Patent attributes
The gaming device and method disclosed herein have a plurality of reels and at least one expanding and roaming wild symbol or wild symbol set. The wild symbol or wild symbol set moves relative to the reels to provide a player with additional opportunities to win an award. When the wild symbol appears on one of the reels and a designated trigger symbol also appears on one of the reels, the wild symbol expands to form an expanded wild symbol set that includes a plurality of individual wild symbols. The designated trigger symbol is associated with or determines the number of rolls (i.e., the number of times the expanded wild symbol set will roll or move across the reels). For each roll, the expanded wild symbol set rolls (left to right or right to left) to one of the reels. That is, the expanded wild symbol set enables a plurality of individual wild symbols to randomly move or roam from reel to reel for a number of rolls or moves, wherein the number is determined based on the designated trigger symbol. After each move, the gaming device performs an award evaluation to determine whether a winning combination is displayed on the reels. In one embodiment, the designated trigger symbol becomes an individual wild symbol.
