With the number of multiplayer products increasing each year, Simon Liddle takes a look at how they are changing the face of gaming.
Electronic multiplayer games - in their many forms - have become ubiquitous throughout the world’s gaming venues, equally at home in arcades as they are in the most opulent casino resorts.
Multiplayer games fit neatly between live games and slots and, if you follow their arc of development, such machines are helping to reinvigorate both. They are able to create the atmosphere and excitement of a live table, yet retain the privacy and ease-of-use of a slot. Add to this a reduction in labour costs, straightforward maintenance and virtually uninterrupted 24-hour operation, and it becomes easy to understand their appeal.
It is hard to pinpoint with any accuracy the moment of inception because, as with any great idea, the concept probably owes as much to a serendipitous combination of technological advancement and prevailing market conditions as anything else. Trial and error no doubt played its part too. The popularity of multiplayers really took hold in the mid-90s with the launch of the first electronic live gaming multiplayer product, Novo TouchBet Live-Roulette, by Novomatic subsidiary Austrian Gaming Industries. Today, Novo TouchBet Live consists of fully automated electronic terminals, which display real-time live pictures from a selected roulette wheel or card table. Enabling scores of people to play a live roulette game simultaneously, the platform opened the door to a host of multiplayer options and showed operators how they could optimise their gaming floors without having to take on an army of new staff.
For TCS John Huxley, one of the first to realise the potential of multiplayers, Novo TouchBet Live marked the beginning of a new trend in gaming.
"Using reader-head technology to feed results into displays on private terminals with all of the betting options of a live table, it was simple to convince people that it was a secure and easy way to work," said the company’s head of marketing, Luke Davis. "What was less obvious for casinos in the early days was the player acceptance of such a revolution. The results spoke for themselves and really paved the way for live electronic roulette today."
Novomatic continues to pioneer new multiplayer solutions with its Novo Unity II platform, offering its entire range of games graphically redesigned in full 3D.
"Novo Unity II is an innovative platform for the flexible operation of all Novomatic multiplayers in one networked system," the company said. "It allows operators to choose any number and combination of Novomatic multiplayer games to offer on each of the individual player terminals."
This new flexibility is based on the networked structure of the new Novo Unity II installation layout. A database server forms the central interface for the communication among all linked game servers that host the information from the peripheral devices and the individual player terminals. This structure enables the operator to offer a variety of linked games on each terminal, while also allowing for easy game management via a server-based operating menu.
"The operator can map his complete multiplayer floor layout, define individual groupings, unlock and block certain games on chosen terminals and thus flexibly adapt his multiplayer offering on demand to varying requirements," it said.
Novomatic’s platform has been extended beyond roulette to include blackjack, baccarat, poker, sic bo and keno.
"The complete range of Novomatic multiplayer games has been newly developed to satisfy the demands of modern gaming, thrill customers with attractive design and offer room for the multitude of extra features," the company added. "Such features as the multigame functionality that allows the player to individually select the type of game as well as the specific table he wants play on directly at his player terminal.
"Novo Unity II was developed to be the platform for the future of multiplayer gaming. It is a future-proof product operators can rely on and the basis for a great number of upcoming Novomatic product developments that will significantly influence the international gaming floors now and in the future."
Although terminal play provides that link between slots and table games, hybrid games preserve the live element of games, while making use of new technology to enhance their management. US-based Shuffle Master has developed two types of multiplayer products: its fully electronic Vegas Star and Table Master e-Tables, and its Rapid Table Games product line that combines a live game outcome with fully-electronic terminal-based betting.
"Hybrid products like Rapid Roulette and Rapid Baccarat can dramatically increase game speed, as all wagering is done electronically from individual betting stations," said the company’s Kirsten Clark. "Once the betting time expires, the dealer either spins the ball or deals the cards and once he confirms the result, the system automatically resolves all wagers."
Using individual touchscreens, players make their wagers on the computerised table game layout. All Rapid table games automatically track all game activity and produce accurate statistics and player rating information. Additionally, its surveillance, accounting and auditing capabilities virtually eliminate common mistakes and disputes that table game dealers and players are confronted with. Its modular design also ensures that it is easily configurable, enabling casinos to adapt the platform as they see fit.
TCS John Huxley’s AccuPLAY System, meanwhile, is a touchscreen live card table that started life as blackjack before being developed to support a variety of other card games. The system’s automated betting and payout transactions dramatically increase turnover by reducing the time between games, and from one dealer it can be extended throughout a casino via terminals to enable a larger number of people to play.
"AccuPLAY enables the secure handling of real live games because cards are read electronically as they are dealt and bets are placed via a terminal interface using virtual chips," Davis explained. "This delivers total game security, unlike in traditional poker where the security of hands can be a big problem, because cards are read electronically as they are dealt. Equally with chips, there is also no possibility of cheating to increase bets because they are all placed on a terminal."
AccuPLAY has the look and feel of a traditional card table, yet its touchscreen terminals provide helpful prompts to players who may not be entirely familiar with the game they are playing and eliminates the need for the dealer to handle transactions and betting. In fact, the system dramatically reduces the need for comprehensive dealer training by reading the cards dealt and handling payouts electronically.
"The key advantage is that you don’t need a dedicated card dealer to run the game," Davis continued. "A deal rate of 100 hands per hour can be achieved after training a beginner for only 20 minutes. The dealer doesn’t have to concentrate on so many other activities. 50 per cent of a live table game is to do with transactions. By eliminating this, you can double the number of hands per hour and potentially double the number of bets."
Crucially, an AccuPLAY table can be easily switched from game to game simply by flipping the layout and rebooting the system, while the addition of an RNG transforms it into an automatic multiplayer. Such technology enables operators to offer live games during peak times and significantly reduce labour costs during graveyard shifts.
Eastern Europe has earned a reputation for producing some of the finest automated multiplayers, taking hybrid table technology and incorporating fully-automated roulette wheels, dice and cards. Taking the concept one step further, these new multiplayers offer a new type of gaming experience tailored to a new generation of players. They also help to drive down labour costs for casino management.
Albert Radman, of Slovenian multiplayer specialist Alfastreet, believes installing an electronic multiplayer offers a number of benefits for operators, particularly those in cost-sensitive markets.
"When talking about electronic multiplayers, these are virtually ‘self service’ machines and an operator only needs to come at the end of the day and empty the cash boxes," he explained. "Also, the cheating factor is minimised as there is no chance to tamper with the machine while the game is operational."
Alfastreet is one of a number of multiplayer manufacturers to have grown out of the Slovenian market to become a truly international name. The company produces roulette, bingo, keno, sic bo, blackjack and baccarat multiplayers. All of these games are available in a fully electronic or live version, enabling operators to switch between the two on a single machine.
"They are easy to set-up, easy to operate and there is no downtime," Radman continued. "This is what makes the multiplayer a necessity in any of the world’s casinos or clubs."
Alfastreet’s roulette multiplayer is available in either a single or double zero game, with a virtual, live or automatic wheel. Additional wheels and different jackpots are also supported, as are various payment options, such as TITO, bill acceptors, coin or SAS-based player tracking online systems. The game is customisable to offer a variety of denominations, betting limits and languages, while different cabinet options are available, from the standard eight-player machine to several models of terminals. This ensures that up to 254 players can join in a single roulette game.
"All of our games are available in an electronic or live version," Radman added. "This is something that we’ve perfected in the past couple of years. The advantage is you can switch between live and electronic games at the same machine. The operator actually buys two machines in one and chooses which one he wants to use, or he alternates between both options."
One of the first Slovenian companies to make its name on the world stage was Elektroncek, which has been producing multiplayers under the Interblock brand for nearly 15 years. The company’s electromechanical multiplayers can be found throughout the world’s gaming markets, providing fully-automated versions of a host of popular games.
"Our mission has always been to automate the most popular live casino games into multiplayer versions," said Ales Zupancic, head of R&D at Elektroncek. "We’ve had great success with all of our products, which include the single and double-zero roulette, several dice games such as sic bo, craps and fish-shrimp-crab, and two popular card games, baccarat and blackjack. All these games are very popular in their live versions and we take pride in preserving the crucial elements, which continue to make these games attractive to players in our multiplayer gaming machines."
Perhaps with the exception of only a handful of markets where regulation and taxation are prohibitive, multiplayers have rapidly become an important revenue generator on any gaming floor. Steve Walther, vice president of marketing at Aruze Gaming, suggests that this is largely due to the successful merging of live action and technological innovation. Aruze’s multiplayer products include Dealers Angels Blackjack, Dealers Angels Baccarat, Roulette Angels, Lucky Sic Bo and Shoot to Win Craps, and are becoming an increasingly important part of the company’s overall product offering.
"Multiplayer technology has developed over the past five years by making games more interactive and realistic through the enhancement of characteristics and elements that players can see and feel," Walther said. "For example, Shoot to Win Craps’ new technology puts the action under the player’s control by allowing them to roll the dice using a Bash Button, which shoots the dice. The product is innovative in that the shooter rotates around the multi-station unit just as the dice would normally rotate around the craps table, giving players a greater sense of control for rolls. Other versions of dice style games have an automated ‘roll’ to speed up game play. These interactive elements make multiplayer technology more entertaining through realism."
Shoot to Win Craps features a high-impact display designed to be seen easily throughout the casino. The display provides an easy to understand tutorial for beginners and helps to draw in players who are already familiar with craps. The game’s centre features a large dice cage and light-based attractor that is synchronised with the action of the game. Each multiplayer terminal includes a 22ins LCD game screen, while the multi-station game accommodates eight players in a circular configuration.
"The trends in multiplayer machine designs will continue to push towards a more realistic environment and a more social and cooperative environment," Walther continued. "Part of the thrill of playing live table games is the human social interaction, and multiplayer designs will continue to incorporate those thrills. To capture that experience, players want games that stimulate their senses, while being easy and fun to play.
"Aruze Gaming’s focus has been to capture those ‘real’ features in using actual dice and the Bash Button in Lucky Sic Bo or Shoot to Win Craps. This next step of realism is designed to attract those that may stay away from a standard electronic output of the result. In this case, the simulated result is in the Shooter and the outcome is displayed with the rolling of the dice."
TCS John Huxley’s efforts to deliver innovative new multiplayer gaming solutions resulted in the company designing MultiPLAY. MultiPLAY merges a traditional roulette, craps or sic bo table with either a live croupier or automated roulette wheel or automatic dice recognition system and a fully-electronic multiplayer betting surface. Featuring a 56ins Quad HD LCD screen, MultiPLAY was initially launched with a manually-operated roulette wheel before automated versions of the game were developed to offer even greater flexibility and cost-savings to operators.
"MultiPLAY was designed to meet the demand for a live table with a lifelike, life-sized electronic betting screen," the company’s Davis said. "This means that players can gather around the table as they would with a traditional live table and still enjoy the social elements of the game."
TCS John Huxley’s decision to manufacture a product using a large Quad HD LCD screen was not without its challenges, however, as such equipment had almost exclusively been used in high-end medical and military applications. A further innovation was to incorporate patented Touch ID technology. This means that, unlike any other touchscreen betting interface, it can identify each individual player and their betting activity.
"The real technology ‘spark’ in MultiPLAY is the Touch ID technology, which other systems simply cannot match," Davis continued. "By sending an electronic frequency through the metal disc at each player station, all players are able to touch the screen simultaneously and still be recognised individually."
During craps games, a virtual representation of the dice appear in front of the nominated player who, with a shake and throw gesture on the touchscreen, send the virtual dice rolling across the screen as it triggers the automated dice shaker.
"Giving players control of the dice shaker retains the essence of the game, even as an electronic multiplayer. What this now does is create an opportunity for casinos that wouldn’t dream of investing in live craps tables to integrate the game into their offering. It makes craps affordable for the first time by significantly reducing staff costs without losing the level of interactivity that players love."
MultiPLAY is now available in two configurations. In addition to the MultiPLAY Quad HD, the new MultiPLAY HD Auto is a fully automated and cashless configuration. By using the company’s Gemini auto wheel combined with bill acceptors and ticket printers, the result is a "very lucrative" 24 hour-a-day live-hybrid roulette platform that requires no dealer or inspection. The robust table design of MultiPLAY HD Auto offers high quality gaming to all types of venue ranging from traditional casinos and electronic casinos to slot clubs and electronic arcades.
There are now, of course, a whole host of multiplayers available on the market, with companies enhancing their existing offering or developing entirely new games each year to suit the changing needs of their customers. Roulette has proven to be one of the most enduring casino games and, even in an age of numerous technological distractions, it continues to be at the heart of most gaming floors.
"Multiplayers seem to work best on games where one outcome can accommodate an unlimited number of players," said Shuffle Master’s Clark. "Roulette, for example, is a popular game choice because one dealer can serve dozens and dozens of players at once, which gives operators the ability to satisfy a larger number of players with fewer staff required."
Alfastreet’s Radman agrees: "Roulette is still the king of the multiplayers. This game produces the most money for the operator and the most thrills for the player. Other games like sic bo, blackjack, baccarat and bingo are very specific games and, unlike roulette, have only designated places where they are played. Operators have been trying to introduce these games to some new areas but more than often it was proved that certain games are meant for certain areas. Once again, roulette is the bright exception because it is popular all around the world."
However, there are markets where dice games are hugely popular and others where cards continue to attract the most players. Therefore, developing multiplayer games that appeal to Macau’s sic bo players or to poker enthusiasts in the US is crucial.
"Sic bo is popular in Macau," Radman continued. "The surrounding Asian countries are picking up some action but not even close to Macau. Baccarat is good for the whole of Asia and some of the larger casinos around the world. Blackjack is obviously good for the Americas and Asia, except Macau, and bingo is good for some European countries, like the Netherlands and Spain, and some South American countries such as Brazil."
Aruze’s Steve Walther believes that the more complex the game, the more challenging it is to make a multiplayer version of it successful.
"Traditionally, electronic gaming players may already be familiar with playing blackjack or roulette in a video environment," he said. "These games have transitioned well into a multiplayer environment since the transition and adoption was quite basic. More complex games have had a slower adoption rate since they were simulated and there weren’t enough real features to pull players away from actual tables.
"Multiplayer games are popular in Asia, where table games dominate the market. Some of the most popular games like baccarat and sic bo have translated quite well into the multiplayer format. In the US, they are currently being rolled out and are most popular with early adopters. Experienced players wanting to play something new or players who are easily accepting of new technology are more likely to play the multiplayer games. The second wave of players is just starting to accept the technology as a viable substitute for live table games."
Players often migrate from roulette to other games as they become more familiar with casino gaming and multiplayers can help to facilitate this movement by offering a less-intimidating alternative to live tables. Operators can also quickly offer their customers a range of different games in a cost-effective and secure way.
Shuffle Master’s Vegas Star is a multi-terminal gaming machine that features a virtual dealer and a touchscreen player betting process. It includes a variety of popular games, including craps, baccarat, roulette and sic bo. During game play, players sit at individual stations and an animated video representation of table activity is shown on a central screen. Players can make their wagers using the computer-generated game layout on their individual touchscreens and once the winning players have been confirmed, all wagers and cash balances are resolved electronically.
"Fully-electronic multiplayer tables enable operators to provide popular table games like blackjack, baccarat, craps and three card poker, 24 hours a day, seven days a week without requiring supervision," Clark said. "Because these products utilise a random number generator to determine each game’s outcome, game play is entirely secure and all wagering activity is resolved instantly and accurately once each round is completed. Additionally, many of these products, including Shuffle Master’s Vegas Star e-Table platform, are scalable, enabling operators to have a large number of betting positions on each game."
Perhaps a sign of things to come, Austria’s Apex Gaming recently launched an entirely new game that aims to combine the thrills of both roulette and blackjack, named Quikker. Players can bet on the numerous combinations of two cards, with the stake depending on the mathematical probability of these two cards appearing.
A major advantage for operators is that when they purchase Quikker, the machine also supports Texas Hold’em poker. This therefore enables operators to choose which game to offer at the time of day that best suits them and their customers. Available as a six, eight or 10-player table, Quikker has been designed to be user-friendly to ensure players can become familiar with the game quickly and easily.
"The beauty of Quikker is that it is so simple to learn," Johannes Weissengruber, founder and CEO of Apex Gaming, said. "It offers hours of fun with its great variation of bets and stakes. Quikker is just at home as a high-stake electronic table in the VIP area as well as a low-stake sector for street gaming.
"Apex gaming has proved that it has the finger on the pulse of future developments in the multiplayer market as the interest in Quikker has been very high and player feedback is also very positive since its introduction to the market at the beginning of this year."
Having happily co-existed for a number of years, standalone electronic multiplayers and networked terminals are now being combined to offer even greater choice and variety to players in the guise of multigame platforms. From a single player station, tables and games anywhere on the casino floor can be easily accessed.
"Besides technological progress, gaming has progressed too," said Patrick Magendans, international sales manager for Belgian manufacturer Elaut. "Especially over the last couple of years the new trend is multigames."
Elaut has been producing multiplayers for more than 20 years, most notably with its five-player Victory sic bo and its Classic Roulette. The company also offers multigame platforms and live gaming combined with its own terminals.
"Like in slot machines, multigames offer several games to the player," Magendans continued. "It allows the player to stay at his play station of his choice and selects the game he wants to play. This is a combination of multigames where stations are randomly set throughout the venues and players can play games that are virtually in a different location."
Anette Jauch, sales and marketing manager at Austria-based Infinitygames, agrees that this is where the multiplayer segment of the market appears to be heading. Infinitygames develops, manufactures and supplies a number of electronic multiplayer gaming systems, such as roulette and automated Texas Hold’em poker. The company’s flagship is its electronic roulette that offers a host of configuration possibilities as it can be delivered as a unit with eight, 10 or 12 player stations, with one or three wheels or in the slant top machine version with up to 200 player stations and up to four automated or live wheels.
"Right now there is an increasing tendency to use the multiplayer in combination with a multigame," she said. "From the same player terminal the player can choose different games or different live tables. We expect this trend to grow even stronger as it means more choice for the player and more profit for the casino operators.
"Multiplayer machines are becoming more and more popular all over the world, not only in casinos but also in arcades. Some players come from online gaming but most players change from live tables to multiplayer roulette tables, and this trend is increasing."
Elektroncek’s Zupancic believes that this trend of "inter-connectivity" is the most significant advancement in multiplayer gaming machines in recent years.
"We began to develop this concept six years ago and have evolved our products from simple multiplayer gaming machines to large multiplayer gaming systems, which incorporate several game generators and can encompass the entire floor," he said. "Another important advancement has been in the field of touch-sensitive displays which have become much more responsive and have allowed the user’s interface to become more intuitive and faster. In addition, player information displays were developed providing players with detailed statistical information about the game which makes the whole playing experience more enjoyable."
According to Aljosa Krupenko, head of strategic marketing at the company, Elektroncek has "upgraded" the concept of multiplayer gaming machines to that of multiplayer solutions.
"Elektroncek is therefore using a new expression, as our fourth generation of products now allows multigame, multi-denomination and multiplay for multiple players," he said. "The multigame concept is not limited by the shape or layout of available space, nor is it limited in the number of generators or playstations that can be incorporated. In other words, Elektroncek has delivered a technology that offers more to players, because one play station can offer many different games that are based mostly, but not exclusively, on electromechanical random number generators."
Austrian manufacturer Amatic Industries has taken this concept of multigames a step further once again, this time creating a platform - Evolution Pro - that enables players to enjoy both slot games and electronic roulette on a single screen. Amatic offers the all-in-one roulette multiplayer, Roulette Grand Jeu Prestige, which comprises a live wheel and individual terminals. A drag and drop betting system means that betting on Grand Jeu is as easy and as straightforward as on a classic roulette table. The machine’s ergonomic design, meanwhile, allows players to enjoy the game in comfort while always benefiting from a full view of the wheel at all times. Roulette Grand Jeu Prestige has been designed in a modular format, allowing operators to expand its size without having to invest in a completely new electronic roulette. For example, a two-player machine can be expanded to a four-player, and a six-player to a 10-player.
Customers can also choose between the two, three, four, six, eight and even 10-player versions. Amatic’s Satellite terminals can be directly linked to the machine to increase the number of player positions to suit the casino’s requirements. With the introduction of Evolution Pro, slots players can now easily switch between their games and live roulette.
"Evolution Pro is the new solution of combining Multi Game with all Amatic Industries’ product range," said Georg Steiner, the company’s sales and marketing director. "For example, a player has the option to choose between Multi Game on both electronic slots or on the electronic roulette solutions, such as Roulette Grand Jeu Prestige.
"This bonds the player to the machines, meaning more machine uptime for operators. This is the real heart of Amatic Industries’ product range that offers players real choice and flexibility.
"The operators can offer more player choice in one cabinet. They do not need to worry about the problems single-game machines bring - if the game is not a winner then the whole machine needs replacing. Players can choose among a wide range of games."
This desire to offer such choice and flexibility is driving the development of the multiplayer concept, bringing together what were previously thought of as distinctly separate categories of games. The blurring of the lines between live and automatic table games, and now slots play, is expected to usher in a new generation of feature-rich gaming machines that combine the best of each. Of course, these will not be to everyone’s liking; there will always be those who prefer the interaction of live tables. People’s tastes are changing, however, and the arguments in favour of making use of new technology are becoming increasingly persuasive for operators. Such trends, Jauch of Infinitygames suggests, will change the face of live gaming.
"We foresee that with time, the popularity in casinos for multiplayers with a lot of features and more privacy for the player will completely change the status of live games," she said.
