate each other when the jackpot is hit. But don't be mistaken. Each player wants to win and is doing his or her best to be the one to walk away with the big money."
While community games are appealing to a growing segment of the slot player, there will always be those who desire the individual gaming experience. Video poker, keno or bingo still draws that individual who is not into the interactive component experience. However, having multiple players vying for a common outcome is where the trend is, and as a result game types that have long been community oriented-such as table games-are becoming fodder for new slot prototypes.
Electronic tables
Shuffle Master has Rapid Roulette, an electronic version of roulette where eight to 12 players wager and move chips across a traditional roulette layout on touchscreen terminals. The wheel spins, a winning number is noted, and winnings are distributed accordingly.
According to Brooke Dunn, senior vice president at Shuffle Master, there are a myriad of benefits for both the operator and player.
"The game appeals to operators," he said, "because it eliminates chip fraud, reduces labor costs (no live dealer because it is all done electronically), increases game frequency to 50-60 games per hour, provides comprehensive reports, and opens up the game to a broader demographic playing field. Players like it because it's less daunting for the inexperienced player, and combines the camaraderie of live roulette with the speed of electronic play."
Frank said his customers enjoy the shared outcome games because players are playing against the dealer, or for a single outcome.
"Some of these community games take on a life of their own where you hear the cheering just like when a dealer busts at a live blackjack table," he said. "It's even gotten to the point where players believe the graphics of a dealer on the Table Master game from Shuffle Master is actually flirting or winking at you. And it doesn't hurt when the graphic shows a woman in a swim suit. That's something we couldn't do here."
Table Master features five player stations and a realistic electronic
dealer that combines video poker with the camaraderie of traditional table games. Frank is high on these games because they allow new players to learn blackjack, and are an excellent way to introduce lower stakes players to table games.
"I see two distinct customers at Viejas," Frank said. "One is new to the game and just wants to try it. He can sit down at a machine and learn the basic rules at one dollar a hand and not worry that he isn't playing fast enough or even correctly. At the same time, I see experienced players who know the game and don't want to lay down $10 a hand at a live game. They're just trying to stretch their entertainment value. We currently have three of these games on our floor and they're busy all the time."
Sidebar:
Selling, buying and winning
Bally's Auction Fever gives gamblers bonus rounds of simulated e-bidding
One slot that defines the new community games experience is Auction Fever from Bally Gaming and Systems. It simulates an interactive online buying and selling experience for a bank of players. This is how it works:
One player on a slot bank of eight goes in as the seller when he or she lines up three to five "Mr. Dotcom" symbols across an active payline. This initiates the Auction Fever bonus round. The seller is taken to the Attic (a series of screens) to select three to five items to sell based on the triggering combination.
The other active players on the slot bank now become buyers and are notified with both audio and screen instruction that the Bonus Round has been triggered. They will be able to bid on items in the auction.
The seller watches items being sold as the bids roll up and the clock ticks away. For each item selected, players will see the credit value and number of bids rise during the auction. If all items are not chosen within the time limit, items will be automatically selected.
Game play continues until the screen simulates an internet connection with an image and the familiar modem sound. Buyers will be prompted to select three items upon which to bid. As items are selected, they appear in the "Items You're Watching" window that expands to fill the screen and allow the touch-screen bidding process.
Items that have the top bid will be shown and buyers will be prompted to bid again by touching the screen. This process will repeat rapidly so that buyers continue to keep the items in a top bid status. If all items are not chosen within the time limit, they will be automatically selected.
The seller is awarded the sum of the credit values for each selected item multiplied by the initiating bet. Buyers are notified of items they have won and credits awarded.
-Jack Bulavsky
Community slot games allow gamblers to interact and share the wealth
By Jack Bulavsky
It was bound to happen. The idea of the lone gambler who keeps to himself and plays anonymously is slowly fading into the sunset. Now there is family as that lone gambler is becoming part of a growing trend on the slot floor called community games.
Community games are slot machines played by multiple players who get to know one another. These multiple-player slots are gaining popularity and making casino operators and slot manufacturers rethink that element of customer play.
Marcus Prater, senior vice president of marketing for Bally Gaming & Systems, said slot machines are more interactive and entertaining than they were 10 years ago, and community games are just another evolution of how slots are being played.
"Technology has been the driver to make the games more popular," Prater said. "In a way, wide-area progressives may have been the first type of community games. The new trend is group play where players are competing against each other, or just sharing. Games are linked and when one person goes into a bonus round, the entire bank of players benefit in some way. This creates a lot of activity and players are rooting for each other. It is said that table games have a certain camaraderie or social behavior. That social behavior is now transcending to slots and we're calling it community games."
Shared experiences
Buddy Frank, vice president of slot operations at Viejas Casino in Alpine, Calif., said most casinos near him have community games and they are extremely popular.
"Even something like Wheel of Fortune is a community game," he
said. "Here is a bank of players seated together and when the Wheel of Fortune logo appears and you hear that famous saying, it affects the mentally of all the other players on the bank. They're thinking that someone is winning and their turn is next. It's infectious. The shared winning experience is powerful when linked as a group of machines."
All levels of jackpots can be found in a group of community games that can range from six to 12 machines, although the average is usually eight. Kent Young, global general manager of marketing for Aristocrat Technologies, said players playing for a common product still invite competition.
"This is a unique social phenomenon where players actually get to know one another," he said. "I've seen players console each other if that player misses one symbol that would have won a jackpot. At the same time, players turn and congratulate each other when the jackpot is hit. But don't be mistaken. Each player wants to win and is doing his or her best to be the one to walk away with the big money."
While community games are appealing to a growing segment of the slot player, there will always be those who desire the individual gaming experience. Video poker, keno or bingo still draws that individual who is not into the interactive component experience. However, having multiple players vying for a common outcome is where the trend is, and as a result game types that have long been community oriented-such as table games-are becoming fodder for new slot prototypes.
Electronic tables
Shuffle Master has Rapid Roulette, an electronic version of roulette where eight to 12 players wager and move chips across a traditional roulette layout on touchscreen terminals. The wheel spins, a winning number is noted, and winnings are distributed accordingly.
According to Brooke Dunn, senior vice president at Shuffle Master, there are a myriad of benefits for both the operator and player.
"The game appeals to operators," he said, "because it eliminates chip fraud, reduces labor costs (no live dealer because it is all done electronically), increases game frequency to 50-60 games per hour, provides comprehensive reports, and opens up the game to a broader demographic playing field. Players like it because it's less daunting for the inexperienced player, and combines the camaraderie of live roulette with the speed of electronic play."
Frank said his customers enjoy the shared outcome games because players are playing against the dealer, or for a single outcome.
"Some of these community games take on a life of their own where you hear the cheering just like when a dealer busts at a live blackjack table," he said. "It's even gotten to the point where players believe the graphics of a dealer on the Table Master game from Shuffle Master is actually flirting or winking at you. And it doesn't hurt when the graphic shows a woman in a swim suit. That's something we couldn't do here."
Table Master features five player stations and a realistic electronic
dealer that combines video poker with the camaraderie of traditional table games. Frank is high on these games because they allow new players to learn blackjack, and are an excellent way to introduce lower stakes players to table games.
"I see two distinct customers at Viejas," Frank said. "One is new to the game and just wants to try it. He can sit down at a machine and learn the basic rules at one dollar a hand and not worry that he isn't playing fast enough or even correctly. At the same time, I see experienced players who know the game and don't want to lay down $10 a hand at a live game. They're just trying to stretch their entertainment value. We currently have three of these games on our floor and they're busy all the time."
Sidebar:
Selling, buying and winning
Bally's Auction Fever gives gamblers bonus rounds of simulated e-bidding
One slot that defines the new community games experience is Auction Fever from Bally Gaming and Systems. It simulates an interactive online buying and selling experience for a bank of players. This is how it works:
One player on a slot bank of eight goes in as the seller when he or she lines up three to five "Mr. Dotcom" symbols across an active payline. This initiates the Auction Fever bonus round. The seller is taken to the Attic (a series of screens) to select three to five items to sell based on the triggering combination.
The other active players on the slot bank now become buyers and are notified with both audio and screen instruction that the Bonus Round has been triggered. They will be able to bid on items in the auction.
The seller watches items being sold as the bids roll up and the clock ticks away. For each item selected, players will see the credit value and number of bids rise during the auction. If all items are not chosen within the time limit, items will be automatically selected.
Game play continues until the screen simulates an internet connection with an image and the familiar modem sound. Buyers will be prompted to select three items upon which to bid. As items are selected, they appear in the "Items You're Watching" window that expands to fill the screen and allow the touch-screen bidding process.
Items that have the top bid will be shown and buyers will be prompted to bid again by touching the screen. This process will repeat rapidly so that buyers continue to keep the items in a top bid status. If all items are not chosen within the time limit, they will be automatically selected.
The seller is awarded the sum of the credit values for each selected item multiplied by the initiating bet. Buyers are notified of items they have won and credits awarded.
-Jack Bulavsky
